Harvest Moon

How you play Harvest Moon depends in part on yourself and your goals. Are you a 100% completionist, or are you more interesting in just exploring what the game has to offer? However, if you want to see as many of the ending cutscenes as possible, here is an outline:

Year 1

Spring

This is your chance to find your feet. The mountain provides fruits and fish that can be shipped for quick cash, while potatoes or turnips will provide a larger and steadier income with more investment. You can also start planting grass, in preparation for livestock, which keep giving money year-round.

During the day:

• Pick any crops that have matured and throw them in the shipping bin.
• Visit town to buy potato/turnip seeds, at the flower shop in the northeast. On Friday, make sure you buy extra seeds for the weekend, when the shop is closed.
• If you have spare money, start buying grass seeds.
• Go to the mountain to pick grapes or catch fish with any left over time. Make sure you can be back before 5pm, since anything shipped after that is wasted.

At night:

• Clear the weeds, stumps, and rocks from your farm. Small rocks can be broken with the hammer, but this costs stamina; if you're in no rush, you can instead throw them into the pond for free. Large rocks take 6 hits with the hammer, and stumps require 6 hits from the axe. Ensure that you don't move between hits, or they will be reset. You can also start plowing the whole farm.
• Establish a steady income by planting at least one patch of crops each day. (If you're especially dedicated, it's possible to go as high as 4 patches per day, but 1-2 is easier to handle.)
• Plant any grass seeds as soon as possible.
• Water all your crops each day, except grass. You'll need to refill the watering can after every 20 uses. If you run out of stamina, visit the mountain to eat any leftover grapes or jump in the hot springs.
• Use the sickle to cut grass that has ripened (after 9 days).
• Once the stumps from your farm are all cleared, visit the mountain to cut more wood, until you have at least 750 in your stockpile.
• You can start raising Eve's affection by visiting the bar, talking to her and/or bringing her flowers from the mountain.
• Hug your dog each day. It doesn't do anything directly, but it is required for the ultimate cutscene at the end.

Events:

• The Flower Festival is on the 24th, if you visit town before 3pm. If you have 2000G spare, you can buy the Seed of Snow Flower, which is useful later. You can also dance with a girl you like for a boost to her affection. You automatically go straight to bed afterward.
• On the 30th of Spring, plant as many crops as you can, especially potatoes, since they will be your main income during the early days of summer - but make sure you leave enough money for the new summer seeds.

Other:

• There are 5 Power Berries available in Spring, each of which will increase your maximum stamina. One is found at random by taking your hammer and breaking the chicken statue at the junction. Two are found at random while plowing (but only one per day). One is found after chopping 75 stumps. One is given to you after you take the first fish you catch in a particular day, run around to the south end of the fishing hole, and throw the fish back.
• Once you have at least two patches of grass and have started harvesting it, you can buy a chicken from the livestock dealer (southeast corner of town). Keep your chicken in the barn, put fodder in its trough every day, and it will lay eggs, which can be sold, given to girls as gifts, or incubated to grow more chickens (but make sure you have enough grass).
• Ellen, at the southeast corner of town, and Maria, in the central north, will each ask you a question if you talk to them, and gain an affection boost (the amount depends on whether she likes your answer).

Summer

This is the season to get serious about crops. Corn and tomatoes take longer to grow initially, but they are more valuable, and will regrow without needing to be replanted, so they offer much higher profits in the long run. Those profits help in buying more grass in preparation for the colder months, and making a start on livestock. You should also upgrade your house.

During the day:

• Visit the flower shop at the start of the season, to buy at least 3 corn/tomato seeds (6 or 9 is better). Unlike potatoes, they will regrow in 3 days after harvesting, so you don't need to keep buying more. If you don't have enough money, buy what you can and come back tomorrow.
• Buy grass seeds with spare money.
• Pick any crops that have ripened.
• Collect fruit or fish while waiting for the crops to grow.

At night:

• Plant corn or tomatoes. Make sure that you do not plow the entire 3*3 area, or else the central crop will always be out of reach. You can throw fences on top of plowed ground to remove it if needed.
• Water all your crops, except grass.
• You can visit Eve at the bar. She won't ask you a question any more, but you can bring her flowers.
• Chop more wood on the mountain, if needed.

Events:

• On a random day, there will be a lightning strike that destroys a tree in the southern part of your farm. By entering the tree, you can encounter the harvest sprites and upgrade your sickle. The Golden Sickle cuts an entire 3*3 patch of grass at once.
• On the 20th, the sprinkler will become available for purchase at the tool shop (central south of town) for 2000G. It waters an entire 3*3 patch at once, and doesn't need to be refilled, making it a valuable purchase.
• On the 30th of Summer, plant as much grass as you can.

