Harvest Moon DS

Lore & Background

The player is a young man (who is by default named Pete) who lives with his friend Takakura on a farm in Forget-Me-Not-Valley, at roughly the same time as Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. The game begins with the Harvest Goddess and the Witch Princess fighting. Neither can win, so they part ways. The Witch Princess, on meeting the Harvest Goddess next, attempts to cast a spell to silence her, but instead petrifies her. While trying to undo her spell, the Witch Princess inadvertently sends the Harvest Goddess to another world, so she sends all of the Harvest Sprites to the same world to rescue her. The Witch Princess then tells the player to bring all of the Harvest Sprites back in order to rescue the Harvest Goddess; to do this, the player must work hard as a farmer. The main story ends when all Harvest Sprites and the Harvest Goddess are rescued.

Reader's Guide

Players earn money primarily through their farm, by growing crops or raising livestock. Growing crops is slightly different from previous Harvest Moon games; rather than being restricted to their own farm land, the player may grow crops on unowned fields of various sizes and fertility all over the valley. Each crop must be planted during a certain season; for example, turnips must be planted in the spring. Players begin the game with only a dog and a cat on their farm. While the cat does little, the dog may be trained to fetch balls and chase away wild dogs from the farm. Cows, sheep, ducks, and chickens are available for purchase and must be housed in different types of pens, which must be bought from Gotz, the town's woodcutter. Cows and sheep require an animal shed to live in before they may be purchased, and ducks and chickens require a bird shed. After the player ships 1000 items, Takakura will bring him a horse to keep. This horse does not need to be fed and cannot get sick. However, it can be brushed to increase its affection towards the player. After earning enough money, the player may upgrade their house by calling Gotz and buy a kitchen, appliances or furniture items by using the Harvest Sprite Shopping Network. If players upgrade their home twice, buy certain items, and rescue 60 Harvest Sprites, they may choose to marry. If the wife's affection is kept high for a season after marriage, she will become pregnant and give birth two seasons later. The game skips forward by three years after the birth, resulting in changes in the villagers' lives but no change to the player's farm. Extra content, as well as characters from Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, can be unlocked by inserting a copy of Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town or More Friends of Mineral Town into the slot 2 of an original DS or DS Lite. However, marrying any of the bachelorettes from Mineral Town results in the game ending immediately, placing the player back at the last save after the wedding. There are a total of 101 Harvest Sprites to be rescued. They belong to different teams based on what skills they have (such as fishing or watering crops) and are divided into two sets. The first set of Harvest Sprite teams can be hired to help the player after its rescue.

Did You Know?

• Instead of offering poker and blackjack in the Harvest Sprite Casino, in PAL games all three sprites offer memory matching.
• The game received 'average' reviews according to Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one seven, one nine, and two sevens for a total of 30 out of 40.

A New Chapter Without the Creator

Harvest Moon DS marked a significant turning point for the Story of Seasons franchise. It was the first installment in which series creator Yasuhiro Wada was not heavily involved in development. Despite this shift in creative leadership, the game drew heavily on the visual and narrative foundations of earlier titles. The graphical style was borrowed from Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, while the overall setting and many characters were lifted from Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Marvelous Interactive Inc. handled both development and publication. The game launched in Japan on March 17, 2005, followed by a North American release on September 12, 2006. This transitional entry carried the weight of maintaining a beloved series' identity while operating under new creative direction, relying on familiar assets and settings to bridge the gap between the old guard's vision and what would come next.

The Rescue Quest and Valley Life

The narrative centers on a young farmer named Pete by default, who shares his farm in Forget-Me-Not-Valley with his friend Takakura. The inciting incident involves a conflict between the Harvest Goddess and the Witch Princess, where the latter's failed spell inadvertently petrifies the goddess and banishes her to another world. The Witch Princess then tasks the player with rescuing all 101 Harvest Sprites, small elf-like creatures, in order to bring the goddess back. The valley is populated by villagers, nine bachelorettes, and five rival bachelors, many of whom are shared with previous entries. The main storyline concludes once every sprite and the goddess have been freed. The story is set roughly contemporaneous with Friends of Mineral Town, creating a layered timeline within the series.

Farming, Livestock, and Life Progression

The gameplay loop revolves around earning money through crop cultivation and animal husbandry. A notable departure from earlier titles is that players can grow crops not just on their own farm but on unowned fields scattered across the valley, each with varying sizes and fertility levels. Crops are season-dependent, such as turnips requiring spring planting. The farm starts with only a dog and a cat; the dog can be trained to fetch and guard against wild dogs. Cows, sheep, ducks, and chickens can be purchased once the player acquires the appropriate sheds from Gotz, the town's woodcutter. After shipping 1,000 items, Takakura gifts the player a horse that never needs feeding or gets sick. House upgrades, furniture purchases via the Harvest Sprite Shopping Network, and marriage are all part of the progression arc. Marrying requires two house upgrades, specific purchases, and rescuing 60 sprites.

Regional Differences and the Cute Variant

Regional variations add a layer of distinction to the game. Japanese versions could only link with other Japanese copies, while NTSC cartridges could connect with both PAL and NTSC copies of Friends of Mineral Town. PAL versions replaced the poker and blackjack games in the Harvest Sprite Casino with a memory-matching game offered by all three sprites. Additionally, Harvest Moon DS Cute was released in Japan on December 8, 2005, swapping the male protagonist for a female character, either Pony from Another Wonderful Life or Claire from More Friends of Mineral Town. While core gameplay remained the same, the plot diverged significantly: the player's mother sends a wish to the Harvest Goddess, who then criticizes the player's work ethic. The Harvest King scolds the goddess, she calls him a big baldy, and he petrifies her before banishing both her and the sprites to another world as punishment, only to realize his error.