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We now know when the Switch versions of the 3DS original Harvest Moon games The Lost Valley and Skytree Village will launch, as Natsume shared the release date. It will debut on the system on July 3, 2025. 

There aren’t any special anniversaries associated with that date. The first original 3DS entry, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, first debuted in the US in November 2014, before showing up in Europe and Australia in June 2015. As a reminder, that installment doesn’t offer an actual village to visit. Instead, you have to wait for folks from Hillsville to visit the valley where your cabin is to interact with them. Harvest Moon: Skytree Village followed that release in November 2016 in the US, followed by a 2017 debut in Australia and Europe. 

The last update regarding this 3DS to Switch Harvest Moon collection involved its pre-order bonus. Instead of a plush toy, like ones that accompanied past releases, the incentive here is an acrylic standee featuring animals in front of a barn and the game’s logo.

Neither game of these two games appeared in Japan. This is because they marked the start of Natsume’s original line of Harvest Moon games. Previously, it released Marvelous’ Bokujou Monogatari titles under that name outside Japan. Since then, Marvelous handles them with XSEED as Story of Seasons, with the next mainline entry in that base series being the return of the DS game Grand Bazaarto the Switch as Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar.

Natsume’s Cozy Bundle with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be on the Nintendo Switch in Summer 2025. Both games also appeared on the 3DS.

The post Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village Switch Release Date Set appeared first on Siliconera.

Natsume announced the pre-order bonus for the Switch game Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village, and it isn’t a plush toy this time around. While said orders are available at Amazon now for $39.99, only the Natsume Store page mentions the bonus. The company also offered a first look at  screenshots showing how the former 3DS games look on a new platform. 

This time, the pre-order bonus for Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village is an acrylic standee instead of a plush. This decorative item shows various animals from these two entries. So you can see a chicken with chick, dog, cat, sheep, cow, horse, and two birds standing in front of a barn. The series’ name appears on it as well.

Here’s how that looks:

This breaks tradition for the series. Typically, Natsume offers a plush as a pre-order bonus or pack-in for a version of the game. The Harvest Moon: One World Collector’s Edition included a stuffed chicken, as an example. When it came to Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos, pre-orders of that included a Sleepytime Cow plush. 

As for a peek at the game, here are the first screenshots for the Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village collection:

There’s still no official trailer showing either of the Switch ports of the two Harvest Moon 3DS games look in-action yet.

While this is the new Natsume game under the Harvest Moon game, Marvelous and XSEED are working on a new Bokujou Monogatari game that will appear under the Story of Seasons name. It first discussed it in 2024, and we’re waiting for further reveals about it.

Natsume’s Cozy Bundle with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be on the Nintendo Switch in June 2025, and we can pre-order the collection now. Both games also appeared on the 3DS.

The post Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley & Skytree Village Pre-order Bonus Isn’t a Plush appeared first on Siliconera.

Two of the original Harvest Moon games Natsume developed for the 3DS after it got rights to the title for the Bokujou Monogatari games will come to the Switch as Natsume's Cozy Bundle. This collection brings back Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village. It currently has a 2025 launch window.

As a reminder, both of these feature a more blocky and rudimentary experience. In Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, the priority involves digging into and placing blocks, as in Minecraft, to shape the way the valley in which your farm appears. As you play, you’ll bring seasons back to a place that somehow stopped experiencing them. The Switch version will include the outfit, building sets, additional crops like basil, cacao, olives, and soy beans, and makes the romance options Andrea and Luke available. This version also cut back on socialization, prioritizing your actions on and around your farm.

Here’s the 3DS trailer for that game, in case you forgot how it looked and worked.

The Harvest Moon: Skytree Village game in Natsume's Cozy Bundle still involves terraforming, but in this entry that means you can also get different crop variants as a result. As you play and live your new life, you’ll also revive the Skytrees to restore the Harvest Goddess to full power. The DLC will also be present immediately in the Switch release, meaning you’ll get access to farm decorations and the romance options Edmond and Nova.

