Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley

Release Dates

Three years after its first appearance on Sony’s handheld system, the franchise returned with Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley. Though the story, setting, and characters were reminiscent of Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland, the game featured a questing system that gave the player tremendous flexibility in how they went about saving Leaf Valley from being turned into an amusement park.

Farming, raising livestock, mining, and fishing were all critical components of the game, as one would expect of any Harvest Moon entry. But there were some key differences. For one, the player’s relationship with their pet dog was of critical importance. A well-trained dog not only obeyed commands played on your Ocarina, but could be used to find Power Berries. Unlike in Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland, it was possible to get married in this game, though not until the main quest was completed and the village saved.

The main goal of the game was to acquire 50,000G (needed to buy Leaf Valley back from Funland Company) and choose to designate the town as a nature preserve or a tourist destination. Earning the money was the easy part, especially given the numerous part-time jobs available in town. But determining the town’s fate required players to join the townsfolk in a selection of fifteen different events that guided the town toward one of the two options. The events with the other villagers took on the form of “tales” and ranged from baking contests to stories of Golden Potatoes and Silver Fish.