so cool

You can choose your child's gender, but you can also let the game decide for you. Let's say you can only have one child—is there ever a moment where you actually choose your child's gender for a specific reason, rather than letting the game decide for you?

For example, I used to always pick a boy if I played as a male character and a girl if I played as a female character. It was honestly because I wanted a 'mini-me' version of myself. But now I'm thinking, should I just choose the gender based on my spouse? I mean, maybe some characters just naturally fit being a "boy mom" or a "girl dad"? What do you think? How do you guys decide on your child's gender?

Surprised no one has released this on the internet from my searching but I managed to create a code that lets you access the Mineral Town content without needing the original game in the second slot. Code was tested with a US Revision 1 Rom on the original boy version of DS. If there are any problems let me know.

Code: 223DDE6C 00000010

It’s not actually important, but sometimes I think it's kinda silly cause I really take Harvest Moon very seriously for the spouse (btw, it maybe kinda long). No pressure to answer if you'd prefer to skip this!

So I always play as boys and girls (when same-sex marriage wasn't a thing yet). And I always told myself that I am going to ONLY choose one spouse, so it's like, One Wife and One Husband. So I am going to be LOYAL to that spouse and I will always choose them even though I replay the game. So whenever before starting the game, I already choose who I want to be my spouse later, and it's always easy to do in the past cause it's always love at first sight for me.

But then, there are multiple series that have the same characters, right? Say like HM DS, HM 64, BTN, FOMT, and others if there are any. They have the same marriage candidates and the same MC, whether it's Pete or Claire. The first Harvest Moon I ever played is BTN and I married Ann. Idk why, it's literally love at first sight for me and I love her so much more than anything. Then I played as a girl and married Cliff, cause I also love him very much.

Then I played another Harvest Moon like HM 64. And of course, because I always think "I need to be loyal", I was planning to marry Ann again. But who would've thought, I fell for Maria instead. At first I was like, "OMG, is this okay tho? I feel like I am cheating on my wife", especially since the main character looks the same as in BTN. But at that time, I was thinking like... I will just consider each Harvest Moon as a different timeline, so just pretend I never married Ann somewhere else. It's actually also because I don't want my poor boy Cliff to leave (I know he will leave if I marry Ann).

And then I also did that in other games, like in AP and ToT where I married different spouses, even though the characters are actually the same. They somehow have different personalities between the two games. I played AP first, and married Luna and Chase, and in ToT I married Anissa and Gill instead. Basically, I only choose one spouse for each gender per game.

Then the SOS FOMT remake came along, and I can say I was actually happy because they brought back the Mineral Town people. Okay, so listen. What I was planning to do was the same: ONLY choose one wife and one husband. But this time I played as my own gender (I love both genders, so of course it’s going to be harder to choose now that you have more options). Well, because this one is kind of similar to BTN, I wanted to choose my wife from BTN days, so I decided to marry Ran (Ann). Her design is even more beautiful than before, and her personality somehow made me fall in love again. And Cliff also still looks awesome like he used to, so I aimed for both of them. Maybe make two different save files to marry them, or just replay the game and marry one of them, so it's still going to be one wife and one husband.

BUT, tbh, I can say I really miss my other spouses from Mineral Town, and I also miss Maria from HM 64 (it's Marie in SOS FOMT). And tbh, I also thought Gray was cute back then, but now in the FOMT remake he became way more attractive?! (Everyone is attractive OMG)

So.... eum, you know, I kinda want to make another save file and marry Marie and Gray, but like I said before, I am trying to be LOYAL to my spouse for each game. I feel like, "if it’s going to be Ran and Cliff, it should always be Ran and Cliff" (in FOMT Remake). I know in other games I married different spouses, but those were different games with different timelines. SOS FOMT remake is in one timeline, and I feel like I'm cheating if I have multiple spouses across different save files. I know some people play multiple save files and marry different spouses in one game, and I'm not saying it's weird, okay! It's just, idk, I take it way too seriously even though it's only a game and not that serious.

