Harvest Moon series
Encyclopedia
is a farm
simulation role-playing video game
series originally created by Yasuhiro Wada in 1996 and produced by Victor Interactive Software
(later acquired by Marvelous Entertainment in 2003).
English
translation and distribution of the game is done by Natsume (and Rising Star Games
in Europe). The object of the game is to maintain a farm over a period of time, tending the crops and livestock through the seasons, while befriending the nearby townsfolk and getting married in some games. The first game was Harvest Moon, released for the SNES
in 1996. Games in the series have also been produced for Game Boy
and GBA
, Nintendo 64
, PlayStation
, PlayStation 2
, GameCube
and Nintendo DS
; with new titles for PSP
, Nintendo DS
, and for the Wii
and PlayStation 3
.
The ultimate challenge is for the player to manage their time. There is only a short amount of time in each game day, and the player only has a set amount of energy. They must balance their time and strength by working on the farm and making friends with the people in town.
The player's character has mostly been male, but some of the newer games offer the option to play as a female character. A common theme throughout the series follows the storyline wherein the player inherits a relative's or an old friend's farm, and is then taken through the various aspects of farming such as growing crops, raising livestock, making friends and ultimately finding a partner. Each game provides objects to collect or goals to complete, whether it be befriending villagers, collecting musical notes, finding sprites, making rainbows, or ringing bells.
Turnip
s, potato
es, tomato
es and corn
are staple crops of the series, introduced in the first game. Since then, other games have introduced new crops, such as cabbage
, carrot
s, onion
s, strawberries
, sweet potato
es, pumpkin
s, rice
, pineapple
s, cucumber
s and more.
The first Harvest Moon only allowed cows and chickens and provided a barn and chicken coop to house them. Milk and eggs could both be sold, as well as the animals themselves. Later titles introduced sheep and a separate feed for chickens, as well as machines that could change milk into cheese, eggs into mayonnaise, and wool into yarn. The more recent games allow the player to also raise ducks, goats, and differently-colored cows. In Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
silkworms and ostriches were introduced to the series, and the new game also enabled players to befriend wild animals and persuade them to live on their farm.
Animals are also able to reproduce. Eggs can be placed in an incubator to hatch a chick in a few days, while giving a cow or sheep a miracle potion will impregnate them. Buying and breeding multiple horses was introduced in Harvest Moon 3
for Game Boy Color and continued in Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
and Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Pest animals are also found in Harvest Moon including wild dogs, and gophers. Wild dogs visit the farm at night and harass any livestock not kept in a barn or fenced area. Gophers in some older titles would consume crops.
and the Starry Night Festival, which seems to be reminiscent of Christmas Eve
. Livestock-themed festivals often take place, where the player can submit their animals to compete against other farms. Animals who win these contests often receive benefits; for example, a cow that wins might gain the ability to produce gold milk.
, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, and Rune Factory 3
are the only versions where the player can have multiple children. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
, Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life, Harvest Moon DS
and Harvest Moon DS Cute are the only games in the series where the player can experience a child's growth from toddler to full-grown adult. Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
expands on this by letting the player restart the game as their child after the completion of an end game event. Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
and Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon
are the only Harvest Moon titles that do not have marriage and children in them. Rune Factory 2
is the only Harvest Moon where the player can personify two characters, the father and his son or daughter.
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade is the only game where you can have a husband/wife and two children either male/female and Rune Factory 3
is the only game where you have three children either male/female
confirmed that they had managed to sell more than 1 million units of the Harvest Moon series across PAL territories
. In Japan, the DS titles of the series alone have managed to sell a total of more than 948,000 whilst the PSP titles haven't been as successful, selling only 81,498 copies as of April 2011. The Tale of Two Towns managed to reach #4 in the Japan Software and Hardware Weekly Chart shipping 64,576 copies in its first week on sale.
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...
simulation role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
series originally created by Yasuhiro Wada in 1996 and produced by Victor Interactive Software
Victor Interactive Software
Victor Interactive Software, Inc. was a Japanese video game software publisher and developer, established in 1970-08-03 as a division of Victor Entertainment.In 1996-10-01, Victor Entertainment Inc. merged with Pack-In-Video Co., Ltd...
(later acquired by Marvelous Entertainment in 2003).
