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: Home Sweet Home (August 2024) and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (June 2023)
• Europe: Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home (August 2024) 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

Demo for Fields of Mistria, Harvest Hills Kickstarter, and Ova Magica Early Access | Posted at 03:39 PM 07 June 2024

Happy Farm'n Friday! So far, the CSA has shared a lot of lettuce, spinach, beets, turnips, and kale with us. Last week, the farm noted we would receive "spring onions." I assumed they would be the standard, grocery-store-sized spring onions like we received the first week of the CSA. Nope! Apparently, they can get enormous. We're using them in place of regular onions, and Mr.Fogu used some of the greens in rice bowls he made for dinner, but it will take a lot of work to use the whole thing!

There are a lot of seedlings sprouted in the mini wildflower meadow in the front yard, but many are grouped together. I had sowed all the seeds by the fistful and tossed them out randomly. That resulted in big glops of plants growing together. Next time, I'll use a seed spreader to distribute the seeds evenly. Strangely, none of the marigold seeds I also tossed into the space have sprouted. It should be good for all the bees and other insects either way, I hope.

June Wholesome Direct

Remember tomorrow's digital Wholesome Direct! Starting at 9:00 am Pacific Time (12:00 pm Eastern), the cozy game platform will showcase upcoming cozy, farmy, cutey, and other "auuu..." types of games that will be released in the future. Last year's Wholesome Direct introduced us to games such as Moonstone Island, Garden Witch Life, Kibu, and Kamaeru (which is out tomorrow on Steam).

• Wholesome Direct 2024

Fields of Mistria Demo

A free demo of the SNES-styled, almost-early-access fantasy farming game Fields of Mistria is now available on Steam for a limited time. This short demo gives you a taste of the first 3 days of the game.

In Mistria, the player is invited to take over an old farm in exchange for helping the town rebuild after a devastating earthquake. The town also needs assistance building its renown, a rank that every town across the Kingdom of Aldaria is assigned. The more renown a town has, the more support it receives from the Capital. Completing bulletin board tasks, shipping goods, etc., will help the town's popularity ranking.

Farming is as expected, with tilling, sowing, watering, and harvesting. Because the demo is limited to 3 days, there is a handy magic spell that will instant-grow crops. Magic spells come into play later in the main game, but for now, there are a few the player can tinker with.

And the neighboring farm owner has an excellent farmer's tan and greying hair. Relatable, as my hair is turning grey, and I too achieve awesome arm tan lines during the summertime... I like this guy!

Besides farming, you'll be tasked with completing the town museum's exhibits. Curator Errol needs you to bring him fish, flowers, crops, bugs, and artifacts to help restore their town collections, improve renown, and earn a little bit of money. There are also other rewards like wearable items and farm objects. Items are tracked with a green checkbox to indicate whether you've already donated that item to the museum. How convenient!

The town is said to be guarded by the mythical dragon Caldarus, according to the historical society. This guardian was worshiped by the town's ancestors. You'll find little nods to Caldarus in various spots, such as the fountain in the center of town. You'll soon learn that Caldarus needs a mortal to help regain their strength. Now you're responsible for reviving the town and its guardian.

The 3-day free demo for Mistria will be available until July 17. The game then launches on Steam Early Access on August 5. Developer NPC Studio estimates the game to be in Early Access for a year.

• Fields of Mistria | Steam Store

Fae Farm DLC

The second of the post-launch content packs for giggly farming game Fae Farm will launch on June 20. The Skies of Azoria DLC will bring a new dreamy area with new characters who need farming assistance.

Those who own the game on Nintendo Switch or have the deluxe edition will receive this content pack for free. Farmers with the standard edition can purchase Skies of Azoria for around $10.

The first content pack, Coasts of Croakia, released last December.

New Kickstarter - Harvest Hills

Solo developer Yuri has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign for their clicky farming game, Harvest Hills. In this game, players manage their farms from an overhead view, leading the farmer to do tasks by clicking on spots on the homestead. For example, click the well to grab water, then click the field to direct the farmer to water that spot. To harvest, click the pile of crates, click the crops, and then click the barn to place the goods into storage.

Each game level has a shipment goal at the top of the screen. A shipping truck will drive onto the farm every few minutes and display what goods it wants to pick up. The drivers' prices vary, so you can choose to complete part of the order or wait until the next truck to see if the price for Carrots is higher. Similar to planting and watering, the farmer has to be directed to deliver the goods from the barn to the truck via clicks. You can also directly ship harvested crops from the field to the truck, which takes more time. The truck will only be around for a few minutes, but if you manage to fill all of the truck's requests, you'll earn a bonus of $50.

Clearing the game level will unlock more crops, fruit trees, animals, and other goodies. The goal needed to clear the level also increases in difficulty.

Overall, it's a cute little farm management game. The developer notes that the game is almost complete and launched the crowdfunding campaign to fund development costs and possibly additional content. The goal is to release the game in October. A free demo is also available if you want to check it out:

• Harvest Hills | Steam Store
• Harvest Hills | Kickstarter

SunnySide Console Date

Japanese countryside farming game SunnySide recently delayed its PC launch from May 24 to June 14 (next week). Initially, the home console launch (PlayStation 5 and XBox S|X) was assumed to remain as July 14. This week, developer RainyGames published that the console version will also face a delay; the game is now scheduled to be released on home console on August 16. This is to ensure the updates made to the PC version will be included in the console version at launch.

Ova Magica EA Date

ClaudiatheDev announced this week that blob-farming game Ova Magica will launch on Steam Early Access on July 23.

The early access launch includes farming, town festivals, fishing, villagers, museum collections, building upgrades, support for up to 40 blobs, and more. The game will not include the marriage system yet, but player romance can unlock between 3 and 4 of the available 7 heart events planned for full release. The game will be available in English for now and is Steam Deck compatible.

Crowdfund backers who supported at the Steam tier will receive a key for early access. Home console backers can switch their pledge to Steam by contacting the developer, or they can hold tight until the game is fully released sometime in 2025.

A limited-time free demo of Ova is available until June 17.

• Ova Magica | Steam Store

Until next time!

-Cher
(Heading downtown tomorrow to participate in the local boba tea sampling event!)

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