Rune Factory 4: Special was announced for Nintendo Switch during one of last year's Nintendo Directs. We've waited a long time for a release date, and now we've got one. Rune Factory 4: Special will hit Nintendo Switch on February 25 in the U.S., both physically and digitally.

Rune Factory 4 first appeared on the Nintendo 3DS and was widely regarded as the best title in the Harvest Moon spinoff series. This is basically the same game, with a few twists — hence the "Special" moniker. This enhanced Switch version includes new scenarios, including a post-marriage scenario in the Newlywed Mode, new content centered around Ventuswill, and dual-audio support.

There will also be additional DLC, included free at launch for early buyers before going on sale for $5 starting March 26. However, pre-purchasing Rune Factory 4: Special nets you the Swimsuit DLC, where — surprise! — everyone gets a swimsuit.

As a straight-up farm-sim game, we still think Stardew Valley is the king, as its recent sales milestones show. However, Rune Factory 4 offers so much more than just farming, from deeper relationship-building and exploration to combat, crafting, and everything else you'd expect from a traditional RPG.

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Rune Factory 4: Special news as it drops from the sky.

Your Dog — Harvest Moon

You can’t find a video game dog more like a real dog outside of Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons, and Stardew Valley.

He or she has a lovely little dog house outside for those cool mornings and lazy evenings, and there’s always a place ready to snuggle down for the night inside your house. All that’s really needed to make them happy in life is a smile and a good head pat, though snacks are most welcome of course.

You’ll frequently see your four-legged friend wandering about the farm, casting an eye over the crops and keeping the other animals in line, occasionally wandering over to make sure you’re okay.

It’s getting your dog that really makes the farm first seem like home, too. Before that, you’re a newcomer to a strange place, with a massive farm to look after and a big, empty house to exist in. Add a dog, and just like in real life, you’ve got an instant home, a bright spark of life that makes the future seem good after all.

Unlike your other animals, you technically don’t have to feed your dog either, so pointing to your canine caretaking abilities in Harvest Moon et al probably isn’t the best way to convince someone you can care for a real dog.

Still, in those early days when times are tough, resources are scarce, and crops are slow to grow, it’s a great comfort knowing your dog is perfectly happy eating air.

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It's not really an exaggeration to say none of these games would be quite the same without their fabulous canines.

No matter what your favorite video game dog is and why you love it so much, though, make sure to take some time today and every day to give your real dog some snuggles, snacks, and playtime.

Oh, and if we had to make a list of honorable mentions, it would be: 

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• General Pepper (Star Fox)
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• Dog (Dragon Quest: Origins)
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• Hewie (Haunting Ground)
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• Poppy (Samurai Shodown)
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• Caesar (Wargroove)
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• Vigilance (Skyrim)
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• Chop (Grand Theft Auto V)
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• Riley (Call of Duty: Ghosts)
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Let us know which good doggos you would add by sounding off in the comments below! 

Amaterasu — Okami

Most dogs in video games are your friends, your sidekicks, or your pets. But in Okami, you are the dog — or, more accurately, you are the white lupine representation of the sun goddess Amaterasu on the mortal plane.

Okami is all about Amaterasu and her truly epic journey to preserve creation in the face of Orochi’s impending onslaught of darkness. It’s drawn straight from Japanese legends, though naturally, with some changes and embellishments for game purposes.

Being an almost all-powerful goddess, Ammy, as her villagers call her, is able to change the world around her using a mechanic that makes the game shine as a unique experience almost as much as it is a unique game. You’ll use Ammy’s powers to solve puzzles, bring objects into creation, interact with and change the environment, and take on foes throughout the gorgeous watercolor world.

Amaterasu’s story might be beautiful, but it isn’t always a happy one. She’s tested to the end of her abilities and faces defeat and despair more than once. At her weakest point, though, when all seems lost, she transforms into her true self and suppresses Orochi’s darkness for all time, before ascending to the Celestial Plain.

Now, most dogs aren’t going to have lives quite that active, and hopefully, yours won’t have a face-off against the lord of darkness. But Amaterasu’s actions still embody the essence of being a dog — putting everything on the line for the ones that need them most and trying their hardest to make sure they don’t let anyone down.

Bill Grey — Star Fox

Bill Grey is the quintessential guard dog. Data for Bill existed in the scrapped Star Fox 2 game for the SNES, but he didn’t make a proper debut until Star Fox 64. He’s one of Fox McCloud’s oldest friends, with the two having grown up and attended pilot school together.

In 64, Bill takes charge of Corneria’s defensive squadrons, aptly called the Husky and Bulldog squads because duh. He also makes an appearance in the often-overlooked Star Fox Command, also on a defensive mission with Falco, and then he returns yet again to defend Katina once more in the ill-fated Star Fox Zero.

No matter what he does, Bill is always looking to protect the things that mean the most to him.

He might not be as visible in the series as General Pepper, but he’s certainly got something Pepper doesn’t. Where the General barks orders and maintains a definite distance from the rest of the squad, Bill is right there in the space-trenches alongside everyone else, sharing their burdens as one of the team.

Unfortunately, Bill still manages to be the one left out of the big picture. He gets no special ending in Command and doesn’t have as much chance for character development as a certain frog, falcon, and donkey.

While we hope, one day, Bill gets some more attention, maybe even part of a full-blown adventure like Star Fox Adventures, he serves as a good reminder to give credit where it's due to all the goodest watchdogs in our lives.

Dogmeat — Fallout

What’s the one thing you need if you’re struggling for survival in a post-apocalyptic world that's reeling from the effects of nuclear disaster? Food, radiation protection, and survival gear are all wrong answers because a dog is what you need.

Fortunately for our Fallout hero, a dog is what they get in the form of Dogmeat.

Dogmeat’s appearance isn’t uniform across the Fallout games. He’s sometimes a large black dog, a wolf-like dog, or a German Shepherd, but the basic gist remains the same across the series.

At some point during your travels, you get the chance to find and recruit Dogmeat by helping him out and taking an interest in his wellbeing.

Typically, his owner died sometime in the past, or he just didn’t have one. Though initially spending his days guarding his territory and terrorizing anyone who comes near, he eventually takes up with you and joins your journey for survival as a party member.

Unlike other party members (and JRPG dogs), Dogmeat can’t equip gear or use weapons that you couldn’t normally fit on a dog, but he still holds his own in combat with no trouble, so long as you make sure to look after him.

In return, Dogmeat looks after you, alerting you to the presence of enemies, helping you find items, dealing huge amounts of damage in combat, and generally just being your best friend, especially in Fallout 4.

The world might be dark and deadly in Fallout, but Dogmeat is a good reminder that a loving dog by your side makes every day just a bit easier.

Koromaru — Persona 3

Koromaru is the Persona 3 version of the famous Greyfriars Bobby in Scotland. Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known throughout the city of Edinburgh during the late 1800s; after his owner died from tuberculosis, Bobby remained in the cemetery for 14 years, faithfully waiting to see his master again.

Koromaru once lived at a shrine on Iwatodai Island with his owner; Shadows killed his owner, but Koromaru stayed at the shrine nonetheless, waiting faithfully, until the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.) comes along and adopts him.

Unlike Bobby, though, Koromaru isn’t real. That key difference means his strength of heart lets him summon a Persona — Cerberus, of course — to take the fight to the Shadows.

He’s one of the only party members with a natural defense against dark magic, has high speed, and lands critical hits often, which lets you get that sweet, sweet “One More” extra attack. Like Repede, Koromaru wields a knife in his mouth.

But more importantly, he wears an unbelievably adorable pair of tiny wings and a T-shirt.

His floofy cuteness actually plays an important role in the story as well. Koromaru keeps Shinji Aramaki from being the stereotypical gruff character with no depth, as he’s the only one Shinji opens up to and acts like a normal human around.

That’s a very important point to note later on, before the very bad thing happens ,and you learn more about Shinji, Akihiko, and Ken’s intertwined past.

He also helps you raise Social Link points with others by taking him for a walk at night. Truly, no one can resist Koro-chan’s charms.

Sandy — Dragon Quest XI

Sandy doesn’t get much screen time in Dragon Quest XI, but what she does get makes her a top-notch canine companion.

The first thing you have to do in the game is climb Cobblestone Tor for a ritual that proves you and your childhood friend Gemma have grown up. The problem with this particular tradition is that the Tor is crawling with monsters. Gemma, grown up though she may be, is no fighter. That leaves Hero to fend off the creatures alone.

He’s not entirely alone, though. Good ol’ Sandy comes to the rescue and joins the party, with some powerful attacks to help see you safely through your trials.

Doing a regular mode run, that might not seem like much of a big deal. This is the first dungeon, after all, a time for extended tutorials and enemies no tougher than pudding.

Take on a Draconian Quest, and it’s a different matter entirely. Without Sandy, these early-game monsters would kick your rear right off the Tor with no effort at all.

Sandy doesn’t play a direct role in the plot, but she’s still important. Hero grows up with Sandy, and like all good dogs, she’s part of everything in daily life — until that fateful day when their world changes.

Thinking about Sandy and Cobblestone like that makes the first gut-punch hurt that much worse and sets a distinctly different tone for Hero’s adventures from that point on.

Zeit — Trails from Zero, Trails of Azure

You’d be hard pressed to find a dog or wolf that’s more of a contradiction than Zeit is in The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero and Trails of Azure.

He’s at once massively important to the plot, themes, and backstory, but simultaneously doesn’t have a big role to play in the plot thanks to an exception in a certain contract he has. (Yes, a wolf has a contract. It’s a thing.)

Zeit is a legendary divine wolf who watches over the land known as Crossbell. After one of the mafia groups from Crossbell City starts wreaking havoc in the countryside, the divine wolves get blamed until the Special Support Section of the Crossbell Police steps in to put things right.

Despite being huge, divine, and legendary, he acts like a normal dog from then on, protecting the SSS headquarters, and generally letting the city’s kids do whatever they want with him.

Outside some indirect combat support, it initially seems like that’s what Zeit’s role is — big, loveable pooch.

As Azure gears up for its final chapter, though, that notion changes in a very big way as you learn about Zeit’s past and his connection with Crossbell. Among other things, you can take control of Zeit as a playable party member, and you quickly find out he can basically end the world with a swipe of his paw.

Yet whether you’re worthy or not, and despite his own circumstances, he chooses to be your friend and help you when times get tough.

It’s a subtle underscoring of the games’ “true bonds” theme — and pretty much what dogs do in our lives every day.

Repede — Tales of Vesperia

Games in the Tales of franchise typically have some sort of animal sidekick. While Mieu in Tales of the Abyss is one of the better ones thanks to being a barometer measuring Luke fon Fabre’s character development, Mieu isn’t a dog.

Repede from Tales of Vesperia is a dog — and one with impeccable style and presence. He carries a pipe in his mouth and swaps it out for weapons during combat, both of which make for a pretty hard act to beat.

Repede doesn’t necessarily have much story significance in Vesperia, other than being a reminder of how difficult protagonist Yuri Lowell’s past has been. Beyond plot necessity, though, he's a genuine friend to the isolated Yuri, with all the loyalty and affection we'd expect from the best dogs — and all that in spite of what Yuri did in the past to Repede's father.

Repede's also a true beast in combat.

He’s one of the first party members you get, and also one of the rare examples of using a “pet” as a full-time party member — outside Breath of Fire III, at least.

While he might not be much of a magic user, Repede is speedy and strong, with powerful technical Artes attacks and the ability to strike and retreat with haste. Add his theft ability on top of that, and he’s a character you’ll want to regularly keep on the field. 

Repede is exactly what all good dogs are: invaluable and adorable.

Angelo — Final Fantasy VIII

Angelo is the very definition of loyal. She’s Rinoa’s dog in Final Fantasy VIII and takes things a big step further than Interceptor. For one, she’s always by Rinoa’s side. Always. Whether it’s at school, in battle, or even after that spoilery thing happens and Rinoa is incapacitated for a while, Angelo is there, offering her support.

Rinoa’s comment about learning so much from Angelo isn’t just cute dog talk either. Unlike Interceptor, Angelo plays a more defined role in combat.

For one thing, she’s Rinoa’s Limit Break, which is obviously the series’ best Limit Break. Rinoa and Angelo start with four basic attacks, but she/you have to read dog magazines to learn new abilities as an improved dog trainer.