Other:

• Hurricanes can occur at random during this season. The weather forecast will warn you before a hurricane hits. Make sure that your animals are inside the barn. The hurricane will randomly destroy many of your crops, grass, and plowed ground.
• If you haven't already bought a chicken, you should purchase one when you have at least two patches of grass being harvested. You can then incubate eggs to expand your flock, up to 12 chickens - but make sure you have enough grass for them all. (Also, once you have 12, don't put another egg in the incubator, as it will be wasted.)
• Once you have 5000G and 250 wood, you can upgrade your house by visiting the carpenters in their treehouse on the mountain (weekdays only). You need to expand your house before the end of summer in order to get the clock, which lets you check the time whenever you want, and contributes to your final Ranch Master score.
• If you have at least 5000G and plenty of grass, you can also buy a cow. Make sure you also buy the brush from the tool shop, then keep the cow in the barn, feed and brush and talk to it daily (make sure you throw fodder in its trough, not any other trough or on top of the cow). After 21 days, it will grow up and can be milked by buying the milker from the tool shop. The milk size depends on its affection, which increases as you talk to it and brush it each day.
• Nina, outside the flower shop, and Ann, in the tool shop, will ask questions if you talk to them during the day, and gain affection based on your answers.

Fall

With the change of seasons, your crops die, although grass continues to grow (but new grass cannot be planted). It's a good season for courting girls, and also contains two celebrations in the town. If you have plenty of grass, you can still increase your income by incubating more chickens or buying cows - but make sure you have enough fodder stored up for the coming winter.

During the day:

• Feed your animals, including brushing cows and talking to them, and collect eggs and milk.
• Visit girls in town. Ellen (southeast corner) and Maria (central north) will ask questions and gain affection based on your answers. Eggs also make good and cheap gifts.
• If you have enough money and grass, buy more cows. However, make sure that you will have enough fodder to feed them all throughout the entire winter, plus the first 9 days of spring, without any grass growing.
• Collect fish or poisonous mushrooms from the mountain for extra cash.

At night:

• Chop more wood on the mountain, if needed.
• Give mushrooms or eggs to Eve in the bar.

Events:

• From the 10th to the 12th, a special Full Moon Berry will grow at the peak of the mountain. It can be sold for 600G, given to a girl (especially Nina) as a gift, or brought to the Harvest Festival.
• The Harvest Festival occurs on the 12th, if you visit town before 3pm, and you are asked to bring an item for the stew. Bringing a fish or the Full Moon Berry will give you a Power Berry. You can also dance with a girl for an affection boost. You automatically go straight to bed afterward.
• The Egg Festival occurs on the 20th. You have to find the coloured eggs before the other competitors do, receiving either a Power Berry or an anti-disaster charm (which halves the risk of hurricanes) as a reward. You automatically go straight to bed afterward.
• If you have chickens, a girl from town will come to your farm wanting an egg. She pays less than the shipper does, but you gain a happiness boost from giving it to her.
• On a random day, a harvest sprite will appear on your farm, collapsed on the ground. Giving him a mushroom will revive him, and he will then upgrade your plow. The golden plow will plow a 1*6 line ahead of you.

Other:

• Selling a chicken during Fall will prompt a visit from a travelling hawker, who will offer to trade a Power Berry for the chicken. This is the only chance to obtain the Power Berry; if you refuse, then you miss out.

Winter

With nothing growing, winter is a quiet and slow season, waiting for Spring to return. However, it's a good time to get married.

During the day:

• Feed your animals and collect eggs/milk.
• Visit girls in town. Ann and Nina will ask questions.
• If you have enough money and fodder, buy more cows.
• For extra income, you can collect herbs from the mountain cave.

At night:

• Chop wood, if needed.
• Visit Eve at the bar. She won't ask a question, but will serve you "juice" and gain a small affection boost. You can also give her eggs.

Events:

• As soon as you leave your farm, you will find a foal at the junction, which you can bring home and name. When it grows into an adult, it acts as a mobile shipping container, which will enable you to harvest crops much faster.
• On the first sunny (not snowy) Saturday, a neighbour will come and ask to borrow your hammer. If you agree, he will upgrade it to the Golden Hammer, which breaks boulders in one hit. You also gain a happiness boost.
• The Thanksgiving festival occurs on the 10th. If you visit town, any girls with high enough affection (at least 3 hearts) will give you a cake, which boosts your happiness. You don't immediately go to bed afterward, but cannot use tools for the rest of the day.
• The Star Night festival occurs on the 24th. You automatically attend, choosing from one of the five locations, gaining an affection boost for the girl you visit. Ann is at the hot springs; Ellen is at the town square; Eve is at the bar; Maria is at the church; and Nina is at the mountain top. NB If you are married, and do not attend your wife's location, she will have an affection penalty. You automatically go to bed afterward.
• On a random day, there will be an earthquake. The weather forecast will let you know when it has happened. The earthquake removes some of your plowed ground, but also shifts two obstacles, opening up the well in the southeast of your farm, and granting access to the southwest corner of the mountain. Hitting the pond in this new area with your axe will allow you to swap it for a golden axe (by being honest), and chopping the stumps there will reveal a hole that takes you to a Power Berry.

