Rising Star Games is to publish Harvest Moon: Magical Melody for the Cube and Harvest Moon DS in Europe this Spring!

Publisher Rising Star Games has today announced it will publish Harvest Moon DS and the latest GameCube Harvest Moon title Harvest Moon Magical Melody in Europe, both of which will be distributed by Nintendo.

The Harvest Moon games occupy a permanent place in the hearts of all who play them, captivating audiences with their charming combination of life and resource management. These fresh iterations will bring challenges and scenarios unique to each of the Nintendo DS and Nintendo GameCube, utilising the individual hardware technology to create Harvest Moon titles that offer something new whilst fitting perfectly within series.

For those who find it hard to keep up with all the versions of Harvest Moon there have been of late, after the first Cube title A Wonderful Life, and the girl-centric update Another Wonderful Life, this new Cube title Magical Melody is a completely new title. The Harvest Goddess has been turned to stone, and you are enlisted by the Harvest Sprites to restore her to her normal self by finding 100 musical notes throughout the game world. This time round you can play as either a boy or a girl, and there are more 10 characters of each gender who you can marry. You also have a rival character in the game who will compete against you for the magical notes, as well as winning festivals and how much money you make in a day.

Harvest Moon DS (known elsewhere as Harvest Moon: Sprites Station - we're unsure if this subtitle will be used for the European release) meanwhile returns the gamer back to Forget-Me-Not Valley, though 100 years on from the Wonderful Life era. This game is played from a top-down perspective and, just like in Magical Melody, the storyline is focused on you saving the Harvest Goddess by collecting magical music notes, though this time also by befriending the scattered Harvest Sprites. Once you find 60 sprites, the goddess will be revived, and you can propose to any of five potential wives (including descendants of familiar faces Celia, Muffy and Nami).

"Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Magical Melody are fantastic additions to our publishing portfolio," says Martin Defries, C.O.O. Rising Star Games. "The series has grown in quality ever since the initial release in 1997. These two titles will be the best yet, evolving ideas present in the original game and introducing new twists on the much-loved gameplay. We're really excited about both. More so, that we are able to work so closely with Nintendo's distribution companies to ensure that the reach of Harvest Moon is greater than ever before." In other words - hopefully no more shops running out of copies of the game - a problem A Wonderful Life can be remembered for.

Look out for both titles this Spring around March time!