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: A Wonderful Life (January 2023)
• North America: Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos (September 2023) and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (June 2023)
• Europe: Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos (October 2023) and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (June 2023)

The latest version of River King, in all regions of the world, is River King: Mystic Valley (JP 2007, NA 2008, EU 2009).

Since 2000, Ushi no Tane has been run by a grouchy old lady who happens to be fond of video game agriculture along with two feline helpers: Intern Captain Bootu and Intern Hondo Mewnaka. The website is not officially affiliated, sponsored, endorsed, or employed by the developers of Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons, or River King. This is simply a fan site.

Latest Farming Video Game News

Happy Farm'n Friday! Still no visible growth with the front-yard potatoes, but the backyard-planted spuds are starting to emerge. Huzzah! I was concerned that nothing would sprout, as this was the first time I tried to overwinter potatoes in the refrigerator for spring planting. Glad to see that there has been some success, even if it's only two spuds so far.

The coleus is growing larger, but it's too early to plant them outside. Maybe in another week, those seedlings can start moving outside during the day to get used to outdoor temperatures. I've to be careful about the local tree rats, though. One of them bit a chunk from a watermelon seedling leaf! The pinwheel and the carp outdoor figure I had placed near the watermelon plant did not deter the squirrels. I hoped the pinwheel would be effective, but maybe it didn't work because there was no wind to spin its blades. Or perhaps the little plaster carp wasn't threatening enough. I may have planted the watermelons outside too early...

Rusty's Retirement Released

The idle-farming game Rusty's Retirement launched on Steam/PC today. The game costs $6.99 and is 10% off ($6.29) until May 7. Optionally, a supporter bundle for $10.98 includes the game and a sparkly gold skin for Rusty, which is currently discounted by 16%.

Rusty's has several layout choices. The game can run horizontally across the bottom of your desktop or vertically along the side. The zoom function (arrow keys) allows the game to display large or small, and there are options to force the farm to always be above other windows on your screen. If you have a second monitor, you can direct the farm onto that screen using the Switch Monitor button in the options menu.

The game also has a chill soundtrack, which can be disabled by reducing the volume in the game options.

Little Rusty won't do anything until seeds are planted in the field by the storage house. While, in general, the game plays on its own, it does need a supervising human to get things started. Wheat, Radish, and Cabbage are available at the beginning, each taking real-time minutes to mature: Wheat takes 70 seconds, Radish takes 120 seconds, and Cabbage takes 150 seconds. Rusy will water the seeds and harvest the plants once they mature (and receive money at harvest), then put them in storage or the biofuel processor. You need 3 unique crops or berries on the machine to create biofuel.

Biofuel is used to power the farm helpers, such as the water bots, harvest bots, and the biofuel bots used to move crops to the biofuel processor. It's also needed for construction projects. For example, the barn has to be built before you can dig up fossils to regenerate into cows and pigs. The barn costs 3000 biofuel and 10,000 spare parts (the game's currency). The helper bots also return to their bases to fill up and recharge when their biofuel is depleted.

There are a variety of other crops to grow besides Wheat, Radish, and Cabbage. New crop seeds will unlock for you to plant after Rusty places enough of the locked crop's components in the storage house, e.g., Carrot Seeds need at least 10 Cabbage and 18 Radishes in storage. Once unlocked, planting spends spare parts and not crops. Each locked crop seed box will display how many prerequisite crops are needed to obtain new seed varieties. There are about 42 varieties of crops to grow, with more difficult seeds requiring many harvested crops to unlock.

Overall, developer Mister Morris Games created a cute and inexpensive farming game that grows with a little guidance from the player. You can check it out on the Steam store:

• Rusty's Retirement | Steam Store

SoTI Mobile

The mobile version of 1 Million Bits Horde farming and island building game, Spirit of the Island, will be released on July 16. Available for Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, the mobile version supports cross-play with the PC (Epic Game Store and Steam) and home console versions (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, or XBox X/S).

HM: One World Plushie

Yesterday, Natsume revealed they will be offering preorders for Harvest Moon: One World Complete, scheduled to be released in August. The physical game will be released exclusively for Nintendo Switch for $29.99, and preorders are only available from the Natsume website. Farmers who preorder will receive a 6-inch plushie of the icy Salmiakki Sasquatch.

One World? Didn't that come out long ago?

Yeah, I was confused, too. OW has been out for several years, and the more recent Winds of Anthos is considered a better farming experience than One World... so what's up with that?

It turns out this release is different because it contains the base game and four DLCs (interior/tools, Wagashi Island, precious pets, and mythical pets) at a discounted price for Switch players. The digital version of this bundle is currently $65 on the Nintendo eShop, so a physical edition plus a plushie is a good deal for those interested in trying out OW at a cheaper price.

• Preorder HM: One World Complete with a FREE Sasquatch Plush | Natsume Store

Doraemon Discounts

The latest release of Bandai Namco's collaboration series with Marvelous' BokuMono, Doraemon: Story of Seasons - Friends of the Great Kingdom is 60% off ($19.99) on PlayStation until May 8. PS+ members can buy the game for 65% off ($17.49). The game's season pass, which includes the 3 costume/story DLCs and a bonus crop seed pack, is also discounted 50% off ($7.49), though the single DLCs are not discounted.

FGK is also discounted on Steam as part of Bandai Namco's Golden Week celebration. Though not as good a deal as the PS version, the PC version is on sale for 30% off ($34.99) until May 6. The Deluxe edition on Steam includes the season pass, discounted by 30% ($45.49).

This game is also on sale on the Nintendo eShop in North America, but only until April 28 (this Sunday) and only the base game (not the season pass). The digital edition from the eShop is 65% off ($17.49). The game is not on sale in EU and AU.

FGK is generally considered a better game than the first Doraemon: SoS game, with UI improvements and an interesting story. The first Doraemon: SoS game is also on sale for 50% off ($24.99) on Steam.

• Doraemon: Story of Seasons - FGK | PlayStation Store
• Doraemon: Story of Seasons - FGK | Steam Store
• Doraemon: Story of Seasons - FGK | Nintendo Store (NA)

HM3GB Comic

Here's a newly translated Harvest Moon 3 Guidebook comic!

Babe was a popular live-action 1995 movie about a talking pig. Gosh, that was almost 30 years ago...

Until next time!

-Cher
(Hmm... what sunflower varieties to grow this year...)

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