Milk and eggs could both be sold, as well as the animals themselves. The first Harvest Moon only had cows and chickens, which were housed in a barn and chicken coop and fed the same fodder. Neglecting the animals' needs may lead to sickness and even death. Giving animals attention will increase their affection towards the player and may increase the quality of their products. Livestock may produce products which may be sold on a daily basis.
The secondary source of income in the games is purchasing, caring for, and raising your own livestock. Grass may also be grown and harvested as animal fodder. Since then, other games have introduced new crops, such as cabbage, carrots, onions, strawberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, rice, pineapples, cucumbers and more. Turnips, potatoes, tomatoes and corn are staple crops of the series, introduced in the first game. In some games, a greenhouse or basement can be used during the winter to grow crops. Each season has different crops available for planting, though in most games nothing may be planted in winter, and in Harvest Moon crops could not be planted in fall. The player must find optimal planting, watering, and harvesting patterns, and must consider the cost, sell price, number of harvests, and growth times of the various types of produce when planting. Growing cropsĬrops are the primary source of income in Harvest Moon. The player has a limited amount of time in each game day and a limited amount of energy, and must balance their time and strength while working. Money is obtained by growing crops, raising livestock, fishing, mining, and foraging. Each game provides objects to collect or goals to complete, whether it is befriending villagers, collecting musical notes, finding sprites, making rainbows, or ringing bells.
A common storyline in the series is where the player inherits a relative's or an old friend's farm, and is introduced to the various aspects of farming such as growing crops, raising livestock, making friends, and ultimately finding a spouse. The player's character has primarily been male, but some games offer the option to play as a female character. The first game was Harvest Moon, released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996. 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, in some games, getting married. English translation and distribution of the game is done by Natsume for North America and Rising Star Games for Europe.
"The Farm Story") is a farm simulation role-playing video game series created by Yasuhiro Wada and produced by Victor Interactive Software (acquired by Marvelous Entertainment in 2003). Harvest Moon ( 牧場物語, Bokujō Monogatari ?, lit. Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Wii Marvelous Interactive (formerly Victor Interactive Software) Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
This article needs additional citations for verification.