https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=blogs&p=updates https://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss PHP-Update https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1768605937 Happy Farm'n Friday! The lab test results are back for the two soil samples. Now, at least I have a plan to improve the soil quality for this year's crops, or make a really good attempt at it!

The results on the left are for the front yard garden beds that are near Big Doug the fir tree, with Doug's roots enmeshed throughout the soil. I assumed the PH would be sky-high because the soil around fir trees tends to be more acidic, but that isn't the case at all. Turns out, the soil is super low in nitrogen and super-high in phosphorus. The high phosphorus may be from excessive fertilizer application (oops) or mixing in too many organic materials such as leaves or manure. So the best thing is to switch to a fertilizer that contains no phosphorus and then grow crops that suck that stuff up, which turns out to be lettuce, watermelon, cucumber (Mr.Fogu is not a fan), oats, and tomatillos. That's all very doable! Minus the cucumbers.
The graph on the right is from the soil delivered last spring from the garden center that was advertised as ready for planting and full of all sorts of numminess. Essentially, it is low in most everything. No wonder nothing grew well! I also added some of the soil I had in reserve to the test container, just in case the two tomato plants that barely thrived had sucked up all the nutrients. Maybe the garden center delivered fill dirt instead of garden soil? lol. This looks like an all-purpose organic fertilizer will help here, in limited quantities.
Both samples had high iron (Fe) as well, even though they were on opposite sides of the property. Too much iron can mean slow or stunted growth, which is what I experienced with the tomatoes and the barely thriving pumpkin. This one is a bit trickier, as crops that are heavy absorbers of that nutrient are cranberry, bing cherry, lima beans (yuck), and... tomatillo! Another explanation for the high iron level may be rust/metal from the trowel I was using to collect the samples. I did wash the tool before and during the soil collection, but there is always the possibility of contamination.
I do like tomatillo, but not sure that's the only thing I want to grow this season.

New Farm'n - Farming Camp
SOEDESCO announced this week that they'll be releasing a new pixel-based farming game in 2026. From game development studio Inner Fire, known for Fantasy Farming: Orange Season, comes a summer-camp themed farming game called Farming Camp.

Each summer, Evertree Farming Camp sets out to find its next standout Evertree Farmer - someone prepared to push agriculture to new heights. Dreaming of a brighter tomorrow, young Alessandra joins the competition to win the title, but first she must go up against her peers and learn what it truly means to be a good farmer.
Cozy, single-player farming with camp structure and daily routinesBeautiful hand-drawn, 2D top-down world packed with charming detailsA colorful cast of teenagers with evolving friendships and dynamicsQuests and progression that reward exploration, effort, and consistency
Minigames that break up the day and test different farming skills
This new game is currently planned for a Steam/PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and XBox X/S release later this year. You can add this game to your wishlists today (Nintendo's wish list option coming later):
Farming Camp | Steam Store
Farming Camp | PlayStation StoreFarming Camp | XBox Marketplace

Sakuna Tool Collab

Specialty-goods website Mura no Kajiya ("Village Blacksmith") is accepting preorders for several Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin branded goods, made by artisans in Japan. Available items are:

A rice measuring box for 2200円 (~$14.00), made of cypress wood with a laser-engraved image of the rice princess and the game's logo.
An aluminum rice cooker (kamado) for gas cooktops that can cook up to 2 cups of rice. With a stainless steel lid, wood accents, and engraved logo artwork, this little cooking pot costs 13,750円 (~$87.50)
A sharp hand sickle, with a blade made using a combination of layered iron and steel by farming tool manufacturer Asano Mokko. The blade is laser engraved with the logo/sakura image, while the walnut handle features a rice motif. This rice harvesting tool costs 6600円 (~$41.50).
Lastly, a recreation of Sakuna's hoe using iron/steel melding techniques with a walnut handle, manufactured by Kondo Seisakusho, a blacksmith company experienced in farm tools. Intended to be used by purchasers in their gardens (not solely as a display piece), the hoe's balance has been considered in its design and can also be repaired by the manufacturer if the blade is chipped. The blade has an engraving of Sakura holding a hoe, while the handle has the rice motif, at a cost of 14,300円 (~$91).
Preorders are open until February 15 and can ship internationally through Mura no Kajiya's global shipping partner, WorldShopping.
Sakura Collaboration Products | Village Blacksmith
This collaboration is part of the promotional efforts for the upcoming Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin mobile game in Japan, which is also being promoted by an upcoming 2-part anime series featuring Kokorowa's rice farming adventures, scheduled to air on February 15 and 22. The game will also be released on Steam, but its entry on the Steam Store is region-locked and inaccessible outside of Japan.


Until next time!

- Cher(Hurry up springtime, I gotta plant some stuff!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1768605937 Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:25:37 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1768001780 Happy Farm'n Friday! This week was the last week for Christmas lights. Booo :( Feels like they weren't illuminated for very long this year. Here's a sense of what this year's smaller display looked like, anyhow:

This year's display had about 12,800 lights, which is far fewer than last year's 19,300 light display, primarily because I was out of town for the standard installation period in November. I only swapped in a few new things this year - the three starburst lights hanging from the rafter beams on the porch (they blink blue/white) and the new roofline lights that are individually color-controlled to randomly rotate colors. Mr. Fogu was more involved this year because of the WLED-controlled roof strings, as he is interested in tinkering with that type of lighting. Now that our brother-in-law is also getting into pixel strings, controllers, and whatnot (he built light arches for his display this year), the two of them have been talk'n business. I want to replace the 9-year-old icicle lights for next year (I've a sandwich bag full of dead bulbs replaced this year), so Mr.Fogu has been looking into ways we could use pixel strings to do what I need, but in a way to ensure that the modern-day light strings don't look industrial like many pixel-based displays appear.
So, next year's display will be a bit more impressive. No plan to synchronize to music, as programming something that complex would take up my free time dedicated to farm'n games.