Depending on circumstances, Angelo can even help heal an ailing party member or perform a hard-hitting attack at just the right moment to turn the tide.

She gets a biscuit for her troubles during battle, which is sweet. But the endgame is what serves as a perfect metaphor for how our relationships with our dogs usually go.

After staying by Rinoa at all times, saving the party’s skin on countless occasions, and generally just being perfect, what does Angelo get? More biscuits? Head pats?

No. She gets left behind while Rinoa has a moment with Squall.

Whatever.

Rush — Mega Man

Rush is Mega Man’s loyal robo-dog friend in the Mega Man series and spinoffs, starting with Mega Man 3 and staying by the Blue Bomber’s side ever since.

It’s not just one Rush, either. The robo-doggo takes on a wide variety of different forms as the situation calls for it.

The most familiar one is probably spring-mode Rush, aka Rush Coil, where he transforms into a giant springboard and propels Mega Man to greater heights. It’s a lifesaver in certain situations and absolutely necessary if you’re playing spelunker and want to get everything a stage has to offer.

But Rush’s trick repertoire doesn’t end there, and it’s arguable that as the mainline Mega Man games started to lose their luster, Rush himself started getting even better.

Over the course of his long career, he’s mastered the art of turning into the Rush Marine submarine, carrying Mega Man through space as Rush Space, flying through the air as jet-powered Rush, and doing all the things you’d expect from a robotic dog with near-endless capabilities.

Rush’s loyalty is a bit different from most dogs, though. It’s hard to say he had a choice in the matter of staying by Mega Man’s side, when his creator, Dr Light, programmed him to be (Mega) man’s best friend.

But he goes above and beyond to fulfill his duties nonetheless, like the good boy he undoubtedly would be — y’know, if he could make his own choices.

Interceptor — Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy VI boasts one of the biggest casts of playable characters in the series, and though Interceptor the dog is just a sidekick to one of those characters, he plays an interesting role in and out of combat.

Interceptor’s master is Shadow, the Ninja. Like all Ninjas in Final Fantasy, Shadow is actually pretty fragile, despite his relative strength. Even though he’s a master of stealth, enemies tend to target him rather often during combat.

Fortunately, Interceptor randomly jumps in and, well, intercepts the attack; he blocks like shields do, only more often. He also randomly attacks an enemy for Shadow, though it’s more adorable than effective in most cases.

Outside of combat, though,  is where Interceptor gets really interesting, and it’s possible to completely miss how his story unfolds. At a certain spot before the game’s halfway point, the party meets Relm, a precocious young artist with a strange affinity for Interceptor, a dog who usually just tolerates Shadow and can’t stand other people. Relm lives with her grandfather and never knew her parents.

You can probably put two and two together from that information. But whether you see it play out in the game depends on a choice you make.

If you’re heartless and leave the Floating Continent without Shadow, his story ends (because he dies, spoiler alert). If not, and you make sure to speak to him at specific points, you learn about his previous relationships and roles in life.

And it’s all because of Interceptor, bringing people together like a good boy.

Isabelle — Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Being an animal-centric game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf naturally has lots of lovely doggos to choose from; if you want to be technical, Tom Nook is even a dog, thanks to the whole Tanooki = racoon-dog thing.

Isabelle stands a cut above the rest for a few reasons, though. Apart from having a distinct personality separate from the rest of the villagers, she always says nice things and doesn’t try to get money from you. That last one alone is worthy of a top ranking.

But it’s Isabelle’s unfailing positivity and optimism that really make her so loveable and charming. Isabelle is almost always happy — and happy to help.

She helps you settle into your new village and pick a spot for your house, always organizes special events and attends big public works unveilings, and even shoulders your mayoral duties for years on end when you forget your village exists.

Of course, that cheerfulness makes seeing Isabelle so capably beat the stuffing out of Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate just a bit disconcerting, but it just helps underscore how amazing she really is.

Whether she’s keeping an entire village running or sweeping up the competition, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more amazing dog than Isabelle.

Whether it's International Dog Day or just a regular afternoon of playing games with your pooch, the most pressing question we have any time a new game is revealed — or when a new trailer is shown — that also includes a dog is, "But can you pet the doggo?"

It's a testament not just to how much we all love dogs, but to how often they show up in our favorite video games. Some, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, are pretty much there just for show, keeping the world alive and digging up stuff for you if you feed them.

These dogs are great and all, but they don't always play a substantial role; some of them can't even be pet, no matter how fluffy and oodgie-woodgie they look.

Others play a much bigger part in a game or entire series, though, and some are even the backbone of entire plots.

In honor of International Dog Day 2019, we're taking a look at those dogs playing a starring role in the world of video games.

Whether they're helping you out on the farm, hurling you to new heights, or swatting your enemies away like so much annoying dust, these dogs are versatile, loving, loyal, and everything that makes dogs wonderful in real life.

Natsume's Harvest Moon: Light of Hope made its debut a couple of years ago, but it's getting repackaged in Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition Complete for release on July 30. It'll be a digital and physical release for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch for $29.99.

The news originally comes from a Natsume press release via Gematsu. The Special Edition Complete includes "special features made specifically for consoles," though Natsume doesn't elaborate on what those are. It also introduces a brand-new character in Soleil. Soleil uses Gem Sprite magic to help on the farm, be it gathering materials or tending livestock, and is playable in co-op mode.

All four previously released DLC packs will be bundled in with the Special Edition Complete too.

• Decorations and Tool Upgrade Pack
• Divine Marriageable Characters Pack
• New Marriageable Characters Pack
• Doc and Melanie's Special Episodes

Previously, these were available separately for $3.99 each.

Light of Hope tried steering a difficult current between previous recent entries like A New Beginning and Skytree Village while maintaining some of the classic Harvest Moon games' charm. It wasn't completely successful in this attempt, though, with Light of Hope receiving a less than stellar reception, both critically and from consumers.

Some of the issues came from the rather confusing split between Marvelous and Natsume, where Natsume's Harvest Moon now is separate from the Harvest Moon (Bokujou Monogatari) many grew up playing.

Light of Hope has the player work to rebuild a broken-down harbor town and brings back features like town design from earlier entries. In particular, it was accused of simply rehashing the older games' concepts without trying to do anything new with them, along with several bugs and loading time issues that kept the experience from being as smooth as it could be.

Still, including the four DLC packs means players who do pick up the Light of Hope Special Edition Complete will have plenty of content to work through, not to mention more marriage candidates than they could shake a cow at.

Marvelous Studios recently announced it's remaking Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town and Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town for the Nintendo Switch, together in one package titled Reunion with Mineral Town.

Or, more accurately, it's Story of Seasons: Reunion with Mineral Town, thanks to "that thing" with Marvelous, Natsume, and copyrights for the Bokujou Monogatari franchise name.

Currently, the game is set for a Japan-only release on October 17.

Since it's built on both Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town, players will be able to choose either a male or female protagonist. Judging from the pictures shared via Japanese publication Famitsu, it seems all the familiar bachelors and bachelorettes are returning, such as Popuri and Cliff, along with some potential new characters. Whether these silhouettes will be woo-able is likely, though, of course, still unconfirmed.

While this is an entry in the Marvelous Story of Seasons franchise, it appears Reunion with Mineral Town is sporting an aesthetic more similar to recent Harvest Moon games like Skytree Village.

The original Friends of Mineral Town for Game Boy Advance was essentially a more polished version of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature/64 with some of the edge taken off its characters and a ton of QoL improvements — like actually making movement easy.

More Friends was the same basic game, but the player played as a female protagonist instead, with the option to be "best friends" with one of the town's eligible ladies.

These are widely regarded as the series' pinnacle for a variety of reasons, partly for improving the Back to Nature formula. The games featured an excellent balance between enhancing activities like fishing and the relationship system vis a vis introducing new animals and elements.

One thing FoMT was noted for was its connection to the GameCube game Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. It's a bit of a stretch to hope we'll see an AWL remake alongside, but there could very well be more new features added to Reunion with Mineral Town to replace old ones.

We'll know more soon, as additional information is expected to be revealed when this month's Famitsu is officially released on July 4.

Stardew Valley Vs Story of Seasons

Story of Seasons occupies an interesting position in the farm-and-life-sim genre. It is different from Harvest Moon, but not all that different. That's because it actually is Harvest Moon, thanks to the confusing name change and company swap mentioned earlier.

Either way, what it primarily does is expand on everything old HM (when it was HM still) already established. For example, in the original Story of Seasons, you get more characters, more personality, more crops, more stuff to do, and more animals.

It also tries to hearken back to the olden days of brutal farming with a sharp difficulty curve that makes money-earning very, very challenging indeed.

Trio of Towns takes it further, trying to improve on the Tale of Two Towns concept by, again, adding yet more. The towns are bigger, the themes in each are more pronounced, there are even more animals, people, and crops, plus you have a ton of activities to do outside of farming.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really establish an identity for itself other than the more colorful, playful Harvest Moon. That doesn't mean the games aren't fun, because they are, but it takes more than loading on content to create a champion game.

Take the characters, for example. Trio of Towns falls into the same trap Tale of Two Towns did. There are more places to go and people to see, but each is fairly limited because of that.

Stardew Valley's characters might not be the most detailed and complex ever. However, they're interesting all the same, since they each represent a specific personality trait or life problem that resonates with people — even Shane the chicken man. Sure, they'll say the same line for an entire season, but you want to learn more about them.

Stardew's other mechanics are fairly basic when you think about it. However, they work well together. Mining is simple, but serves an important purpose both in expanding your farm and getting special gifts; there aren't 50 million crop varieties, but you can do a lot with a few things and shape your farm — and life — around just a handful of crops.

In some cases, simple is just better.

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Comparing these games and series isn't an easy task, since they're all top rank in what they try to do. With everything Stardew Valley has to offer, though, with the promise of even more single and multiplayer content to come, that's the one you'll find me going back to every time for a bit of quality farm fun.

Stardew Valley Vs Staxel

Staxel does a lot of things right. It's a bright and cute take on the blocky Minecraft style, and there's oh-so-much to do. Staxel even lets you customize your world and home, much like Stardew Valley, and there are plenty of relationships to forge as you go about your business.

Your days are structured much more effectively than Harvest Moon and even Stardew Valley to an extent, since you've got plenty of time to do what you want even after all your chores are done.

So why is Stardew Valley better?

For starters, Staxel treats farming a lot like Farming Simulator does. It's definitely a business arrangement before it's anything else. Farming gives you materials you need to create buildings and develop your town — and you need a lot of materials.

That's one of Staxel's biggest problems: the grind for materials. Farming is made easy, probably to account for the grind, but having the ability to cut your farming tasks short so soon, and making farming just the means to an end, takes some of the satisfaction away.

Stardew makes you work for a while before you can even get the materials for a decent sprinkler that hopefully works every day. True, the goal of farming is to make money for other things, but in most cases, that money is used to buy more goods for your farm, or it gets put back into the town in some form or another. It's not just fodder for Petals (Staxel currency) and materials.

It's an interesting drawback given how the game starts off so similar to Stardew and other farm-life sim games, putting you in charge of renovating a run-down farm.

The socialization falls short as well. Villagers don't have personalities that pop like in Stardew, and they are admittedly a bit creepy thanks to the otherwise-cute aesthetic. They do play into the game's lore, but ultimately they come across like fillers more than interesting personalities to befriend.

Stardew Valley vs. My Time at Portia

My Time at Portia is getting a lot more attention recently thanks to its Switch release, though not all of it is good attention. Still, it's a solid game with an almost intimidating amount of things to do in it.

Farming is but one of them, and it takes a side-role from the beginning. In a twist in the classic Harvest Moon formula, Portia has you work to rebuild your grandfather's workshop, not just his farm.

Doing that involves farming and raising animals, but the main emphasis here is really the crafting and exploration — which isn't all that surprising given the player's task to rebuild an entire civilization.

It really comes across more like a combo of Rune Factory and Minecraft or Dragon Quest Builders, especially when you add in the gigantic world to explore and the combat. The world in Portia is huge, and there are constantly new things to build to help you explore it even further.

That said, despite the game being billed as a life-sim in the style of Stardew or Harvest Moon, it really can't stack up in the farming department. Like Staxel, everything you do is done to get materials for accomplishing a bigger goal.

