For more information on the series as a whole please check out my first blog.
Harvest Moon/Bokujou Monogatari
The original Harvest Moon is known in Japan as Bokujou Monogatari (牧場物語), which means Farm Story/Tale. It was released there in August 1996, North America in 1997, and Europe the following January of 1998.
Although I explained at length in my previous blog that Harvest Moon was developed by Pack-in-Video/Victor Interactive (later Marvelous Entertainment), the first game was actually developed by Amccus. The only thing I could find out about them was that they produced one other game called Monstania. I am assuming that this company had something to do with Pack-in-Video, which was bought by Victor Interactive in 1996...although I know nothing for sure. Since no credit has ever been given to anyone else but Pack-in-Video/Victor Interactive for the creation of the series, this is the only guess I have.
Those of you who have played Harvest Moon games before already know the formula for the gameplay. However, for those who have not played the games I will quickly summarize. In this game you are a boy given a farm...because all small children should be given large plots of land and living animals to take care of. It is an adorable game. Do not question it. Anyways, the farm is failing and it is your job to fix it up! Your character has between 6am and 6pm to allocate time to different tasks on the farm. These tasks include planting and watering crops, buying seeds, talking to other villagers/NPCs, and feeding animals. There are even weather patterns and seasons to worry about. You sell what your animals and crops produce in town for an income. This money is used to upgrade different things around your farm, including your tools. You can also get married...I will resist rural jokes about underage marriage because it is an adorable game.
I have seen many complaints about the gameplay not evolving as the series goes on, but I would like to inject my opinion here. It is a farm simulator. An adorable farm simulator. Simulators do not make major changes to their gameplay and that is pretty typical of the genre. Changes, however, ARE made from game to game, and they often mean a good deal to fans of the series. The makers know keeping a fanbase is like walking a very fine line. That is all I will say on the matter.
Harvest Moon GB(GBC)/Bokujou Monogatari GB(GBC)
This is the second Harvest Moon game and the first for a handheld. It was produced by developed by Pack-in-Video/Victor Interactive and released in 1997/1998 (Japan/the rest of the world). A GameBoy Color version was released in 1998 as well. It was called Harvest Moon GBC.
Because of the limitations of the GameBoy, crops are the main source of income. There are, however, two types of livestock: cows and chickens. In addition, you can choose a cat or dog for a pet and you get a horse for shipping items and farm work. Just like in the original, you can also upgrade your tools.
Unlike the original Harvest Moon for the SNES and the upcoming Harvest Moon 64, you can actually choose your gender.
Harvest Moon 64/Bokujou Monogatari 2
While this game was known as Harvest Moon 64 in North America because almost every N64 game had to have that "64" attached to it, it was known as Bokujou Monogatari 2 in Japan and therefore the sequel to the original. The game was released in 1999. According to Wikipedia, it was developed by Toy Box Studios and Victor Interactive. When I clicked on the link to Toy Box Studios it sent me to Marvelous' page...
So I got a bit confused. The researcher in me got angry at the English Wikipedia page and suddenly I didn't want to waste the five years I spent learning Japanese in college. To Japanese websites I went!
That cleared pretty much everything up. I have links up at the bottom of the page for any Japanese readers. I couldn't find any direct relation or mention of Toy Box Studios on the Japanese websites but I found a ton of copyright material for Marvelous. So I believe that clears that up pretty well. The two companies clearly worked closely on the game with both having hands in the development process. Pack-in-Video (owned by Victor Interactive) was the publisher in Japan while Natsume published and localized the game for the North American audience, as per the usual.
The the persistent Harvest Moon development confusion out of the way, now to the gameplay. Once again, the player is given a farm, this time by your in-game grandfather. Although feeling very much like the first game in that you need to raise crops and animals to turn a profit, there are some more RPG elements this time around. Not only is there a limited amount of time in the day to work, but your character has limited stamina. It reminds me a bit of HP in RPGs and forces the player to make more critical choices. There are also side quests this time around as well as the chance to raise a family for the first time. Once again, you have your pick of the ladies in town. However, they all have their own personalities so there needs to be a bit of strategy in the wooing process. Besides all of this there are more crops, tools, and animals.
