is a game in the Harvest Moon series of video games developed by Pack-In-Video

Pack-In-Video

is a Japanese video game publisher and developer which developed a wide range of games for the Famicom platform. The games published were mostly focused on the Japanese market although a few titles have been published abroad...

. HMGB is the first of the portable Harvest Moon games. The plotline revolves around the character's grandfather visiting the player as a spirit

Spirit

The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...

 and asking him to run his farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

. As with every Harvest Moon game, they accept, and begin their life as Ranch Master. In this game you can chose to be a boy or girl. An improved colored version for the Game Boy Color

Game Boy Color

The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...

 was released later under the name Harvest Moon GBC.

Gameplay

The initial goal is that in a year's time, the character must bring up the farm by growing and selling crops, and raising livestock. There are also plenty of secrets to unlock in the game. At the end of the first year, the main character's grandfather comes back to the farm to check up on it. If he thinks it's looking good, the player may continue the game for another couple years. If he thinks the farm is short of success, a Game Over

Game over

Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...

 is given.

Crops

Crops are a primary source of income in Harvest Moon GB. After being planted, the seeds must be watered every day until they can be harvested. All harvested crops (along with anything sellable) may be put in the shipping bin to be sold. Some crops can be re-harvested a number of days after the initial harvest. Almost all crops require active farming and maintenance, although every day, the player can harvest two Mushrooms from his underground cellar for a small sum of money.
Most conventional crops can be obtained by sowing seeds on plowed ground and watering them until a fruit forms, which is harvested, and the ground becomes clear tilled ground again. An exception is during Summer and Winter (Only Summer if you didn't start the characters name with a symbol, because if you do,that gives you more seeds) where the sown seeds form plants, which will produce fruit on a regular basis provided they are watered. Different seeds can be sown during different seasons and the seeds are bought from one of the shops in town. Any seed sown outside of its designated season will simply not sprout.

Animals

At the beginning of the game the option is given whether to have a dog

Dog

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...

 or a cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

as a pet. If you choose a cat, wild dog won't attack your chickens. If you choose a dog, wild dogs may attack, though moles will not destroy your crops. The player also receives a horse early in the game, which can be used for farm work, riding, and if you have a saddle bag you can ship directly from the horse.

There are two types of livestock - cows and chickens. Cows can produce milk, which can also be turned into cheese and butter, and chickens produce eggs. Each livestock can give birth, cows by using a certain item on them, and chickens by simply letting the eggs hatch.

Tools and items

There is a wide variety of tools in Harvest Moon GB. At the beginning of the game, the tools available are the axe, hoe, hammer, watering can(after you buy your first bag of seeds/grass doesn't count), and sickle. These tools may be improved, turning into super tools. The player may also receive a fishing rod, pickaxe and umbrella after reaching their grandfather's goal.