Crafting is fun, expansive, and addictive, definitely. However, when I think farming sim game, small-scale comes to mind.

Making 10 kegs to use those hops for something more profitable is small scale; building a bridge to explore new areas, make new things, and get people to come live in your town while you try and open up bigger areas for more profit is more like an adventure-sim game.

Where Portia can't compete, even with its bigger scale and fulfilling adventure, is characters. They're interesting and plentiful, but something about them felt shallow in comparison.

Now, you might think that's ironic when Shane's biggest motivating factor is his pet chicken, though what it really comes down to is the human element. Portia's characters fill a narrative purpose and have interesting backgrounds like a character from a novel — not like someone you know in your own town.

In short, My Time at Portia is good at what it does, but it's better suited for a long, sprawling adventure instead of an intimate story of building relationships with your neighbors.

Stardew Valley vs. Farming Simulator

If Rune Factory emphasizes the fantasy element and exploration too much, Farming Simulator does the exact opposite.

The series' focus shouldn't be too difficult to figure out, given its name. Farming Simulator is basically the agricultural version of Sim City or Cities: Skylines. You're in complete control of your farm, from purchasing plots and fields to buying machinery, keeping everything watered, and pretty much everything an actual farmer would do.

It's an impressive management and business game, and while the realism in the graphics isn't tremendously impressive, the more recent iterations certainly look good. Farming Simulator 19 even introduces John Deere machines for the first time, and you can't get more farm-y than that.

It also represents the main reason why it can't stack up to Stardew Valley. On its own, FS is fine, but there's no denying Stardew is a better game all around.

For one thing, FS is a rather lonely experience. Since the focus is farm management, you don't get the social aspect that's practically synonymous with "farming game" thanks to Harvest Moon. It's a business, so there's no place for getting attached to your animals either; they're just another asset to manage.

No magical or even monstrous small creatures to help make your farm a bright and lovely place either.

Stardew Valley respects the fact that people need to leave their farms and businesses every now and again, even if it's just to wander around in the forest — the forest that can't be bought and turned into another field.

Then there's the other problem of reality: it's too real. The appeal of managing one's own farm quickly withers when you live in a rural area. You see farms and John Deere when you leave the house, it's all anyone talks about, it's on the news every day, and unless you're really dedicated, it's the last thing you want to see when you jump into a game world.

Sometimes, a bit of fantasy isn't a bad thing.

Stardew Valley vs. Rune Factory

The Rune Factory series is probably one of the stronger contenders for the farm crown. A lot of it is built into Stardew Valley after all, including monster ranching and the mine acting as a sort of dungeon.

The Rune Factory games are also quite charming, though one could argue the series didn't really come into its own until Rune Factory 4 with its expanded story, more interesting character roster, and excellent localization.

Where Rune Factory fails against Stardew is in how the former deals with the farming mechanic, particularly in RF4.

The Rune Factory games aren't about runes or factories. They're about upgrading as much as possible — your gear, your farms, your relationships, and your crops and soil, but not your own farming or growing abilities.

Growing quality crops in Stardew is part RNG and part planning. Fertilize the soil, and you'll get some good returns, if you're lucky. Over time, you can expand your operations as you take back your farm from nature and plan everything the way you want. It's your corner of the world to do with as you see fit.

Rune Factory has you upgrade crop levels so they're consistently worth more, and there's even a Giantizer to help ensure giant crops more often. It fits the series' fantasy theme, and it frees up time to do other things, sure.

However, it takes away some of the charm and satisfaction of seeing those gold star melons pile up in your inventory or waking up one morning to find a giant turnip peeking in your window.

That's because Rune Factory isn't really about that kind of satisfaction.

Farming is one of many activities, but after a short while, it clearly takes a backseat to other tasks, like relationship building or exploration, most of which doesn't rely on slowly creating a viable, vibrant farm. Shoot, you can even get a monster army to do everything for you, a lot earlier than you can recruit Junimos in Stardew.

In short, Stardew puts the farming first and lets everything else grow as a natural offshoot from that. Rune Factory has its place, but not necessarily as a top farming sim game.

Stardew Valley vs. Harvest Moon - To a Point

Pitting Stardew Valley against Harvest Moon (Natsume's Harvest Moon, old and new) is like demanding a grandparent fight their grandchild. Without Harvest Moon, there would be no Stardew Valley. However, there's also no denying that Harvest Moon has lost its way over the years.

You could argue the best Harvest Moon is Back to Nature, 64, or Friends of Mineral Town.

Harvest Moon 64 improved the graphics in a meaningful way, added a memorable soundtrack, and Back to Nature added further depth to the game and the characters of Mineral Town, and FoMT did it all again in a slightly different and even more robust flavor. Farming was the core focus, and everything still felt fresh in the series.

From there, things started to deteriorate a bit. A Wonderful Life and Hero of Leaf Valley, along with Save the Homeland, were interesting ways to add a different sense of accomplishment — though why someone thought making you die at the end of AWL was a good idea is beyond me. Still, they missed the point of a Harvest Moon game in the process by centering them around a definite point.

Later entries were fun, if iterative, including Sunshine Islands and Grand Bazaar. The last good Harvest Moon was A New Beginning, which despite not doing a whole lot to shake things up did at least include new design and customization mechanics.

Part of the issue is how Harvest Moon hamstrung itself with the adventure hybrid series Rune Factory, relegating the base series solely to farming with Rune Factory taking the more dynamic approach.

Today, the Harvest Moon we get in North America and Europe isn't the Japanese series Bokujou Monogatari, as it's traditionally been. Instead, recent Harvest Moon titles are unique games developed by Natsume, rather than the Marvelous-developed series we've all come to know and love over the years.

In the West, Bokujou Monogatari (which used to be called Harvest Moon here) is now called Story of Seasons, and that's seen its fair share of changes as well.

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope shows how that all's been going.

Stardew takes advantage of all those different styles, then wraps them up in the simplicity of an older Harvest Moon game. You've got the dungeon exploration aspect, farming, socialization, quirky townsfolk, building, and customization.

There are several, varied goals to work towards as well if you want to restore the Community Center, which goes a long way in keeping things interesting.

ConcernedApe's Stardew Valley took the world by storm when it launched a few years ago. It was yet another farming simulation game in a market full of them, and at first glance, it doesn't seem like it really does much different.

If you give it a longer glance and compare it to its biggest competition, you find Stardew Valley isn't just unique among the farming-life sim genre. It's the best offering out there right now.

Rune Factory has monsters, and Farming Simulator has...farms. Harvest Moon is an all-time classic, while Story of Seasons tries to improve on the formula with more and bigger of everything. Staxel and My Time at Portia take the farming sim in a completely new, and much bigger direction.

They each revolve around a specific trait or activity that gives them a unique identity.

Stardew Valley manages to combine elements of everything, though, including combat, exploration, crafting, and life-sim. The characters are a big draw too. Yes, Penny tells you a thousand times that she likes helping kids learn, but she's an easily recognizable character — a trope, but one that's tied more to everyday life instead of media conventions.

More importantly, it makes farming the core focus, which is typically what you're looking for in a farming game. It's not just a fun mechanic thrown in out of obligation. It's integral to progressing in the game and to getting a sense of satisfaction.

These are our top farming simulators similar to Harvest Moon, but there are many more out there! Explore and enjoy the fantastic and diverse gaming genre that was bought to prominence by Harvest Moon.

What did you think of our list? Do you have any favorite farming sim games that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.

Farm for Your Life (PC)

Farm for Your Life is an incredibly quirky take on the farming simulator genre as you still plant crops as you would with Harvest Moon, but you also must build up your defenses to stop zombie attacks. It is an intriguing combination of Plants Vs. Zombies and Harvest Moon with many funny and intriguing experiences to be had. Farm for Your Life adds in a survival element to the tried and tested formula perfected by Harvest Moon.

Farm for Your Life offers a variety of gameplay aspects, from tower defense to farming simulation and time management. Combining all these aspects, you create an incredibly fun game that becomes addictive faster than you would think.

Farm for Your Life is available through Steam.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)

Everyone is aware of this adorable simulator full of cute animals running around and asking for your help. Animal Crossing: New Leaf is the perfect game to get into casually, especially with the release of the mobile version. You get to set up your house however you want it while being able to fish and collect various objects around the world. Animal Crossing is a perfect addition to your simulator games without being too taxing.

Animal Crossing is a calm game that follows the real passage of time and allows for a high level of customization throughout the game. Although this doesn’t have any farming aspects, there are still many activities to take part in and enjoy the community present in the world.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is available on Amazon from $28.

Wild Season (PC)

Wild Season is incredibly similar to Harvest Moon and has a very similar aesthetic as well. The game has roots in the visual novel and RPG genres and promises to deliver on a fantastic story as well as being a great farming simulator. Considering that Wild Season focuses on the story element surrounding the simulator, building and maintaining relationships with townspeople is now more important than ever.

If you’re looking for a very similar gaming experience to Harvest Moon, then Wild Season is your ticket. It doesn’t venture as far out of the genre as the other games that have been mentioned, but it does breathe new life into the genre.

Wild Season is only avaliable through PC, and you can buy it here.

World’s Dawn (PC)

World’s Dawn is a beautifully designed game that introduces extensive farming simulator elements that go beyond the original Harvest Moon. World’s Dawn shares similar functions as those of Stardew Valley, with you being able to farm, hunt, and fish as well. There are over 30 NPCs to interact and build relationships with, so you will always be keeping busy with this one.

World’s Dawn builds upon the foundations set by Harvest Moon and tries to expand them into new territories. You’ll be able to achieve a truly fantastic experience when exploring all the features that World’s Dawn has to offer.

You can purchase World's Dawn through Steam.

Shepherd’s Crossing 2 (DS)

Shepherd’s Crossing 2 is an open-ended sandbox that gives you the opportunity to play the game the way you want to. There are aspects of the farming simulator that you can ignore entirely, giving you greater customization within your game. Shepherd’s Crossing 2 combines all the wonderful aspects that were perfected by Harvest Moon -- relationships and farming -- and then allows you to shape your world the way you want to.

Furthermore, Shepherd’s Crossing 2 is considered a much more difficult game to work through than Harvest Moon. So, if you're looking for a challenging farming simulator game, then Shepherd’s Crossing 2 is the right one for you.

Sheperd's Crossing 2 is incredibly hard to get hold of online, unless you want to pay over $200 for it. You can always check eBay and local stores for the game. If you like the sound of Sheperd's Crossing, then the first game is available on PS2 for $19.99 on eBay.

Rune Factory 4 (3DS)

There are many installments to the Rune Factory franchise, and each title is a perfect homage to Harvest Moon that instills fantasy RPG elements. You don’t just farm or build relationships in Rune Factory -- you can explore dungeons and craft weapons or armor among other common RPG activities.

Farming simulators like Harvest Moon are great role-playing games to start with, and Rune Factory builds on this and mixes it up. If you love fantasy games and farming simulators, then Rune Factory is perfect for you.

Rune Factory 4 is available from Amazon for $29.99.

Stardew Valley (Multiple Platforms)

I know you expected this one, but how could we create a farming simulator list without Stardew Valley? Upon its initial release in 2016, Stardew took the gaming world by storm, with both critics and gamers issuing overwhelming praise for the farming simulator. The world of Stardew Valley is expansive, and the story, combined with the interactions with NPCs, makes Stardew Valley one of the best games out there.

Build up your home and your farm the way you want to. Before you know it, you will have sunk hours into the game while still having more work to do. Stardew Valley is not just a must-have farming simulator but also a must-have game in general.

Stardew Valley is available to purchase from multiple platforms; you can buy the PC version here.

Since the Harvest Moon series first made its way onto the gaming scene in 1996, its extensive installments and gameplay variety have made it a force to be reckoned with.

Harvest Moon isn't the only farming simulator out there, however; there are numerous games with similar mechanics that offer a fresh take on the farming gig. We’ve picked out seven fantastic games similar to Harvest Moon that you won’t be able to keep your hands off.

The first Harvest Moon game I ever played was handed to me by my older brother, who told me to milk the cows, plant some seeds, and stay inside when the TV says there's gonna be a storm. When I asked about town, he said "buy seeds from there". When I asked about festivals, he said "try to win". He didn't tell me I could get married. He didn't tell me I could form relationships with the townsfolk. He didn't even tell me that there was a whole backstory to the game. 