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation and distribution of the game is done by Natsume (and Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games is a video games publisher formed as a joint business venture between Scandinavian distributor Bergsala and Japanese video game publisher and content developer Intergrow....
in Europe). The object of the game is to maintain a farm over a period of time, tending the crops and livestock through the seasons, while befriending the nearby townsfolk and getting married in some games. The first game was Harvest Moon, released for the SNES
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...
in 1996. Games in the series have also been produced for Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and GBA
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
; with new titles for PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, and for 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...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
Gameplay
Most gameplay in the Harvest Moon games consists of planting seeds to grow fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs, and collecting items, making home improvements, and building personal relationships. A successful farmer must weigh in the cost, sell price, number of harvests, and growth times of the various types of produce in order to pick the best product for each of the seasons. One can also go fishing and mining for extra profit.The ultimate challenge is for the player to manage their time. There is only a short amount of time in each game day, and the player only has a set amount of energy. They must balance their time and strength by working on the farm and making friends with the people in town.
The player's character has mostly been male, but some of the newer games offer the option to play as a female character. A common theme throughout the series follows the storyline wherein the player inherits a relative's or an old friend's farm, and is then taken through the various aspects of farming such as growing crops, raising livestock, making friends and ultimately finding a partner. Each game provides objects to collect or goals to complete, whether it be befriending villagers, collecting musical notes, finding sprites, making rainbows, or ringing bells.
Growing crops
This is the central aspect to all the games. The player must find optimal planting, watering, and harvesting patterns. Finding the most profitable plants, clearing space for planting, and harvesting the crops before the next season rolls around are key to gaining money. In the games, each season has different crops available for planting, except for winter (and fall in the first Harvest Moon), when crops cannot grow and the player must rely on fishing, foraging, mining and livestock for income, though in some versions, a greenhouse can be used during the winter to protect crops. Crops can be grown year round in "A Wonderful Life," "Another Wonderful Life" and "Hero of Leaf Valley."Turnip
Turnip
The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...
s, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es and corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
are staple crops of the series, introduced in the first game. Since then, other games have introduced new crops, such as cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, strawberries
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
, sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
es, pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
s, cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
s and more.
Ranching livestock
An increasingly large part of the games is purchasing, caring for, and raising your own livestock. Livestock can bring about profits on a daily basis. Giving one's animals attention will increase their affection towards the player and over time, will begin producing higher quality products. On the other hand, neglecting the animals' needs can lead to sickness and even death.The first Harvest Moon only allowed cows and chickens and provided a barn and chicken coop to house them. Milk and eggs could both be sold, as well as the animals themselves. Later titles introduced sheep and a separate feed for chickens, as well as machines that could change milk into cheese, eggs into mayonnaise, and wool into yarn. The more recent games allow the player to also raise ducks, goats, and differently-colored cows. In Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
is a farming simulation video game by Marvelous Interactive released exclusively for Nintendo's Wii console...
silkworms and ostriches were introduced to the series, and the new game also enabled players to befriend wild animals and persuade them to live on their farm.
Animals are also able to reproduce. Eggs can be placed in an incubator to hatch a chick in a few days, while giving a cow or sheep a miracle potion will impregnate them. Buying and breeding multiple horses was introduced in Harvest Moon 3
Harvest Moon 3
, is a farm simulation video game for the Game Boy Color developed by Victor Interactive Software, part of the long-running Harvest Moon series of video games. Harvest Moon 3 is the last game for the Game Boy Color in the series, and also one of the most distinctive...
for Game Boy Color and continued in Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
is a social simulation video game for the Nintendo GameCube developed by Marvelous Interactive. It is an updated version of , which was only released in Japan. The updated GameCube version was released in the United States by Natsume on March 28, . For its European release by Rising Star Games, it...
, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
is a farming simulation video game by Marvelous Interactive released exclusively for Nintendo's Wii console...
and Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Pets and other animals
In many Harvest Moon games a player is given the opportunity to receive a dog and horse as a pet. Increasing variety of animals can be kept as pets in the newer titles, from pigs and cats to pandas and turtles. In some games, the pets attend competitions (e.g. horse races and dog races) to win prizes. In Harvest Moon: Back to Nature the player can raise fish.Pest animals are also found in Harvest Moon including wild dogs, and gophers. Wild dogs visit the farm at night and harass any livestock not kept in a barn or fenced area. Gophers in some older titles would consume crops.