New Arcade Goods

Coming soon to arcade centers in Japan, System Service will be releasing another set of small bag charm plushies with ball-chain loops. The black and white cow, fruit cow, and strawberry cow are rerelease products, but the floppy-ear dog is a new design altogether. Usually, the designs for claw machine prizes feature barn animals (chickens, cows, alpaca, etc.), so this is the first time the goods producer has released a puppy as a prize.
Canine plushies are uncommon in the BokuMono world. Back when Friends of Mineral Town for Girl and A Wonderful Life for Girl were released (2004), each game box came with a contest entry ticket to win one of 30 (super rare!) floppy-ear dog plushies. Players had to retrieve the ticket stub from each game and mail both to Marvelous to participate in the "Wakuwaku Link Campaign G", so named because the games could connect via the Gamecube/Gameboy link cable.
In the Harvest Moon world, dogs are more common. There's the preorder dog plush from Another Wonderful Life, the small dogs from The Lost Valley (red bandana = game preorder, blue bandana = E3 booth exclusive), along with a larger version of the red-bandana dog. There was also a pillow dog from One World that was stylized after the Welsh Corgi in the game.

Indie Updates
Studio LemonChili's farming puzzle game Super Farming Boy will be released digitally on XBox X/S on January 16. In this comic-style game, the protagonist is forced to work for the game's bad guy to earn the money necessary to buy the freedom of his kidnapped friends and mom. During the day, the protagonist uses his superpowers to plant crops in the optimal patterns to trigger harvest sequences and high scores. Then, after bedtime, purchase upgrades and stolen friends to help with the next day's play round. It's a charming game with pop-art graphics for those who want to try a different take on the farming genre.
SFB has been on Steam early access since August. A free demo is available now on XBox and on Steam:

Super Farming Boy | XBox Marketplace
Super Farming Boy | Steam Store

Stream250 Year Ranking
This week, review aggregate website Steam250 released their list of the top 250 rated games on Steam for 2025 based on player reviews and the website's internal scoring algorithm. While there weren't any farming games that ranked super high, Dinkum did come in at #50, with an overall review of 92% positive.
Other notable farming games include the drone-management game The Farmer Was Replaced (a favorite of SoS manager Hikaru Nakano), which came in at #67; indie town/farming game The Wandering Village was #130; and plague-ridden farm restoration game Grimshire was #153. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar came in at #160.
For all time, the website ranks Terraria as #1 and Stardew Valley as #2.

New Farm'n - Ancient Farm
From developer A2 Softworks and publisher Ultimate Games S.A. comes Ancient Farm, a first-person farming simulator game set in the days of the ancient Egyptians.

Inspired by farming techniques of olden days, players will start their farm with only a small plot of land. Grow hemp, papyrus, sugarcane, flax, olives, grapes, and more, then sell the products to reinvest in the farm's expansion. Plant the crops in the ideal location (e.g., papyrus prefers being planted near water) and use fertilizer at the right time to maximize profits.
The game also includes farm animal care, such as chickens and pigs. Construct barns for cows, then use the oxen to help till fields using a bit of old-fashioned legwork. There are no modern machines in this game!
This PC game was launched yesterday (January 8) and is now available on Steam, with home console launches planned for PlayStation 5, XBox X/S, and Switch 2.
Ancient Farm | Steam Store


Until next time!

- Cher(Soil test samples have been mailed to the lab!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1768001780 Fri, 09 Jan 2026 23:36:20 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1767401622 Happy Farm'n Friday! We all made it to 2026! Huzzah! My resolution this year is to learn how to fix the soil in the garden grow boxes. The mail-away soil test collection kits will arrive soon, and with the lab results, I can improve the garden and hopefully grow something this year other than the potatoes I forgot to harvest the year before. Can't go wrong with potatoes, but it would be nice to grow other things as well.
The plan is to test the dirt in the front yard boxes, which I already know has been damaged by the Big Doug fir tree, and the "garden soil" the local plant nursery delivered last spring. That new soil was so terrible that nothing grew well. One of the brand-new planter boxes I filled with the delivered soil produced only thistles (bah!), the other produced 2-foot tall tomatoes (and they were 1-foot tall when planted), and the dwarf pumpkin planted in an oversized felt bag filled to the brim with the new stuff only grew a foot-long vine the entire season. I've a hunch that I didn't get the quality of soil I had paid for. There is still a lot of it in reserve for a third planter box to replace the rotting raspberry planter, but not if it's crappy dirt.
Kind of another quiet week news-wise again, as we're still going through the holiday season!

Famitsu 2025 Top-5
Every year, Famitsu asks industry personalities for the top 5 games they played during the year. This year, 191 participants from the Japanese gaming industry gave their favorite games played during 2025, including new releases and classic titles. Some notable lists from those involved in our favorite series from Weekly Famitsu Issue No. 1929 include:

Yoshirou Kimura from Onion Games (Chulip, Little Kings Story):
Öoo (PC)Dreams of Another (PC/PS)Dragon Quest IV (SNES/DS/iOS/Android)Threes! (PC/XB/iOS/Android)Dragon Quest I&II (GB/SNES)
Shuhei Yamashita from Brownies (Doraemon SoS):
Elden Ring Nightrein (PC/PS/XB)Aden (PC)Öoo (PC)Darekare (PC)Lavender Quartz Kyoukai Hyoudou (PC)

Hikaru Nakano from Marvelous (Story of Seasons):
Mario Kart World (SW)The Farmer Was Replaced (PC)No Case Should Remain Unsolved (PC/SW)Bloomtown: A Different Story (PC)
(SoS Series Manager Nakano picked his top-four games instead of five games.)
Hisashi Fujii from Marvelous (Deadcraft, Rune Factory: Azuma):
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PC/PS/XB)Monster Hunter Wilds (PC/PS/XB)Dragon Quest I&II (PC/PS/SW/XB)Donkey Kong Bananza (SW)Urban Myth Dissolution Center (PC)
Shiro Maekawa from Marvelous (Rune Factory):
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (PC/SW) (lol)Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (SW)Urban Myth Dissolution Center (PC)Darius Cozmic Collection (PC/PS/SW)Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium (PC/PS/SW/XB)
Fumiko Orikasa, JP voice actor (Fairy Sedona in Return to Popolocrois: a Story of Seasons Fairytale)
Kingdom Come Deliverance II (PC/PS/XB)Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (PC/SW)Abiotic Factor (PC/PS/XB)Pokemon Sleep (iOS/Android)Grounded 2 (PC/XB)
Voice actress Shiina Natsukawa also put Grand Bazaar as her #1 game of the year, though Shiro was the only one who mentioned Rune Factory.
Along with the top-5 games, several of our farming game developers partipcated in New Years aspirational messages via Famitsu:

