History VideoGame / HarvestMoon

** The SNES version had the game clock stop at 6 PM, meaning you can clear the entire farm (which is unbelievably big compared to later versions) on the first day, by using the hot springs bath every time you're about to faint. You can't sell anything at night, but you can safely ignore all your other chores until then.

* BoringButPractical: In many games, fishing is one of the best ways to make money, especially early in the game. Due to its highly repetitive nature. However, many games make catching every kind of fish a {{sidequest}} which can be rather enjoyable.

* BoringButPractical: In many games, fishing is one of the best ways to make money, especially early in the game. Due to its highly repetitive nature, YourMileageMayVary as to how fun it is. However, many games make catching every kind of fish a {{sidequest}} which can be rather enjoyable.

* ''Land of Beginning'' (Nintendo3DS, 2012)

* ExcusePlot: Many, but by far the worst is "The Harvest Goddess was punished for calling the king bald. He's to lazy to undo his own curse, so you go fix it"

* BabiesEverAfter: One of the primary goals of most of the games; if it's not ''mandatory'', it will at least be required to get {{100%Completion 100% completion}}. Find a suitable match, fall in love, marry them, and have a baby with them.

** In ''Magical Melody'', [[http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090820071956/hm/images/2/21/Blue.gif the "USI" on Blue's hat]] is the result of an incorrenct Japanese-to-English transliteration; what it ''should'' say is "Ushi" (meaning "cow" in Japanese).

* BlindIdiotTranslation: Natsume misspelled their own name on the title screen of Harvest Moon 64, among tons of other mistakes, as well as at least one character who doesn't even speak English in the translated version.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: ''Tree Of Tranquility''

** Special Edition makes it even easier. When Takura asks you if you want to own the farm or not just press no and...Game Over before the ''game even actually begins''.

* FissionMailed: In most of the games since ''Back To Nature'', getting married triggers the credits. But the game goes right back to normal after they finish.

* YourMoneyIsNoGoodHere: The Sprite Casino in ''DS.'' Also joked about in DS on the "TV Shopping" station: If they're not selling real items you can use, they're selling items specifically for Harvest Sprites, which use the Sprite currency, Korobos. The sprite who runs the station says, "If you use a different currency, sorry."
** Also, the Super Lucky Lotto in ''Grand Bazaar''. You have to use bronze, silver or gold coins you find or make. It's the only place you can get the stamina-expanding Magic Water (which also happens to be Emiko's favored gift).

** In another of ''Animal Parade'''s events, Calvin can find Owen and Luke attempting to demolish a very historic wall in the mines and, scolding them, cry that "''[[IndianaJones It belongs in a museum!]]''"

* UpdatedRerelease: AWL Special Edition, which added in an extra love interest, changing outfits, and potential daughters. But at the same time, the graphics actually got a little ''worse''

** Oh, yeah, and in Animal Parade you can flat out attack people with axes...and attack your loving pets, children, spouses, and livestock.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: The perma-locked shed in ''A Wonderful Life'' and the many non-existent ways to open it.

** In Magical Melody, your horse's heart level determines what race you can enter it in, and you can't enter it in any lower-ranked races. If your horse's heart level surpasses the limit for the race you want to enter, you're forced to abuse your horse if you want to enter the lower-ranked race.

* ContinuityPorn: For a series with such a flimsy (possibly non-existant) timeline, the games thrive on this.

** Chelsea has the exact same get-up as Sara however she wears her bandanna rather than having it around her neck.

* GoldenSaucer: The Sprite Casino in DS / DS Cute

* ''Harvest Moon'' (SNES, 1995)
* ''Harvest Moon GB'' (Game Boy, 1997)
* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon64'' (Nitendo 64, 1999)
* ''Harvest Moon 2'' GBC (Game Boy Color, 1999)
* ''Back To Nature'' (Playstation, 1999)
* ''Harvest Moon 3'' GBC (Game Boy Color, 2000)
* ''Save The Homeland'' (PS2, 2001)
* ''Friends Of Mineral Town'' (Game Boy Advance, 2003)
* ''[[HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife A Wonderful Life]]'' (Gamecube, 2003)
* ''[[DistaffCounterpart More]] Friends of Mineral Town'' (GBA, 2003)
* ''[[DistaffCounterpart Another]] [[HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife Wonderful Life]]'' (Gamecube, 2004)
* ''Magical Melody'' (Gamecube, 2005)
* ''Harvest Moon DS'' (Nintendo DS, 2006)
* ''DS [[DistaffCounterpart Cute]]'' (DS, 2005)
* ''Island Of Happiness'' (DS, 2007)
* ''Tree of Tranquility'' (Wii, 2007)
* ''Animal Parade'' (Wii, 2009)
* ''My Little Shop'' (Wiiware, 2009)
* ''Sunshine Islands'' (DS, 2009)
* ''Hero of Leaf Valley'' (PSP, 2010)
* ''Grand Bazaar'' (DS, 2010)
* ''The Tale of Two Towns'' (DS, [[Nintendo3DS 3DS]] 2010)
* ''Land of Beginning'' ([[Nintendo3DS 3DS]], 2012)

