Gameplay The player's character has primarily been male, but some games offer the option to play as a female character. The most common storyline of the series involves the player taking over a farm that no longer has an owner tending to it, growing
crops, raising
livestock, making friends with the town's people and creating a family while running a successful farm. Each game provides objects to collect or goals to complete, whether it is befriending villagers, collecting musical notes, finding sprites, making rainbows, or ringing bells. Money is obtained by growing crops, raising livestock,
fishing,
mining, and
foraging. With limited time and limited energy, the player has to find a balance between these in order to accomplish their work for the day.
Growing crops Crops are the primary source of income in
Story of Seasons. In order for crops to grow the player must first clear the field of weeds, rocks, boulders, branches, and stumps. Then with a clear field, they must take their
hoe and
till the soil. Next, they choose the
seeds that they wish to grow and sow them where the soil is tilled. The player must continue to water the crop daily, but it isn't required on a rainy day, and as time goes on the crop will be ready for
harvesting. The player must find optimal planting, watering and harvesting patterns. They also must consider the cost, sell price, number of harvests and growth time of the various produce available before planting. Each
season has different crops available for planting, though in most games nothing may be planted in winter, and in
Harvest Moon crops could not be planted in fall. In some games, a greenhouse or basement can be used during the winter to grow crops.
Turnips,
potatoes,
tomatoes and
corn are staple crops of the series, introduced in the first game. Since then, other games have introduced new crops, such as
cabbage,
carrots,
onions,
strawberries,
sweet potatoes,
pumpkins,
rice,
pineapples,
cucumbers and more. Grass may also be grown and harvested as animal
fodder.
Ranching livestock The secondary source of income in the games is purchasing, caring for, and raising livestock. Livestock may produce products which may be sold on a daily basis. Giving animals attention will increase their affection towards the player and may increase the quality of their products. Neglecting the animals' needs may lead to sickness and even death. The first
Harvest Moon only had
cows and
chickens, which were housed in a
barn and
chicken coop and fed the same fodder.
Milk and
eggs could both be sold, as well as the animals themselves. Later titles introduced
sheep and a separate feed for chickens, as well as machines that could change milk into
cheese, eggs into
mayonnaise, and
wool into
yarn. The more recent games allow the player to also raise
ducks, goats, alpacas and differently-colored cows. In
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility,
silkworms and
ostriches were introduced to the series, and the new game also enabled players to befriend wild animals and persuade them to live on their farm. Animals are also able to
reproduce. Eggs can be placed in an
incubator to hatch a chick in a few days, while giving a cow or sheep a Miracle Potion will impregnate them. Buying and breeding multiple
horses was introduced in
Harvest Moon 3 GBC for Game Boy Color and continued in
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody,
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility and
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade.
Pets and other animals In many
Story of Seasons games, the player is given the opportunity to receive a dog and horse as a pet. A large variety of animals can be kept as pets in the newer titles, from
pigs and
cats to
pandas and
turtles. In some games, the pets attend competitions (e.g. horse races and dog races) to win prizes. In
Harvest Moon: Back to Nature the player can raise
fish. Pest animals are also found in older
Story of Seasons games (for example,
Friends of Mineral Town) including wild dogs, and
gophers. Wild dogs visit the farm at night and harass any livestock not kept in a barn or fenced area. Gophers in some older titles would consume crops.
Gathering materials Many
Story of Seasons games require the player to gather materials for home improvement, tool improvement, cooking, or selling. The most common building resource in
Story of Seasons is
wood; other resources can include
stone and golden lumber. The player can gather wood by chopping tree stumps and branches, and use the wood to add buildings or fencing to their farm. Mines are present in many games, and minerals gathered can be used for upgrading tools and crafting gifts. In many games wild plants, such as herbs and flowers, may also be gathered.
Festivals Most games in the series feature annual
festivals which the player can attend. Some festivals are contests with prizes available, while others are social events, some being equivalent to actual holidays, such as
Thanksgiving,
New Year's Day, and
Christmas Eve. Livestock festivals also take place, where the player can submit their animals to compete against other farms. Animals that win these contests often receive benefits; for example, a cow that wins might gain the ability to produce gold milk.
Marriage Most
Story of Seasons games offer the ability to
marry. Gift giving and interacting with the love interest may increase the love interest's affection, and if their affection is high enough marriage may be proposed. Often, the proposal is made with a Blue Feather. In some games, love interests have rivals, who will marry them if the player does not. One
Story of Seasons game, the Japanese version of
Harvest Moon DS Cute, had allowed players
to marry someone of the same sex (termed the "Best Friends" system). The feature was removed from the North American version over concerns its inclusion would have raised the game's
ESRB rating. In the remake game
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, players are allowed to marry someone of the same sex. In the Western release, it is treated identically to opposite-sex couples. However, in the Japanese release, it is not referred to as marriage proper and instead brings back the "Best Friends" title.
Children In many versions, it is possible to have children.
Harvest Moon,
Harvest Moon 3,
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade,
Rune Factory 3,
Story of Seasons, and
Rune Factory 5 are the only versions where the player can have multiple children. However, in
Story of Seasons, unlike the other games, pregnancy is only experienced once, as the player character winds up having twins.
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade is the first game in the series that allows the player to have two children of either gender, and
Rune Factory 3 allows the player to have three children of either gender.
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life,
Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life,
Harvest Moon DS and
Harvest Moon DS Cute are the only games in the series where the player can experience a child's growth from toddler to full-grown adult.
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility expands on this by letting the player restart the game as their child after the completion of an end game event.
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland,
Harvest Moon GB,
Harvest Moon 2 GBC and
Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon are the only
Story of Seasons titles in which the player cannot marry.
Rune Factory 2 is the only
Story of Seasons where the player can personify two characters, the father and his son or daughter. ==List of games==