You can watch the Harvest Moon: Skytree Village 3DS trailer below:

The announcement didn’t note if there will be any special or new features available in the Switch versions of either game. However, we do know what the cover art will look like:

Natsume's Cozy Bundle with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be on the Nintendo Switch in Summer 2025. Both games also appeared on the 3DS.

The post 3DS Natsume-Developed Harvest Moon Games Head to Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s been months since Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home released in August 2024, and now you can finally use a controller with the mobile game. Natsume announced on social media that the update is live as of December 17, 2024. Grabbing that gives you an option other than using the touch screen, as well as adds for cloud saves.

It seems like people on Android devices may have already had access to these new elements a bit early. The Google Play page noted that it updated to 1.3 on December 10, 2024. However, the App Store Version History specifically notes the 1.3 update launching on December 17, 2024, and it shared the brief patch notes.

Here are the full patch notes for 1.3:

• Added controller .
• Cloud Save is now available.
• Minor bug fixes.

With the mobile controller , any one you typically use with your Android or iOS device’s games should work with Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. Just make sure it is connected via Bluetooth before you settle in, then play as usual. 

Natsume didn’t note how cloud saves will work. However, presumably this will happen as you make save files, then allow you to carry over to any other possible Android or iOS devices you own that are connected to that .

This is one of multiple Harvest Moon mobile games from the company. Other immediately playable titles include the life-sims Harvest Moon: Light of Hope and Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories. There is also the puzzle spin-off Harvest Moon: Mad Dash. 

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is available on Android and Apple iOS devices. 

The post Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Mobile Game Finally Gets Controller appeared first on Siliconera.

MARVELOUS and G-MODE have announced Harvest Moon Life and Love (or Bokujou Monogatari Life and Love) will release for PC through Steam. However, a release date has yet to be announced. Additionally, the game will not have English language .

Harvest Moon Life and Love originally appeared as a mobile game in 2007. Players can choose between a male or female protagonist, and much like previous Harvest Moon titles, will focus on cultivating your farm, raising animals, and mine.

Interestingly enough, the game will Xbox and PlayStation controllers, with the Steam page stating that this is the preferred way to play the port. The page also has a handful of screenshots, which show conversations between villagers, and the player character tending to their farm.

This title was exclusive to Japan, and to mobile phones, and will be available for the first time on PC (and available to purchase outside of Japan). A release date will be revealed in the future.

Another Harvest Moon mobile game is set to release on August 23, 2024. Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home will include everything life and farming simulator players have come to expect. You'll be able to raise farm animals, tend to crops, and form relationships with villagers.

Harvest Moon Life and Love (or Bokujou Monogatari Life and Love) will release for PC through Steam sometime in the future.

The post Harvest Moon Game Bokujou Monogatari Life and Love Returns  appeared first on Siliconera.

Natsume announced a release date for Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home, its new game in the series, and it’s only a week away. The game will launch on Android and Apple iOS devices on August 23, 2024. 

As is common in Harvest Moon games, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home starts with our avatar starting life over again in a small town. In this case, rather than returning to a family member’s place to run a farm, we return to where we grew up. The goals involve running a successful ranch, getting close to the other people in town, and helping to develop Alba Village so it will grow. 

There’s also a new trailer showing how this Harvest Moon game looks and works. It starts with the male version of the avatar reading a letter while at a bus stop, then arriving back at Alba Village. From there, we see the character in front of some fields with new crops growing. After that, the character walks around town. We also see a shift in perspective to the female protagonist. Conversations with Jacques and Jean, two residents, come up. There’s also a closer look at a field that contains ordinary crops, like eggplants, pineapples, and watermelons, alongside one that looks like a snowman. From there, we get to see livestock like cows, sheep, chickens, horses. The fishing minigame, horse races, and more love interests appear after that.

