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: Pioneers of Olive Town for Ps4 (July 2022)
• North America: Harvest Moon: One World (March 2021) and Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town for Ps4 (July 2022)
• Europe: Harvest Moon: One World (March 2021) and Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town for Ps4 (July 2022)

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

Happy Farm'n Friday! The floors are finally done! The old, dingy carpet is thankfully gone from most of the house. We still have carpet in the living room, but that's another project slated for replacement soon. The new Fogu office sits primarily empty (the Interns' kibble bowls are in there) while I finalize paint colors and design for my retro-themed dedicated farm'n and office workspace. Modern-day paint manufacturers don't seem to have an "Avocado Green," "Pumpkin Orange," or "Harvest Gold" in their rotation, but I'm sure there is something equivalent available.

Yes, I plan to have shag somewhere, but probably just a rug. Nonetheless, it shall be awesome.

One Week to Goooo!

The long-awaited remake of the 2003 Gamecube game, Story of Season: A Wonderful Life comes out in Japan next week on January 26. Famitsu recently posted a play review on their website.

From Famitsu.com

The writer had not played a farming game before, so the article highlights their mistakes and how they enjoyed ranch life. They explain how they concentrated on growing and shipping crops to earn money for building expansions but forgot to buy feed for their cow. No feed meant the cow wouldn't produce decent milk (oops!) Fodder can be purchased for 20 G each. There are also animal treats (50 G) and Chicken Feed (100 G) to buy. So the writer lamented that they lost a few days of poor cow production until they could ship crops to earn money for buying fodder. In the original AWL, fodder cost 200 G, animal treats were 200 G, and chicken feed was 150 G.

The author noted that completing the tasks posted on the community message board is useful. A reward for giving a task giver their requested soup rewarded them with crops seeds, so the tasks are good for building up supplies.

They had difficulty raising cows and stated their cow's health dropped. Even after the health improved, it wasn't enough to recover the bovine's production quality. The author noted that the cow wasn't producing high-enough quality milk that could be shipped. They took those experiences to heart when starting out with chickens and had a much easier time collecting and selling the birds' eggs.

With their goal to build expansions, they were pleased that they could also work at the excavation site, catch fish, and forage for wild items to sell to the traveling merchant that regularly visited the valley. Expansions have increased in cost; no wonder the reviewer was so fixated on completing the building upgrades!

• The duck pond now costs 10,000 G (was 2500 G)
• The milking shed is 150,000 G (was 60,000 G)
• The fertilizer maker is 45,000 G
• The livestock barn upgrade is 120,000 G
• The poultry barn upgrade is 100,000 G

Talking to the valley's residents was enjoyable, as the reviewer felt learning about the characters' personalities and backgrounds were fascinating. They admit that they attempted to see as much as possible in the game by cycling through waking up, watering crops, and going to bed to end the day early. Once they got the hang of crops and cows, they felt they could be successful with their farm.

The reviewer also shared an in-game image of a black horse, so we now know that various horse colors are available. We don't know yet how that works in the game; whether it is random like AWL:SE or if we get to choose our color.

You can see more of the playthrough on the Famitsu's website:

• Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life Play Review

Indie Farm'n Game Updates

Pathea recently released a schedule of features they will be adding to the single-player experience in My Time at Sandrock. The sequel to My Time at Portia launched in early access on Steam in May 2022, and their latest plans take the game's development well into this summer.

The multiplayer open beta test for Sandrock ended today. Pathea plans to review the results and feedback from the beta after the Lunar New Years celebrations. If all goes well, the multiplayer functionality will be added to the early access game in late spring or early summer.

The early access for My Time at Sandrock is 20% off until January 26.

Fluffnest hopes to release an alpha build of Puffpals: Island Skies sometime this summer. A special in-game outfit will be made available for preorder for those who didn't crowdfund the game during its Kickstarter campaign. This hot-pink and black costume will soon be offered directly from the Island Skies website.

Crytivo published their 5th development log for the formerly-Kickstarted-but-being-Kickstarted-again farming game, Farm Folks. Their latest article highlights the new technology players can use to make a highly-efficient farm.

• There are various maker-like machines to process or produce goods. For example, the Organic 3D Printer allows players to print animal products, the Packager will combine farm products into neat little packages for sale, Smelters and Fabricators will process raw materials into finished products such as ore and wooden planks, and so on. All the maker stations can be connected using a rail system to move processed goods from one station to the next. These stations require electricity to function, and Farm Folks plans to have a variety of ways of producing that resource.
• The Plant Breeding Table lets players mix plants to create something new to grow, while the Crafting Table lets players build objects. Unlike the maker stations, the Crafting Table doesn't require electricity.
• Players will also need electricity to use an electric scooter, a mode of transportation that lets players zip around.
• eScooters aren't the only way of getting around; some farm animals can also be used to get from place to place. Animals can be purchased or tamed from the wild. With the color variations available, Crytivo hopes players will enjoy breeding their animals to obtain unique colors.
• Crops will produce based on how well the plant was cared for during its growth and other factors such as soil moisture. The Water Spray Gun will make it easier to water crops using water bottles created at the Crafting Table. Cryptivo also released a short video of the Water Spray Gun in action:

Looking good! On February 7, Cryptivo will have a live developer chat on their Twitch channel. Viewers will get a sneak peek of the behind-the-scenes working of Farm Folks, ask questions, and give suggestions for features they would like to see implemented in the farming game.

HMGB2 Comic

Since I've got the scanner moved back into place, here's another localized panel comic drawn by Igusa Matsuyama from the Harvest Moon GB2 Official Guide Book. Poor Sakuramaru-san was looking forward to the spring horse race...

Until next time!

Cher
(Guess I have to start taking down the Christmas light soon...)

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