“Project Happiness,” the enchantingly adorable shopkeeper simulation by Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada, now has an official title: Hometown Story. The “story” in the title is meant to show the game’s emphasis on meeting and learning about new townspeople by growing your shop, over simply conducting business for its own sake.
The character designs, by Atsuko Nishida, have simplified since the prototype footage, showing a game that looks more like it’s running on a 3DS. And it’s still really, really, really heartwarmingly cute. It’s due this year; Natsume has said it’s coming to 3DS and mobile.