Here’s that full trailer showing off the game.

The Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home release date is August 23, 2024, and people with Android and Apple iOS tablets and phones will be able to play it. 

The post Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Release Date Is Sooner Than You’d Expect appeared first on Siliconera.

At the end of May 2024, Natsume announced its new Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home game, but didn’t have any art or screenshots to share. Now the company took to social media about a month later for the first official reveal. 

There are nine images plucked from Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home total, and they offer a peek at avatar options and NPCs in the new game. However, we still don’t know about crops, livestock, or love interests based on this initial batch, though a cow, chickens, and a horse do appear. The avatar options highlighted in the images from Natsume show male and female ones will be available. So will different hair and skin colors. 

A handful of villagers from Alba also showed up. One is Hugo, a chef who owns a restaurant in town. Another shows an avatar talking to a man named Braden. Harriet looks like the fishing specialist this time around. The design direction for them looks similar to the one used in Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos.

Here’s the full, first batch of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home screenshots:

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home will come to Android and Apple iOS devices in Summer 2024.

The post See the First Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Screenshots appeared first on Siliconera.

Natsume is working on another new and original Harvest Moon game, this time called Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. It is expected to release on Android and Apple iOS mobile devices in August 2024.

So far, only a logo is available for Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. There are no screenshots or initial trailers suggesting how this installment might look. The initial announcement referenced “familiar faces,” which could suggest appearances of the Harvest Sprites, Harvest Goddess, and recurring characters like Doc and Doc Jr from Natsume’s line of original entries that debuted starting in 2014.

This marks the first new mobile entry in Natsume’s original line of Harvest Moon line of games since Harvest Moon: Light of Hope. That launched in 2018 on Android and iOS, and it eventually appeared on the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC as well. The two mainline games and Mad Dash spin-off released between 2019 and 2023 all only appeared on consoles and PCs. 

As for the next Story of Seasons Bokujou Monogatari game, it is possible we will learn more about the next new one at the Marvelous Game Showcase 2024. A new entry was teased at the 2023 installment, so the latest presentation could reveal more about it.

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home will launch on Android and iOS mobile devices in August 2024.

The post Next New Harvest Moon Game Is Home Sweet Home appeared first on Siliconera.

There will be four Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos DLC packs, with one adding romance options and another tool upgrades. The release of these add-ons will be staggered. They'll start right on launch day however, as we'll see Animal Avalanche Pack on September 26, 2023. The price of them starts at $2.99, however the Visitors From Afar Pack DLC is $12.99. A $14.99 season will be available that includes every pack.

Here’s the full list of Harvest Moon: The Winds of AnthosDLC sorted by release date.

• September 26, 2023: The Animal Avalanche Pack with 10 real and fantastical animals will launch for $2.99.
• October 17, 2023: The Visitors from Afar Pack with romance options Charlotte and Jaques, as well as Verne Trading Company chapter and steampunk cusomization options, appears for $12.99
• November 7, 2023: Tool Upgrade & New Interior Designs Pack with tool upgrades and three design themes launches for $2.99.
• November 28, 2023: New Crops, Fish, and Recipes Pack with 12 crops, 6 fish, and 15 recipes launches for $2.99.

We've already gotten to see a few of the Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos romance options. Natsume is revealing them weekly on social media.

Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos will come to the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on September 26, 2023.

The post Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos DLC Adds Romance Options, Animals appeared first on Siliconera.

Natsume revealed its first Harvest Moon: Winds of Anthos bachelor and bachelorette and will gradually introduce more characters via social media. It used its official Twitter to bring up profiles and official art. Right now, we now both Neil and Judy will be marriage candidates in this new Harvest Moon game.

We actually got a quick peek at the first Harvest Moon: Winds of Anthos bachelor and bachelorette ahead of this announcement. Both Neil and Judy showed up during the July 2023 trailer in the horse racing minigame segment. Judy is a character you’ll meet in Lenctenburg. She works with the animal dealer Mathis, who also happens to be her father, and she loves animals. Neil lives in the same town and works as a cook at its restaurant with his parents Eugene and Selena.

