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

Happy Farm'n Friday! Thank you for the comments about last week's big ball/small ball debate for the outdoor wireframe lights. The small beach balls were the winner. There are 32 small beach balls on their way to Fogu HQ to be used in the Light Extravaganza. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

RF5 Preorders Open in NA

This week, Xseed Games finalized the preorder process for their upcoming Nintendo Switch game, Rune Factory 5.

US Preorders

In the US, both the Standard Edition (game-only) and the Limited Edition (game + bonus goodies) can now be reserved on the XSeed Games store. The Standard Edition costs $59.99 and the Limited Earthmate Edition is $79.99, plus the cost of any applicable sales tax (shipping is free on orders over $49). The XSeed store does not ship to Canada.

The cute Wooly head that was revealed as a preorder bonus for Europe is also available exclusively from the XSeed store. The EU preorder item costs an extra $5 when preordering the game through XSeed. Farmers can choose whether they want to include the Wooly head with their purchase. Adding the Wooly changes the purchase price to $64.99 (standard) and $84.99 (limited).

Canada Preorders

Preorders for Canada-based farmers also are now available at Gamestop Canada. The Standard Edition is $74.99, and the Limited Earthmate Edition is $99.99. Neither edition at Gamestop CA have the Wooly tag as a bonus item.

In Marvelous EU's region, the Limited Earthmate Edition of RF5 and the Wooly-head bag tag are exclusive to GAME stores in the UK and other participating retailers outside the UK.

Natsume Plushie Promo

The new 12" pillow-form plushies from Natsume are on sale over at Amazon.com. Both the Pillow Cow and the Pillow Corgi are on sale for $19.99 each (33% off). This sale is this weekend only, according to the Natsume social media announcements.

Haunted Chocolatier

ConcernedApe, the one-person development team behind Stardew Valley, revealed his latest video game project this week. Haunted Chocolatier is a shop-management game where the protagonist hunts down ingredients to use for crafting tasty chocolate treats. The goodies are then sold at a shop by its ghostly employees.

Looks super kewl to me! CA explains that the game is similar to Stardew because the player moves to a new town to start a new life. After that, though, the single-player PC game is geared towards more of an action RPG than a farming simulator.

You can learn more about the game on the official website:

• ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier

The Good Life

Last Friday was the release of SWERY's The Good Life, a mystery game set in the English countryside town of Rainy Woods, where it's rumored that there are more sheep than people. Sure enough, there are sheep but not that many sheep!

The gameplay basically centers around fetch quests, with plotlines unlocking as the quests are completed. Besides the main storyline, there are a large number of side quests that may have you cooking dishes, collecting materials, or even decorating your garden space.

Growing flowers and crops is as simple as planting a seed in the raised beds and waiting a few days. Seeds come from the town store or are found out in the wild. While the vegetables and herbs can be used as cooking ingredients, the flowers seem simply decorative. There are several garden space themes to choose from, though any plants growing in the raised beds are wiped out during the remodel because of the layout changes.

Caring for sheep unlock during one of the main story quest lines. Players get to tame the sheep, give it a snazzy name, and then ride it back to the sheep farm to house it with the rest of your flock. Each sheep has stats (fluffiness, power, and handling) that can be improved by proper sheep care. The sheep can also be sheered for wool felt to make into clothes. Your best sheep can be assigned to be your trusty shteed, carrying you around the countryside faster than walking or running like a dog or cat. The sheep even make a cute "Baaaaaaaaa" sound when you accidentally ram them into walls and trees. There is even an achievement to collect 200 sheep!

Overall, I'm enjoying the game, even after waiting years for its release. A 1.5 patch was released today for the Steam version that added several improvements and corrected some game-breaking bugs; this patch will also be released for the Ps4/Switch/XBox versions after going through the appropriate platform review process.

Until next time!

Cher
(Ack, little interns! Stop trying to chew the Christmas lights!)

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