Yasuhiro Wada's Harvest Moon series has spun a bit out of control. The first few games in the series had a good amount of heart, but as time went on the charm was replaced with gimmicks, hoping to squeeze a few extra dollars out of the franchise. Regardless, Wada's influence on gaming shouldn't be ignored, which is why many originally had their eyes set on his newest title: Little King's Story. Wada's warped fairy-tale manages not only to live up to the creator's legacy, but impresses on nearly every level, reinforcing the Wii's library with exemplary gameplay and so much charm it can barely be contained in one disk.

Little King's Story starts out a little bleak. The newly anointed king is told that his kingdom consists of three ministers, three cows, twelve citizens, a 0% job rate, and an empty treasury. It's hard not to immediately question why these people even need a king, since it's much easier to call the poor souls living on the land squatters than it is to call them citizens. Walking into the field outside of the admittedly small castle, the adults are simply laying around, napping and chatting. After grabbing a few of the useless saps, the King can lead them to buried treasure around the world, which they reluctantly pop up to add to the treasury. After a few are taken it's possible to build a new building, which allows the King to turn his lazy servants into different unit types. Using these types, more gold can be found to build another building. And another. And another. Before too long, the desolate plot of land is a bustling town.