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

Gameplay and Relase Date for Sugardew Island, Sandrock Figurines, and Rune Factory Steam Discounts | Posted at 06:14 PM 07 February 2025

Happy Farm'n Friday! It did snow this week; the first 30 minutes was the fluffy white stuff, followed by a wintery rain/snow mix that didn't do much. So, there was a lot of huff but not much puff. That's okay with me! I'd rather the snow stay in higher elevations and leave me alone.

My current problem is with the plants stored in the garage to protect them from the freezing temperature. The small Jasmine bush and the Dianthus planted in the Turtleque are growing. The new growth is light green since there isn't enough light for photosynthesis in the garage. I've tried reminding the plants that it is sleepy time, but they won't listen.

(Turtleque is an old cast-iron four-legged barbeque grill shaped like a turtle. Lift off the shell to reveal the grill bed, with the coals held in the undershell, which was large enough to grill two hamburger patties. Since we've upgraded our outdoor cooking devices, the turtle-shaped grill is now an outdoor planter. Reuse/recycle kind of thing.)

MTaS Figurines

Pathea revealed this week that a new set of figurines from My Time at Sandrock is now available for order on Amazon. Chibi Nia, Chibi Unsuur with Chibi Captain, Chibi Logan, and Chibi Fang with Chibi X are made of PVC plastic. They range in height from 51 mm (~ 2 inches) for Fang and X, up to 72 mm (~ 2 5/8 inches) for Unsuur and the feline deputy of the Sandrock Civil Corp.

The four-figure set is priced at $49.99.

• My Time at Sandrock Series Collectible Figures - Fang, Logan, Unsuur, Nia (4Pcs)

Sugardew Island Release Date

Rokaplay's new shopkeeper and farming game, Sugardew Island, will be released on March 7 and 14. This farm-shop sim has players setting up a quaint homestead after being shipwrecked on a mysterious cursed island.

The island's history starts with the humans and Forest Folk living in harmony, nurtured by the Harmony Tree. Unfortunately, one day, the humans turned to greed. They wanted to chop down the Harmony Tree. This unexpected behavior change scared the animals away - except for one creature whose roar caused magical Thorns of Disharmony to appear to shield the Harmony Tree from the human's wrath. Out of fear, all the humans fled the island, leaving the single beast on the island, lonely and hoping for someone to restore the harmony between everyone.

Players will work to collect Harmony to restore the island and clear away the wild thorns. Selling goods to the Forest Folk who live here and completing tasks issued by the Harmony Tree will also help revitalize the island. Basically, helping others unlocks Harmony.

The tasks the tree offers unlock perks for improving the farm, with the goal of each group to restore the wild animals to the island. Once you collect enough Harmony, return to the tree to complete the task and move the story forward. Animals will return to the island as their task groups are cleared.

The starting tasks are pretty easy. Tasks will require more Harmony the more challenging they become. You can cancel an active Harmony Tree task to choose a different one, but all Harmony earned during the current task will disappear when you switch mid-completion. Ideally, you wouldn't want to switch to a new task while working on an active task, but the option is there.

The game doesn't have an in-game clock; instead, the day simply continues as you work on the farm and in the shop. Actions (tilling, watering, chopping, etc.) will deplete the protagonist's stamina gauge, located in the upper-left corner of the screen; sowing seeds does not use stamina. Eating food or going to bed will restore stamina.

The farm store is where products can be turned into Harmony and Sugardew currency, used for shopping at Tomte the Traveling Merchant, or building and tool upgrades at the farm's workbench. Random Forest Folk will visit the shop, pick up merchandise from the shelves you have set out, and then visit the cash register. Some customers are easy to check out, while others need some persuasion. You can either talk them into paying full price (more Sugardew but less Harmony) or give them a discount (less Sugardew and more Harmony). The shop closes automatically once the last item has been purchased, changing daytime to night. Ringing a customer up will expend stamina.

Going to bed ends the day. However long you want to spend in the daytime or nighttime is up to you. There's no sense of urgency or need to hurry to do anything in this game. You don't even have to open the shop for the day if you don't want to. It's quite chill.

There is a little bit of romance, too. Four elemental spirits live in the area: Ignis (fire), Riva (water), Sylvana (earth), and Zephiro (wind). Building friendships with the spirits is done via daily conversations and the island's bulletin board. The fetch requests posted on the board by the spirits will stay until completed, so there's no rush to finish a task before it vanishes. Complete the task to earn friendship and Sugardew. Bulletin board tasks won't reward Harmony, as that's only earned from goods sold at the farm shop.

Of course there is farming, which is the standard till/sow/water method. The design of the field space is wide open and can be decorated with objects built using the workbench. Seeds can come from Tomte's shop inventory and petting the wild animals that return to the island. The seeds from wild animals are free though, as I've found you can leave the wild animal island and return to collect another bag of seeds by petting the animals. This might be corrected later; for now, exploit the wild animals with head pets! Mwa ha ha...

Harvested crops can then be used for completing bulletin board tasks or sold at the player's farm shop.

The farm animals are easy to care for. Feed them Wheat, and they'll produce a product the next day. Higher friendship simply means more goods produced. Tomte also sells companion pets that can follow as you walk around Sugardew Island. His pet inventory changes daily.

This game was crowdfunded via Kickstarter in April 2024, with an initial estimated release for August 2024. The developer wanted to add a bit more love to their game, moving the release date to March 2025. Overall, it is a cute farming game that feels casual and charming. Rokaplay knows there may be a few minor bugs in the game's early release, which was made available to crowdfund backers earlier this week as a reward for their monetary support.

Sugardew will be available digitally and physically. The digital version will be released on March 7 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Steam, and Xbox One. The physical edition is produced by Silver Lining Interactive and will be out on March 14 for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. The game plays with either keyboard/mouse or controller, though the controller input method is recommended.

• Sugardew Island: Your Cozy Farm Shop | Steam Store

RF Romance Sale

To celebrate the upcoming romantic holiday, Marvelous/XSeed has discounted the Rune Factory games on Steam. These discounts expire on February 12.

• Rune Factory 3 Special = 60% off ($15.99)
• Rune Factory 4 Special = 70% off ($8.99)
• Rune Factory 5 = 60% off ($15.99)

The 60% discount also carries over to the DLC for the above three games. It's a good chance to get your RAINBOW on!

Until next time

-Cher
(Go sportsball!)

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