All I thought there was to Harvest Moon was taking care of cows until they died and trying to have a successful farm -- and I was content with that. It was my favorite game that summer, back when I was young and naive and did anything my older brother told me to. 

(not an actual representation of me and my brother)

If a Harvest Moon game is still fun even when you do absolutely nothing, how is it possible to have a bad one? Let's find out.

So put down your hoes and stop sheering your sheep, because we are about to embark on a journey you didn't even want to take -- discussing the less-than-favorable Harvest Moon titles and why the community wants you to play something else.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness

Let's start with a title that can still be construed as good if you ask the right (or wrong) people. For the most part, however, the Harvest Moon community are no fans of Island of Happiness. 

It's not that the game isn't aesthetically pleasing or that it has an awful story. quite the contrary in fact -- the villagers are cute, and being shipwrecked on an island and deciding to live there isn't the worst idea for a story I've ever heard. No, people don't like Island of Happiness because of the controls. 

You give a gamer a stylus and they either use it or chew it. You give a gamer a stylus when that's the only way to play and they're going to have a bad time. No matter how much they might like the game, if they have to clunk their way around their farm with no reprieve from holding that blasted stick in their hand, they're going to end up hating a game that they could have otherwise loved. 

But we can't blame the child for its parents' mistakes...

Harvest Moon DS

Released in 2005 as the first of their Nintendo DS releases, Harvest Moon DS is the staple for bad Harvest Moon games. Seriously, even people who like this game hate this game.

If you bought Harvest Moon DS expecting an upgrade from the GBA title, you couldn't be more wrong. If you bought this game expecting exciting innovations, and new charming quirks that add to the tried and true tactics of this endearing farming simulator, prepare to be disappointed. If you bought this game at all, you probably drowned in the monotony of a Harvest Moon game that didn't even have enough self-respect to be different from the actual fun monotony of its forefathers. 

Harvest Moon DS Cute

Oh my gosh, you're thinking. There's another DS one?

You bet your sweet ass there is. 

It's bad enough that in the old days of Harvest Moon, you could only play as a boy. And instead of Harvest Moon DS Cute allowing players a choice between a boy and a girl, they just make the protagonist solely a girl, which could be fun if we didn't live in a progressive world. No one really cares as long as they have the choice, but Harvest Moon DS Cute takes that choice away.

Other than the derogatory addition of the word "cute" (like the previous games weren't? Like only girl games can be cute?), this 2005 release is basically the same as Harvest Moon DS -- unoriginal, mundane, and so similar to the GBA versions that it's hardly innovative. 

But, hey, you get to be a girl. That's fun, right? 

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility

When you go out actively seeking a game that's all about both literal farming and the gaming term "farming," you're not exactly expecting a blockbuster. And that's okay. The relaxing nature of farming simulator games brings a certain type of contentment to someone who wants to live in a simpler world. 

So when a game like that ends up being boring to someone who likes playing those types of games, something went horrible wrong. 

Did you hear me, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility? Something went horribly wrong.

Setting aside the sub-par graphics and shoddy sound design, you still have a game with stilted conversations and no incentives to put in the time to woo any of the 16 eligible spouses.

Sure, the game has the same simplistic play style of its predecessors, but just as the Little Mermaid wanted more than the entire ocean floor, so do veteran Harvest Moon players want more than just the Harvest Moon formula. Especially considering this was the first Wii release for the franchise.

Harvest Moon: My Little Shop

Have you ever looked at a Harvest Moon game and thought, "Sure wish I didn't have to farm in this"?

It's impossible really, because why else are you playing these games? Regardless, Harvest Moon publisher Natsume tried to deliver with the release of My Little Shop.

It's a Harvest Moon game without farming. Okay fine, you live on a farm and can water your crops for, like, a second. But the rest of your time is spent playing mini games as a form of advancement toward the success of the shop you run. 

Yay.

I know when I hear, "A game whose main focus is mini games," I think, "This is going to be the most fun game I've ever played in my life, ever".

Puzzle de Harvest Moon 

So you wanna play Harvest Moon but you don't want to farm or run a shop. Then what do you want?!

Well, you don't want to read this list when looking for a good Harvest Moon game, that's for sure.

And our next bad game is Puzzle de Harvest Moon, a farming simulator game that takes out the farming mechanics and doesn't even give you the dignity of running your own shop. Instead, you get to solve puzzles. 

Not only are the staple mechanics of a Harvest Moon game non-existent (please, just let me get married), but the "fun" new additions don't even make a lot of sense -- everyone wants to know what's up with the cow, when really they should be wondering why they're playing Puzzle de Harvest Moon over a game where they could be milking that cow.

Apparently, Harvest Moon fans don't know what they want.

They want the same simple mechanics in every game, with both subtle and exaggerated variations to make the games interesting, but not so different that they can't recognize a Harvest Moon title when they see one. 

There is a fine line the developers have to walk to satisfy their fans in order to give them the best Harvest Moon game, and it can be hard to appease everyone. 

My advice? If you want to play a good Harvest Moon game, just play Rune Factory. 

Natsume recently announced that Harvest Moon: Light of Hope will be releasing November 14 on Steam, several months earlier than the Switch and PS4 versions debut. Light of Hope is the first Harvest Moon game to come to PC and is priced at $29.99. It's also the first major Harvest Moon game not on a handheld device in several years.

Natsume President and CEO Hiro Maekawa credits the hard work and dedication of the development team for putting the game ahead of schedule and making its early Steam release possible. He sees the game as a celebration of a combination of things, including fans, their wishes, and, of course, the series' 20^th anniversary.

Here's what it's all about. Light of Hope begins with you setting sail on a voyage of new discovery, only to have your vessel wrecked in a storm. You drift into a small town which was battered by the same storm, and your life's task becomes rebuilding and making the town better than ever before. The ultimate goal is to rebuild the lighthouse, but along the way, you'll still be carrying out the daily chores that give Harvest Moon its identity, from raising crops and animals to making friends and settling down with that special someone to start a family.

The game itself is also a mix of implementing new ideas and honoring the series' past. It features an art style based on the 16-bit SNES Harvest Moon, though adds some modern graphical updates as well, and fans should expect to see some familiar faces return from previous games too. In terms of gameplay, Light of Hope adds several new features. One of them is the ability to repair broken objects and buildings, and using that ability eventually unlocks new shops and tools, among other things. Then there's the Farming Friend, an addition that helps increase your farm's abundance.

Do you plan on picking this one up? Let us know down in the comments!

When Harvest Moon: A New Beginning launched, it brought a number of new things to the Harvest Moon series. One of the biggest changes it included was the addition of the Gardening Tour. This is a seasonal event that has players customize a Gardening Space in hopes of impressing a set of judges. 

Because there isn't a whole lot of information out there about the Gardening Tour, it can be kind of confusing to figure out what to do when you want to participate in the event. But don't worry! We've done the digging for you and found some answers. In this Harvest Moon guide, we'll go over some tips and tricks that will help you make a good garden tour and impress the judges with your eye for design. 

How are Gardening Tours Judged?

This is where a lot of new gardeners get hung up. Gardening Tours are not judged based on functionality, but by total point values that are accumulated from the items you include in your garden.

To really be successful, you need to forget everything you think about design. A garden in real life might need to be pretty to win a contest, but looks don't matter in this Gardening Tour. Only points do. Each item has a certain amount of points that affect your total point score, so you want to get as many in your garden as you can. But you also need to pay attention to the theme of the item, as that also affects the total points you'll accumulate.

Speaking of which... 

Stick to Items of Similar Themes

If you look at the image below, you will notice a number of the items are benches. While they all might be the same type of items, they are not all the same theme -- and even though you're shooting to include as many items as possible, sticking to a theme will increase that all-important total point value.

If you were to mix the stone and wooden benches on the same tour, for example, your score wouldn't be nearly as good as it would if you had used either two wooden benches or a wooden bench and a red bench, since the red bench is the same theme as the wooden bench and thus adds some points.  

This is also the case when you mix different types of objects together, like a bench and a fence. You'll get more points for mixing different types of objects within the same theme -- if you use too many items with too many different themes, the judges will not be happy. 

Use the Weather Vane Trick

If you want to rack up a good amount of points with fairly little work, you can take advantage of the Weather Vane trick to get a leg up in the Gardening Tour. 

This trick requires 36 weather vanes. To unlock these vanes, you'll need to gather 100 eggs. A quick way to do this is to have multiple chickens and feed them treats daily. Treats allow them to lay multiple eggs per day until you've got as many as you need. 

Once you have all 36 weather vanes, you literally just place them all in your garden. For some reason or another, this will net you 1020 points in your Gardening Tour. 

Make Sure You Can Place The Items You Want to Use

For any item that you want to include in your Gardening Tour, you'll need to make sure that you can actually place it in your garden wherever it's located.

Some items can't be placed in certain areas. For example, the watering spot can't be placed in the town, but it can be placed on your farm. So you'd want to set up a Tour on your farm if you want to take advantage of specific items like the watering spot. The same is true vice versa as well, with specific items that can only be used in the town. 

That wraps up this guide to the Gardening Tour in Harvest Moon. Did this help you win the competition? What layouts helped you impress the judges? Let me know down in the comments!

Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons continues to grow with fans today. Though the series is decades old, the overall formula still works. Farming, friendships, and family still lie at the heart of both Marvelous' and Natsume's series. The choices of removing more challenging aspects of the series, such as rivals and mining for more farming is damaging the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games more than improving it. If the developers want to hold onto fans attention, they should experiment to keep us interested. If not, they risk losing longtime fans.

Do you think the developers, Marvelous and Natsume, should change up the formula in their future Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games? What changes would you want to see? Or do you disagree and believe the games are great as is? Let us know in the comments!

Increase Family Interaction

The most welcomed addition to the Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns game has been more family interaction. Previous games have assumed you are living on your own, never to speak to your family again. Phones exist, but only to call in a mail-order from the shopping network.

In Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, the game begins with a fight between yourself and your father, Daryl. As the game progresses, your mother and little sister can come to visit you for a week. Your Uncle Frank is a few farms away, welcoming you in for meals or offering advice. But after marriage, the visits and letters mostly stop.

As for your spouse, you may never meet their family. Adding more family interaction could add more gameplay possibilities and more depth to each of the series. Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons always emphasize family and friendship, but strangely lack interactions with your own.

Add After-Marriage Goals

Is marriage boring? Marvelous and Natsume imply this in the farming series. Marriage has become too easy in the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons series. Give your love interest their favorite item every day, see their love events, get married, and have a baby. There is life after marriage, afterall. The addition of after-marriage events could (and should) be added.

Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns allows you to have three meals a day with your spouse, and you can spend festival days with them. But after that, it’s a regular work day. Having the option to take a walk (like with pets), go on vacation, work on the farm together, or have additional love events would be a welcomed addition.

As much as I enjoy these farming simulators, I find myself losing interest after the baby is born. There are few goals to work for after that. Adding more events after marriage could extend gameplay.

Bring Back Rivals

Rivals are a sore subject with many fans of the series. Some gamers don’t want their love interest to get swept away from them while they’re busy tending to their farm. While I can understand some jealousy, the newest games have totally removed the feature. Your farmer is the only one that can get married. The rest of the candidates end up alone, forever, or until you put down the game. This just seems really sad.

In Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (or Harvest Moon: Back to Nature), after getting married, you could help others discover love. I found it fun to help the other candidates get their happily ever after. But if I was not yet married and trying to romance a candidate, I found it a motivator to work harder to impress them.  

Aside from rivals, it would be fun to help other non-romanceable villagers get married. In Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, helping Miranda romance Frank would have been a welcomed addition.

Add More Helping Hands

The Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games are primed for people who love to micromanage tasks. But after days of doing the same chores over and over again, gameplay gets monotonous.

The older Harvest Moon games allowed you to delegate tasks to the Harvest Sprites. After befriending them with gifts of flour, they would help water plants, harvest, care for animals, and bring them inside and out each day. Of course, this may seem too easy for more hardcore players. Having the option was great.

In the current Story of Seasons games, you’re alone except for pets. Pets with a high heart level can herd animals, but everything else is up to you. It would be helpful to request aid from your spouse, a high-level friendship villager, or even your child, like in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Doing everything on your own is a great accomplishment, but it shouldn’t be a punishment to ask for help.  

