The Ushi No Tane websites specialize in information, FAQs, and guides about the Nintendo console versions of the Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons, and Legend of the River King video games. These game genres are created and published in Japan by Marvelous (JP). In other regions, you'll find Natsume, XSeed Games/Marvelous (USA), Marvelous (EU), and Rising Star involved in the series' release.

The latest version of the mainstream farming series that have been released in various regions of the world are:

• Japan: Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (January 2023)
• North America: Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos (September 2023) and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (June 2023)
• Europe: Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos (October 2023) and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (June 2023)

The latest version of River King, in all regions of the world, is River King: Mystic Valley (JP 2007, NA 2008, EU 2009).

Since 2000, Ushi no Tane has been run by a grouchy old lady who happens to be fond of video game agriculture along with two feline helpers: Intern Captain Bootu and Intern Hondo Mewnaka. The website is not officially affiliated, sponsored, endorsed, or employed by the developers of Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons, or River King. This is simply a fan site.

Latest Farming Video Game News

HM: Light of Hope Spotlight #1 and RF4 Promo Video | Posted at 05:22 PM 18 August 2017Happy farm'n Friday!

Light of Hope Feature Spotlight #1

This week Natsume posted a video of rebuilding a villager's house in Harvest Moon: Light of Hope. This is the first official video of the game in motion other than the shaky-camera videos that escaped June's E3 event, where a demo version of the game was available for show attendees to try. If you haven't seen the video yet, check it out on Natsume's Facebook page:

• Natsume Inc - Rebuilding the Town

The Facebook post also includes a description of the video from Producer Taka. He explains how players will be tasked with rebuilding the villager houses and bridges that were destroyed when the terrible storm came through the island (and washed you up there as well). The video showcases the main farmer fixin'n up Sam's shop in the village. You can also see Calvin the Harvest Sprite and Jeanne for a brief moment. Initially after seeing the video, I was a bit confused as many others. For me, why does the hero still look the same as the previous versions of the series? With a new adventure I'd expect a new protagonist at some point! This poor guy or gal really gets lost a lot. The hero has wandered into two snowy valleys, one abandoned farm with neighboring absent-minded villagers, and now it's a shipwreck onto an island, all while wearing the same overalls, yellow-plaid shirt, and red 'kerchief. That's some pretty bad luck, but on the flip side someone is really good at doing their laundry. After playing the video in full-screen mode instead of the default Facebook video size, I got a bit better feel of the game. The background reminds me a bit of Citizens of Earth, which is a pretty cool game if you haven't played it yet. The trees and rocks are also less washed-out looking than the earlier mobile game, Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories. Ok, I like bright colors. This might not be too bad. It might be nice to have some springtime cherry blossoms or something fluttering around (as long as it isn't the dreaded foggy weather). As for the characters, the animated emotions have returned in this latest version of the series. Having the 3D characters against a 2D background is a little, well, it seems some people like them and some people don't. It does look a little odd, but the 3D-ish cloud of smoke when Sam's house was complete kind of visually worked. Although much like the protagonist, I would hope that Sam's wardrobe might change at some point. Naturally I'll play the game, because it's farm'n, but it feels somewhat like this is headed in a lighter direction for younger audiences. Challenge wise, this game gives me the impression that it might be very easy (such as only needing 1 Softwood Lumber to fix Sam's house), which would be great for novice farmers. On the opposite side, the previous versions had some challenges that were ridiculously bothersome such as needing to have fruit trees planted for several years before they produce Great-quality fruit. Producer Taka wrote that the houses will require more challenging construction materials as you proceed through the game, but how much more challenging could the main storyline be? In comparison, completing the main story in Skytree Village can easily be done by the end of the first in-game year. On the bright side, the Spotlight video uses Doc's unique theme song!

New Rune Factory 4 Video

To promote the discount-price re-release of Rune Factory 4 in Japan, Marvelous has released a new trailer for the game. The movie shows characters, battles, and village activities you can participate in during your great adventure. Until next time! - Cher (Maybe the Monday eclipse will grant me SUPER FARMER POWERS, or at least scare those dang squirrels...)Feedback: Add | View (10)

<< Previous page

Next page >>

RSS