Harvest Moon: Animal Parade

Release Dates

Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, was designed as a sequel to Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, albeit with an animal and music theme. The game took place on the island of Castanet and tasked players with ringing five legendary bells to return the Harvest King and revive the Goddess Tree. Of course, doing so required a skillful display of farming and a commitment to befriending the other townsfolk.

Harvest Moon: Animal Parade had a wealth of additional content, including a map that was considerably larger, many new crops and fish (and dozens of fishing locations), and a host of animals. For the first time ever, players could ride their livestock—even sheep and cows! It was also possible to befriend many additional wild creatures, including boars and bears. But what really added to the game’s animal theme was Theodore’s Circus. This traveling circus featured elephants, giraffes, and hippopotamuses—and Theodore needed help finding the ones that went missing.

This installment in the series also expanded on the family possibilities. Not only did some of the rival couples have children, but it became possible to have a second child. Best of all, it was possible to assign tasks to your children and spouse, so that they could help out on the ranch. The many shops in town contained an abundance of clothes and accessories with which the family could be dressed.

Fun Facts

• Children born into the player’s family resembled the player character’s spouse. This was the first time this was possible in the series!
• Players could use an in-game camera to take photos that could then be hung as portraits in their house. It was also possible to purchase photos from the festivals or have family photos taken at the photo studio in town.
• Players were able to choose from four playable characters, including the two from Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, plus two entirely new characters.
• This was the first game in the series that included a trophy system that rewarded players for completing a multitude of tasks such as growing all of the crops, catching all of the fish, and meeting each of the wild animals.