Make Festivals More Challenging

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature made festivals fun. The tomato throwing festival was challenging and diversified gameplay. Harvest Moon 2: Game Boy Color allowed you to have a snowball fight during a mini-game.

In comparison, the newest installments of the series are lackluster in terms of festival interaction. In Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, the most complicated festivals are mixing a new brew of tea or collecting money from villagers. Once the festival starts, you watch a few people talk and the event ends.

having challenging festival mini-games would make farm life a little more exciting. It would also increase villager bonds by perhaps befriending a specific villager, so they’ll train you in the mini-game.

Increase Friend Interactions

In Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands, you had to speak to villagers daily. If not, your friend level would decrease, and you would get reprimanded. Building relationships between villagers is  of high importance, but little will come from it. In Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, you may receive a few extra items, but nothing after that.

Adding more friend interactions would increase the immersion of each game. In Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, Komari and Carrie excitedly tell you how much they adore you as a friend. But besides a few friendship events and festivals -- or perhaps sharing a meal with them -- you rarely interact with either character, which kind of makes the friendships moot at a certain point. 

Except when being forced to befriend someone for a service or item, friendships currently don’t add much to the game. Adding more events and interactive sequences could make friendships more meaningful.

Bring Back Mining

In the latest Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games, mining has been reduced to striking a mining node (usually a large rock marked with an "x") for a few gems a day. Mining is now too easy and not a challenge at all. No longer are we stocking Elli Leaves for a trek down 100+ levels of the mine.

Some users may welcome the change, but during long Winters where lakes are frozen over, trips to the mine were a welcomed time waster. The mines were similar to mini-games, where you had to trace your path to the next stairwell or destroy the hazards that would sap away your stamina.

Reintroducing mining would bring more activities back to the series. It would make upgrading tools or creating accessories more challenging, too.

Don’t Remove Content from the Original Version

In the previous installments of the Harvest Moon series, marriage was an end-game requirement. If you kept to your farm, didn't get to know your neighbors, or get married, you would ultimately face a game over screen. This requirement was eventually removed, allowing you time to tend to your farm and woo your romantic interest. If you didn't want to get married, that was a choice, too. Not every marriage candidate may interest you, and you may rather marry someone of the same gender.

In Harvest Moon DS Cute, you had the option of having a Best Friend instead of a husband. Your female farmer would go through love events for the Harvest Goddess, Witch, Leia the mermaid, or Kera, and your love points would only be displayed if you equipped the Love Ring accessory. After meeting the marriage requirements, you could present your choice with a Blue Feather, triggering the Friend Ceremony. This ceremony was similar to a marriage. A child would be later sent you, instead of going through pregnancy.

For unknown reasons, this feature was removed when the game was localized. Are best friends too offensive? The only way to play the game the way Marvelous originally intended is to obtain the original Japanese version.

The Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games were originally known as the Bokujou Monogatari series in Japan and developed by Marvelous Entertainment. Natsume held on to the name of Harvest Moon, while Marvelous continued work of Story of Seasons, making two separate series. 

Both Natsume’s Harvest Moon and Marvelous’ Story of Seasons series started off simple enough: you were a city dweller in need of change, or you inherited a farm from a relative. You are then tasked to make the farm successful, make friends with the villagers, get married, and have a baby. After having a child, though, the game seems to get stale.

Marvelous and Natsume kept reusing the same formula, with only slight deviations in art styles and some mechanics between each game. The most recent installment, Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, has brought new life to the series, but still lacks after-marriage content. Natsume has promised to bring back SNES era Harvest Moon gameplay in their upcoming title Harvest Moon: Light of Hope.

I do believe developers should have the freedom to create any game they want, and I would never make demands from them. But as a fan, I think there are a few ways both Marvelous and Natsume could refresh their respective farming simulator series.

Farming Simulator ’17 adds new features and improves issues with the 2015 edition of the game, but while it may have done so, there’s still the question every gamer asks: Am I going to enjoy this?

Well, let’s consider a few key points before jumping to any conclusions.

The game is set up like a bonafide simulator. Players step into a farmer’s workboots to plant and harvest crops, raise livestock, and, most importantly, drive their choice of more than 200 farming vehicles. Its 3D textures and realistic style work together to help build a fairly realistic farming environment, even including a first-person perspective for an up-close farming experience that’s oddly satisfying.

Honestly, it’s kind of neat to be sitting in the driver’s seat of a Massey Ferguson, watching such a huge machine harvest wheat as if you were actually there.

As far as game content goes, it’s pretty standard. You get to farm crops, raise and husband livestock, and even go into the forests to be the logger you've always dreamed of. Ultimately, Farming Simulator '17 gives players flexibility in how they want to make a profit to buy new vehicles or expand their farm. All in all, the game lives up to its title.

But how does it stack up against other great farming games like Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon? Again, there are a few things to keep in mind, mainly...

They are not the same type of game.

Farming Simulator '17 is first and foremost a simulator and a decent one too. Its mechanics are easy to learn, the world is large and nicely rendered and there’s a lot of detail put into the vehicles. Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, on the other hand, each implement RPG-like elements to their core gameplay, which lets them have the option of including other gameplay aspects beyond farming, like adventuring and dating. 

Befriending villagers and playing minigames in those games gives players something to do if there’s nothing to harvest. In Farming Simulator '17, you can participate in optional quests, too, but they are usually done to earn a bit of side cash or have something to do while the crops grow. There’s not much motivation to completing them.

There’s a strong emphasis on narrative games those other RPG-like games, especially in Stardew Valley. And as I’ve said before, Farming Simulator '17 focuses mainly on recreating an authentic experience, a fact easily known given that the game's trailers show off the vehicles you get to ride in detail -- and all they do is FARM!

Having said all of that, there is something else worth saying about Farming Simulator '17: It has mods that you can download, which I can certainly see bringing a bit of quirky fun to the game. And one last thing: Farming Simulator '17 has a multiplayer mode! Playing with others brings a new element of fun the other games don’t (but really, shouldn't Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon have multiplayer, too? Come on!)

So at the end of it all, Farming Simulator '17 is great if you want as close to an authentic simulation of farming as possible. It manages to do what it set out to do with fine detail. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea and it is definitely not as fun as the other games listed here, but it’s still a relaxing and enjoyable time. If you want a pure simulation game, this might be worth checking out.

What do you think of Farming Simulator '17? Is it as good (better than) Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon? Is it worse? Or is there no contest? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

Everyone has their own favorite game genres, whether it's strategy, horror, platformers, or just plain "action", you can usually find a middle ground to the kind of games you enjoy. For me, it's JRPGs, preferably mixed with strategy, but as long as it has a good plot and battle mechanics, I'm not too picky. However, there is one game I particularly love that I felt didn't really "fit" with the rest.

And that game was Animal Crossing.

Usually when the term "RPG" comes to mind, people think of games that follow the trend of fighting monsters, travelling across lands while honing your skills -- and basically partaking in some epic journey that bards will sing tales of for generations. Animal Crossing, however, is limited within the realm of your new town and the player partakes in social events with the other villagers. Doesn't really fit the RPG description, does it? 

If you take RPG literally, then doesn't the genre essentially mean to "role-play" as a character? In Animal Crossing, you "role-play" as a new villager that starts a new life, making friends and generally enjoying life in the process.

The Harvest Moon series, which is a farming simulation at its core, and its more RPG inspired spin-off, Rune Factory fall into a similar middle ground between well defined genres. Rune Factory was even initially marketed as "A Fantasy Harvest Moon" For instance, you farmed monsters instead of animals. It also offered similar traditional RPG gameplay elements and introduced combat mechanics - which was a big part of the game. Perhaps most importantly, it offered a storyline, as opposed to the open-ended storytelling present in Harvest Moon. All of this only further serves to blur the lines between genres. 

You can already tell from the cover art which is more fixated on farming and which seems to have a more fleshed out story. 

What makes a game an "RPG?" Is it fighting? And since so many modern RPG's have employed almost non-existent stories, can that even be said to be essential anymore? And what about the travelling to faraway lands and honing your skills?

Both Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon take place in a fictional world, both of which require the player to explore and discover new things. While Harvest Moon does actually have skills that you level up (such as walking, sleeping, farming, mining), Animal Crossing doesn't necessarily have skills but allows for a sense of personal achievement through collecting fossils, fish, bugs, furniture. While it's not the tried and true EXP based progression system, it follows a very similar structure. 

Some "goals" you can strive for in Animal Crossing include filling up the aquarium, collecting fossils for the museum, or getting badges from special events. 

Personally, I feel what prevents them from ultimately entering the realm of the RPG is the fact that the player is essentially doing what I would call, "Virtual Chores". Anything that can be done in the game, such as talking to your neighbours, catching bugs, or planting crops, can easily be done in real life. Even Stardew Valley, which is also in a similar vein as these titles, has caused many reviewers to joke about how addicting these normally mundane tasks are in-game.

Yes! After 13 in-game days, I'll harvest these babies and earn me some mad money in-game which I could do in real life but eh, who has the time for that?

So ultimately, while you can say that these games do have RPG elements, they're probably better suited to their own brand of gaming. Genres are supposed to help you understand what a book, movie, or game are about in short form and it doesn't any justice to the term RPG to just lump Harvest Moon in with Final Fantasy and call it a day. It's like comparing horror films with thriller films: just because they both shock and fill you with suspense, doesn't mean you're going to feel the same about both of them by the end. 

And that's the thing. By the end of an RPG, the story will conclude with the hero completing his main goal, leaving the player to feel accomplished in the journey that they have travelled. Whereas with Animal Crossing and life simulation games in general, you feel accomplished everyday, yet it just goes... on. You can "complete" everything you possibly can, but it never really ends and it lets you continue on indefinitely.

As games get more ambitious it doesn't seem fair, or even possible, to categorize certain games anymore. Nowadays so many games represent mashups of several different genres and it seems almost no game is safe from the addition of at least a few superfluous RPG elements, like unneeded crafting systems and skill trees that offer uninteresting perks. Sometimes all we can do is try to explain games as best as we can, and enjoy them the rest of the time.

What do you think? Are there any other games you know that fall into different, sometimes poorly defined genres?

I remember when I was a kid, I picked up a copy of Harvest Moon 3 GBC out of the bargain bin at Walmart. I had no idea what it was, but a game was a game. I’ve been farming ever since.

If you’ve never played a Harvest Moon game -- or as it’s now called, Story of Seasons -- it’s a farming simulator. You play as a farmer, usually a person from the city who moved to a tiny town to run a broken down farm left to you by a grandparent. Life simulators are nothing new, and Harvest Moon definitely wasn’t the first. But, for some reason, it’s always been my favorite. There’s a lot going for the franchise, but I’ve always wondered why I get so hooked on these simple little games.

I think one reason is that the game is DIY fun.

There’s usually some kind of goal you need to complete—like stop a company from destroying the village, or awaken the Harvest Goddess—but other than that, the game lets you roam free. Don’t like a certain villager? You can probably avoid them for the entire game. Want to have 10 chickens? Go for it.

You set your own goals, which is a refreshing experience when so many games are quest-oriented and hold players by the hand from destination to destination. Harvest Moon gives you the game’s setup and then you’re on your own.

Another reason is because the games are very good at pacing and rewarding players.

There are several festivals and events specific to each season. While players are not required to participate in these events, winning them usually yields monetary rewards or useful items associated with the event. Players are awarded for their hard work, but aren’t punished for not making the cut like some games might do.

Harvest Moon was a staple of my childhood and I love it to this day. Even under a new name, it continues to be a fun experience that pushes itself to change with each game. If you haven’t checked it out, I definitely encourage you to.

Natsume released a new gameplay trailer for Harvest Moon Skytree Village at E3 this week. Although somewhat overshadowed by some of the more popular franchises, it is nevertheless an exciting release for fans of the series. In the trailer we see a little of the storyline and new gameplay mechanics of the upcoming title. We also finally find out what resources a Poitou donkey produces. (It's hair, by the way, for those of us dying to know.)

The game will feature an all-new storyline, new townsfolk to befriend, and new crops and flowers to plant. It also features a new fishing mechanic that allows players to fish from boats. Natsume is also introducing  a new feature in this version that we've never seen before. Players will be able to mold and sculpt the land on and around their farm.

