Update:

A remake of the beloved Harvest Moon game Friends of Mineral Town is indeed coming to the Nintendo Switch, and confirmed for a North American release, but it will now be known in its North American release as Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town In-Development Screenshots 7 IMAGES

Publisher XSeed Games, part of Marvelous USA, confirmed in a press release that Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is coming to North America. Natsume originally published Friends of Mineral Town under the Harvest Moon name, but given that Natsume still owns the publishing name rights to that franchise, XSeed and Marvelous will now be bringing the game back under the Story of Seasons branding.XSeed confirmed an October 17 release in Japan, and only mentioned that the North American launch date "will be confirmed at a later time."Original story follows:

Loading

Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing

A Switch remake of beloved Game Boy Advance classic, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town , has been revealed by Famitsu. The Nintendo Switch remake of the game is due to launch in Japan on October 11. So far little information about what changes are being made (if any), or if it will be released outside of Japan, has been revealed, but several new screenshots show the game in its new, 3D form.Harvest Moon is a legendary franchise that went on to inspire both Farmville and Stardew Valley. You build your farm, run it, grow crops, look after animals, and flirt with the locals in the hope to find your dream partner. Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, in particular, casts you as Pete. A young man who inherits a farm from a recently deceased pen pal, with the task of turning the farm’s fortunes around.Unlike a lot of the games that it inspired, Harvest Moon pre-dates microtransactions and energy timers, so it should be a refreshing experience for old school purists and casuals gamers alike. That said, there is no information on what this remake might change. It is without doubt a game ripe for updating, so here’s hoping we get more farmers and animals. Famitsu teased that they’ll have more to show next month.With the delay of the latest Animal Crossing game announced at E3 (another ridiculously cute life sim), it’s arguably the perfect time to release a remake to fill the gap. Cute new visuals with old schools gameplay is sure to see us over to the 2020 release date If you like the idea of running around town as a painfully cute little person, check out our review of Harvest Moon homage, Stardew Valley. Or all the new things we know about Animal Crossing New Horizons.

John is a freelance writer for IGN UK with a love for all things stealthy, ginny and noisy. To set up a game of Spies vs Mercs or hear his less coherent ramblings, get him on Twitter.