

While many elements of the game were Westernized for its American release, some Japanese cultural elements remained. In the localized North American version, all references to alcohol are changed to "juice," even though anyone who drinks said "juice" clearly becomes intoxicated. Despite the recent release of the Nintendo 64 the game would sell over 100,000 units. Upon release in Japan, the game had 20,000 sales. According to Natsume's Adam Fitch, the game sold "a decent amount for that time". It was released in North America in 1997, and Europe in 1998. The game was released on Augin Japan for the Super Famicom.

With a much smaller budget, the team spent the next six months finishing the game, reprogramming much of it from the ground up. The following merge with Victor Entertainment led to the downsizing of Wada’s development team, shrinking from ten members to only three. However, after some time of development, Pack-in-Video, the publishers of Harvest Moon, went bankrupt. Gaining inspiration from his childhood in the countryside and the game series Derby Stallion, Wada wished to make a role-playing game without any combat. Yasuhiro Wada was producer for the game, and the last game he worked on was Magical Pop'n. After dark, the only business in town that the player can access is the bar, where a number of non-player characters gather to drink and talk. Chickens may die if left outside, where they can be blown away in a storm or eaten by wild dogs. A cow may become sick if not fed for a day and, if untreated, sickness can lead to death.

While the only care that chickens require is feeding, cows must be continually talked to, brushed, and milked to retain their health. Animals must be fed once a day to keep them producing. įor vegetables to develop, they must receive water each day lack of water does not kill crops, but prevents them from growing. The player decides how to allocate time between daily tasks, such as clearing land, planting crops, selling harvests, raising livestock, attending festivals, building relationships with villagers, and foraging. The primary objective is to restore and maintain a farm that has fallen into disrepair. The game follows a young man charged with maintaining the farm he inherits from his grandfather.
