Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland

Last updated
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
Harvest Moon - Save The Homeland cover art.jpg
North American box art
Developer(s) Victor Interactive Software
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Tomomi Yamatate
Setsuko Miyakoshi
Producer(s) Yasuhiro Wada
Designer(s) Miki Miyagi
Taichi Hyoudou
Artist(s) Igusa Matsuyama
Composer(s) Kimitaka Matsumae
Hitomi Shimizu
Gary Ashiya
Suguru Yamaguchi
Series Story of Seasons
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Release
July 5, 2001
  • PlayStation 2
    • JP: July 5, 2001
    • NA: November 20, 2001 [1]
    PlayStation Network
    • NA: November 1, 2011
Genre(s) Life simulation, role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland [lower-alpha 1] is a 2001 farm life simulation game part of the popular Story of Seasons series of video games. An enhanced remake known as Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley was released in 2009 for PlayStation Portable.

Contents

Overview

The player takes on the role of a 21-year-old man (named Toy by default) whose grandfather, Tony, recently died and left him his farm. Upon arriving at the farm, nominally to pick up his grandfather's belongings, the player's character encounters three "Harvest Sprites" named Nic, Nak, and Flak and the Harvest Goddess, who ask him to stay on the farm and help them.

The area is slated to be demolished within a year to make way for a resort and amusement park. The goal of the game is to find a way to save the town before the year's end. To do this, the protagonist must befriend some of the characters and help them with their respective goals. The outcome depends on whom he befriends. If he is successful, the town will be saved.

Gameplay

The goal of Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland is to find a way to save the village from turning into a resort by the end of the year. There are 9 possible ways to save the village depending on the choices the player makes, such as which villagers the player befriends. For most of the endings, the character is involved in a quest (digging out a treasure, looking for magical ingredients, etc.).

After reaching an ending, the player has the option of restarting the game to try to "save the homeland" again, possibly achieving a different ending. Upon restarting the year the player may keep the money and animals earned. Each time the player finds a new ending, it gets saved in the Endings List, and the player receives the profiles of the villagers involved in that ending.

Like other Harvest Moon games, the player must tend to their farm by growing and selling crops and gathering produce from his or her animals. Unlike the other Harvest Moon games, marriage and parenthood are not included as options.

As in other Harvest Moon games, the player can adopt a dog and a horse. The horse can be used to get around the village faster, while the dog can be trained for useful tasks, such as herding cows into the barn.

The player can also own cows and chickens. Happy chickens and cows have the potential of giving golden eggs and golden milk. Eggs and milk are ingredients in recipes and can be used for cooking as well as for gifts or for profit.

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [2] Eric Bratcher of NextGen called it "A wonderfully charismatic, unique title that every gamer should play, though your mileage will vary with your patience." [10] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40. [5] Bro Buzz of GamePro said, "What's not to like about a solidly constructed RPG that encourages you to make friends, be kind to animals, and save a village? If you've got an agricultural attitude and a hankering for safe gameplay, you just might be a Harvest Moonie." [13] [lower-alpha 2]

Enhanced remake

An enhanced remake titled Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley was released on March 19, 2009 for PlayStation Portable, with many major changes.

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: 牧場物語3 ハートに火をつけて, Hepburn: Bokujō Monogatari 3: Heart ni Hi o Tsukete
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the game two 3/5 scores for graphics and control, 2.5/5 for sound, and 3.5/5 for fun factor.

Related Research Articles

Story of Seasons, known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari and formerly known as Harvest Moon, is an agricultural simulation role-playing video game series created by Yasuhiro Wada and developed by Victor Interactive Software. Story of Seasons was the first game to be released under the new international series title of the same name.

<i>Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life</i> 2003 video game

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is a video game that was released in Japan in September 2003 and March 2004 in North America for the GameCube. It was developed and published by Marvelous Interactive, and is part of the long-running Story of Seasons series of video games. The GameCube version offers connectivity with the Game Boy Advance game, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.

<i>Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town</i> 2003 video game

Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town is a video game for the Game Boy Advance, developed and published by Marvelous Interactive. It is the first Game Boy Advance game of the Story of Seasons series, and is a remake of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. It was first released in Japan in April 2003, in North America in November 2003, and in Europe in March 2004. Many critics praised it as the best entry of the series, combining elements from the best-selling console entries and introducing many notable series staples. It was later released on the Virtual Console for the Wii U in June 2015.

<i>Harvest Moon 64</i> 1999 video game

Harvest Moon 64, released in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari 2 (牧場物語2), is a 1999 farm simulation video game developed by Victor Interactive Software for the Nintendo 64 console. It was published by Victor Interactive in Japan and by Natsume Inc. in North America. It is the third game in the Story of Seasons series.

<i>Harvest Moon</i> (video game) 1996 video game

Harvest Moon, known in Japan as Farm Story, is a farm simulation role-playing video game developed by Amccus for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game first was released in Japan by Pack-In-Video in 1996, in North America by Natsume Inc. in 1997, and in Europe by Nintendo in 1998. The European version shipped with language localizations for Germany and France. It is the first game in the long-running Story of Seasons video game series, previously known as the Harvest Moon series in western territories. The game has been re-released on the Satellaview, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Wii U and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Harvest Moon 2 GBC</i> 1999 video game

Harvest Moon 2 GBC, released in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari GB2 (牧場物語GB2), is a farm simulation video game for the Game Boy Color developed and published by Victor Interactive Software, and the second portable game in the Story of Seasons series. The object of the game is to cultivate a farm to prevent the land from being used to build an amusement park. As with the previous game, the player may choose to play as a boy or a girl.

