The Venn diagram of people who are willing to read novels, play video games, and enjoy things that are uniquely Japanese is impressively small. That is why it is all the more impressive that the Harvest December series made it to American shores in the first place. Originally released episodically in Japan, Petit Novel Series – Harvest December is a rather interesting visual novel with just over a dozen chapters, tied together in one neat little package.
Image on the top screen. Text on the bottom.
This 3DS eShop download is essentially a “choose your own adventure” visual novel with the focus on story versus actual gameplay. This is actually closer to a manga series than anything else, which works perfectly to its advantage as there is nothing else to distract the player from simply enjoying the story. As a 3DS eShop download, this is a unique experience.
At $12, the game is rather attractively priced for the amount of content available, on par with buying a digital book on Amazon. This isn’t, by any means, going to be the single title that makes Americans start believing that this is the needed distribution method for all their upcoming stories, as even though the game is enjoyable it is still a very Japanese experience throughout, complete with wordy well-translated dialog that will take hours to read. If you enjoy visual novels, manga, or just want to read a book on your 3DS in-between playing games, this Circle Entertainment title might provide the different experience you are looking for.