Gathering materials
Many Harvest Moon games require the player to gather materials for home improvement, tool improvement, cooking, or simply selling. The most common resource at earlier stages of the game (in older games) is wood; the player is able to chop up tree stumps to gather wood to add buildings to his or her farm, or add fencing to keep wild dogs out of the farm. Mining has also become an important feature, and most of the minerals found while mining in caves are required to upgrade tools to better, more manageable forms, as well as craft gifts for people in town. Cooking has also become a side activity in some games, and foraged foods, crops, milk and eggs can all be used to create different dishes.Festivals
Most games in the series feature annual festivals which the player can attend. Some of these may just be simple social events, while others may be contests with prizes available to the player. Sometimes festivals are akin to real life holidays, such as ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
and the Starry Night Festival, which seems to be reminiscent of Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
. Livestock-themed festivals often take place, where the player can submit their animals to compete against other farms. Animals who win these contests often receive benefits; for example, a cow that wins might gain the ability to produce gold milk.
Getting married
The Harvest Moon games offer many choices for potential love interests. As the player spends time with the various potential love interests, he or she learns their likes and dislikes, showers them with gifts to get hearts up,and eventually proposes with the "Blue Feather". If a player fails to marry a character, then there are usually rival characters who will marry the other potential spouses. Developers of the series have taken to producing both male and female versions of Harvest Moon games in recent years, allowing for different lineups of potential spouses. More recent games have begun offering a gender choice when starting a game. Only one Harvest Moon game has yet allowed players to pursue the possibility of living with someone of the same sex (termed the "Best Friends" system), the Japanese version of Harvest Moon DS Cute. The feature is removed from the US version and Natsume refuses to comment on the matter.Children
In many versions, it is possible to have children, but usually only a boy. Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon 3Harvest Moon 3
, is a farm simulation video game for the Game Boy Color developed by Victor Interactive Software, part of the long-running Harvest Moon series of video games. Harvest Moon 3 is the last game for the Game Boy Color in the series, and also one of the most distinctive...
, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, and Rune Factory 3
Rune Factory 3
is a simulation/role-playing video game developed by Neverland Co. and published in Japan by Marvelous Entertainment for the Nintendo DS handheld console. It was published in North America by Natsume on November 9, 2010. It was released in Europe on September 30, 2011 by Rising Star Games...
are the only versions where the player can have multiple children. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is a video game for the Nintendo GameCube that was released on March 16, 2004. It was developed by Marvelous Interactive Inc. and released by Natsume, and is part of the long-running Harvest Moon series of video games...
, Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life, Harvest Moon DS
Harvest Moon DS
is the first game for the Nintendo DS in the Harvest Moon series of farm simulation video games. It was first released on March 25, 2005 in Japan.-Storyline:...
and Harvest Moon DS Cute are the only games in the series where the player can experience a child's growth from toddler to full-grown adult. Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
is a farming simulation video game by Marvelous Interactive released exclusively for Nintendo's Wii console...
expands on this by letting the player restart the game as their child after the completion of an end game event. Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
, published in the U.S. by Natsume in 2001, is a farm simulation game, part of the popular Harvest Moon series of video games. It was the first PlayStation 2 Harvest Moon game released, and the second to be released in the U.S. on a non-Nintendo console....
and Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon
Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon
Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon, is a PlayStation Portable game that breaks many of the traditions established in the other Harvest Moon games and also for the game on PlayStation 2...
are the only Harvest Moon titles that do not have marriage and children in them. Rune Factory 2
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon, known as in Japan, is a simulation/role-playing video game developed by Neverland Co.. It was published in Japan and North America by Marvelous Entertainment and Natsume respectively for the Nintendo DS handheld system...
is the only Harvest Moon where the player can personify two characters, the father and his son or daughter.
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade is the only game where you can have a husband/wife and two children either male/female and Rune Factory 3
Rune Factory 3
is a simulation/role-playing video game developed by Neverland Co. and published in Japan by Marvelous Entertainment for the Nintendo DS handheld console. It was published in North America by Natsume on November 9, 2010. It was released in Europe on September 30, 2011 by Rising Star Games...
is the only game where you have three children either male/female
Reception
In September 2011, Rising Star GamesRising Star Games
Rising Star Games is a video games publisher formed as a joint business venture between Scandinavian distributor Bergsala and Japanese video game publisher and content developer Intergrow....
confirmed that they had managed to sell more than 1 million units of the Harvest Moon series across PAL territories
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
. In Japan, the DS titles of the series alone have managed to sell a total of more than 948,000 whilst the PSP titles haven't been as successful, selling only 81,498 copies as of April 2011. The Tale of Two Towns managed to reach #4 in the Japan Software and Hardware Weekly Chart shipping 64,576 copies in its first week on sale.