Other:

• If you have the Seed of Snow Flower, you can plant it at the very top of the mountain to receive a Power Berry.
• To have two children by the end of the game (needed for the ultimate ending cutscene), you need to be married by approximately the end of winter at the latest. First, visit the carpenters on the mountain and upgrade your house (5000G, 250 wood), to have a double bed. Second, raise a girl's affection to at least 5 hearts (but higher is better). Third, on a Sunday, visit town and purchase the blue feather from the peddler, for 1000G. You can then propose to a girl with it. Nina will only accept on a Sunday, while the other girls will only accept on a Saturday. You then need to upgrade your house a second time (10000G, 500 wood), to add child beds.
• If you run out of fodder, you can buy more from the livestock dealer. It is somewhat expensive, but the value of the milk and eggs is worth it.

Year 2

• With upgraded tools and more money, you can raise far more crops in your second year. Generally, the most efficient layout is to have long parallel rows, allowing you to lead your horse down the row as you steadily pick crops and throw them into the saddlebags. For the best ending, you need to ship at least 200 of each type of crop; each crop will give you a cutscene at the end of the game.
• The hawker will show up if you have over 30000G, offering to sell you a money tree. If you accept his offer (entirely optional), it turns out to actually be a bell tree, which will bring your cows inside if they are outside.
• Your wife will slowly lose affection if you stay up later than she does, but you can give her gifts like eggs to counteract this. If all is well, she will become pregnant 21 days after you get married. To have a second child, you will need to raise her affection to approximately ten hearts; she will then become pregnant a month after the first child is born.
• Giving your wife a gift on her anniversary will give you a large happiness boost.
• If you didn't buy the Seed of Snow Flower, or bring a fish or Full Moon Berry to the Harvest Festival, you have a second chance. You can also win the egg hunt again, receiving whichever prize you didn't get last time. Winning at least the Power Berry is required for the ultimate ending cutscene.
• You receive an ending cutscene for having 1-6 cows, or a different cutscene for having 7-12 cows. Whichever one you choose, make sure that at least one of your cows has maximum affection (by brushing and talking to it for at least 15 days after it starts producing large milk), to receive an additional cutscene.

Year 3

• If you haven't shipped at least 200 of a crop, you can finalise that now.
• The Power Berries for plowing, chopping wood, throwing a fish back, breaking the chicken statue, and in the mountain cave, are still available if you haven't collected them. All ten berries are required for the ultimate cutscene.
• Make sure you have hugged your dog at least 100 times.
• Make sure that you have a happiness rating over 900. You can check this by holding R+L+Start+Select when going to bed, which will trigger the ending sequence immediately. To raise your happiness, you can visit the mountain to spot wildlife or catch fish.

Your parents will be present when you wake up on the 30th of summer, triggering the ending sequence. If you followed this guide, you should have the following cutscenes:

• Brushing a cow and collecting small milk (1-6 cows), or surrounded by cows and ringing a bell (7-12 cows).
• Collecting eggs and being swarmed by chickens.
• Collecting a large milk from a cow and having a nap.
• Harvesting corn, while the dog helps to 'water' it.
• Harvesting and watering tomatoes, then having lunch.
• Harvesting turnips, then giving one to a harvest sprite.
• Harvesting potatoes, while the mole steals the plants in the ground.
• Spending time with your wife; this depends on which girl you married.
  • Ann goes with you to put a working invention into the tool shop, then watches her father marry Nina's mother.
  • Ellen rides into the fields on a horse, then goes up the mountain with you and sees her pet bird (now freed).
  • Eve has a picnic with you and her grandfather on the mountain.
  • Maria takes you to church.
  • Nina plants flowers on the ranch and has a picnic with you and the Harvest Goddess on the mountain.
• Watching your first child crawl.
• Watching your two children play with the dog.
• (Special) Your family gathers on your porch and waves at you. This is the "ultimate" cutscene, requiring all 10 Power Berries, at least 10000G, 900 happiness, two children, hugging your dog 100 times, and owning at least one cow and one chicken.

There are also several alternative cutscenes if you choose to remain unmarried.

• Standing in the field and hugging your dog.
• Chopping wood in the mountain, while the wildlife gathers around and gives you a Power Berry.
• Flirting with all the girls in town as they give you gifts.