Harvest Moon - Down on the farm video game fun
Harvest Moon is the name of a series of farm simulation and role playing video games from Japan. 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 released in 1997. Games in the series have been produced for Game Boy and GBA, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PSP, and Nintendo DS. Most Harvest Moon games take place over a set period of time usually three years, in which the player must run a successful farm, get married, have a child, and become friends with the towns people.
Most game play in the Harvest Moon games consists of planting seeds to grow fruits and vegetables in the spring, summer, and fall. You also must collect certain items, make improvements to your home, and build personal relationships during the winter. A successful farmer must weigh the cost, selling 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. The player must also balance their physical resources. If players get overly exhausted, they might not have the energy to perform needed activities, or might even get sick and miss a day of farming.
The central aspect to all Harvest Moon games is growing produce. The player must find optimal planting, watering, and harvesting patterns. The key to earning money is to find and clear space for planting crops, finding the most profitable plants, and harvesting crops before winter. Each season in Harvest Moon games have different crops available for planting, except for winter in which the player must rely on mining and livestock for income. Some crops, like turnips and onions, only grow once while other crops like corn and sweet potatoes grow multiple times a season. Turnips, tomatoes, potatoes, and corn were the crops introduced in the first game. Since then, other games have introduced new crops like cabbage, carrots, strawberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and onions.
A part of the Harvest Moon game that is gaining more importance is the purchase and care of animals.
The first Harvest Moon only allowed cows and chickens and provided a barn and chicken coop to give them shelter. Milk and eggs could both be sold and the animals themselves could be sold as well. Later Harvest Moon Games added sheep and machines and equipment for changing wool into yarn, milk into cheese, and eggs into mayonnaise.
Other important aspects about the game include gathering materials, meeting potential love interests and getting married, and having children.
For more information about the Harvest Moon game series, visit gaming websites online.