Release Dates
| Platform | North America | Europe |
|---|---|---|
|
DS |
November 10, 2009 |
December 2010 |
Releasing a year after the last main entry in the series to come to the Nintendo DS, Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands was effectively an enhanced remake of Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. Mark and Chelsea return, this time to a series of islands that have sunk into the ocean. It was up to the player to find the Sun Stones required to restore the Sunshine Islands to their pre-earthquake status.
Aside from an expansion of the game world to multiple islands, the major difference between this game and its predecessor was the reduced emphasis on touch controls. Now players could move their character using the D-Pad and interact with tools and other characters using the buttons, as with prior games in the series. The other significant change was the inclusion of two new bachelor/bachelorette characters, Will and Lily.
Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands also included several other tweaks to differentiate it from Island of Happiness. For starters, there were many more fish, recipes, and mushroom species to collect, as well as more valuable species of livestock, such as the Jersey Cow and Suffolk Sheep. Harvest Sprites could be hired to perform simple tasks around the farm, such as feeding the animals. Artificial Suns could be used in the greenhouse to allow you to grow any seasonal crops.
