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! Remember the plastic bag of seeds I picked up at an estate sale a few months ago and how difficult it was to get even a few of them to sprout? The three that did germinate were planted in a pot outside a few weeks ago. They're now happily thriving in a pot at the top of the stairs and have started producing blooms! Auu, this little flower sure is cute. It is nice to imagine the late gardener would have been pleased that the seeds she harvested from her marigold plants were enjoyed by people she had never met.

As for our carrot seedling, it too has been destroyed by the vilest of creatures: slugs. I found the remains of our last carrot warrior earlier this week, along with the fat little guy who chomped the seedling to bits. Now I've been checking on the radish seedlings every rainy morning and evening, picking out the little brown boogers that I catch munching on the crops. I haven't determined how the slugs gained access to the 2-foot tall raised beds with rough, slug-proof exteriors. I guess that there was an adult slug that made it into the raised bed via climbing the slug-friendly irrigation line that led into the garden box, laid a bunch of eggs, and now I'm picking out slug neonates every morning and evening. I pulled out 10 more last night! Gosh darn slugs!

On my progress through Rune Factory 5, I took the advice of other players and continued my adventure onto the Atohl, which was a pretty cool dungeon. I wish it was bigger! But then afterward, a Big Plot Twist™?! Oh dear, my adventuring days as a recruited ranger appear to be over, but at least now my heroine gets to work alongside hunky Terry. The new boss sent me into Gadeus Grassland, where I finally found silver ore (huzzah!) and met another strange character who seemed to dislike me for unknown reasons.

Mega-Woolie in Japan

Last February, amusement arcade prize manufacturer System Service released a Bokujou Monogatari 25th anniversary series of plushies: several XL-sized cows, a giant pillow turnip, a series of medium-sized farm animals, some smaller-sized cows, and lastly, a series of tiny lit-up bubble cow figurines. This week, the company posted a new promo collaboration with Marvelous on their Twitter account.

With Rune Factory 5 now 1-year-old in Japan (May 20, 2021), a Woolie mega-plushie will be released next week at participating game arcade centers. This premium plushie is about 15 inches tall and super cute. As this is not a retail offering, woolie hunters will need to win the mega-plushie at an arcade center or wait for someone else to win it and then sell it on Yahoo Auctions, Mercari, or another online option.

Possible Steam RF5?

According to SteamDB.info, an entry for Rune Factory 5 has been added to the Steam backend. This isn't necessarily a promise that RF5 will be coming to Steam in July, but a PC release appears to be in the works. Still, with RF4 already on the platform and how much better Marv's recent Switch games run on PC than on Nintendo's console (look'n at you, PoOT!), RF5 would definitely benefit from a Steam release. Of course, any official confirmation of a Rune Factory 5 Steam release will come from Marvelous.

HM2 Comic

Here's a newly translated comic from the Harvest Moon 2 Gameboy guidebook!

In HM2, the shipper picks up at 5pm, and anything put into the bin after 5pm doesn't get shipped. There's no carry-over to the next day like we have nowadays. And when tossing an item into the bin, it will land on the ground and be destroyed if the player's aim is off. Glad our modern-day shipping bins have improved!

Break Time Next Week

There won't be a Farm'n Friday next week, as I'll be spending the time on the forum upgrade I had been putting off for a loooong time. Hopefully, it won't take the whole weekend, as the upgrade has been in development in a secret location (oh ho ho!) for several weeks. There'll finally be a mobile-friendly format for the 20-year-old message board if all goes well.

I know forums have gone by the wayside in favor of other communication formats, but there's a lot of historical game content that might be useful to new players or those looking for old farming data. Once that project is finally off my to-do list, I can get back to working on guide pages

Until next time!

Cher
(It's almost tomato planting time!)

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