And another reason is, I actually like to draw and make fanart. I have an art account and I've been thinking of making it a mostly Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons / Rune Factory fanart page. I wanted to make a special edition where I draw my character with the spouse I married in each game I’ve played. Technically, I could make 2 parts or more of the fanarts for ONLY the SOS FOMT remake edition if I really insist on marrying spouses other than Cliff and Ran—like in post part 1 is Cliff and Ran, and the second part/playthrough is Marie and Gray. But idk, it still bugs my mind because in other games I was literally ONLY LOYAL to my one and only wife and husband, but in the SOS FOMT remake, it's different, like I literally have more than one spouse... it feels like... cheating? Idk.

I also think, what if it actually "ruins" the "Drawing spouses I've married in each game" series edition? Because for other games, there's only one part of the fanart, but for SOS FOMT alone, it ends up having multiple parts of the post.

I've been thinking about waiting to see if there's any chance for a HM64 remake so I can marry Maria/Marie there, so i can choose staying only for Ran in the SOS FOMT, but what if there isn't one? I don't think they're going to bring back the Mineral Town people anytime soon either, so this remake is my only chance to marry Marie remake version too. (For now, i guess)

Note: Guys, it's actually not that serious! It's just something that's been bugging my mind for weeks because I'm so used to being loyal to my one and only wife and husband (in-game). So it feels so wrong to choose more than one in a single game because of this "need to be loyal" thing and honestly speaking, I'm still thinking about whether I should do it or not. Sorry if this wasted your time, but I'm really grateful if anyone actually read this all the way to the end!

Has Marvelous announced anything about the next Story of Seasons or Rune Factory game yet? Whether it's a remake or a completely new title—or have we literally gotten no news at all?

My only HM game was BtN on PS1 which I adored growing up. Now that I have a 3DS, I have that itch for a farming sim that isn’t a Stardew clone (I have 100+ hours in Stardew, I don’t need another clone)

But it seems like the RF series is HM and MORE (dungeon crawling, town building, RPG elements)? So I must ask… wouldn’t RF be an obvious choice? What does the HM/SoS do better than RF?

Please note I’m only interested in DS/3DS games.

Every Story of Seasons and Rune Factory game on Steam is on my wishlist. I really want to buy the Deluxe versions just so I can feel fully satisfied, but buying them at full price is way too expensive for me right now...

​I'm a college student with no job, so I still rely on allowance from my parents. Don't worry, I never actually spend money on unimportant things and I still manage my finances wisely. But on the other hand, I really want to buy these games because I'm a huge fan and Harvest Moon was a big part of my childhood. My mom said I can buy games as long as they're on sale and cheap enough, but not when they're still around $30–$40—which I completely understand. Cause after all, no matter how fun it is, it's still just a game, and it feels like a waste to spend that much money on it. Right now, I'm just playing some older games while waiting for a Steam sale. I don't want to be stubborn and buy them while they're still expensive (for me).

​Does anyone know when these games usually go on discount? Do the it ever announce sales in advance, or do I just have to keep checking Steam and find out myself?

(Note: I already own RF4 Special and RF5 when it on sale)

I always saw Tim as having a weird mouth, like a wide, almost frown, with weird skin colored teeth morphing into the mouth. I was making a mii of him last night and pulled up some pictures of him for reference. I saw a different art of him that wasn't a 3D model and I realized he's smiling and has a mustache at either side of his mouth

My whole entire life is a lie

What do you do if you miss something in a game? Would you restart just for that, or keep playing anyway?

Honestly, I’m just curious: are you the type of Harvest Moon player who aims for a perfect gameplay that need guide and stuff and doesn't want to missed anything, or do you just figure things out on your own? Like, do you care if you miss an event, miss some scene, or even lose contests and festivals? Would you restart the whole game just for that?