Hikaru Nakano's 2026 keywords are "creating the future." He points out that this year is the series' 30th anniversary and plans to make it memorable. The development team and staff behind Grand Bazaar are encouraged by all the great feedback from players, and he suggests readers keep an eye on the social channels to learn about regular updates to the game.
Hisashi Fujii's keywords are "traditional evolution." Hisashi notes that 2026 is the 20th anniversary of Rune Factory and intends to make the series known to more players. The next game in the Rune Factory series, Rune Factory 6, is still under development and asks players to wait a little longer for information.
Lastly, Shiro Maekawa's 2026 keyword is "input." He explains that the effort and work he put into Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma almost completely drained him, so he wants to absorb as many good things as possible this year. Shiro is looking forward to playing as many recently-released games as possible, and thanks everyone who supported the well-received RF: Azuma game.

New Years Greetings
Both Natsume and Marvelous released statements regarding their plans for 2026.

For Natsume's message, President Hiro Maekawa notes that Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos has become the company's most popular digital download of the HM series. He says they are excited to share their new projects planned for 2026 and thanks the worldwide fans of the series. (Hopefully, we're getting a Doc marriage candidate!)
For Marvelous USA's message, celebrating the year of the horse, the company thanks everyone who played Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar. They are excited to be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the series, and expects to offer even better experiences in the future. Doc marriage candidate, too?! Yea, probably not, but it would be nice to see older options for us with lots of life experience.
This year, I expect we'll finally hear about the multi-player Story of Seasons game, but I don't expect the public announcement of a new single-player mainline game until 2027.


Until next time!

- Cher(Did a date-night archery class last weekend. Was quite fun!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1767401622 Sat, 03 Jan 2026 00:53:42 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1766788896 Happy Farm'n Friday! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas day, whether with a large, rowdy group or quietly (and peacefully) alone with your favorite pets. Surprisingly, this year I received only one garden item - a packet of brown-petaled, "chocolate" Sunflower seeds to go along with the massive amount of chocolate gifted to me by a relative. Perhaps 2026 is the year of the soil corrections, so I can grow those lovely flowers! LOL! The crummy soil in the front garden beds still appears to be great for potatoes, as one was missed during harvest and is happily growing among the clover cover crop.
At least we finally made it through the winter solstice. Springtime will be here soon-ish! We haven't had a cold spell yet, and the early-season daffodils are already budding. Which means the slugs are soon to appear to eat the buds before they get a chance to bloom. Will need to put the slug bait traps out this weekend.
I'm still playing through Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, as I work on reaching the 2000 offering goal for Webby and Finley. This is definitely going to take a while. I'm a bit envious of fellow farmers who have already cleared all the tasks; how did they have the time?! I still have to unlock all the Ultimate-level tools, reach the high scores for the summer/winter horse derby, and have my child grow up. There's so much to do in this game!

Azuma Artbook
The official artbook for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will be released in Japan on March 5 for 3850円 (~$25). The art book will contain early concept sketches, behind-the-scenes insights from the developers, character background information, and even copies of the in-game dialog for important events.
Preorders for this 256-page illustrated book are open on Amazon.jp, Rakuten Books, and Kadokawa/ebTenDX, with the last location offering preorder bonuses scroll banner and two tea bowls.

Farm Collab Ending Soon
The Japan-only collaboration event between Rindou Family Farm and Marv's Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar series is ending in a few weeks on January 12. Taking place since August 23, the in-person experience at the educational farm will have one last hurrah on January 11 and 12. Visitors can experience 18 character panel photo opportunity spots (10 animal-themed and 8 character-themed) located at one location in the farm park during the two days, instead of being scattered around the farm. Those who purchase collab-themed foods at the farm cafe will receive a Bubble Cow monaka (a type of wafer cake), and visitors who take the farm's animal walk experience will receive a small ball of alpaca fur.
I actually looked into how to get to the farm during our trip in Japan last month, but the place is located far north of Tokyo, and we didn't have many free days to explore the country before the Disneyland segment of the trip. Might have been fun!

Natsume Atari Rename in Japan
Just as an FYI, starting in January 2026, the original Natsume in Japan, currently called Natsume Atari (not associated with the legendary Atari 2600 home console), will rebrand to Winning Entertainment Group, Co. Ltd. The Natsume that we are more familar with, Natsume Inc. of California, split off from Natsume of Japan in the mid-90s as an independent publisher. The two companies still work together from time to time, such as with the release of the latest Pocky and Rocky Reshrined game developed by Natsume Atari, and then localized by Natsume Inc.

HMGBC3 Comic
Here's a full-page comic from the Shogakukan 2001 BokuMono Gameboy Color 3 guide book, illustrated by Igusa Matsuyama! Last time, we saw Pete get strung up like a scarecrow for eating all the excess crops Sara was looking forward to shipping.



Until next time!

- Cher(Happy 2026 to everyone!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1766788896 Fri, 26 Dec 2025 22:41:36 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1766190712 Happy Farm'n Friday! We only have one Friday remaining before 2026 makes an entrance. This year turned out to be a good one for farming games - we got the Grand Bazaar remake, an upgraded version of Home Sweet Home on PC and Switch, and a new Rune Factory game with a bunch of dragons. We're still waiting on news from Marvelous about the announced SoS multiplayer game, which I'm guessing is a global version of the cancelled real-time mobile game intended to be published by Tencent for the China region. Maybe it'll be something unique after all. Let's hope we hear more about it soon!
I hope you have a lovely Christmas holiday next Wednesday, and may you be blessed with lots of farm'n goodness!