Harvest Moon Skytree Village is on display at the Natsume booth at E3 this week. No word on a release date for the game yet, but hopefully 3DS players will be farming their way to fun and fortune very soon.

Story of Seasons was released back in 2015 as a Nintendo 3DS title re-branding the franchise formerly known as Harvest Moon. The game is a farming simulation game and a sequel for the game is already on the horizon.

Xseed Games announced today the sequel to Story of Seasons, Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, will be released some time in 2017. Trio of Towns will feature 3 towns that farmers can travel in between. The 3 towns consist of a Western-style village, a Japanese-inspired area, and a mysterious beach town. Each town comes with their own unique crops, animals and bachelors. Players can connect over WiFi to enhance the experience. These and more features will be revealed at E3 2016 and closer to the game’s release in 2017.

Harvest Moon hasn’t completely died though. Natsume announced that a new Harvest Moon title, Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, will be coming to the Nintendo 3DS. There is currently no release date for the game, but it will make an appearance at E3 2016.

Source Images [Header Image, Trio of Towns Box Art, Harvest Moon: Skytree Village Logo]

Natsume is continuing the Harvest Moon series with a brand new game for 3DS -- Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. They announced the game's release on June 1st and promised that it will be playable at E3 later this month. Sadly, no release date has been promised as of yet.

A few details have surfaced about the game's plot. Apparently the Harvest Goddess is at it again, losing all her powers and letting the land wither away. What's up with this lady anyway? I guess it's up to us to bring the rain -- literally. According to the official press release, it has something to do with bringing the seven Skytrees back to life and helping the Harvest Goddess recover her long lost powers.

We will be able to play as a boy or a girl in this version -- a fact many ladies are happy to hear, I'm sure. In addition, the game will feature a new art style, character models, crops, flowers, residents, and easy to understand tutorials. Natsume has also promised several new features that should bring a fresh approach to the classic farming gameplay.

Players will be able to mold their farms in new ways using upgradable tools to raise and lower the land, create rivers and ponds, and much more. This will allow for customization on a whole new level, making your farm really feel like your own creation.

Players can also acquire a boat that they may use to purloin fish from the aforementioned rivers and ponds. New fishing mechanics will make this a new experience all around. There will also be a new herd animal called a Poitou Donkey. It's unclear what resources may be gained from a donkey, but it's in there all the same.

Harvest Moon: Sky Tree Village is coming our way soon. Keep an eye on Natsume's website for more details and for the official press release.

Kamil- Florist

He unlocks in Spring of year 2 by having at least 3 trade depot vendors and going to the Trade Depot on any sunny day.

Personality

\n
• Spends time wandering the wild areas and Georgio's farm
\n
• Tends to be a loner
\n
• Always on the lookout for new flowers
\n

\n
• Birthday - Fall 1
\n
• Liked animals - Cats
\n
• Favorite Wrapping Paper - Blue and White
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1,000 FP) - Tom Yun Goong. You get this recipe from Recipe Set #3.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Tea recipes
\n
• High quality blue fabric
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP)

\n
• Herbs
\n
• Flowers
\n
• Normal blue yarn and cloth
\n
• Fireflies
\n
• Tea leaves
\n
• Curry rice, salad, and powder
\n
• Herb soup, salad, and pie
\n
• Gold Araucana and Silkie eggs
\n
• White jewelry
\n
• Shrimp Chili
\n
• Fruit wine
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Fruit shakes, juices, and jams
\n
• All insects except fireflies
\n
• Animal food and treats
\n
• Snack recipes
\n
• Fish bait
\n
• Milk recipes
\n
• Baked yam
\n
• Poison mushroom
\n
• Carrot soup
\n
• Lumber
\n
• Weeds
\n
• Rocks
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Fruit punch
\n
• Desserts
\n
• Junk from diving
\n
• Sea shells
\n
• Dried poison mushroom
\n

Worst gift (-800 FP) - Chocolate cake - Recipe.

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Kamil
\n
• Go to inn room 204 from 22:00 - 23:30 on any sunny day, except festival days
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• 10,000 FP or more with Kamil
\n
• Have seen Kamil's White flower event
\n
• Leave town from 9:00 - 11:00 on a sunny Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• 1.a. - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• 1.b. - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• 40,000 FP or more with Kamil
\n
• Have seen Kamil's Purple flower event and given him the commitment ring
\n
• Go to the Piedmont from 9:00 - 10:30 on a sunny  Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 4 - Takes away 3,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• 50,000 FP or more with Kamil
\n
• 10,000 FP or more with Melanie and Lilie
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events
\n
• Go to the inn from 6:00 - 10:00 on a sunny Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 3,000 FP
\n

Nadi - Landscaper

He unlocks in Winter of year 1 by going to Elise's farm from 8:00 - 11:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday

Personality

\n
• Spends time working at Elise's farm and restaurant
\n
• Does not use flowery language
\n
• Works hard
\n

\n
• Birthday - Summer 31
\n
• Favorite animals - Rabbits, Penguins, Weasels, and Lemurs
\n
• Liked animals - Chickens, Dogs, Sparrows, Angora Rabbits, Spoonbills, Monkeys, and Foxes
\n
• Favorite Wrapping Paper - Green and Black
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1,000 FP) - Green Juice. You get this recipe from Suzanne the traveling salesperson.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Bouillabaisse
\n
• Angler's Dream Potion
\n
• High level fish recipes
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP)

\n
• Fish, Fish feed, and bait
\n
• Dry Curry, Curry Rice, and Spicy Curry
\n
• Drink recipes, except tea
\n
• Fish recipes
\n
• Omelette
\n
• Rice
\n
• Black cloth+ and yarn
\n
• Cactus
\n
• Green jewelry
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Crops and Crop recipes
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Golden Crops
\n
• Mixed salad
\n
• Tomato salad
\n
• Coleslaw
\n

Worst gift (-800 FP) - Summer salad - Recipe.

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Nadi
\n
• 1,000 FP or more with Melanie
\n
• Go to the inn from 19:30 - 21:30 on any sunny day, but Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP to Nadi and 500 FP to Melanie
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP from Nadi
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher with Nadi (10,000 FP or more)
\n
• 1,000 FP or more with Fritz and Iris
\n
• Have seen Nadi's White flower event
\n
• Walk from the River area to the Bridge area from 8:00 - 11:30 on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower friendship level or higher with Nadi (40,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen Nadi's Purple flower event and given him the commitment ring
\n
• Go to inn room 201 from 19:30 - 21:30 on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower friendship level or higher with Nadi (50,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events
\n
• Go to western area of town from 12:00 - 15:00 on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,500 FP
\n
\n
• 1.a. - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• 1.b. - Gives 1,500 GP
\n
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Mistel - Antique Shopkeeper

Personality

\n
• Spends time working at the Antique shop and leaves town on Thursdays
\n
• Calm and independent
\n
• Tries to break away from Iris' overprotective nature 
\n

\n
• Birthday - Fall 11
\n
• Liked animals - Cats
\n
• Favorite Wrapping Paper - Purple and White
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1,000 FP) - Penne Arrabiatta. You get this from the Rose Country vendor.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• White Pearl
\n
• Beautiful Large Jar
\n
• Pointing Farmer Figurine
\n
• High Quality animal products
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP)

\n
• Butterflies
\n
• Tree fruit
\n
• Glazed pottery
\n
• Pasta recipes, except sweet potato
\n
• White jewelry and flowers
\n
• Seasonal tea
\n
• Cheese
\n
• Milk
\n
• Mayonnaise
\n
• Fruit drinks, jams, and desserts
\n
• Watermelon, pineapple, and melon
\n
• Gold Araucana and Silkie Eggs
\n
• Gems
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Vegetables
\n
• Frogs
\n
• Cicadas
\n
• Fish, fish feed, and bait
\n
• Spicy Curry, Curry Rice, and salad
\n
• Chocolate Juice and Iced Cocoa
\n
• Herb salad
\n
• Milk tea
\n
• Fertilizer
\n
• Scrap ore
\n
• Plum
\n
• Rocks
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Fruit wine
\n
• Carrot, Carrot seeds, and juice
\n
• Boiled Broccoli and Broccoli Saute
\n
• Vegetable Saute
\n

Worst gift (-800 FP) - Carrot Soup - Recipe.

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Mistel
\n
• Go to the Antique Shop from 11:00 - 14:00 on any sunny Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher with Mistel (10,000 FP or more)
\n
• 1,000 FP or more with Fritz and Iris
\n
• Have seen Mistel's White flower event
\n
• Walk to town from 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny Wednesday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower friendship level or higher with Mistel (40,000 FP or more)
\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Raeger
\n
• Have seen Mistel's Purple flower event and given him the commitment ring
\n
• Walk from your farm to the Forest Path from 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower friendship level or higher with Mistel (50,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events
\n
• Go to the Antique Shop 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
\n
• 2.a. - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• 2.b. - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
\n

Raeger - Chef

Personality

\n
• Spends time working at the restaurant every day but Wednesday
\n
• Loves to find new recipes and sharing them with people
\n

\n
• Birthday - Summer 9
\n
• Liked animals - Parrots, Lemurs, and Long-haired cats
\n
• Favorite Wrapping Paper - Red and Yellow
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1,000 FP) - Sea Urchin Bowl. You get this from Recipe Set #12 from winning competitions.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Yellow Pearl
\n
• Seaweed
\n
• Yellow yarn+ and cloth+
\n
• Yellow Downy tuft
\n
• Glazed Black Platter
\n
• Zebu Green cheese+
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP)

\n
• Sea Urchin
\n
• Tea leaves
\n
• Spices
\n
• Yellow flowers
\n
• Coffee pack
\n
• Red and Yellow cloth and yarn
\n
• Ruby
\n
• Agate
\n
• Pink Diamonds
\n
• Turnip Salad
\n
• Boiled Spinach
\n
• Squid Rice
\n
• Yam Rice
\n
• Cucumber Namul
\n
• Grilled Fish and Fish Ice Cream
\n
• Soy Milk recipes
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Foraged items
\n
• Plain animal wool
\n
• Pumpkin recipes
\n
• Fish feed and bait
\n
• Wine
\n
• Milk, Milk Rice, and Milk Stew
\n
• Lumber
\n
• Old tools
\n
• Fertilizer
\n
• Soil
\n
• Dried poison mushroom
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Poisonous Mushroom
\n

Worst gift (-800 FP) - Mango Wine - Recipe.

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Raeger
\n
• Go to the Restaurant from 14:00 - 17:00 on any sunny day except Sunday or Wednesday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher with Raeger (10,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen Raeger's White flower event
\n
• Go to the restaurant from 18:00 - 21:00 on any sunny day except Sunday or Wednesday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n

After work is done.

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,500 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 500 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower friendship level or higher with Raeger (40,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen Raeger's Purple flower event and given him the commitment ring
\n
• Go to the restaurant from 19:00 - 23:00 on a sunny Wednesday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - No change 
\n
\n
• 2.a. - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• 2.b. - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower friendship level or higher with Raeger (50,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events
\n
• Go to the restaurant from 11:00 - 21:00 on any sunny day, but Wednesday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - No change
\n
\n
• 2.a. - Takes away 1,500 FP
\n
• 2.b. - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 500 FP
\n

Klaus - Perfumist

Personality

\n
• Spends time working on perfume in his house
\n
• Researches new ways to use perfume and does not sell it
\n
• Very formal
\n

\n
• Birthday - Spring 24
\n
• Favorite animals - Dogs and Foxes
\n
• Favorite Wrapping Paper - Black and Blue
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1,000 FP) - Bouillabaisse. You get this from Rose Country starting in Winter.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Most fruit wines except Lemon wine
\n
• Black cloth+ and black yarn+
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP)

\n
• Lemon wine
\n
• Tea drinks and tea leaves
\n
• Juices
\n
• Flower bouquets and blue flowers
\n
• Cheese
\n
• Purple jewelry
\n
• Perfume
\n
• Fruit Syrup
\n
• Gems
\n
• Mac and Cheese
\n
• Stew
\n
• Dried Golden crops
\n
• Animal wool
\n
• Tomato Risotto
\n
• Cabbage Roll
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Foraged items
\n
• Junk
\n
• Shakes, smoothies, and snack recipes
\n
• Herbs, herb butter, and herb cheese
\n
• Animal food and treats
\n
• Fish feed and bait
\n
• Soil
\n
• Milk
\n
• Lumber
\n
• Spices
\n
• Honey
\n
• Fertilizer
\n
• Curry powder
\n
• Jam
\n
• Dried poison mushroom
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Poisonous Mushroom
\n
• Pepper
\n
• Chili Pepper seeds
\n
• Squid stir fry
\n
• Kimchi
\n
• Grass Juice
\n
• Spicy Curry
\n

Worst gift (-800 FP) - Tom Yun Goong - Recipe.