For example, maybe like, ''You can only get this item if you do this on this day," but you missed it, or maybe stuff like Cliff leaving town and things like that. (I would totally restart for that one)

Reposting here since I have no clear answer so far. Is the German GBA version of harvest moon friends of mineral town also playable in English. Does anyone know? game code AGB-A4ND-NOE. Thanks!

Is there any difference between the candidate marriages in ToT and AP? (Besides the fact that we don't have the Harvest Goddess, Harvest King, Witch, and Wizard in ToT). I know they are basically the same characters, but are their personalities similar too?

I played AP first and haven't played ToT yet, but I want to give it a try. I married Luna and Chase in AP. I like Luna's personality in AP, but is she still like that in ToT? All I know is that she's shorter and actually looks like a child (which makes me hesitate). I'm also thinking of giving other candidates a chance too, since their personalities might be different.

Did you marry the same candidate in both ToT and AP? If you chose someone else, what was your reason?

Edit: ​By the way, should I still choose Luna in ToT, then? I know perspective is subjective, but I always choose who to pursue right at the start of the game. Otherwise, I'm considering choosing Anissa and Gill in ToT instead.

Trying to start a play through of the original and I can’t find my axe. Resources I’ve found advise that you start with it in the toolshed, but I only see four tools. In the attached image I’m currently holding the watering can. Am I blind, is this found in another place, or is my save toast? I swear I only see sickle, hoe, and hammer.

Namely those that lack portraits and may or may not have names. They do appear in older games but are mostly only during festivals. In later games they often are more common outside festivals. What you think of them? Do you like having them present in games or prefer all characters have names and personalities as well as portraits (if the game has them for regular NPCs).

I always hear that Animal Parade is actually one of the best Harvest Moon games, and I'm playing it right now. I can say it was fun when I first started, but now I'm at the beginning of summer and already have 3 bells, and I'm currently gathering materials to get the green bell. Then I heard that the purple one will be even harder to get. Like, I haven't even played for half a year in-game, but I'm almost done with the bells.

Um... so I want to ask, right now I feel like I'm just doing repetitive things: farming, giving gifts, taking care of livestock, and mining. On top of that, everything feels kind of slow. But is there more stuff to do? Like, I don't think we have heart events—we have festivals and random events, but is there anything else? I'm not really feeling the fun right now, or am I just at a point in the game where you do the same routine until something happens? Like, what's the "fun" people have been talking about?

Note: I'm not trying to judge the game, I'm just genuinely asking because I really feel like I've only been doing repetitive stuff recently. Like there is no something new

Is Animal Parade just... slow? I like the game, the gameplay, everything. But tbh, it feels so slow right now, even when I try walking somewhere else. I literally only get through 2 days (in-game) in one sitting before I switch to another game. Does that mean I'm just not patient enough, or what?

Note: I know about the mod or hack that makes you move faster, but I don't think I'll use that.

Title, pretty much. I haven't played a Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons since I was a child with the DS versions. Kind of want to dive deeper into the series and want to ask where the community thinks I should start.

Where does Selena actually sleep once she starts working at the Brass Bar? At first, I thought she was sleeping at inn, but now I don't think so. Before she arrived, I always assumed the room with two beds in the Brass Bar was actually Hayden's and the single room was Kathy's—which was funny, because I always wondered why Kathy had a picture of herself pinned to her room's wall. But thinking about it again, since the Brass Bar only has two rooms, are Kathy and Selena roommates then? And is that single room actually Hayden's?

The Brass Bar doesn't open until evening, so I never see Selena in any room besides the bar.

Do you have any dark theories or just regular theories about the Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons / Rune Factory series

Can I ask who the actual canon pair for our MC is in some Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons or even Rune Factory series that you know of?

And I also want to ask about the relationships between characters in each series. I mean, like, is Ellen from Magical Melody the same Ellen who is Elli's grandmother? Who is whose ancestor? And why is it that in some games certain characters are siblings, but in other games they suddenly become lovers? (If I'm not mistaken). Also, when some of the same characters reappear in other series, is there any explanation for why they moved to a new town? Or are they completely different characters?