<i>Harvest Moon 3 GBC</i> 2000 video game

Harvest Moon 3 GBC is a farm simulation video game for the Game Boy Color developed and published by Victor Interactive Software, part of the long-running Story of Seasons series of video games. The game was released for the Nintendo 3DS via Virtual Console in North America on December 11, 2014.

<i>Harvest Moon: Back to Nature</i> 1999 video game

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari Harvest Moon, is a video game in the farm simulation series Story of Seasons, developed and published by Victor Interactive Software. It is the first Harvest Moon game for a non-Nintendo console. Characters from Harvest Moon 64 were transferred to be the characters in this game, although with new lifestyles, personalities, and relatives.

<i>Harvest Moon: Magical Melody</i> 2005 video game

Harvest Moon: Magical Melody is a social simulation video game for the GameCube developed by Marvelous Interactive. It is an updated version of Bokujō Monogatari: Shiawase no Uta, which was released on March 3, 2005 in Japan. The updated GameCube version was released in the United States by Natsume Inc. on March 28, 2006.

<i>Monster Rancher 3</i> 2001 video game

Monster Rancher 3 is the third game in Tecmo's Monster Rancher series. It is the first game in the series for the PlayStation 2.

<i>Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness</i> 2007 video game

Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness, known simply as Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, and known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari: Kimi to Sodatsu Shima, is a farm simulation video game published and developed by Marvelous Interactive Inc. in Japan, and released in North America by Natsume Inc. exclusively for the Nintendo DS. It is the third installment of the Story of Seasons series on the DS. It is the first entry without series creator Yasuhiro Wada involved.

<i>Harvest Moon DS</i> 2005 video game

Harvest Moon DS, known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari: Colobocle Station, is a farm simulation role-playing video game for the Nintendo DS, part of the Story of Seasons series. It was published and developed by Marvelous Interactive Inc., and released in Japan on March 17, 2005, and in North America on September 12, 2006. It is the first entry in the series without series creator Yasuhiro Wada heavily involved, though it borrows many assets from Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, such as the graphical style from the former and setting of the latter.

<i>Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility</i> 2007 video game

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is a farming simulation video game released in Japan on June 7, 2007, by Marvelous Interactive, in North America on September 30, 2008, by Natsume Inc., and in the PAL region in October 2009. It was released for Nintendo's Wii console and was the first title in the Story of Seasons series originally developed for the Wii.

<i>Harvest Moon GB</i> 1997 video game

Harvest Moon GB is the second game in the Story of Seasons series of video games, and was developed and published by Victor Interactive Software. Harvest Moon GB is the first portable Harvest Moon game, developed for the Game Boy. A Game Boy Color version was released later under the name Harvest Moon GBC. The Game Boy Color version was later released on the 3DS Virtual Console in 2013.

<i>Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon</i> 2006 video game

Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon, also known as Harvest Moon: Innocent Life, is a 2006 farming simulation video game for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It is a spin-off of the Story of Seasons series of games, and was released on April 27, 2006, in Japan and in 2007 for the rest of the world.

<i>Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands</i> 2008 video game

Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands, is a video game that was released on February 21, 2008 in Japan and November 10, 2009 in North America. The seventeenth installment of the Story of Seasons series, and the fourth available for the Nintendo DS, the game closely resembles Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness; a section of the island from Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness is one of multiple islands in this game. The player can choose to be a boy (Mark) or a girl (Chelsea).

<i>Harvest Moon: Animal Parade</i> Video game

Harvest Moon: Animal Parade is a farming simulation role-playing game by Marvelous Entertainment released for Nintendo's Wii console. It is the second title for the Wii in the Story of Seasons series, and has the same characters as Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility. It features many animals, all of which the player can ride, including circus animals.

<i>Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley</i> 2009 video game

Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley, known in Japan as Bokujō Monogatari: Sugar Mura to Minna no Negai, is a video game in the farm simulation series Harvest Moon for PlayStation Portable, developed by Marvelous Interactive Inc. and published by Natsume Inc. in the U.S. It was released on March 19, 2009 in Japan and on April 26, 2010 in North America.

<i>Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning</i> 2012 video game

Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning is a game for the Nintendo 3DS released by Natsume Inc. It is the last entry in the franchise released on the Nintendo 3DS systems to receive the title of Harvest Moon.

References

  1. ↑ Smith, David (November 20, 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". IGN . Archived from the original on November 23, 2001. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". Metacritic . Fandom. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  3. ↑ Skyler Miller. "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland - Review". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  4. ↑ Gary Steinman (January 2002). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 150. Ziff Davis. p. 222. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "プレイステーション2 - 牧場物語3 ~ハートに火をつけて". Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 915. Enterbrain. June 30, 2006. p. 88. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". Game Informer . No. 104. FuncoLand. December 2001. p. 93.
  7. ↑ Gerald Villoria (December 12, 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland Review". GameSpot . Fandom. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ Barak Tutterrow (December 19, 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". PlanetPS2 . IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 29, 2001. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  9. ↑ David Smith (November 20, 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Eric Bratcher (December 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". NextGen . No. 84. Imagine Media. p. 105.
  11. ↑ Gary Steinman (December 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . No. 51. Ziff Davis. p. 164. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  12. ↑ Damian Thomas (December 15, 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland". RPGFan. Emerald Shield Media LLC. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  13. ↑ Bro Buzz (December 2001). "Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland" (PDF). GamePro . No. 159. IDG. p. 196. Archived from the original on March 26, 2005. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.