Harvest Moon 2 GBC/Bokujou Monogatri GB2
This cute little handheld Harvest Moon was released in 1999 for Japan, 2000 for North America, and 2001 for PAL regions. Its development process was easier to track down. It was developed and produced by Pack-in-Video (Victor Interactive) in Japan with Natsume localizing it in the states.
I have not actually played this one, but if you watch let's plays it seems to be less sim like and focuses more on RPG elements such as story and getting to know towns people. The gameplay seems a bit more linear as well. Just like the previous handheld Harvest Moon, you do get the choice of gender, which is nice. The storyline is a nice change of pace too. You are given a farm to fix up and if you fail to do so the place will get turned into an amusement park by the mayor. As with all the games, you are given a limited amount of time to repair the farm.
Rarity:
Harvest Moon - The American version goes for hundreds. If you have a PAL SNES you can find it for $50. I sadly could not find the Japanese version of the game, which is a real shame because I have a Super Famicom.
Harvest Moon GB(GBC) - This one was far more reasonable! I found the American/Japanese/PAL versions all ranging from $6-30 depending on condition. If you want new...it will cost a bit more ($1000-2000) but that is typical. Keep in mind that nearly no kid kept the boxes for GB/GBC games, so that really jacks up the prices of a new game.
Harvest Moon 64 - This goes for about $50 used. If you get the Japanese version it is about $20-30 and that included the box. As a side note, it is almost always cheaper to get the Japanese version of an older game (with exceptions). New, the game runs about $150-300 for the North American release.
Harvest Moon GBC - This game was about $20 used and $150-300 new. However, once again if you are willing to buy the Japanese version and have a Japanese GB you can buy it nearly new with a box for about $20.
That about wraps that up! This blog ended up being far longer than I thought it would but I had a ton of fun researching for it. :) Check the bottom of the page tomorrow for my full list of sources. I wanted to get this up at the promised time, but my sources are out of order and the HTML doesn't want to accept the Japanese...so I need to fiddle with the page a bit.
Thanks for reading!
 |
| Harvest Moon (North American SNES cover) |
The original Harvest Moon is known in Japan as Bokujou Monogatari (牧場物語), which means Farm Story/Tale. It was released there in August 1996, North America in 1997, and Europe the following January of 1998.
Although I explained at length in my previous blog that Harvest Moon was developed by Pack-in-Video/Victor Interactive (later Marvelous Entertainment), the first game was actually developed by Amccus. The only thing I could find out about them was that they produced one other game called Monstania. I am assuming that this company had something to do with Pack-in-Video, which was bought by Victor Interactive in 1996...although I know nothing for sure. Since no credit has ever been given to anyone else but Pack-in-Video/Victor Interactive for the creation of the series, this is the only guess I have.
Those of you who have played Harvest Moon games before already know the formula for the gameplay. However, for those who have not played the games I will quickly summarize. In this game you are a boy given a farm...because all small children should be given large plots of land and living animals to take care of. It is an adorable game. Do not question it. Anyways, the farm is failing and it is your job to fix it up! Your character has between 6am and 6pm to allocate time to different tasks on the farm. These tasks include planting and watering crops, buying seeds, talking to other villagers/NPCs, and feeding animals. There are even weather patterns and seasons to worry about. You sell what your animals and crops produce in town for an income. This money is used to upgrade different things around your farm, including your tools. You can also get married...I will resist rural jokes about underage marriage because it is an adorable game.
I have seen many complaints about the gameplay not evolving as the series goes on, but I would like to inject my opinion here. It is a farm simulator. An adorable farm simulator. Simulators do not make major changes to their gameplay and that is pretty typical of the genre. Changes, however, ARE made from game to game, and they often mean a good deal to fans of the series. The makers know keeping a fanbase is like walking a very fine line. That is all I will say on the matter.
Harvest Moon GB(GBC)/Bokujou Monogatari GB(GBC)
This is the second Harvest Moon game and the first for a handheld. It was produced by developed by Pack-in-Video/Victor Interactive and released in 1997/1998 (Japan/the rest of the world). A GameBoy Color version was released in 1998 as well. It was called Harvest Moon GBC.