* ''Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon'' (Playstation Portable, 2007)
* ''RuneFactory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'' (DS, 2007)
* ''Puzzle De Harvest Moon'' (DS, 2007)
* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonFranticFarming'' (DS, 2009 - a sequel to ''Puzzle De'', and based on ''Island of Happiness'')

* FridgeHorror: More like Fridge Depression. In ''More [=FoMT=]'', since Claire bought the farm from a newspaper ad, it implies that Jack (for [[RefusalOfTheCall one reason]] [[LockedOutOfTheLoop or]] [[DyingAlone another]]) never [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming took over the farm]].
** He most likely does not exist in that continuity though.
** So, you mean instead of taking over the farm, he might have [[IncrediblyLamePun bought the farm]]?
** Karen is a BottleFairy. Most people might think she just happens to like wine. If you look back at her source game, ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon64'', she is a BrokenBird from a broken home. She's ''[[DrowningMySorrows drowning her sorrows]]''. Not even the darkest games in the series involve that, plus it's quite FridgeHorror for fans of hers. Though most games with her in it have her based on the LighterAndFluffier Playstation version so it most likely doesn't apply outside of 64.

** In the original SNES game, you and your wife can go to bed together... and yes, this does build your relationship with her. (Unless it's Eve, due to either a bug or FridgeBrilliance.)

* ''HarvestMoon64'' (Nitendo 64, 1999)

*** In the same game, Ellen and Gray appear in their long-forgotten ''HarvestMoon64'' roles.

** ''HarvestMoon64'' is considerably more dark than most of the series games, even rivaling the ''Wonderful Life'' series.

** In ''HarvestMoon64'', glitches allows you to immediately bring Karen to max affection (by repeatedly showing her your dog) and level your tools to the highest quality on the first day.

* {{Expy}}: Quite a few of the ''Magical Melody'' "original characters" have designs and roles parallel to the Flowerbud characters in ''HarvestMoon64''. The most obvious being Blue, a carbon copy of Gray with a new name. The [[HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife AWL]] games have a more subtle version. A blond bartender with romance issues and a brunette FriendToAllLivingThings? Are we talking about Muffy and Celia or Eve and Ellen?

* {{Flanderization}}: The series is extremely prone to this. If someone pops up in another game, expect this to happen to them. It's especially bad in ''HarvestMoon64'' to ''Back To Nature'', where everyone became more one-dimensional or changed dramatically. For example Popuri became an AdultChild, which got worse in ''DS'' and ''Island of Happiness'', when originally she was just a bubbly ditz.

** Karen is a BottleFairy. Most people might think she just happens to like wine. If you look back at her source game, ''HarvestMoon64'', she is a BrokenBird from a broken home. She's ''[[DrowningMySorrows drowning her sorrows]]''. Not even the darkest games in the series involve that, plus it's quite FridgeHorror for fans of hers. Though most games with her in it have her based on the LighterAndFluffier Playstation version so it most likely doesn't apply outside of 64.

* MarthDebutedInSmashBros: To newer fans, this occurs quite often when characters from older games appear in newer ones. Sara for example appeared for the first time in around ten years in a Wiiware game, and her source games are obscure GameBoy games; thus obviously some people thought she was a new character. Characters from the ''first game in the series'' have been mistaken for [[{{Expy}} copycats]] of the ''HarvestMoon64'' characters, who are actually made as descendants of the originals.

* OfficialCouple: The series tries its best to avert this, but it still shows. For example in the ''Wonderful Life'' games Celia and Rock take a liking to you according to your gender, and their events are easy to get even if you don't interact with them (it doesn't help that Marlin and Gustafa are rather hard to court than to Rock and that Celia increases in attraction when you ''buy seeds and such from their farm''); you also can't divorce Celia unlike the other two girls. ''Magical Melody'' has you and Jamie, likewise the ''Island'' games have you and your psuedo-character. Cute seems to imply that the protagonist marries Marlin, Skye, or one of the [[GayOption Special Girls.]] An accurate ''HarvestMoon64'' guide states that Elli is the canon love interest for that game.
** The fact that Karen (in ''HarvestMoon64'') and Nami (in ''Wonderful Life'') get vastly more character development than the rest of the other love interests can make it come off like they're the ones you're supposed to get with. Especially since they leave if you don't.

* SuperTitle64Advance: HarvestMoon64, Harvest Moon DS.

* BoredOnBoard: Someone on the writing staff for the Wii versions seems to have stayed up a liiittle too late writing those game's scripts, since, unlike [[BlindIdiotTranslation most HM scripts]], they're full of ShoutOut, ParentalBonus, GettingCrapPastTheRadar, and subtle digs at the very facts of ''HarvestMoon'' existence.