SoS: GB 1.3 Update

Marvelous released a surprise update to Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar today, adding a new Happy Bingo challenge activity that rewards players with holiday-themed outfits. Completing the four new Deluxe Bing cards will reward farmers with a Checkered Glider (Bow), Checkered Glider (Belt), Soft Checkered Coat, and Spiffy Checkered Coat. This free 1.3 update also makes several gameplay adjustments:

adjusted harvest yieldsthe ability for horses to eat treats separate from feedingchanges to the dirt mounds created by extreme weather conditionsand optimized character cosmetics to help you customize an even better-looking farmer.via Marvelous Press Releae
Alas, the mushroom crop did not have any adjustments as far as I can tell. With testing Shimeji mushrooms after downloading 1.3, the number received at harvest is still 6 fungi (plus 1 Monarch Mushroom if available). As it takes 2000 mushroom offerings to Webby to obtain the Webby's Friend achievement, and at 18 mushrooms every 3 days is a slogfest (1100 to go! ugh...), I was hoping maybe the 1.3 would have been a little more generous with the mushroom harvest, like update 1.2 did with improving fish catching.
The patch notes on Steam also note there were some minor bug fixes and text adjustments.

New JP Plushies

Prize center goods supplier System Service will release a group of three fuzzy cow plushies for arcade centers in Japan during the fourth week of December. These plushies are part of the BIG line of cows, which is about 11.5 inches long from snout to butt, and 9.5 inches tall from hoof to horn. Essentially, these are larger versions of the 7.5" by 6" fuzzy cows previously released.
Outside of Japan, Marvelous has extended the Makeship campaign for the black and white bubble cow plushie. Originally scheduled to end preorders on December 20, farmers now have until December 28 at 6:30 PM Pacific Time to financially commit to the round bovine toy.
Bubble Cow Plushie | Makeship

Steam Winter Sale
The end-of-year discounts on PC games are going on now until January 5. Some of the notable farming games on sale include:

Coral Island - 40% off
Cornucopia - 25% off (Early Access)
Cropia - 20% off
Doloc Town - 10% off
Doraemon Story of Seasons - 60% off
Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom - 50% off
Echoes of the Plum Grove - 45% off
Everafter Falls - 30% off
Everdream Village - 20% off (Early Access)
Fae Farm - 50% off
Farlands - 35% off (Early Access)
Fields of Mistria - 20% off (Early Access)
Firefly Village - 20% off
G-Mode Archives: BokuMono Mobile Life & Love - 30% off
G-Mode Archives: BokuMono Mobile - Fruitful Island - 30% off
Gaucho and the Grassland - 25% off
Grimshire - 10% off
Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home - 15% off
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos - 50% off
Harvestella - 60% off
Immortal Life - 60% off
Little Known Galaxy - 50% off
My Time at Sandrock - 55% off
One Lonely Outpost - 65% off
Peaceful Days - 30% off
Rune Factory 3 Special - 70% off
Rune Factory 4 Special - 70% off
Rune Factory 5 - 65% off
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma - 35% off
Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin - 55% off
Seeds of Calamity - 50% off (Early Access)
Snacko - 25% off
Song of the Prairie - 40% off
Stardew Valley - 40% off
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life - 50% off
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town - 75% off
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar - 20% off
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town - 65% off
Sugardew Island: Your cozy Farm Shop - 45% off
Sun Haven - 65% off
Super Farming Boy - 30% off (Early Access)
Tales of Seikyu - 30% off (Early Access)
Wind Story - 50% off
Wylde Flowers - 25% off

FYI, Pixel Sprout Studio just released a 3.0 update for their magical farming game, Sun Haven. The latest release brings a new region to explore, along with new romance candidates, craftables, fish, story line, and more.


Until next time!

- Cher(Two more holiday events to plan/attend and then done for the year. Back to regularly scheduled farm'n time!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1766190712 Sat, 20 Dec 2025 00:31:52 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1765585455 Happy Farm'n Friday! Last weekend was less rainy than expected, so I managed to add more lights and silver tinsel to the outside Christmas display. It looks a bit more holiday-ish now, for the time I've been able to put into it. I still have to add that goofy inflatable Santa Claus (I've a good spot for it this year) and a few other light strings, and then I'll be done for the year. Usually, the annual project is done by Thanksgiving weekend, but being out of town for two weeks caused a small delay with the whole thing.
Since there wasn't a farm-themed advent calendar from Scheich again this year (boooo!), and Mr.Fogu was lukewarm to the offerings in this year's Lego Star Wars advent calendar, we decided to forgo the separate calendars and have one calendar. Together, we've been going through an EXIT escape room advent calendar that has a new puzzle every day. Read the day's story, open the calendar box, and then solve the puzzle using the limited clues. While the age range on the box says 10+, there have been days we've struggled trying to figure out the riddle to move on to the next day. And yes, we've had to resort to the clue book a few times. Overall, it has been more entertaining than a box of farm animal toys.
I'm still playing Grand Bazaar (195 hours), but I started my copy of Coral Island on PlayStation for a bit last weekend - wanted to play a couch game for my Sunday afternoon break from website stuff. I am only a few days into Spring, but there seems to be something going on with an oil spill, along with some strange overnight dreams about trees.

FS Now on Switch 2
GIANTS Software released their showcase farming simulator on the Nintendo Switch 2 on Tuesday, December 9. Titled Farming Simulator: Signature Edition and priced at about $60, this SW2 game is based on Farming Simulator 25 with the same variety of 25 crops, three farm space choices, and over 400 vehicle options, but with a different naming convention. GIANTS plans to continue to support this game post-release with content updates.
FS: Signature Edition | GIANTS Software

