Harvest Moon is a computer game series with a farming based theme. The publisher of Harvest Moon is Natsume – a game publishing company based in Japan. The Harvest Moon series of games has been published for the Dreamcast, the Game Boy Advance, the GameCube, the Nintendo 64, the PlayStation 1 and 2, as well as for PSP and Wii platforms. Harvest Moon revolves around the life of a farmer across three years of simulated time frames. The central character is controlled by players and you have to make many decisions which affect the game play. For example, you have to decide when to start farming, select sowing cycles, and select the crops that need to be grown to get the best results. Maintaining and tending to the farm involve activities such as weeding and irrigating the fields. Harvest Moon also involves the central character’s family life. The central character has to socialise, get married, raise children, tend to his farm and sell his produce at market.
Players have three seasons to grow crops profitably. However, in winter there is no farming as the fields are often covered in snow. Foraging, tending to the livestock and socialising emerge as major activities during winter. The player can decide if he/she wishes to grow potatoes, tomatoes, turnips and/or corn. Newer editions of Harvest Moon have options for growing other vegetables and fruits for additional profits. The game play provides pets in all editions of Harvest Moon . A dog and a horse are provided to players as pets and, in order to increase your profits, the dog and the horse can enter competitions like dog shows. You have to chop wood for fencing the farms and to prevent other animals from feeding off your land. Fences can also be made and mended to secure the livestock. Houses can be built, extended and maintained using wood and tools. Harvest Moon also offers a unique challenge in which players can mine mineral resources for making tools such as axes, ploughs and other farm implements.
Festivals also feature in Harvest Moon’ s game play where players can participate in various social gatherings. Some festivals are themed after real life festivals such as Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. There are livestock festivals and competitions where players can enter their livestock and win prizes. Harvest Moon has a unique feature whenever competitions are held – shops are closed and business is forbidden and making attendance at festivals mandatory. Harvest Moon features extensive game play suitable for all ages, interests and backgrounds. Most important of all, it helps teach children key skills. You can learn the importance of dividing time between work and play, making decisions which result in maximum profits and understanding the importance of timely decisions.
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