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
HM: EOT Candidate Reveal #4, SOS AR Game Announced, Cute Cow Charms, and Indie Game Updates | Posted at 04:41 PM 25 September 2026
Happy Farm'n Friday! I played real-world farmer last weekend and harvested the experimental potatoes in the backyard garden bed. After seeing how my beekeeper uncle grew his spuds by piling straw on top as the plants emerged, I gave it a try this spring with the potatoes that I had planted last year and forgotten about. And it freak'n worked! Those scraggly fingerling potatoes that overwintered ended up multiplying like crazy, mostly near the surface of the soil, making them easier to harvest. Now I've got plenty of potatoes for 2 people to use through the winter, with another batch of straw-piled potatoes in the front yard garden bed that should be ready in a few weeks.
Somehow one of them mutated into a heart-shaped potato. Not quite a Star Potato from Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, but it's close enough!
I planted the remaining Masquerade potatoes in the front yard box in late spring (the fun purple-and-white-spotted spuds), which I had saved from last year's harvest of forgotten potatoes. I'm hoping to get enough to put into the candy bowl for the trick-'o-treaters on Halloween. You'd be surprised how many kids go for the pretty potato and ignore the candy.
I'm finally starting to use up my vacation time earned from doing office work, so I'm heading south to have a meeting with a Mouse for a few days. I'm going to put on my best Christmas attire for the Halloween party, as long as my leg behaves. For some dumb reason, I pulled a muscle in my leg during my morning walk on Monday. That's seriously aggravating, given the amount of walking expected next week. Ah, the luxuries of age, when things just start randomly breaking because why not? I should be sitting down and playing farming games anyway; who needs legs for that?!
TGS Panel, Pre-Show
Before the Tokyo Game Show the other week, there was a pre-show anniversary title group interview that showcased three video game series that are 30 years old. The panel included Masachika Kawata of Resident Evil, Kazuhisa Wada of Persona, and our own Hikaru Nakano of Story of Seasons. The discussion covered each producer's game series and originally aired on September 11, with an EN subtitled version uploaded to the TGS YouTube channel last weekend. Below are a few tidbits:
At one point, Kawata noted that the yellow used for the box art of Persona 4 impressed him, as the dominant yellow wasn't a color that was typically used. Wada explained that Persona 3 utilized blue, which was a cool color. When they decided to shift the direction of Persona and unlink it from the Megami Tensei series, the intent was to visually shift from cool to warm colors, such as the yellow for Persona 4 and, inevitably, red for Persona 5. Nakano explained that BokuMono games tend to be restricted predominantly to shades of green and brown because, naturally, it is a farming game. He joked that he can't utilize yellow as much and is a bit envious.
Nakano noted that BokuMono games are rarely released immediately after a new console launch, as they like to wait until the console has some maturity. But with the Switch 2, they released Grand Bazaar shortly after the console's launch, despite the challenges they faced keeping up with the new hardware. He also noted that many Switch 2 players had already played the game on the original Switch, and that they had spent considerable time optimizing the Switch 1 version.
Kawata commented that he was envious of the Doraemon collaboration with BokuMono, as it wasn't likely to happen with his Resident Evil series. Nakano believes the collaboration was possible because of the involvement of many stakeholders, allowing it to reach users who wouldn't typically play a BokuMono game.
The presenter asked the group if there had been any major challenges over the past 30 years. Nakano revealed that he feels the major turning point in the series was Island of Happiness (2007). Yasuhiro Wada had wanted to make something different from the typical Mineral Town-style characters, so together with Igusa Matsuyama, they designed a game that ultimately received positive feedback from players. With that success, it made it easier for them to try new things with the series. (You can see where this is going.)
TGS Panel and… AR?
The next event was a live stage presentation during TGS, where the 3 of them discussed video game development in general. Near the end of the live event, Nakano revealed that Marvelous had an announcement: a new mixed-reality game called Story of Seasons: Your Wonderful Life.
Well, that's definitely something new.
On Wednesday, Marvelous officially announced details about this unique version of BokuMono. Essentially, it is a modified, immersive version of the A Wonderful Life remake.