Azuma PS5/XBox Revealed
This week, Marvelous announced that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will be ported and released physically (limited) and digitally on PlayStation 5 and XBox X/S on February 13 in North America and Europe, and on PS5-only on February 13 in Japan.
Digital preorders in NA/EU are in three flavors:
The digital standard edition ($60) is the base game and the clothing outfits from Frey and Lest from Rune Factory 4
The digital deluxe edition ($70) is the standard edition plus the festival outfits + the dark wooly skin for Woolby, swimsuit outfits for the marriage candidates, and activating the marriage options for Cuilang and Pilika.Lastly, the digital super deluxe edition ($80) includes everything from the deluxe edition along with a digital artbook and digital game soundtrack.
Physical preorder of the PS5 standard edition in North America is exclusive to US Amazon and not available on the Marv USA online store, where farmers can purchase the Switch 1 Earth Dancer edition, Switch 2 standard edition, or the separate bonus items pack from the Earth Dancer edition. In contrast, physical PS5 standard edition preorders in Europe are currently available at EU Amazon, with Marv EU noting that additional retailers will be accepting preorders.
Just like with the Switch 1/2 release of Azuma, Japan's PS5 farmers have a plethora of physical, retailer-specific bonus goodies to choose from. PS5 physical preorders have the option of an acrylic coaster featuring the box art (Asakusa Mach), finger towels (Amazon.jp), keychains (Takarajima), and extra character outfits from past Rune Factory games, such as a Forte outfit for Matsuri, an Amber outfit for Kanata, and more.
The PS5/XBox console release will include access to all the Steam/Switch post-launch updates, such as the expanded space in Summer Village, the Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin content, and the Grand Bazaar collab farm animals.

Wylde Flowers PS5/XBox Revealed

Witchy and magical farming game, Wylde Flowers, had a surprise home console launch this week, as announced during Tuesday's Wholesome Snack. Studio Drydock's tale about helping at grandma's rural farm during the day and casting spells at night is now available on PlayStation 5 and XBox X/S for $25. Wylde Flowers is already available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade.
There is a free demo of the PC version available on Steam if you want to check it out, though there's no demo on the home console platforms.
Wylde Flowers | Steam Store

Everdream Village Launch

The sequel to Everdream Valley is now available on Steam early access for $20. Everdream Village takes the protagonist of the first game (now a little older) and her family and places them in charge of building a new community on an island inhabited by wildlife (such as wild cows), but void of humans. As the town's new mayor, build buildings and terraform the land to attract people from other islands to this brand-new community. Grow crops, go fishing and treasure hunting (using a handy-dandy metal detector), care for livestock, complete quests, and create relationships with the new townsfolk.
Development studio Mooneaters anticipates early access to last between six months and 1 year, with a clear roadmap towards the 2026 full release.
Everdream Village | Steam Store


Until next time!

- Cher(Cooking baking time, and I still gotta finish gift shopping!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1765585455 Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:24:15 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1764980320 Happy Farm'n Friday! The delayed Christmas Light Extravaganza installation is still underway, though I anticipate a smaller show this year. So far, the light count is about 7500, with the goal for this year at 12,000 (far less than last year's 19,300). This weekend will be insanely rainy as well. Should make for a good time!
There is also a section of the front porch that won't be decorated because of a huge garden spider. She has built her 16-inch web in the high area of the porch, anchored to spots that I typically make holiday happy. She's impressive enough, and a bit intimidating, that we don't want to disturb her this late in the year.

BM JP Raffle

In Japan, the lottery website Raffle has launched a contest to award several Bokujou Monogatari-themed prizes to random contest participants. First prize is a cow pillow, with additional prizes including a bath towel, cloth season calendar, keychains, magnets, and stickers. Granted, to enter the contest, players in Japan have to submit the number of raffle entries using real currency (770円 per entry, plus shipping), with a double chance of winning for those who complete data surveys.
Kind of an interesting assortment of Grand Bazaar prizes. While I don't expect we'll see anything like that outside of Japan, we do have the upcoming MakeShip Bubble Cow plushie. The little cow currently has over 1200 preorders and is available to support until December 20.

Indie Updates
Game developer Seed Lab announced this week that Starsand Island is planned for a Nintendo Switch 2 release in 2026. The anime-style farming game will use the console's Game Chat feature during multiplayer sessions and support Joycon mouse controls, with a target of 45 frames per second in Quality mode and 60 FPS in Performance mode.

Seed Lab also released a new gameplay video, revealing the automations and kitty-robots the protagonist can set up, an all-season greenhouse for growing crops, the ability to raise pigs that can produce poo for fertilizer (including Golden Poop!) and be used to locate truffles, transportation options such as teleportation pods, and farm house design options. A lot is going on in this farming game!
With the battle mechanics, Seed Lab notes that players will use weapons (like slingshots and bows) to ward off a magical corruption that has impacted the animals living in the island's ruins. Removing the magic corruption can permit the farmer to domesticate these animals. While some animals are easy to cleanse, boss animals within the ruins require a more strategic fight with greater rewards. And if you need a little help from your friends, the fights can be tackled while in multiplayer mode.
Starsand is currently planned for an early 2026 release window on Steam, PlayStation 5, XBox, and now SW 2.
Starsand Island | Steam Store

Tropical farming game Coral Island has been updated to version 1.2b, bringing a lot of new features. Romancable candidates can now initiate hugs (ooh!), farmer NPCs can now be seen growing rice, a new end-of-season recap summarizes the player's farm progress, more clothing options, adjustments to the fishing and farm animal care systems, and improvements to multiplayer functions.
Upcoming version 1.3 will bring child growth, festivals with the merfolk, a jealousy system, merfolk marriage, and more.
Coral Island | Steam Store


Cute bakery game with a grain-growing aspect, Cinnabunny, will be released on Nintendo Switch 1/2 on December 11 for $25. The Switch edition will have all the content released for the Steam version, though with a few graphic downgrades, such as the removal of water transparency. Indie developer Reky Studios notes that there are no plans for a PlayStation or XBox release.
Cinnabunny | Steam Store
There isn't an entry on the Nintendo eShop for the game yet.

Wholesome Snack
As a part of next week's Game Awards, Wholesome Direct will present their last broadcast of the year. The Wholesome Snack: Game Awards Edition 2025 will air on Tuesday, December 9 at 12:00 PM Pacific Time (-8 GMT). The stream will showcase 20 cozy games, including world-premiere announcements. Perhaps we'll see some fun farm'n games! The broadcast will be free to view on YouTube:
Wholesome Snack: The Game Awards Edition 2025 - Video Game Showcase


Until next time!

