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: Grand Bazaar (August 2025)
• North America: Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Special Edition (October 2025) and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (August 2025)
• Europe: Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Special Edition (October 2025) and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (August 2025)

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! I almost have made it through Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, I think. There are a couple of remaining "?????" topics on the list of main quests in the game's encyclopedia. I'm assuming that means I'm close to finishing the story. With my luck, the last few story points will be another 10 or more hours of gameplay... I didn't anticipate taking this long to complete the game!

I have had some problems fighting the large oni, Ura, along with the oni gang he summons during his battle. He starts throwing some mega magic or something when he's 20% health that wipes my level 90 party. Finally, hard mode has a challenge! I've a strategy to try on my next attempt, but I keep running out of money for equipment upgrades. Why is everything so expensive?

On another note, a friendly villager moved in that I'll keep around forever:

An old-lady farmer named "Ushi" who can whisper to crops is a perfect match for my villages. Granted, it's most likely completely random that the name was assigned to an older person. I wonder if everyone gets a different "Ushi" in their games?

SoS:GB Updates

In this week's Zephyr Town Walker, we are finally formally introduced to the little nature sprites that only the game's protagonist can see. We learned a few weeks ago that these little forest spirits want the farmer to collect Happy Energy, which accumulates as the farmer grows crops, cares for animals, and so on. But are the holders of Happiness and bazaar booth boosters the only thing these fellows can do?

Nearby the farm, there live five friendly helpers - Ivy, Finley, Honey, Webby, and the cat daruma I don't have their name sprite. These five fellows can accept donations/gifts, with each taking a different type. Ivy likes wild foraged goods and materials (stone, lumber, etc.), Finley prefers fish, and Honey wants honey (wha? no way!), Webby likes mushrooms, and kitty-cat is into bugs.

Donating your goods to the sprites will reward you with Happy Energy as well as increase the sprites' power level. The sprites' levels are tied to the star rank (i.e., quality) of the goods they prefer. Raise Finley's level to catch higher star-rank fish, increase the quality of produced honey by raising Honey's level, and so on.

When donating items to a sprite, the little fellow may have a preference for specific goodies. Giving a Bonus Item will reward with more points towards increasing the sprite's level bar. The donation menu will indicate which items are worth more.

In the original game, the star rank of the non-farm items was based on the quality of the fishing pole (for fish) and how many years the player had played in the game (for everything else). For example, you had to be in year 4 or later to catch grasshoppers with 5-star quality. Instead, in the Story of Season version, increasing wild item star rank depends on how many donations the sprites receive, which in turn affects their power level. Give them a lot, and the star quality could be boosted within a few short seasons.

The sprites' level also influences the Cheer Time bonus that can be activated during the morning and afternoon bazaar sessions. Stronger sprites mean better boosts, and in turn, earn players more money for bazaar sales.

This week's article also explains the small pop-up shop the sprites set up in the northwest corner of the bazaar, only accessible by the protagonist.

From the official Bokumono website

The Happy Energy collected can be exchanged for goodies at the sprites' bazaar booth. Unlocking quick-access boxes around town that connect to the player's farmhouse storage costs between 5,000 and 50,000 points. There are new glider styles, too! The store menu notes that seeds and raw materials can also be obtained by exchanging Happy Energy. We'll learn more about what's available in those areas later, probably as we play through the game.

Essentially, this is a similar system to the shrine blessings from Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, whereby Earth Sprite points are exchanged for rewards, such as increasing stamina, unlocking new pets, and accessing special seasonal sky fields.

The development team notes that originally, the sprites were intended to live in a shrine in the mountains. The little guys were moved to the outskirts of Zephyr Town as the team worked on the layout of the game's world map, as well as given access to gliders and their magical quick-access Koro Box system.

New Starsand Island Trailer

Indie developer Seed Lab released a new trailer for their tropical farming game, Starsand Island, scheduled to be released on PC/Steam and consoles closer to the end of this year.

In this game, the protagonist returns to their childhood island to settle into a life of farming, ranching, fishing, romancing, and all the other goodies that come with an agricultural life sim game. This new trailer showcases a sample of character customization options: skin tone, makeup, hairstyle, clothing, and more. They also show off the various methods players can use to travel around the island. Some are foot-powered, such as skateboards and roller skates, while other mechanical options (e.g., cars) are a bit more spendy but faster.

You can learn more about this crowdfunded game over on its Steam Store page:

• Starsand Island | Steam Store

Additional Indie Updates

Plague-based farming game Grimshire will launch on Steam Early Access next week, July 22. Play as a bunny protagonist in charge of stocking the village's food reserves. Grow crops and process them (i.e., drying, pickling, etc.) for long-term storage, forage for seeds and nuts, catch fish, and tame wild animals to acquire meat and eggs. With the world-ravaging disease on the way, work together with the other animal villages to survive.

• Grimshire | Steam Store

The next major update for Fields of Mistria will be released on July 21. This new content release brings two more heart levels for building relationships, new monsters in the mine, a new town festival, the town level cap can increase by 5 levels, unlocking skill caps up to level 60, more customization options, new greenhouses, and much more!

• Fields of Mistria | Steam Store

Until next time!

- Cher
(Planted more cornflower seeds for fall blooms)

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