Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon

Release Dates

Another spin-off for the series, and predating the Rune Factory debut, was Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon. Set fifteen years into the future at the time of release, the player controlled an android named Life in attempt to save Heartflame Island from an angry Fire Spirit threatening to cause a volcanic eruption. Only by showing that humans—and androids—hadn’t completely lost their appreciation for the natural world could Life awaken the Nature Spirits and save the land.

The island contained a number of ruins that could be explored on foot or by riding on a futuristic four-wheeled buggy. Numerous towns filled with characters, shops, and ruins encouraged players to spend much of their time roaming the island’s lush landscape. Back on the farm, raising crops was made easier through the use of several automated assistants.

Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon was, in many ways, much more of an action RPG than a farming simulator. The release of the Special Edition for PlayStation 2 increased the difficulty of the crop-shipping challenge, which ultimately forced players to focus more on the farming aspect of the game during the first year. The Special Edition also contained a robust Dictionary that could be filled in by growing all the crops, meeting all of the characters, and completing all of the challenges in the game.