- Cher(Amazed at how quickly 2025 flew by...) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1764980320 Sat, 06 Dec 2025 00:18:40 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1764377968 Happy Farm'n Friday! I hope everyone has enjoyed their Thanksgiving break so far. We returned from our short trip to Tokyo last weekend, though my sleep schedule still has not reset. Spent time getting lost in some of the city's wards (Chuo, Chiyoda, some Shibuya, Toshima, etc.), but we missed a lot of stuff, like visiting the Nintendo Store. We did walk by the Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo shop and witnessed the 2-hour wrap-around line; wasn't for us! Though participating in PokemonGo Community Day with so many people was a blast.
Naturally, we were all over the varieties of food to explore. A couple of ramen places, lots of curry, had fish and rice for breakfast at a buffet, and even ate a roasted satsumaimo out of a brown paper bag. Figured since I'm always growing them in Story of Seasons games, I should try the local sweet potato. Alas, Mr.Fogu wouldn't even try the mystery bag-o-yam! We also tried fast food just for fun: KFC tasted the same as home (though the yuzu-spiced version was tasty) and ate at a MOS Burger because I recognized it from playing Machi-ing Maker DS. We even discovered an appreciation for milk water (calpis), lychee water, and almond pudding.
Overall, it was a nice trip to celebrate my 50th birthday. Surprisingly, I didn't get a chance to play much of Grand Bazaar or Home Sweet Home on the plane ride as I thought I would, but I did knock out a couple of Rune Factory Picross puzzles. Trying to hunt down the six Bokumono phone charms in Harajuku was an experience. Took us a while to locate the gacha store, but it was worth the adventure. We also searched a few crane-game arcades for the small cow bag-charm plushies that were released last month or so, but had no luck.
Now that the trip is over, it's now onto putting up the Christmas lights! A week or so late, but the Interns didn't make the effort to do any of it while we were out of the country, so it falls back to us to finish the job.

New Official Cow Plush
While there have been official Harvest Moon plushies and merchandise produced by Multiverse Studios for Natsume, and several Stardew Valley products from Fan Gamer (the new SV scarf is super cute), the NA/EU merchandise related to Story of Seasons has been not as common beyond fan-created goodies sold at conventions or online. Japan has had a variety of non-preorder animal Bokumono plushies (and a giant turnip) via a licensing agreement with arcade prize manufacturer System Works, but other Marvelous regions have been lacking official farm'n goodies.
Today, Marvelous NA/EU launched a MakeShip campaign to bring a bubble cow plushie to farming fans outside of Japan. With MakeShip, creators design plushies, pins, clothing, and vinyl figures, and then collect pledges (essentially preorders) to meet a minimum order goal. Once achieved, MakeShip manufactures the limited-edition product and ships it to backers after the campaign ends.
In this case, the potential fleece-based plushie is about 6.5 inches tall by about 9.5 inches long, so much larger than the normal Marvelous plushies reserved for physical game preorder bonuses. It's a similar size to the System Works "medium" cow plushies the amusement goods company has released a few times over the year, which is a good size without being insanely oversized and awkward to collect ("Another cow?!" asks Mr.Fogu while looking over my shoulder as I write, lol). If the campaign is successful, this bubble cow will begin shipping to farmers worldwide around the end of April 2026.
This official Marvelous bubble cow campaign will easily reach its minimum order requirement by the end of today (if not sooner), with preorders remaining available until December 20. Securing your bubble-butt bovine will cost about $30 plus global shipping costs.

Bubble Cow Plushie | MakeShip

Indie Game Updates
Laborious Lark Studios updated her early access farming game, Seeds of Calamity two weeks ago, adding a 10-room challenge dungeon for an extra bit of fun. In this game, dungeon combat is a turn-based system with the assistance of the protagonist's helpful spellbook. The bad guys in the standard dungeons were also adjusted based on player feedback.
Seeds of Calamity | Steam Store

Both the latest indie farming games searching for crowdfunding support met their campaign goals: Delphinium on November 25, and Farnia Village on November 27. Delphinium's development was already well underway before the Kickstarter campaign (the studio just needed a bit more funding to reach its 2026 completion), while Farnia Village is in mid-development with a 2028 release goal. If you weren't aware yet, Farnia is developed by Mana Games, whose staff includes the director of Rune Factory 4 and the scenario writer for RF 3 and 4. Both powerhouse players at Mana Games were former employees of Neverland.

ClaudiaTheDev announced that blobbly farming game Ova Magica will soon begin testing the final, 1.0 version. Due to the effort required to make this happen across all supported platforms (not just Steam) and the amount of text to localize for release, the final update of the game will not be released in 2025. A 2026 release window will be revealed later.

Holiday Weekend Sales
To kick off the Christmas shopping season, both Marvelous and Natsume have discounted their farming games:

Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos = Digital only. 50% off on Switch (expires 12/3 in NA, 11/30 in EU) and 50% off PS5 (bundles only, expires 12/1). No discounts on Steam.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma = Physical only from Marv Store. ~20% off of the standard (non-Earthmate) edition (expires 12/1).
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life = Digital only. 50% off PS5 (expires 12/1). No discounts on Switch or Steam.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town = Digital only. 75% off PS4/5 (expires 12/1). No discounts on Switch or Steam.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar = Physical only from Marv Store. ~35% off premium bundles for Switch 1 and Switch 2 (expires 12/3).
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town = Digital only. 65% off PS4/5 (expires 12/1). No discounts on Switch or Steam.
There is also a holiday sale taking place on Steam for other farming games unrelated to Marv/Nat. These Steam discounts expire 12/1 unless noted otherwise below:

Coral Island = 33% off
Critter Crops = 50% off (exp. 12/3)
Doloc Town = 10% off (Early Access)
Echoes of the Plum Grove = 40% off
Firefly Village = 20% off (exp. 12/3)
Harvestella = 60% off
Immortal Life = 60% off
Lightyear Frontier = 40% off
My Time at Portia = 80% off (exp. 12/4)
One Lonely Outpost = 60% off (Early Access, exp. 12/3)
Paleo Pines = 70% off
Rusty's Retirement = 33% off
Super Farming Boy = 20% off (Early Access, exp. 12/5)



Until next time!

