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Harvest Moon (SNES)
Encyclopedia
is a virtual role playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
developed by Natsume, first released in Japan in 1996, and 1997 in North America. This is the first game in the long-running Harvest Moon titles. A PAL version was released by Nintendo
in early 1998 for Western Europe and Oceania, with language localizations for Germany and France.
The game was released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console
on January 4, 2008 in Europe and on February 11, 2008 in North America.
or eaten by wild wolves. After dark, the only business in town that the player can access is the bar, where a number of non-player character
s gather to drink and talk.
s, which are more like month-long seasons, and the player has limited time each day from 6 a.m. before it becomes dark. The clock stops at 6 p.m. Unlike in later Harvest Moon games, the player can effectively stay outside as long as he wants without penalty, as long as he does not run out of energy. Even then, energy can be restored at the hot spring for as long as the player wants. However, when married, the character loses a few affection points with his wife if he comes home after 6 p.m. unless he is married to Eve.
in the forest for sale. A small pond can be fished
. The player can farm vegetables only during the spring and summer. During fall, the only things that grow are mushrooms --a normal one and a poisonous one-- in the Forest, and the hay grass. In winter, nothing grows but the herbs in the cave in the Forest, and they grow all year round.
, sickle
, and hammer
. All these tools can be upgraded if the player completes certain side quests (although the watering can's improvement must be purchased). Only two tools, (or in combo a bag of seeds), can be carried at a time.
, though it requires no special care and its only contribution to the game is barking to warn the player that the farm's fence requires fixing. The player must also hug (pick-up) the dog at least 100 times during the game to receive the best ending. Although the dog's default name is Koro, it can be changed to whatever the player wants. In the winter of the first year, the player also adopts a horse
, which is helpful at harvest.
The barn and henhouse are each capable of holding up to twelve of their respective animals. All cows are purchased from a livestock
dealer in town, as is at least one chicken. Additional chickens can be hatched by placing an egg in an incubator instead of selling it. Cows, when first purchased or born, require time to grow before they can be milked; afterward, they grow larger and produce greater quantities of milk. Fully developed chickens and cows can be sold for profit
.
color the women look identical. The player's activities are severely curtailed: he is expected to come home by a specified time. Returning home after his wife has gone to bed consistently (with the exception of Eve) will cause her affection rating to drop (a wife whose affection rating drops too low will leave the player). When the player has both house upgrades, is married to his wife for 20 days and his wife has high enough affection towards him, she will get pregnant, later giving birth in the farmhouse. It is possible to have another baby once the first baby is 31 days old and provided the wife has a high enough affection towards the player.
Some of the game's special events require natural disasters to allow the player to access it. After an earthquake or lightning
strike, for example, the player can meet the "Harvest Sprites" who live in tunnels under the farm. They can also gain access to a pond where the Harvest Goddess
lives. Doing these things allows the character to upgrade his tools without paying money.
. While many elements of the game were "westernized" for its American release, some Japan
ese references were overlooked. For example, townspeople sometimes discuss the church and its religion
in Shinto
terms, such as referring to the existence of both a "God of the Harvest" and a "God of Business." In several "New Day" cinematics, the character eats an onigiri
, a food not familiar to many outside of Japan. The news anchor on TV in the game bows to the audience in a welcoming manner. This is uncommon in western countries.
-version of the original Harvest Moon consisting of 4 unique episodes on the Satellaview
. Each episode had to be downloaded by players from St.GIGA
(at NikoNiko Ranch on the BS-X cartridge) during a specified broadcast week and during a specified time-window. It featured "SoundLink" narration (radio drama
-style streaming voice data intended to guide players through the game and give helpful hints and advice). Due to the nature of SoundLink broadcasts these games were only broadcast to players between 6:00 and 6:50PM on broadcast dates. The game was never released outside of Japan and as with all other Satellaview titles it has never been re-released as a stand-alone title. Online Satellaview emulation enthusiasts refer to the game unofficially as "BS Makiba Monogatari."A single rerun of the broadcasts was conducted in the same weekly format from November 4, 1996 to November 30, 1996 at 5:00 to 5:50PM. The BS-X download location changed to Bagupotamia Temple. The episodes were known as: released on September 2, 1996 released on September 9, 1996 released on September 16, 1996 released on September 23, 1996
For the release of Harvest Moon on the Wii
's Virtual Console
, IGN
rated the game at 8.5, praising the game's still gorgeous 16-bit graphics and addictive gameplay.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
developed by Natsume, first released in Japan in 1996, and 1997 in North America. This is the first game in the long-running Harvest Moon titles. A PAL version was released by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
in early 1998 for Western Europe and Oceania, with language localizations for Germany and France.