Because of the limitations of the GameBoy, crops are the main source of income. There are, however, two types of livestock: cows and chickens. In addition, you can choose a cat or dog for a pet and you get a horse for shipping items and farm work. Just like in the original, you can also upgrade your tools.
Unlike the original Harvest Moon for the SNES and the upcoming Harvest Moon 64, you can actually choose your gender.
Harvest Moon 64/Bokujou Monogatari 2
While this game was known as Harvest Moon 64 in North America because almost every N64 game had to have that "64" attached to it, it was known as Bokujou Monogatari 2 in Japan and therefore the sequel to the original. The game was released in 1999. According to Wikipedia, it was developed by Toy Box Studios and Victor Interactive. When I clicked on the link to Toy Box Studios it sent me to Marvelous' page...
So I got a bit confused. The researcher in me got angry at the English Wikipedia page and suddenly I didn't want to waste the five years I spent learning Japanese in college. To Japanese websites I went!
That cleared pretty much everything up. I have links up at the bottom of the page for any Japanese readers. I couldn't find any direct relation or mention of Toy Box Studios on the Japanese websites but I found a ton of copyright material for Marvelous. So I believe that clears that up pretty well. The two companies clearly worked closely on the game with both having hands in the development process. Pack-in-Video (owned by Victor Interactive) was the publisher in Japan while Natsume published and localized the game for the North American audience, as per the usual.
The the persistent Harvest Moon development confusion out of the way, now to the gameplay. Once again, the player is given a farm, this time by your in-game grandfather. Although feeling very much like the first game in that you need to raise crops and animals to turn a profit, there are some more RPG elements this time around. Not only is there a limited amount of time in the day to work, but your character has limited stamina. It reminds me a bit of HP in RPGs and forces the player to make more critical choices. There are also side quests this time around as well as the chance to raise a family for the first time. Once again, you have your pick of the ladies in town. However, they all have their own personalities so there needs to be a bit of strategy in the wooing process. Besides all of this there are more crops, tools, and animals.
Harvest Moon 2 GBC/Bokujou Monogatri GB2
This cute little handheld Harvest Moon was released in 1999 for Japan, 2000 for North America, and 2001 for PAL regions. Its development process was easier to track down. It was developed and produced by Pack-in-Video (Victor Interactive) in Japan with Natsume localizing it in the states.
I have not actually played this one, but if you watch let's plays it seems to be less sim like and focuses more on RPG elements such as story and getting to know towns people. The gameplay seems a bit more linear as well. Just like the previous handheld Harvest Moon, you do get the choice of gender, which is nice. The storyline is a nice change of pace too. You are given a farm to fix up and if you fail to do so the place will get turned into an amusement park by the mayor. As with all the games, you are given a limited amount of time to repair the farm.
Rarity:
Harvest Moon - The American version goes for hundreds. If you have a PAL SNES you can find it for $50. I sadly could not find the Japanese version of the game, which is a real shame because I have a Super Famicom.
Harvest Moon GB(GBC) - This one was far more reasonable! I found the American/Japanese/PAL versions all ranging from $6-30 depending on condition. If you want new...it will cost a bit more ($1000-2000) but that is typical. Keep in mind that nearly no kid kept the boxes for GB/GBC games, so that really jacks up the prices of a new game.
Harvest Moon 64 - This goes for about $50 used. If you get the Japanese version it is about $20-30 and that included the box. As a side note, it is almost always cheaper to get the Japanese version of an older game (with exceptions). New, the game runs about $150-300 for the North American release.
Harvest Moon GBC - This game was about $20 used and $150-300 new. However, once again if you are willing to buy the Japanese version and have a Japanese GB you can buy it nearly new with a box for about $20.
That about wraps that up! This blog ended up being far longer than I thought it would but I had a ton of fun researching for it. :) Check the bottom of the page tomorrow for my full list of sources. I wanted to get this up at the promised time, but my sources are out of order and the HTML doesn't want to accept the Japanese...so I need to fiddle with the page a bit.
Thanks for reading!
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