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Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands
Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands
Developer(s)	Marvelous Interactive
Publisher(s)	JP: Marvelous Interactive; NA: Natsume Inc.; EU: Rising Star Games;
Series	Story of Seasons
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release	JP: February 21, 2008; NA: November 10, 2009; EU: December 3, 2010; AU: December 23, 2010;
Genre(s)	Farm simulation

Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands (牧場物語キラキラ太陽となかまたち, Bokujō Monogatari: Kira Kira Taiyō to Nakama Tachi, lit. "Farm Story: Shining Sun and Friends"), is a video game that was released on February 21, 2008 in Japan and November 10, 2009 in North America. The seventeenth installment of the Story of Seasons series, and the fourth available for the Nintendo DS, the game closely resembles Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness; a section of the island from Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness is one of multiple islands in this game.^[2] The player can choose to be a boy (Mark) or a girl (Chelsea).

Story

Many years before the events of the game, a powerful earthquake struck the Sunshine Islands, causing them to sink into the ocean. After the player moves to the island, they are tasked the harvest sprites and harvest goddess to find the magical Sun Stones and restore the Sunshine Islands to their former glory. Once that is done, a celebration is held for the player for saving the islands.

Gameplay

Gameplay is split into four 30-day seasons to make up a year. Each day takes place over approximately fifteen minutes.

Unlike its predecessor, Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness, the player is not limited to controlling the game with the touch screen. Speaking to other characters within the game is either activated by tapping the character or pressing in the A button while facing them. The B button can be held while directing your character to bring him or her to a run. Although the player can now use the buttons, the old touchscreen control system is still intact.

Marriage

Like in other Harvest Moon games, the player is able to marry. The candidates are the same as in Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness with an additional candidate for each gender. The new candidate for the female player is Will, and for the male the new candidate is Lily. After a season of marriage, the player is able to have a child with their spouse. As in the other Harvest Moon games, the player must raise the heart level of the candidate in order to marry.

Development

The American pre-order bonus was a limited edition plush pig that was included with the game when ordered from participating retailers.

Reception

Aggregate score
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	77/100^[3]

Review scores
Publication	Score
1Up.com	A−^[4]
4Players	40%^[5]
Famitsu	(DS) 29/40^[6] 27/40^[6]
NGamer	75%^[7]
Nintendo Life	^[8]
Nintendo Power	7/10^[9]
Official Nintendo Magazine	82%^[10]
RPGamer	3/5^[11]
RPGFan	75%^[12]

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one six and three sevens, while Famitsu DS gave it a score of three sevens and one eight.^[6]

References

^ I. G. N. Staff (2009-11-10). "Natsume Brightens Store Shelves With Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands". IGN. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
^ "Sunny Island". Ushi No Tane x8. Archived from the original on November 16, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^ Liang, Alice (November 25, 2009). "Harvest Moon [DS]: Sunshine Islands Review". 1Up.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
^ Bischoff, Jens (December 9, 2010). "Test: Harvest Moon DS: Die Sonnenschein-Inseln". 4Players (in German). 4Players GmbH. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tanaka, John (March 5, 2008). "Gaming Life in Japan". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
^ "Review: Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands". NGamer. Future plc. January 2011. p. 64.
^ Newton, James (December 6, 2010). "Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands Review". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
^ "Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands". Nintendo Power. Vol. 248. Future US. December 2009. p. 85.
^ "Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands review". Official Nintendo Magazine. Future plc. January 2011. p. 82.
^ Marchello, Sam (January 20, 2010). "Harvest Moon [DS]: Sunshine Islands - Staff Review". RPGamer. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
^ Wallace, Kimberley (December 9, 2009). "Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands". RPGFan. Emerald Shield Media LLC. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.