The game was released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on January 4, 2008 in Europe and on February 11, 2008 in North America.
Gameplay
The game play consists of daily tasks, and strategically using your time wisely for the best outcome in the end. For vegetables to develop, they must receive water each day; lack of water does not kill crops, but does keep them from growing. Animals must be fed once a day to keep producing. While the only care that chickens require is feeding, cows must be continually talked to, brushed, and milked to retain their health. A cow may become sick and even die if not fed for a day. The only way a chicken can die is to be left outside and allowed to be blown away in a stormStorm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
or eaten by wild wolves. After dark, the only business in town that the player can access is the bar, where a number of non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s gather to drink and talk.
Overworld
The overworld is humid subtropical and changes as the seasons and weather patterns do (i.e. snow, in the winter, rain, etc). The weather, such as rain, forces the villagers and people on the mountainside to go indoors, so you have to go inside to talk to them.Seasons and time
Each year has four thirty-day seasonSeason
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
s, which are more like month-long seasons, and the player has limited time each day from 6 a.m. before it becomes dark. The clock stops at 6 p.m. Unlike in later Harvest Moon games, the player can effectively stay outside as long as he wants without penalty, as long as he does not run out of energy. Even then, energy can be restored at the hot spring for as long as the player wants. However, when married, the character loses a few affection points with his wife if he comes home after 6 p.m. unless he is married to Eve.
Farming
Crops, eggs, and milk can be placed in collection boxes, from which a shipper will collect them at 4 or 5 p.m. each day, the player being paid the next morning. The player can also gather herbs and wild fruitFruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
in the forest for sale. A small pond can be fished
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. The player can farm vegetables only during the spring and summer. During fall, the only things that grow are mushrooms --a normal one and a poisonous one-- in the Forest, and the hay grass. In winter, nothing grows but the herbs in the cave in the Forest, and they grow all year round.
Tools
The player starts with basic tools, such as a watering can, axe, hoeHoe (tool)
A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural tool used to move small amounts of soil. Common goals include weed control by agitating the surface of the soil around plants, piling soil around the base of plants , creating narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs, to chop...
, sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
, and hammer
Hammer
A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
. All these tools can be upgraded if the player completes certain side quests (although the watering can's improvement must be purchased). Only two tools, (or in combo a bag of seeds), can be carried at a time.
Animals
At the beginning of the game, the player adopts a dogDog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, though it requires no special care and its only contribution to the game is barking to warn the player that the farm's fence requires fixing. The player must also hug (pick-up) the dog at least 100 times during the game to receive the best ending. Although the dog's default name is Koro, it can be changed to whatever the player wants. In the winter of the first year, the player also adopts a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
, which is helpful at harvest.
The barn and henhouse are each capable of holding up to twelve of their respective animals. All cows are purchased from a livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
dealer in town, as is at least one chicken. Additional chickens can be hatched by placing an egg in an incubator instead of selling it. Cows, when first purchased or born, require time to grow before they can be milked; afterward, they grow larger and produce greater quantities of milk. Fully developed chickens and cows can be sold for profit
Profit (economics)
In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total opportunity costs of a venture to an entrepreneur or investor, whilst economic profit In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total...
.
Marriage
There are five young women living in town who the player can marry. Each girl has her own tastes and preferences as well as a diary. The diary displays the affection level of that particular girl toward the protagonist. They are Ann, Ellen, Eve, Maria, and Nina. In order to marry a girl, you must meet certain requirements. A blue feather bought from the merchant serves as a sort of engagement ring analogue. You must also expand your house at least once in order to get a matrimonial bed. The girl of your choice must have at least 5 hearts of affection in her diary. After marriage, aside from their hairHair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
color the women look identical. The player's activities are severely curtailed: he is expected to come home by a specified time. Returning home after his wife has gone to bed consistently (with the exception of Eve) will cause her affection rating to drop (a wife whose affection rating drops too low will leave the player). When the player has both house upgrades, is married to his wife for 20 days and his wife has high enough affection towards him, she will get pregnant, later giving birth in the farmhouse. It is possible to have another baby once the first baby is 31 days old and provided the wife has a high enough affection towards the player.
