Overview

Welcome, Harvest Moon fans, to a celebration of everyone’s favorite, long-running farming franchise. Though it’s hard to believe the series has entered its third decade, it’s equally challenging to recall a time when the words “farming simulator” weren’t part of the video game lexicon. Natsume’s delightful series has graced nearly every gaming platform since its 1997 release on the Super Nintendo, and here we are in 2018 with the Special Edition of Harvest Moon: Light of Hope for PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

This book is more than a strategy guide for the latest installment, however. In an effort to honor the franchise’s spectacular success, we’ve taken a look back at each one of the dozens of games released over the years. The expansive retrospective is a guided tour through the ages, showcasing the box art from each installment, along with plenty of screenshots to show just how far the graphics have come. Plot summaries and collections of fun facts aim to chronicle the many changes, additions, and experiments made within the Harvest Moon universe over the years.

As fellow Harvest Moon fans, it’s been our privilege to take this walk down memory lane, hoe in hand, and we look forward to farming with you well into the future. But first…