The story here is that you're a hot-air balloonist who's being forced down due to a storm. When you come to, you're on a strange island with a cute little animal following you around. The critter bears a slight resemblance to something you might find in Viva Piñata, and that's just fine. Your character never bothers to question why it's following her around, so neither will you.

You're in a little town called Wandering Willows, and your hot-air balloon is busted up, so you'll need to fix it in order to escape. In order to do this, you'll interact with the island's populace, fulfilling their missions to gain access to the tools you'll need to repair your craft. One of the first bits of dialogue you'll encounter informs you that you're not the only person to have crashed down on the island, and that, who knows? You might just want to stay after all. Now, depending on your personal outlook, you'll either find the cute cast of characters reassuringly non-threatening when they keep telling you that, or you'll start hearing the strains of "Hotel California" the entire time you're playing Wandering Willows.

Navigation couldn't be simpler. Click, or click-hold to walk around. Click on people to talk with them. Click on objects to pick them up. Click on the UI to open menus, and click again to choose elements. Click, click, clickclickclickclickclickclickclick cliiiiiiiick. Not since Diablo have you clicked so frequently. But this is not a ding against the game; on the contrary, it's a strength!

Looking into your character's various tabs and options -- clothing, recipes, and the like -- indicates that there may be some depth to the game that casual gameplay might otherwise keep hidden. But let's dive in and examine how it plays.

The first thing you're asked to do in the tutorial mode is to plant some wheat for one of the town's characters, and this process involves nothing more than dragging a seed out of your inventory directly onto a patch of garden dirt and watering it, waiting for a bit, and grabbing the plant that develops. That's it. You won't even have to buy the seeds or the watering can; you just kinda have 'em on you. Completing a task rewards you with the local currency, and Friendship Points, which affect how you interact with the various town members. I'm not sure exactly what this will turn into exactly, but it's always good to have friends.