Published by Marvelous in collaboration with VR game company Grounding Inc., this game will be available for the Meta Quest 3 and 3S devices. It is unknown whether the game is compatible with the upcoming $1300 Meta VR Glasses, which are coming out next spring.
From looking at the images and video on the Meta website, we can see the entire Forgotten Valley and its Chapter 1 inhabitants, given that Nina and Galen are living along the main pathway and not... elsewhere. The protagonist lives on the farm and cares for the animals and crops using interactive mini-game movements, such as shearing the sheep or using a tiny watering can to water crops.
The game also has bulletin board requests, fishing, and the dig site. There is also the standard AWL marriage system and the resulting child, moving you into Chapter 2 and beyond.
Generally, it seems like an okay port of SOS:AWL, with cutscenes that play out like cinema scenes as the player watches the protagonist's life unfold. I haven't seen anyone proclaiming that they're jumping out to grab a Quest device just to play AWL, but a game like this could bring new players into the series. Its audience is limited, and that's okay.
No release information is available at the moment, and this is NOT the next game that Marvelous had previewed recently. Though Marv has placed a banner for this game on the official JP website, linking to the store page on meta.com.
HM:EoT Candidates #4
This week Natsume introduced us to two more marriage candidates from their upcoming game, Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea, which would have been out yesterday (Sept 24) until it was postponed until next month.
We've seen Lorelei since the original trailer was initially released, a woman with an important role with the mines in Quarrytop. Robert is one of the two protagonists from Bloomfield Village. Though if you choose to play as Robert, then he isn't a marriage candidate. In that case, the other protagonist from Bloomfield is a marriage candidate. We'll learn her name shortly, I'm sure.
More media have taken part in previews with Natsume, such as The Outer Haven, Eli The Gaymer, and Nintendo Everything. The articles reveal that Elena's treasure hunt mechanic from the Anthos The Great Outdoors DLC is in the game, there is a year's worth of post-release content and support planned for Teradea, Maplehill Town is very large, there are clothing outfits based on the towns' styles, a new lantern helps during cave exploration, and more.
My invite to the preview events must have been lost in the void somewhere… 
New Gashapon Charms
Bandai Namco will be releasing a set of six Bokujou Monogatari pocket charms based on the cow designs throughout the series' 30 years. These charms are small yet cute; the new "2025" cow looks similar to the translucent bubble cow that was released a year ago in capsule machines, which we scoured the streets of Harajuku to successfully locate. Currently, Bandai Namco is taking online reservations until October 25, with a planned January delivery date. These charms could also appear in capsule dispenser machines in the meantime.
While Bandai Namco's capsule machines do have a US/CA presence, their locations are uncommon. So there might be a chance for these to appear overseas eventually. I hope.
Indie Updates
While not technically farming, desktop companion game BuGarden is now available on Steam. Work with your snail companion to plant seeds, complete the plant encyclopedia, and decorate your desktop with cute floral companions. This small game is $5, with a 20% discount until the 28th.
Storytelling and farm management adventure Farming Camp is now out for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Steam, and Xbox X/S. Play as teenager Alessandra as she learns what it takes to be crowned the Evertree Farmer. Compete against the other teams of campers in mini-games while building friendships through narrative stories.
A 20% launch-period discount for digital downloads is available until October 8. Physical editions for Switch and PS5 will be available on Amazon in October.
Now that the playtest is over, the early access start date for the multiplayer sustainable farming game Loftia will be November 3. The game will launch on PC and Mac via Steam (Steam Deck support confirmed) and the Epic Games Store. A Nintendo Switch version is planned for 2027. Loftia will be priced at $30, with a 17% early-access launch discount.
Those who preregister via the Loftia website can receive an early-bird outfit for their pet.
Cozy restaurant life sim Dragon Shelter is now available on Steam. Befriend cute dragons as you work to rebuild Grandpa's abandoned farm, while also building friendships and restoring joy to the local town. Each dragon has a skill to help with farmwork; for example, the water dragon helps with watering crops. Crafting and cooking are a big part of this farming game, as meal recipes are used to unlock quests and functionality in the town.
A free demo is available to check out. The game has a 25% release discount until October 8:
Until next time
-Cher
(Those cow charms are so cute. Maybe my Uwajimaya will have them in their capsule machines.)
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