Harvest Moon: AWL Basic Info

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life was released in August of 2003 in Japan. It was released in the USA in March 2004. It's the first Harvest Moon game for the Nintendo Gamecube.

What's different about this new farming adventure? A lot. Though all Harvest Moon games have been essentially non-linear, A Wonderful Life is more so. It has the same basic premise as the other games, in that you must make the farm profitable in order to succeed. Features include:

  • Completely non-linear. Play through more than once and get a totally different experience each time.
  • All new crops are available, though your actual field is smaller (a la Save the Homeland). The big thing here is the ability to combine two crops and make hybrids!
  • New animals, including goats and ducks.
  • Get married to one of three entirely new girls (gone are the original five) and raise a family.
  • Your child can grow up and start a family of his own.
  • Your farming experience covers 30 years, divided into six chapters.
  • Characters, including you, physically (and visibly) age over the years.

    Young Adult Middle-Aged Elderly

  • Link ability to the Gameboy Advance game, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. Linking unlocks secrets on both games.
  • Roughly 40 hours of game-play, beginning when you meet your future wife in town.
  • Five different endings, which, if all completed, raise game-play time to 200 hours.
  • Each season has ten days, and each year has four seasons.
  • Your child can help on your farm.
  • Over 40 characters with which to interact. Characters react to your actions, and are quite unpredictable.

    Update September 14, 2003:
    Information provided by Cher of Ushi No Tane:

  • The girls' love meters are found on specific items related to them. Nami's is her bed, Muffy's is the flower in the bar, and Celia's is the book in the attic.
  • The blue feather is provided by the Harvest Sprites.
  • You lose if you aren't married by the end of Chapter 1.
  • Your rucksack can hold about 140 items.
  • There are male and female chickens, costing 900 G apiece.
  • You start out with a cow, and you can milk cows twice a day. You can also milk goats, but you have to buy them.
  • As in previous Harvest Moon games, there are collectible recipes.
  • There are four fields: three fairly small crop fields and a field for growing grass. There are eight normal crops to grow, and you can have orchards of Peaches, Oranges, Bananas, Apples, and Grapevines. Crops can dry out during the day.
  • There are six types of cows, chickens, a horse, and sheep.
  • Weather can change throughout the day.
  • You can befriend and become the master of either of two dogs, similar to in Save the Homeland. You have to feed your dog daily.
  • Van is a merchant that visits the town on the 3rd and 8th of each season. He's similar to Won in that he sells various items, but you have to sell all non-dairy items to him.
  • Your character has to eat.

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    harvest moon © marvelous / natsume.