Here is a gallery showing the images Natsume shared showing the two new Harvest Moon marriage candidates.
[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="977355,977356" link="file"]

Natsume hasn't said how many love interests will be in this installment. However, it did confirm it will reveal one on every Tuesday until each character is revealed.

The Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos release date is September 26, 2023. We'll be able to find it on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

The post First Harvest Moon Winds of Anthos Bachelor and Bachelorette Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

On September 26, 2023, Natsume will release its next original Harvest Moon game. But for today, we’re getting a chance to see Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos gameplay for the first time. Previously, the company only showed screenshots for the game and its logo.

As usual, Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos is yet another game that focuses on farming. Natsume is taking a cue from more classic Bokujou no Monogatari and Harvest Moon games to make sure the new one again focuses on reviving the Harvest Goddess. However, the new Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos gameplay video doesn’t start by showing that. Instead, it begins with the character tilling a field and tending crops, caring for animals, fishing, horse and dog-related minigames, It’s only around the minute mark that we get to see the Harvest Goddess and interactions with villagers.

Here’s the full Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos gameplay trailer. While it does show lots of footage, there are no details yet about the romance elements or the bachelors and bachelorettes people will get to romance in this entry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqOAsevYJNc&ab_channel=PlayStation

Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos will come to the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on September 26, 2023.

The post See New Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos Gameplay appeared first on Siliconera.

Natsume not only announced the Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos, but also revealed its pre-order plush cow and limited edition. The game will come to the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on September 26, 2023. If people pre-order it through Natsume direct, Amazon, or GameStop, they get the stuffed animal. The limited edition also includes the cow.

Here's a closer look at the Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos pre-order 25th Anniversary Sleepytime Cow plush.
[caption id="attachment_964598" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Natsume[/caption]

The standard copy with pre-order cow is $49.99. NIS America is already taking pre-orders for the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the limited edition. That gives people the soundtrack on a CD and a set of six animal pins for $84.99.
[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="964600" link="file"]

As a reminder, Harvest Moon is now different from the Bokujou Monogatari series. It is now an original farming and life sim line of games from Natsume. New entries in the other series are published by Xseed under the Story of Seasons name.

The Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos release date is September 26, 2023. People will be able to find it on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

The post Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos Release Date Set, Pre-order Cow Shared appeared first on Siliconera.

Natsume announced more details about its new Harvest Moon game. First, Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos will be a multiplatform game and appear on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. There are also an array of screenshots showing animals, characters, and crops in the new installment. There’s no set release window yet, but it is expected to appear in 2023.

Two characters in particular show up during the new images. One is named Westley. In his screenshot, he describes himself as being a “leader” for a village. The other involves the player meeting someone named Vivi. As the player in this entry is a farmer who is traveling to multiple villages that were cut off after volcanic activity. This means the two could be from different villages.

As for the environments, a few things notable things ended up showing up in these early screenshots. We see the farmer using a Hand-Made Watering Can on the farm, in particular to water a Peach Pineapple. At a home in Providence Village, there’s what looks like a wind-up owl outside a home. There are also pictures of some animals people can own in Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos, with a cat, chicken, cow, horse, and sheep.

Here are all of the new Harvest Moon game screenshots so far.
[gallery columns="4" size="full" ids="958573,958574,958575,958576,958577,958578,958579,958580" link="file"]

People will be able to find Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2023.

The post Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos Heading to Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and PC appeared first on Siliconera.

Pocky & Rocky is back and, well, it is a slightly different take on a game people might be familiar with. It is all about playing with a familiar formula and adding to it. However, while this is definitely the run-and-gun game people , there are also some elements that feel like they’re holding the overall experience back.

