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! We went flowerpot shopping last weekend to find suitable containers for the two Disneyland roses that are currently in temporary, plastic containers. Egad, sticker shock... the local garden center that typically has nice, ceramic-glazed square pots only had one style that we liked, and they were charging $350 per pot. They were "on sale" for 30% off, but that's a ridiculous price for a pretty dirt container! We nope'd out of that place.

Another local nursery that typically stocks a lot of pots had a meager assortment, none of which caught Mr.Fogu's interest, nor were they large enough for roses.

The roses will have to live in their plastic pots for a little while longer... ack...

Wholesome Games Celebration

The third annual showcasing of cozy games on Steam, presented by Wholesome Games, kicked off yesterday morning. The Wholesome Games Celebration features demos and discounts on a variety of cheerful games until August 14 (next Thursday), some of which are farming-related:

• Coral Island: 33% off ($20.09)
• Moonstone Island: 50% off ($9.99)
• Ritual of Raven: 10% off ($13.49, New Game!)
• Rusty's Retirement: 33% off ($4.68)
• Snacko: 25% off ($18.74)
• Wylde Flowers: 25% off ($18.74)

Peaceful Days Demo

The demo for the indie farming game, Peaceful Days, was released yesterday on Steam. Created by solo developer Nhat, this farming game has been around for several years, with development happening as time permitted (ya, I understand how that goes). Last year, a rewrite of the game started due to a shift to using the open-source Godot Engine. Now, a free demo is available based on the most recent build of the game.

In this game, the Guardian Goddess recruits the protagonist to help protect the land from an impending disaster that threatens the balance of nature. Though she has hope for the future, the other local guardians are more skeptical of human capability. The protagonist needs to win the approval of the other guardians while also being tasked with revitalizing an old farm.

The demo has the standard agribusiness stuff, like farming and ranching, giving players 14 days to spend time with the local residents in Aurora Town. There is also crafting, part-time jobs (some of which are mini games), and requests to complete. Fishing was a little tricky to get used to; players need to use the directional controls to keep the target on the swimming fish (in case you decide to try fishing and become just as confused as I was).

The music is catchy too; kind of reminds me a little of a 16-bit version of Animal Crossing. Nhat points out that there may be a few bugs in the demo.

You can check out the free demo and wishlist the game from the Steam store page:

• Peaceful Days | Steam Store

SoS:GB Updates

In this week's Zephyr Town Walker, Marvelous Japan highlighted the customization options for the protagonist.

In the original DS game, there were no character outfits or styles. Every player had the same character design, with the only variation being based on whether players selected a boy or a girl protagonist.

In the Story of Seasons flavor, there are a looooot of options. Changing your farmer's appearance is done by interacting with the mirror inside the farmhouse. Players can change the farmer's physical traits at any time for free, such as face style, skin tone, eye color, hair style and color, and facial hair.

Attire options include hats, accessories (e.g., glasses), and outfits, some of which come with matching bags. When there are multiple colors of a wearable item, the color options are noted on the outfit card.

When mounting a horse, the farmer will automatically change their clothing to a riding outfit. This auto-outfit can also be customized in the farmhouse, though not to the same level of detail as the day-to-day outfit. The riding outfit can be customized in terms of hat color and clothing color.

Lastly, the style of glider can be picked, though as far as I can tell, it's just the visual change and does not have other stats, such as making you glide faster or offering more precise landing options. New styles of gliders can be purchased using Happy Points from the secret Nature Sprite shop at the bazaar. New attire can be obtained at the bazaar by exchanging materials (such as sheep and alpaca wool) and money.

While Marvelous Japan has been promoting new information from the game for some time, Marvelous EU/NA has started posting new videos of the villagers on their social platforms. Marv intends to showcase the 12 marriage candidates, with the final candidate appearing on August 22. Huzzah!

Until next time!

- Cher
(Time to go garage sale-ing for flower pots, I guess...)

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