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Klaus
\n
• Go to Klaus' house from 19:20 - 21:00 on any sunny day
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 800 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher with Klaus (10,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen Klaus' White flower event
\n
• Go to Klaus' house from 8:00 - 12:00 on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 500 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

After work is done.

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,500 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 500 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower friendship level or higher with Klaus (40,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen Klaus' Purple flower event and given him the commitment ring
\n
• Walk from your farm to the Forest path from 14:00 - 17:00 on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday.
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 1,000 FP 
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower friendship level or higher with Klaus (50,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events
\n
• Go to the Antique Shop from 12:00 - 15:00 on a sunny Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 4,000 FP
\n

Fritz - Energetic Farmer

Personality

\n
• Spends time on his farm or in town
\n
• Not great at farming but tries his best
\n
• Will encourage you to do better 
\n
• Optimistic and works hard at improving
\n

\n
• Birthday - Spring 8
\n
• Favorite animals - Dogs and Weasels
\n
• Favorite Wrapping Paper - Orange and Green
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1,000 FP) - High Quality Crab Soup. You get this from Recipe Set #4 for winning a competition. You must have Recipe Sets 1-3 first.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• High Quality Rabbit, Camel, Angora Goat, and Sheep fur
\n
• Gold Silkie Egg
\n
• High Quality Jersey and Zebu milk
\n
• Pink Diamond
\n
• Mystic tools
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP)

\n
• Insect
\n
• Fish
\n
• Snack or Drink recipes
\n
• Green Downy tuft
\n
• Green cloth
\n
• Golden crops
\n
• Fermented items
\n
• Yellow Rabbit cloth
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Foraged items
\n
• Pottery
\n
• Bottles
\n
• Wild herbs
\n
• Flowers and flower seeds
\n
• Lumber
\n
• Wine
\n
• Dried crops
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Poisonous Mushroom
\n
• Spicy Curry
\n
• Pet Leash
\n

Worst gift (-800 FP) - Fish bone.

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Fritz
\n
• Walk from east to west of town in the northern area from 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny Wednesday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,500 FP
\n
\n
• 1.a - Gives 1,500 FP
\n
• 1.b. - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• Choice 2 - No change in FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher with Fritz (10,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen Fritz's White flower event
\n
• Go to Fritz's house from 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,500 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower friendship level or higher with Fritz (40,000 FP or more)
\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Raeger
\n
• Have seen Fritz's Purple flower event and given him the commitment ring
\n
• Go to the second floor of the Restaurant from 19:00 - 23:00 on a sunny Wednesday.
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP from Fritz and 300 FP from Raeger
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 1,000 FP to Fritz and 300 FP to Raeger
\n
\n
• 2.a. - Gives 1,000 FP to Fritz
\n
• 2.b. - Takes away 1,000 FP from Fritz
\n
• 2.c. - Takes away 2,000 FP from Fritz
\n
\n
• Choice 3 - Gives 1,000 FP to Fritz
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower friendship level or higher with Fritz (50,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events
\n
• Go to the General Store from 6:00 - 9:00 on any sunny day, but Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n

There are several men you can choose to marry in Story of Seasons, each with their own personalities. You could give someone their favorite gift, but that same gift could be a terrible one for someone else.

Birthdays, favorite animals, outfits, and accessories are just some of the things you'll want to know to get closer to your chosen partner. I'll help you by going over all of this for every bachelor in Story of Seasons.

If you want info on how to get married, check out my How to Get Married guide. You can check out my Bachelorette Guide if you're looking for the women. Also, check my Beginner's Guide for any other help with the game.

This guide will cover each bachelor in Story of Seasons including:

\n
• Personality Description - Things they like to do and where they like to go.
\n
• Gifts - Each person's likes and dislikes.
\n
• Birthday and More - Each person's birthday and other helpful info about them.
\n
• Flower Events - Requirements for all 4 flower events for each person.
\n

The main feature in Story of Seasons is growing crops. Most crops can only grow in certain seasons, though.

They also take different amounts of time to grow and sell for different prices. It is hard to keep up with everything and it would be nice to have one reference guide to display all this information.

That's what this guide is for, showing all the info you need for each crop in the game. I hope to make figuring out which crops to plant, easier for you. For help with anything else related to this game, please visit my Beginner's Guide.

This guide will go over every crop in Story of Seasons including:

• Season - 5 tables that separate the crops by the season you can grow them in.
• Name and Type - The name and type of each crop.
• Seed Price - How much the seeds cost and how to get them.
• Growth Days - How long each crop takes to grow.
• Selling Price - How much each crop sells for at each star level.

Click the links below to jump to each section:

• Spring
• Summer
• Fall
• Winter
• All Year

Licorice - Botanist

Personality

\n
• Loves nature and plants,
\n
• Believes plants respond to how humans treat them and often talks to plants.
\n
• Spends most of her time wandering wild areas and interacting with plants.
\n

\n
• Birthday - Fall 27
\n
• Favorite animals - Cats and Foxes
\n
• Favorite wrapping paper - Blue and Green
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1000 FP) - Soybean Salad. You can get the recipe from Raeger after eating the recipe 59 times at the restaurant.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Herb Soup
\n
• Boiled Spinach
\n
• Boiled Potato
\n
• Vinegar Salad
\n
• Mixed Salad
\n
• Burdock Root Salad and Soup
\n
• Baked Pumpkin
\n
• Soybean Hamburger
\n
• Chopped Lotus Root
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP) 

\n
• Flowers
\n
• Tea Drinks made in your kitchen
\n
• Carrot, Aloe, and Tomato Juice
\n
• Elli Leaves
\n
• Green jewelry
\n
• Gold crop seeds
\n
• Herb, Radish, and Tomato Salad
\n
• Onion Soup and Sliced Onion
\n
• Mashed Potato
\n
• Soy Milk
\n
• Snowball
\n
• Normal Mushroom
\n
• Peaches and Cherries
\n
• Bamboo Shoots
\n
• Flower Bouquets
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Gems and Ores
\n
• Wild materials
\n
• Fish and Fish based recipes
\n
• Frogs
\n
• Wasabi
\n
• Animal food and treats
\n
• Milk Rice and Stew
\n
• Wine
\n
• Lumber
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Fish food and bones
\n
• Seafood Rice Bowl
\n
• Chirashi Sushi
\n
• Sea Urchin
\n
• Venus Comb
\n
• Giant Fish
\n

Worst Gift (-800 FP) - Giant Snakehead

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Licorice
\n
• Walk from Rice paddy to Bridge area from 7:30 - 10:00 on a sunny Monday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• 10,000 FP or more with Licorice
\n
• Have seen Licorice's White flower event
\n
• Walk from Rice paddy to Bridge area from 7:30 - 10:00 on a sunny Monday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• 40,000 FP or more with Licorice
\n
• Have seen the first two events and given her the commitment ring
\n
• Go to inn room 202 from 6:00 - 10:00 on a sunny Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• 1.a. - Gives 500 FP
\n
• 1.b. Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• 1.c. Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• 50,000 FP or more with Licorice
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events for Licorice
\n
• Walk from river area to mountain area from 7:30 - 10:00 on a sunny Monday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n

Elise - Rich Farmer

Personality

\n
• Even though she's a farmer, she doesn't like doing much farming and has her servants do most of the work.
\n
• Very bold and has a superiority complex, but you can soften her mood.
\n
• Spends most of her time ordering her workers at her mansion.
\n

\n
• Birthday - Winter 22
\n
• Liked animals - Dogs, cats, and Angora rabbits
\n
• Favorite wrapping paper - Gold, Pink, or Red
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1000 FP) - Chocolate Fondue. You can get the recipe from Recipe Set 16 from winning a festival. Must enter a dessert category cooking festival at least once.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Chocolate Cookies and Ice Cream
\n
• High Quality Zebu Milk
\n
• Cream Puff
\n
• Punk diamond
\n
• Almond Pudding
\n
• Mango Cake and ice Cream
\n
• Gold Watermelon
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP) 

\n
• Bread
\n
• Tea Tree Leaves
\n
• Dessert Recipes except vegetable ones
\n
• Gold Araucana and Silkie Eggs
\n
• Drink recipes except Grass
\n
• Pineapple, Watermelon, and Melon
\n
• Pink and Red Flowers
\n
• Gems
\n
• Tree fruit
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Foraged Items
\n
• Insects
\n
• Crops other than the ones listed above 
\n
• Wine
\n
• Fish and fish recipes
\n
• Soup and Salad recipes
\n
• Old Tools
\n
• Lumber
\n
• Cooking Ingredients
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Spinach, Carrot, and Tomato soup
\n
• Mixed Salad
\n
• Small Rock and Lumber
\n
• Large Eels, Catfish, Snakehead, and Octopus
\n
• Weeds
\n
• Snowball
\n
• Bouillabaisse
\n
• Seafood rice
\n

Worst Gift (-800 FP) - Tuna Steak recipe

Flower Event Requirements

Elise is special because you have to see all 5 of her rival events before you can start seeing her flower events. 

Rival Farm Events

Farm Inspection 1

\n
• 3,000 or more FP with Elise
\n
• 500 or more reputation points with Elise
\n
• Walk out of your house any sunny day but Sunday
\n

After she leaves take a vegetable with you to her mansion.

\n
• 5-star vegetable - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• 2 and a half to 4 and a half stars - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• 2 or fewer stars - Takes away 500 FP
\n

Farm Inspection 2

\n
• 3,000 or more FP with Elise
\n
• 1,000 or more reputation points with Elise
\n
• Walk out of your house any sunny day but Sunday
\n
• Completed the Farm Inspection 1 with Elise
\n

After she leaves you need to bring Milk to her mansion any sunny day except Sunday from 6:00 - 10:00 or 16:00 - 21:00.

\n
• 5-star milk - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• 2 and a half to 4 and a half stars - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• 2 or fewer stars - Takes away 500 FP
\n

Cow Birth

\n
• 4,000 or more FP with Elise
\n
• 1,500 or more reputation points with Elise
\n
• Walk to the Margot Farm area any sunny day that is not a festival from 9:00 - 11:00 or 14:00 - 17:00
\n
• Completed the Farm Inspection 2 with Elise
\n

Farm Inspection 3

\n
• 5,000 or more FP with Elise
\n
• 2,000 or more reputation points with Elise
\n
• Walk out of your house any sunny day but Sunday
\n
• Completed the Cow Birth event with Elise
\n

A Farmer's Heart

\n
• 20,000 FP or more with Elise
\n
• When you wake up on any day after Winter of year 2 or later
\n
• Completed the Farm Inspection 3 event with Elise
\n

Flower Events

Her flower events also happen at different times compared to the others. They happen at Blue, Green, and two and Pink.

Blue

\n
• 25,000 FP or more with Elise
\n
• Go to Elise's Library ( West room on 2nd Floor) from 15:20 - 17:00 on any rainy day.
\n
• Seen all 5 Rival events
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 500 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Green

\n
• Green flower friendship level or higher (30,000 FP or more with Elise)
\n
• Have seen Elise's Blue flower event
\n
• Go to her Dressing room (Eastern room on the 1st floor) from 16:00 - 18:00 on any sunny day except Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes Away 1,000 FP
\n

After you come back into the room.

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 500 FP
\n

Pink 1

\n
• Pink flower or higher (50,000 FP or more with Elise)
\n
• Have Animal Medicine in your bag
\n
• Have seen the first two events and given her the commitment ring
\n
• Walk into Margot Farm area from 6:00 - 16:00 on any sunny day except Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 3,000 FP
\n

Pink 2

\n
• 55,000 FP or more with Elise
\n
• Purple Flower or higher (10,000+ FP) with Iris
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events for Elise
\n
• Walk from east of town to the west of town in the northern area from 9:00 - 16:00 on a sunny day other than Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n

Agate - Park Ranger

Personality

\n
• Loves wilderness and wild animals.
\n
• Spends time in wild areas.
\n
• Very friendly and loves to talk about animals. 
\n

\n
• Birthday - Summer 1
\n
• Favorite animals - Any
\n
• Favorite wrapping paper - Orange and Red
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1000 FP) - Cold Noodles. You can get the recipe from Susanne the traveling saleswoman. It is random whether she will show up or if she will have the recipe. 