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined involves shrine maiden Pocky and Rocky the tanuki dealing with Black Mantle and his yokai minions. The duo are responsible for figuring out how to save the day over the course of eight stages. Though really, the plot is awkward and feels unnecessary. It can also come across as a bit stilted, due to the storytelling decisions and localization. But given the nature of the series and this installment, you don’t really need to pay attention to the backstory. It all serves as an excuse to keep fighting through various levels.

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is a run-and-gun game. You’ll control one of the two lead characters, though it is also possible to be Ame-no-Uzume, Hotaru Gozen, and Ikazuchi during the adventure. You can freely move your character around the screen. As you progress and defeat certain enemies and boxes, you’ll also power-up your projectiles. An additional move allows you to send certain sorts of enemy shots back at them. Survival becomes a delicate balance of knowing when to use certain sorts of attacks, collecting power-ups when you can, and recognizing the sorts of patterns various foes use when they attack.

Story implementation aside, there are a number of design decisions that are quite questionable. The first being that Pocky & Rocky Reshrined’s multiplayer isn’t immediately unlocked. If you want to play with someone else, you have to unlock Free Mode. Which means you have to beat the single-player Story Mode or get 10,000 coins in Story Mode. That’s incredibly frustrating. Especially since, in the original SNES game, you could immediately hop in alone or with someone else.

The other one is that the easiest difficulty option is locked. Which is fine. I had no trouble getting through Pocky & Rocky Reshrined on Normal. But it seems like it would have been wiser to have Extra Easy immediately available for newcomers. Instead, someone has to earn 3,000 coins to open up that option. It would have made more sense, in my opinion, to put the Hard difficulty option behind that 3,000 coin wall.

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined also maintains the same sort of control scheme as the original. Which makes sense, given it is essentially an enhanced remake. But there’s been a lot of progress in the run-and-gun realm since. This means you’ll shoot in whichever direction you’re aiming. I found it frustrating, since it meant needing to constantly move and readjust to ensure my aim would be true or I’d properly reflect certain shots. It isn’t a game-breaker, to be certain. But when you get accustomed to more modern control schemes, it means relearning how to play.

Still, while some gameplay elements could use some tweaking, the atmosphere is great. Pocky & Rocky Reshrined looks incredible. The spritework is fantastic. It also has a fantastic soundtrack. It calls back to the chiptune original to create a wonderful sense of ambiance. I’d say its music is perhaps my favorite part.

As far as a revival goes, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is fine. It offers an opportunity for a new audience to experience the run-and-gun game. It looks fantastic. It also does a good job of paying tribute to the original SNES game while slightly expanding on the adventure. But it also doesn’t feel especially considerate of the player. It would have been more convenient to make the additional difficulty level and free mode immediately available. Still, it’s entertaining enough.

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is available for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. There are also Collector’s and Limited Edition versions of it available through Gamesrocket.

The post Review: Pocky & Rocky Reshrined Keeps Running and Gunning appeared first on Siliconera.

People will notice some big changes to Harvest Moon: One World after its May 13, 2021 update. Essentially, Natsume is messing with time as part of a rebalancing effort. Player suggested there weren’t enough hours in a day and animals were dying too quickly. So now, Harvest Moon: One World time will slow down and newly acquired animals will live longer.

Natsume didn’t offer an exact figure going over how much time changed. It noted that the clock speed ended up being among the balance changes. Days will now last longer. This should make handling chores and exploring the world easier.

As for animals, newly acquired ones will live longer. The update announcement confirmed that if someone befriends or buys a new critter, they won’t die as quickly as they did before the patch. However, any ones you already own will not suddenly enjoy higher mortality rates. The Natsume blog update did say you could “release” existing animals with Doad to make room for new ones that will live longer.

Harvest Moon: One World is available for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The May 13, 2021 update is now live and both rebalances and adds new text updates to the game.

The post Harvest Moon: One World Update Makes Animals Live Longer appeared first on Siliconera.