- Cher(Guess who has two thumbs and spilled orange, sugary Thai Tea on her white keyboard? Yeaaa...) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1764377968 Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:59:28 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1762559325 Happy Farm'n Friday! Made no progress with the Christmas lights this week due to the terrible weather, but I did manage to complete a bulb check on the icicle lights. I've two strings that are working 50%. That'll be a challenge to figure out what's going on! These are discontinued light strings, so it is either fix it or lose it. It may be time to replace them for next year.
The next Farm'n Friday will be on November 21 28, as Mr.Fogu is taking me on an adventure that will have me traveling and (hopefully) stuffing my face with all sorts of delicious treats for the next two Fridays. I'll still be around via Bluesky. Guide content updates and my availability on the Helper Chat will also be paused for a bit.

Marvelous Q2 Report
Last week, Marv corporate released their fiscal report covering the second quarter 2025 (July, August, and September). Marvelous' 2026 fiscal year started in April 2025 and ends on the last day of March 2026.
In general, things are doing quite well! Sales year-over-year have increased 157% and resulted in 32 million yen in overall operating profit so far, due to strong interest in the amusement sector (i.e., arcade machines) and the release of three core titles - Rune Factory: Azuma (June), Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (August), and Daemon X Machina: Titanic (September). While there were significant development costs, steady sales have resulted in reaching profit goals ahead of schedule. Marv notes that sales of Daemon x Machina were initially slow, but are still on track to reach its profit goal. As we already know, both RF and SoS have shipped over half-a-million units each.
In specific segments, their digital content sales increased 197% compared to Quarter 2 of last fiscal year. During that prior period, Marvelous had released two JP-region mobile games, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus (July 2024), and Hokkaido Seriel Murders (September 2024), with a big gamble on the upcoming Farmagia (November 2024). Not even the animated series spin-off could help that dud. So it's no surprise that their powerhouse genres in 2025 increased sales at such a high rate.
While sales in the digital content segment increased like crazy, the amount of profit during Quarter 2 was still negative, as Marv continues to recoup development costs associated with their major titles. It was also negative in Quarter 1 due to up-front development costs associated with Azuma, but it is improving. Marvelous' other segments (arcade and music) are doing well.
New games to increase digital content sales during this fiscal year include a new app for the company's existing Sangokushi online game and an RPG game for Nintendo Switch based on the mobile game, The Thousand Noble Musketeers: Rhodoknight, set 7 years after the events of the mobile phone game. The Musketeers game is by G-MODE (the Marvelous subsidiary that released the old Bokujou Monotagari phone games on Steam) with a February 2026 release date.
Marvelous' report also notes that the company plans to continue to support the three major titles released earlier by distributing new content to help boost sales (maybe more Grand Bazaar content updates?), while also increasing profits with their online games by having special, in-game events.

New Sakuna Game
This week, a new spin-off based on the rice farming anime series was announced for mobile and Steam/PC. Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin - Hinuka's Pilgrimage will be a free-to-play rice cultivation and RPG game in development by G2 Studios with an original concept supplied by Sakuna developer Edelweiss. Toho Games, a subsidiary of Toho Co. (the company behind the Sakuna anime series), will handle the publication and is currently accepting pre-registrations in Japan.
An online presentation aired yesterday, where several of the anime's voice actors showcased the gameplay along with the game's director. The first 10 minutes are just pre-stream content, so fast forward if you want to see the new game's content:

The storyline involves Sakuna-hime and her friends investigating an archipelago that mysteriously appeared for reasons unknown. There, they meet young Hinuka-hime, who is searching for her father based on her vague memories of him. Together, they grow rice and explore the archipelago to solve the mysteries.
The quality of rice will depend on the type of seeds the player selects, the environment and weather, as well as the members of the player's party, with the intent of trying different combinations to discover the 100 rice varieties in the game. It takes about 6 real-life hours to cultivate the rice into a harvestable crop.

Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin - Hinuka's Pilgrimage | Offical Website (JP)

While the Toho game registration appears to be region locked (at least, the Steam Store entry says it is unavailable outside of Japan), XSeed Games has announced there will be a Sakuna 5th-anniversary livestream on November 10 at 12:00 pm Pacific Time on their Twitch channel.

Indie Updates
After several years, slow-life farming game Peaceful Days has exited Steam Early access and is now available. Spend a quiet life in the village of Aurora, managing a farm, talking to the locals, doing part-time jobs, and so on. A free demo is also available:

Peaceful Days | Steam Store


Until next time!

- Cher(Varoom airplane varoooooom!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1762559325 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 23:48:45 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1761954479 Happy Farm'n Friday, and Happy Halloween! The weather is predicted to be clear tonight, so I envision we'll have plenty of trick-or-treaters. I have all the good stuff - Reeses, Kit Kat, Snickers, Milk Duds, etc. - along with the fan favorite, Russet Potatoes. Last year, the multi-colored Masquerade potatoes were quite a hit with the kids. Unfortunately, this year's harvest was pretty dismal, so I had to switch to the standard Russet from the grocery store. I would rather have leftover potatoes than leftover candy, anyway.
Famitsu's Top-30 list still has the Nintendo Switch 1 edition of Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar in its ranking, though we're now down to #28.

HM: Home Sweet Home SE
The upgraded version of last year's $20 mobile game, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Special Edition (SE) is now available on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, XBox, and Steam/PC, along with an upgraded price of about $40.