Special events
At certain points in the game, the player has the opportunity to take part in side quests that provide benefits. There are a number of events (some scheduled, some not) that break up the gameplay:- Festivals - At set dates, the townspeople gather to celebrate an event. Examples include the Harvest Festival (revolving around a communal stewStewA stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
, similar to Thanksgiving), the Egg Festival (which features an EasterEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
-like colored egg huntEgg huntEgg hunt is a game during which decorated eggs, real hard-boiled ones or artificial, filled with or made of chocolate candies, of various sizes, are hidden in various places for children to find. The game may be both indoors and outdoors...
), and the Flower Festival. Certain days, such as New Year's DayNew Year's DayNew Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
and the winter solsticeWinter solsticeWinter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
, are celebrated more solemnly. Otherwise, festivals usually allow the player to engage in mini-games and to danceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
with girls. - Disasters - During the summer, it is possible that the area will be struck by a hurricane. If this happens, the player loses a day of work while barricaded in the farmhouse, and many of the crops, large sections of the fence, and even cultivated land itself will be destroyed. And while less common (and unpredictable), earthquakes sometimes appear, they have some of the same effects the hurricane does.
- Marriageable Girl side-quests - For each marriagable girl in the game there is an event that can be triggered once her affection toward the player reaches a certain level. This event is always some sort of crisis that the player must resolve. Doing so increases the particular girl's affection rating. These events cannot be accessed once the player is married, regardless of the affection rating of the remaining girls.
Some of the game's special events require natural disasters to allow the player to access it. After an earthquake or lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
strike, for example, the player can meet the "Harvest Sprites" who live in tunnels under the farm. They can also gain access to a pond where the Harvest Goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
lives. Doing these things allows the character to upgrade his tools without paying money.
Localization
In the version of the game released in America, all references to alcohol are changed to "juice," even though anyone who drinks said "juice" clearly becomes intoxicatedDrunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
. While many elements of the game were "westernized" for its American release, some Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese references were overlooked. For example, townspeople sometimes discuss the church and its religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
in Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
terms, such as referring to the existence of both a "God of the Harvest" and a "God of Business." In several "New Day" cinematics, the character eats an onigiri
Onigiri
, also known as or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori . Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume , salted salmon, katsuobushi, kombu, tarako, or any other salty or sour ingredient as a natural preservative...
, a food not familiar to many outside of Japan. The news anchor on TV in the game bows to the audience in a welcoming manner. This is uncommon in western countries.
Satellaview version
BS Bokujō Monogatari (BS 牧場物語) was an episodically released ura- or gaidenGaiden
is a Japanese-language word meaning "side story" or "tale", used to refer to an anecdote or supplementary biography of a person. This use of gaiden is commonly used in popular Japanese fiction to refer to a spin-off of a previously published work that is neither officially considered a sequel nor...
-version of the original Harvest Moon consisting of 4 unique episodes on the Satellaview
Satellaview
The is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The...
. Each episode had to be downloaded by players from St.GIGA
St.GIGA
is the name of a defunct satellite radio company that was formed as a subsidiary of satellite television company WOWOW and later became semi-independent, forming a keiretsu with its parent. Using the BS network to broadcast digital radio via direct broadcast satellite as a test on November 30,...
(at NikoNiko Ranch on the BS-X cartridge) during a specified broadcast week and during a specified time-window. It featured "SoundLink" narration (radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
-style streaming voice data intended to guide players through the game and give helpful hints and advice). Due to the nature of SoundLink broadcasts these games were only broadcast to players between 6:00 and 6:50PM on broadcast dates. The game was never released outside of Japan and as with all other Satellaview titles it has never been re-released as a stand-alone title. Online Satellaview emulation enthusiasts refer to the game unofficially as "BS Makiba Monogatari."A single rerun of the broadcasts was conducted in the same weekly format from November 4, 1996 to November 30, 1996 at 5:00 to 5:50PM. The BS-X download location changed to Bagupotamia Temple. The episodes were known as: released on September 2, 1996 released on September 9, 1996 released on September 16, 1996 released on September 23, 1996
Reception
With the exception of HonestGamers, who gave 'Harvest Moon' a 3/10, the game received mainly positive reviews and has a Gamerankings standing of 69.52%.For the release of Harvest Moon on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated the game at 8.5, praising the game's still gorgeous 16-bit graphics and addictive gameplay.