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 (February 2021)
• North America: Harvest Moon: One World (March 2021) and Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town Ps4/XBox (October 2021)
• Europe: Harvest Moon: One World (March 2021) and Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town Ps4/XBox (October 2021)

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 single bulb rescued from that gardener's estate sale bloomed this week and is a massive white Oriental Lily! I wish I could have grabbed more of them! It smells quite lovely and has stayed bloomed for a while, much better than the Tiger Flower bulbs in the same flowerpot. Flowers with 12-hour blooms are disappointing, for sure. Giant thumb's down for Tiger Flower. Though, I've to keep the lily outside because Intern Captain is very allergic to the scent of lilies. The poor little guy will start sneezing up a storm if there's one in the same room. Intern Hondo doesn't have the same reaction to the flower as his brother.

My adventures through Rune Factory 5 now has me heading to the Thundering Wastes to search for something that I've already forgotten about... heh. I've been busy trying to complete the Harvest a Giant Veggie task from Priscilla. So far, I've been able to grow some large Pumpkins and toss Giantizer on them, but they never merged together to make a super-duper Pumpkin. I figured maybe the crops weren't high-quality enough, so I replanted the area with level 2 Pumpkin seeds and cared for them until they naturally became large. But now, the group of 4 large Pumpkins hasn't merged together for weeks, even after tossing another bag of Giantizer on them. Maybe I can't get a mega squash on a dragon field? /shrug

As for the front yard garden box soil correction challenge, the cover crop seeds have arrived. Huzzah! Planting those seeds will be this weekend's project, I think.

Doraemon:SoS2 JP Release Date Announced

Bandai Namco announced that the Japan release date for Doraemon: Story of Seasons - Friends of the Great Kingdom will be November 2, 2022, on Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. To celebrate the announcement, the publisher posted a new video trailer for the game on their Youtube channel:

The video shows off the beauty of the game, the second-player local multiplayer option, some of the Secret Gadgets, and introduces the mythical Goddess.

The official website in Japan details the specs between each platform. Players will have 3 save slots regardless of platform. While the Switch version is locked to 30 fps in docked and handheld mode, the Steam version will be a variable 30 fps (depending on system specs), while the Playstation 5 version will be 60 fps.

The standard edition of Great Kingdom costs 5980円 (~ $45 USD). Preorder bonuses will be available for both physical and digital editions. Those who preorder on any platform will receive summertime outfits for the Doraemon crew, but the three-piece furniture bonus is unavailable for those who preorder the Steam version. As with the last Doraemon game, players have to unlock the carpenter shop option before they can access the gifted furniture.

A Digital Deluxe edition will also be available for preorder, costing 8164円 (~$61 USD). The deluxe edition includes:

• a digital copy of the game;
• a season pass that unlocks the 3 DLC that will be released before December 31, which contain more outfits, tools, farmhouse furniture, and villager scenarios;
• a digital soundtrack of the game's 80 songs; and
• a special four-seasons seed package of cucumber, red pepper, carrot, and daikon radish.

Those who also get the season pass will receive more bags of high-quality crop seeds: strawberry, corn, tomato, and cabbage. The season pass can be purchased separately from the Digital Deluxe edition for 1500円 (~$11 USD). The 3 DLC can also be purchased individually for 600円 (~$4.50 USD), but players will only receive the bonus HQ seeds if they buy the DLC together via the season pass.

Another bonus will be rewarded for those who had played the previous version of the series, Doraemon: Story of Seasons. If Great Kingdom detects an existing save file for Doraemon:SoS1 on the player's platform of choice, they will be rewarded with Seizen Town outfits in Great Kingdom for the Doraemon crew.

The other Bandai Namco regions have not yet announced release dates, prices, or DLC, but since the Steam version is anticipated to be November 2, it may be a realistic date for other regions.

New Farm'n Game - Moondrop

A new indie farming game was released this week on Steam Early Access. Moondrop has players farming on a strange, ever-changing mountain with a nightly mist that appears and rearranges the terrain.

Players must note the placement of their crops, taking advantage of their neighboring plants to ripen while surviving until Mistfall. When the mist finally does take over the farm, retreat back to the dilapidated village of Oncewas and use the resources collected during the time on the farm to rebuild the town. After the upgrades are finished (if you can afford them), head back to the mountain and start a farm again using the knowledge obtained during the last attempt. Repeat this farm/town cycle until the mystery of the misty mountain is revealed.

Tilling the soil, planting, and watering is important for germination, but the plants also require friendship. Plants are defined by one of four elements: sunny (yellow), shady (purple), dry (red), and damp (blue). With the basic seeds, sunny plants send shady friendship (and shady sends sunny friendship), just as much as damp plants send dry friendship and dry plants send damp friendship. This is important when trying to grow similar types of plants next to each other. A sunny seed needs to receive sunny yellow friendship to grow, but if it receives shady purple friendship, the plant will ungrow! The seeds will feed (or starve) off each neighboring plant's friendship until they mature and can be harvested. New friendship combinations will appear as you unlock more seed varieties, such as a sunny-yellow Tomball with a dry (red) friendship.

Most plants will reseed in the same location after harvest, except for some rare seeds, so planting the right pattern of seeds in the best spots is significant if you want to harvest before the mist retakes the farm space at Mistfall. An alchemy pot can be used to craft potions that will change a plant's friendship type, but you've to have the right ingredients.

The mountain mist will weaken every couple of in-game days, trigging a Twilight Hour, allowing players to explore the mountain and look for resources if they have the money to pay for transportation to the mountain shrine. As long as the Moon Lantern has energy, the mist will clear away and reveal new paths, flowers, resources, and other goodies.

You can learn more about Moondrop on the game's Steam Store page:

• Moondrop on Steam

There is a free web-based demo of Moondrop if you want to check out this rather interesting take on a farming game. You can play the game at:

• Moondrop demo at itch.io

Until next time!

Cher
(Noooo it is dark outside at 9pm! Super lame! Bring back the light!)

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