An obvious change compared to the older, mobile version is the inclusion of a permanent house and workshop for Doc Jr. In the original game, 'ol Doc simply stood around in Alba in various places as an unhoused visitor. In the SE, his metal-clad lab is directly north after crossing the second bridge to reach the Alba center area. He has friendship notes like the other Alba residents, and he can give fetch requests, but his profile entry in the Resident Encyclopedia is at the very bottom of the list and not at the top with the game's marriage candidates. Alas, once again, it doesn't appear that the silver fox can be married. Sad.
The game plays fine on a Steam Deck, including a smooth transition when the pop-up keyboard launches for naming newly purchased animals. The SE requires controller inputs on all platforms; no keyboard/mouse support.
The navigation interface for the main menu has moved from the bottom of the screen to the top and still contains the same options as the non-SE version of the game.
There is a new white-colored building between the Village Hall and Jeanne's newspaper shop/residence. I'm assuming this is a medical clinic that belongs to the new marriage candidate in HSHSE, Nikolai. Because of the new structure, the location of the Unmanned Store has shifted slightly to the right and is now closer to the bridge leading to central Alba.
Ella moves in at the end of Chapter 4, where she lives in a white tent just south of the new clinic. She also has an interest in working part-time at Hugo's Piemont restaurant, which happens to be the plot of Chapter 4.
Generally, movement is limited to the standard fast walk, controlled by using the left analog stick. Tilt slightly to slow walk, or push the stick in the movement direction to walk faster. In the SE, there is a new ability to run faster by holding down the R2/ZR button on the controller while tilting the left analog stick in the direction of movement. Sprinting takes more energy than the normal movement speed, but at least we can get around faster.
I double-checked the iOS mobile version, and there was no sprint option, whether using the touch-screen controls or a compatible Bluetooth controller.
There are probably more things in the game I haven't seen yet. So far, the SE game's story remains the same as the iOS/Android version, including the items required to advance the story.
On the opposite side, the animals inside the barn are still blocked from accessing open feed bins while another animal is in the way and eating fodder. Since there is no option to push the animals, and running against them does not make them budge, the best solution is to pet the animal that is eating to interrupt its hour-long feeding, and then hope it wanders off to make space for the patiently waiting hungry animal.
As in Winds of Anthos and earlier versions of the Natsume series, setting animals out to graze makes animals healthy, not full. The animals could graze in One World when there was fodder grass growing in a nearby crop field, but that hasn't been the case for games released afterward.
Another got-cha with the Steam/PC version is that while the game has the options to be played in full-screen or in a floating window, the windowed mode has no resolution settings in the game menus. The workaround is to manage the launch settings in Steam instead. Open your Steam client and browse to the game Library, then right-click on HSHSE to access the game's Properties. Under General > Launch Options, add in "-screen-width 1600 -screen-height 900 -screen-fullscreen 0" to the entry field. Feel free to adjust the width/height to your preferred window resolution size; the "0" at the end determines whether it is windowed or full-screen ("1"). The game does launch a little slower with the custom launch command.
The last oddity I noticed with the Steam edition is with the game's camera, which operates as a zoom in/out via the right analog stick. Regardless of the zoom level set when entering a building, it will always reset to the default middle-zoom level when exiting back outside. This zoom adjustment doesn't occur in the iOS/Android version, so it may be corrected in a future update.
So, is it worth $40? Honestly, it is a little overpriced. If I were in charge of marketing/publication at Natsume, I would have set the launch price at $30. The story writing and environment for Home Sweet Home (regular or SE) are a step-up from Winds of Anthos, visually more colorful and textually less stoic, but the storyline can be completed within a year (or even faster when you have a list of all required materials and can plan ahead). The supporting languages are currently limited to English and German, excluding other languages that have had prior Harvest Moon releases (sorry, Quebec). So if you've available funds and want to play now, go for it! But if your coin purse is a little short on turnips, hold off until it goes on sale for a more reasonable price.

Harvest Moon Home Sweet Home SE | Nintendo
Harvest Moon Home Sweet Home SE | PlayStation Store
Harvest Moon Home Sweet Home SE | Steam Store
Harvest Moon Home Sweet Home SE | Steam Store

Cattle Country Update
Publisher Playtonic and developer Castle Pixel's country-western farming game, Cattle Country, released a free update today that is currently live on Steam.

This new update brings a child into a married relationship. If the player manages to marry Sheriff Tom (widower, with daughter Grace) or Maggie (dead parents, with little brother Sam), the associated kids will move into the player's farmhouse.
Family members can be assigned chores, such as harvesting crops. They can also cook meals and light the indoor fireplace.
The seasonal Halloween event was also updated with a new spooky crypt maze to solve, along with new decor, a communal soup pot, and new cosmetics.
This update also includes general improvements, such as being able to craft/cook using ingredients stored in nearby chests, barn/coop upgrades, and new starting farm layouts.
Cattle Country | Steam Store

New Crowdfund Farm'n Games
It's a good week to support a couple of indie farm'n game crowdfunding campaigns that launched over at Kickstarter!
The first is a farming game called Delphinium by Australian studio CINNADEV.

In this "bittersweet cozy, story-driven farming simulator", the protagonist returns to her mountain village after a political conflict between countries and a squashed rebellion left her with nowhere else to go. You'll grow crops that can change depending on nearby plants, craft furniture for the farmhouse, tackle bulletin board requests, go fishing, and so on. Normal farm'n stuff.
The interesting part of Delphinium is its relationship building with the villagers. Interacting and helping the residents will branch the story, which is limited to one season in length. Not everything can be unraveled through a single playthrough, as solving problems and making decisions will change the protagonist's story.
CINNADEV started development back in 2021 and initially received funding from Screen Australia in 2023. The intent of the Kickstarter is to fund the final stage of development, leading up to its 2026 planned release.

Delphinium | Kickstarter

The second recently launched farming game looking for public financial support is called Farnia Village by ManaGames. The game's story begins with the amnesiac protagonist waking up in a strange village. Not remembering who they are, the villagers offer the protagonist a nearby farm. This isn't free, though! The villagers expect the protagonist to work the farm to pay off the costs of acquiring the ranch.

If this sounds like a familiar runey-like storyline, there is a very good reason for that! The developer for Farnia is the lead programmer for Rune Factory 3 and the director of Rune Factory 4, Shinichi Manabe. Along with the writer for RF3 and 4, Takanori Tsuji, and other collaborators, they aim to create a farming/life-simulation game in their own style.
Farming, fishing, crafting, taming monsters to live on the farm, festivals, adventures and battles, and a bit of romance; all of that is part of Farnia.
The game is planned for a Steam/PC release, with controller and keyboard/mouse support. They hope to eventually release their farming game on home consoles.

Farnia Village - Farming, Adventure, Romance, Life Game | Kickstarter


Until next time!

- Cher(grumble... another Christmas-blocking rainy weekend is forecasted...) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1761954479 Fri, 31 Oct 2025 23:47:59 +0000