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 ==