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

Marriage in HM:HSH, New Farm'n Game, and the Nintendo Direct Reveal for RF: Guardians of Azuma | Posted at 04:22 PM 30 August 2024

Happy Farm'n Friday! I had a busy, office-free week. Got the marionberry canes prepared for next year's harvest, cleaned up a bunch of overgrown weeds, repotted the lemon tree (now 1.5 years old!), took the interns to the vet for a check-up, and put the blood orange seedling (~3 months old) into a larger pot, among other things. I started on some Christmas projects, too, of course. There are only two months before this year's Christmas Light Extravaganza installation can begin!

Good Smile Company also sent confirmation this week that the Nendoroid for Bokujou Monogatari's Claire will be released in "the next couple of months." If you pre-ordered the farm-y protagonist figurine earlier this year, double-check to ensure your on-file shipping address is still correct.

I also managed to complete the marriage requirements in Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. Since I could not marry the silver fox again, I settled on the fisherman Harriet. The improved dialog style in Home Sweet Home was obvious when Abraham accepted that his daughter was getting married. A whole drama ensued after proposing using the Blue Feather. Initially, he refused to acknowledge that she was getting married, but some convincing from Philip helped him accept that it was happening no matter what. Then, there was a pre-ceremony speech in which he was sad about his baby girl growing up. Those types of experiences were unavailable in Anthos, making me a bit curious about the other HSH candidates' proposals and marriage events.

The steps for marriage are similar to Anthos, whereby you see the 5 music note romance events, give a Token of Love, and then see the couples' event before you can propose marriage. You can give everyone a Token of Love to see their events, then settle on the one person you want to give a Blue Feather. You also have to maximize the size of the farmhouse, which puts a second bed in the bedroom the day after the wedding (rather than one large bed). Since there is a limit of 7 Token of Love to create at the carpenter's shop, matching the 7 marriage candidates, it's pretty clear that there are no secret marriage candidates. Bah.

I mainly wanted to get married to finish the walkthrough, as marriage is one of the game's chapters. Been writing everything down this time!

Abyss Demo

The farming and village-building game Abyss: New Dawn has a free demo available on Steam. Development studio Aloya Games seeks player feedback about their multi-tiered world game.

In Abyss, players can explore 10 biome levels stacked together, with each being more challenging than the floor above. Each level of the abyss has a boss that needs to be conquered. Farm and explore each biome alone or with friends to discover the mystery of the abyss.

You can learn more about this game on the Steam store page:

• Abyss: New Dawn | Steam Store Page

New Farm'n - Dreamland Farm

A new pixel-based farming game from indie game publisher and developer RedDeer Games (Garden Buddies, Bit Orchard, and Sprout Island) was recently announced. Dreamland Farm, a cozy farming sim, is coming to Nintendo Switch in the next few months.

There's little to go on besides the story about a grandkid taking over their grandma's farm. Initially, it looks cute. We'll have to watch this one to learn more about its gameplay.

Rune Factory Dragooooonz

This week's indie/partner Nintendo Direct included a surprise announcement for the Project Dragon RF game, now officially titled Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma in English while keeping Rune Factory: Dragon's Country in Japanese.

Playing as either protagonist Subaru or Kaguya, we'll be restoring the natural beauty of Azuma that vanished after a great calamity caused the destruction of the eastern-themed world's runes. Using the sacred parasol and drum, boogie your way through the desolate land as an Earth Dancer to revive hope and life in Azuma.

The protagonist will also be tasked with rebuilding the Asian-themed village, overseen by springtime spirit Ulalaka, who was awoken from a sleeping cherry blossom tree. Place buildings to design your custom village, setting aside spaces for growing crops using the sacred parasol and drum. Besides the home village, you'll visit other season-themed villages ruled by other gods, befriend the residents, and participate in local customs. Sidekick Woolby, the talking wooly/dragon creature, guides the protagonists on their journey to restore the land.

Naturally, there is some bad-guy element that has the goal of destroying the remaining gods of Azuma. Fighting is a natural element of Rune Factory games, including recruiting in-game friends to form a battle party. Some of the latest trailers include Chipsqueek and Buffamoo monsters in the village, so there's most likely a recruit function somewhere. Nintendo's direct trailer mentions restoring "certain monsters to their human forms," most likely defeating monster-cursed gods to restore their normal shape.

Azuma also includes an appearance from Hina, all grown up from her days in Rune Factory 5. Now a SEED ranger, she and a blond-haired ranger fly in on their airship and have a role in the game's story. The second SEED ranger kinda reminds me of the protagonist's kid in RF5, but that's just a guess.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma has a Spring 2025 release date for Nintendo Switch and Steam/PC.

This is the second of the games referenced in Marvelous' fiscal report earlier this year, with Farmagia being the other game the publisher planned to release during this fiscal year (4/1/2024 to 3/31/2025). This means no Bokujou Monogatari game releases until at least next April. Granted, there could be an announcement about a new game during this time, with a later 2025 release date, so keep your chin up, fellow farming fans!

Until next time!

-Cher
(The dianthus plant sprouted from seed still hasn't bloomed... I assumed it was annual, but maybe it's a perennial...)

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