Great Gifts (+500 FP) - Mystic Fish Bait. Craft it at the General Store by bringing Crab, Shrimp, Medium-sized fish, large-sized fish, and 2000 G.

\n
• Pink Diamond
\n
• High Quality Zebu Yogurt, Zebu Fruit Yogurt, Zebu Green Cheese, or Zebu Herb Cheese
\n
• High Quality Jersey Fruit Yogurt
\n
• High Quality Rabbit Cloth
\n
• High Quality Suffolk Cloth
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP) 

\n
• Fish Food
\n
• Pet Food
\n
• Rabbit Food
\n
• Chicken Food
\n
• Insects
\n
• Animal Treats
\n
• Fruit Pies and Fruit Jams
\n
• Squid and Giant Fish
\n
• Gold Crops
\n
• Glass Stone
\n
• Turnip salad
\n
• Normal Mushroom
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Tea Leaves and recipes using tea
\n
• Grapes
\n
• Wild materials
\n
• Junk 
\n
• Perfume
\n
• Soup recipes
\n
• Baked Yam and Baked Tomato
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Fish Recipes
\n
• Spicy Curry
\n
• Pumpkin Doria
\n
• Cheese fondue
\n

Worst Gift (-800 FP) - Tom Yun Goong recipe

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Agate
\n
• Walk out of your farm area from 9:30 - 12:00 on a sunny Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher (10,000 FP or more with Agate)
\n
• Have seen Agate's White flower event
\n
• Walk into the field path area from 21:00 - 23:30 on a sunny Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower or higher (40,000 FP or more with Agate)
\n
• Have seen the first two events and given her the commitment ring
\n
• Go to her house from 22:30 - 23:30 on a sunny Saturday or Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower or higher (50,000 FP or more with Agate)
\n
• Purple flower or higher with Lilie (10,000 FP or more)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events for Agate
\n
• Walk from west of town to east of town from 10:00 - 13:00 on a sunny Saturday or Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n

Iris - Novelist

Personality

\n
• Calm and Caring. She'll often worry about your well-being.
\n
• Spends a lot of time writing at her desk.
\n
• Good friends with Klaus
\n

\n
• Birthday - Fall 6
\n
• Favorite animals - Cats
\n
• Favorite wrapping paper - Black and Purple
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1000 FP) - Borscht. You can get the recipe from Silk Country trader starting in Fall. 

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Pink Diamond
\n
• High Quality Zebu Fruit Yogurt, Zebu Green Cheese, Zebu Herb Cheese, or Zebu Herb Butter
\n
• High Quality Araucana Herb Mayo
\n
• High Quality Rabbit Cloth
\n
• High Quality Purple Suffolk Cloth
\n
• High Quality Alpaca Yarns
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP) 

\n
• Tea Leaves and Tea Drink recipes
\n
• Coffee Pack
\n
• Fireflies
\n
• Tomato Salad
\n
• Herb Salad, Herb Jam, and Herb Soup
\n
• Amethyst and purple items
\n
• Bergamot
\n
• Bay Leaf
\n
• Gold Crops
\n
• Sandrose
\n
• Flower Bouquets
\n
• Tree Fruit and Fruit Pies
\n
• Stew
\n
• Vegetable Bread
\n
• High Quality Jersey Herb Cheese or Butter
\n
• Perfume
\n
• High Quality Silkie Herb Mayo
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Insects and fish
\n
• Animal food and treats
\n
• Wild materials
\n
• Soil
\n
• Mushrooms and mushroom recipes
\n
• Boiled Vegetable recipes
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Empty Can
\n
• Beetles
\n
• Giant Fish
\n
• Fish Bones
\n
• Poison Mushroom
\n
• Fish food and bait
\n

Worst Gift (-800 FP) - Roasted Mushroom recipe

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Iris
\n
• Go to 2nd Floor of Antique Shop from 12:00 - 15:00 on any day but Wednesday.
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• Choice 2.a. - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2.b. - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• Choice 3 - Gives 500 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher (10,000 FP or more with Iris)
\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Mistel
\n
• Have seen Iris' White flower event
\n
• Walk into the Antique Shop from 21:00 - 23:00 on a sunny day other than Wednesday
\n
• Have not talked to Iris that day
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP to Iris
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP from Iris and 500 from Mistel
\n

After going upstairs

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 500 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower or higher (40,000 FP or more with Iris)
\n
• Have seen the first two events and given her the commitment ring
\n
• Go to town restaurant from 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny non-Wednesday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower or higher (50,000 FP or more with Iris)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events for Iris
\n
• Go to 2nd Floor of Antique Shop from 12:00 - 15:00 on a sunny Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Saturday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n

Angela - Nurse

Personality

\n
• Caring and worries about her mother's health
\n
• Keep a strict schedule and works a lot
\n
• Tries to keep Marian on task
\n

\n
• Birthday - Winter 2
\n
• Favorite animals - Dogs, Cats, and Lemurs
\n
• Favorite wrapping paper - Blue or White
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1000 FP) - Fall Herb Tea. You can get the recipe from Susanne the traveling saleswoman. 

Great Gifts (+500 FP) 

\n
• Summer, Spring, and Fall Tea Leaves
\n
• All tea drink recipes
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP) 

\n
• All grown crops
\n
• Gold Crops
\n
• All tree fruit
\n
• All herbs
\n
• Tomato Salad
\n
• Walnut Bread
\n
• White items
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Wine
\n
• Junk 
\n
• Rocks
\n
• Giant Fish
\n
• Aloe, Carrot, and Chocolate Juice
\n
• Honey Shake
\n
• Lassie
\n
• Giant fish and giant fish recipes
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Poison Mushroom
\n
• Grass Juice
\n

Worst Gift (-800 FP) - Spicy Curry recipe

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Angela
\n
• Go to the 2nd floor of the Guild Hall from 19:00 - 23:00 on any day and weather.
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher (10,000 FP or more with Angela)
\n
• Have seen Angela's White flower event
\n
• Walk from east tow est of town in the northern area from 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny Sunday.
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 500 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower or higher (40,000 FP or more with Angela)
\n
• Have seen the first two events and given her the commitment ring
\n
• Go to 2nd Floor of Guild Hall from 19:00 - 23:00 on a sunny day. (Any day, but Sunday)
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower or higher (50,000 FP or more with Angela)
\n
• 10,000 FP or more with Veronica
\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Marian
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events for Angela
\n
• Go to guild hall Clinic from 7:30 - 12:00 on a sunny day. (Not Sunday)
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 2,000 FP
\n

Lilie - Meteorologist 

Personality

\n
• Spends weekdays doing the weather on TV until 17:00.
\n
• She loves the weather and watching the sky and clouds.
\n
• Wants to be a good big sister.
\n
• Loves to help other people.
\n

\n
• Birthday - Summer 6
\n
• Favorite animals - Any except Weasel
\n
• Favorite wrapping paper - Red and Yellow
\n

Gifts

Favorite (+1000 FP) - Chocolate Ice cream. You can get the recipe from Silk Country starting in summer.

Great Gifts (+500 FP)

\n
• Chocolate recipes
\n
• High Quality Zebu Fruit Yogurt and Zebu Milk
\n
• High Quality Fruit Yogurt
\n
• High Quality Jersey Fruit Yogurt and Jersey Milk
\n
• Any High Quality Red Cloths
\n

Good Gifts (+300 FP) 

\n
• Flowers
\n
• Tea Leaves
\n
• Fish
\n
• Milk
\n
• Butterflies, Fireflies, and Dragonflies
\n
• Red Cloth and Red Jewelry
\n
• Juices, Tea drinks, and Shakes
\n
• Any Ice cream but Pumpkin
\n
• Any Cake but Vegetable
\n
• Pudding and Soy Milk Pudding
\n
• Honey
\n
• Amethyst
\n
• Flower Seeds and Bouquets
\n
• Tree fruit
\n

Bad Gifts (-300 FP)

\n
• Foraged Items
\n
• Ores and gems not listed above
\n
• Tomatoes, Pumpkins, Carrots, and Sweet Potatoes
\n
• Junk 
\n
• Wine
\n
• Fish food
\n
• Chestnut Rice
\n
• Mixed and Milky Salad
\n
• Corn Salad
\n
• Boiled and Baked Corn
\n
• Vegetable Bread
\n

Terrible Gifts (-500 FP)

\n
• Most Pumpkin, Carrot, and Tomato recipes
\n

Worst Gift (-800 FP) - Grilled Pumpkin recipe

Flower Event Requirements

White

\n
• 5,000 FP or more with Lilie
\n
• Walk to Town from 10:00 - 17:00 on a sunny Saturday or Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• 1.a. - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• 1.b. - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Purple

\n
• Purple flower friendship level or higher (10,000 FP or more with Lilie)
\n
• Have seen Lilie's White flower event
\n
• Leave town from 11:00 - 14:00 on a sunny Saturday or Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes Away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 3 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n

Yellow

\n
• Yellow flower or higher (40,000 FP or more with Lilie)
\n
• 10,000 FP or more with Melanie, her little sister.
\n
• Have seen the first two events and given her the commitment ring
\n
• Go to her room in the inn from 6:00 - 9:00 on a sunny Saturday or Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Gives 2,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n

Pink

\n
• Pink flower or higher (50,000 FP or more with Lilie)
\n
• Have seen the first 3 flower events for Lilie
\n
• Walk from river area to mountain area from 10:00 - 17:00 on a sunny Saturday or Sunday
\n

Choices

\n
• Choice 1 - Takes away 1,000 FP
\n
• Choice 2 - Gives 3,000 FP
\n

There are several women you can choose to marry in Story of Seasons, and they are all very different from each other. They all like different things and what may be a good gift for one of them, could be a terrible gift for another.

It is also important to know the birthday, favorite outfits, animals, and more of your chosen partner. I'll help you out there by going over each bachelorette in this game.

If you want info on how to get married, check out my How to Get Married guide. Also, check my Beginner's guide for any other help with the game.

This guide will cover each bachelorette in Story of Seasons including:

\n
• Personality Description - Things they like to do and where they like to go.
\n
• Gifts - Each person's likes and dislikes.
\n
• Birthday and More - Each person's birthday and other helpful info about them.
\n
• Flower Events - Requirements for all 4 flower events for each person.
\n

Harvest Moon has been a staple of the gaming landscape since its initial release in 1996 for the Super Nintendo. Traditionally it's been published under Natsume, but the company's recent release, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, isn't what you think it is -- and neither is XSEED Games' Story of Seasons.

Let's lay some groundwork first: The Harvest Moon series is called Bokujou Monogatari in Japan, where the series is developed. To avoid confusion, from here on the traditional series is going to be called Bokujou Monogatari. You'll see why momentarily.

There are two types of Harvest Moon fans: Those that knew Natsume had lost publishing rights, and those that didn't. And if you know they lost publishing rights, you know Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley is not a real Bokujou Monogatari game.

Bokujou Monogatari, the series traditionally known as Harvest Moon in the West, is now being published by XSEED Games under the name Story of Seasons. This is XSEED's first (and hopefully not last) published game in the series.

The confusion between The Lost Valley and Story of Seasons stems from Natsume losing the series publishing rights, but still holding onto the name trademark -- meaning Bokujou Monogatari published by XSEED needed a different name.

Some may see Natsume's continuation of the Harvest Moon name despite not having publishing rights for the Marvelous AQL series may see their move to retain the name as a bit underhanded. After all: How many people have been confused by the name change so far? Judging by the questions of my friends, a lot.

Natsume has only been known for Harvest Moon in the past, and releasing the trademark to XSEED could only spell bad news for Natsume. And who knows, maybe Natsume's next self-developed Harvest Moon game will surpass The Lost Valley.

In the meantime, if you like the modern Harvest Moon/Bokujou Monogatari series pre-The Lost Valley, give Story of Seasons a shot. It may have an ungodly long tutorial, but it is probably the relief to the Harvest Moon itch that The Lost Valley couldn't give.