For the purposes of this list, we're looking at both Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons — they both come from the same place, essentially. So, ahead of Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, a remake of a GameCube favourite, we've asked you lovely people to rank every single Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons game. We've included a number of spin-offs which include the Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons name, and we've only included games that were released on Nintendo systems and got an English release.
With that, let's have a look at all of the Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons games, as ranked by you...
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: Natsume
Release Date: 29th Oct 2019 (USA) /
29th Oct 2019 (UK/EU) Making a farming sim into a fun, relaxing puzzle game could work, but for Harvest Moon: Mad Dash, Natsume apparently forgot about the fun part. The colour-matching game is painfully easy, and the fact that getting resources while avoiding lava and other dangerous obstacles means that this one is only good for some weed killer.
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: Platinum Egg
Release Date: 6th Nov 2007 (USA) If there's a common theme among less-beloved Harvest Moon games, it's that they all go in a completely different directions. Puzzle de Harvest Moon, while an interesting mix of a puzzle game, strategy, and farming sim, completely misses the ball. It fumbles right out of the gate with its tutorial, and unless you have friends, you have to cope with the terrible AI rivals. This is one crop that doesn't meet the standards of the rest of the franchise.
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: Natsume
Release Date: 29th May 2009 (USA) /
3rd Dec 2010 (UK/EU) Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is one of the better puzzle games in the Harvest Moon series, but even so, it falls short of other games for its lack of charm and innovation. It's also incredibly short, meaning once you're done playing through every puzzle the game has to offer, that's it. Natsume has the potential to create a great Harvest Moon puzzle game, but it's still far off with Frantic Farming.
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: Natsume
Release Date: 29th May 2018 (USA) /
29th Jun 2018 (UK/EU) Despite being inspired by the original Harvest Moon, Light of Hope falls short of its namesake. Rather than standing as a beacon of light in the genre, it pales in comparison to Stardew Valley — which was released on the Switch just the year before this game came out. Even within the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise, it's a step back, simplifying many of the mechanics and shedding a lot of the charm in the process. You can do much better nowadays.
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: APPCI
Release Date: 2nd Mar 2021 (USA) /
5th Mar 2021 (UK/EU) If you're looking for the next Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon: One World doesn't even come close. This game is a poor imitation of what the series once was, and it feels more like a rushed mobile release than a full-fledged Switch game. These games have always been about chores, but this one feels like a chore to play. In our opinion, your money is better spent on something that respects you as a fan of the genre, and there are plenty of other games in this very series that will deliver on that.
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: Natsume
Release Date: 4th Nov 2014 (USA) /
18th Jun 2015 (UK/EU) The Lost Valley aims to reboot and reintroduce the series to a younger generation. Incorporating new elements such as fulfilling villagers' requests and the ability to alter the terrain, The Lost Valley has its aim set high but completely misses the mark. Most of the new features, while good on paper, are implemented poorly and add to the detriment of what could have been such a great game. It's a bold move for Natsume to develop a game that strays away from the series' conventions and tries new things, but the overall experience is lacking the polish and charm that the Harvest Moon name has come to represent.
Publisher: Natsume
Release Date: 23rd Nov 2009 (USA) Harvest Moon: My Little Shop on WiiWare was really good at what it did. Unfortunately, what it did was bring the tedium of working in the food service industry right into your home. Charming looks and an interesting time system couldn’t save a shallow experience that feels more work than play.
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: Natsume
Release Date: 10th Nov 2016 (USA) /
2nd Jun 2017 (UK/EU) When Harvest Moon: Skytree Village opens up, it shows some promise. However, it falls short of its sky-high ambitions due to some clumsy tutorials and a lack of actual things to do in the village. While the tile-based editing makes things a lot easier, Skytree Village's fields are empty, and with a short campaign that you can finish in under a year of in-game time, it leaves us longing for more in the post-game. This entry is a step in the right direction for Nastume's take on the genre, but we're still a ways off the cream of the crop.
Publisher: Bandai Namco / Developer: Marvelous Inc.
Release Date: 11th Oct 2019 (USA) /
11th Oct 2019 (UK/EU) Doraemon: Story of Seasons is an enchanting, relaxing romp through a world that is so much simpler than ours. With gorgeous visuals and a never-ending list of things to do, it’s unlikely that you’ll get bored while playing it. While its slow pace might turn off some, it’s incredibly welcome to play a game where the fate of the world isn’t at stake, and you can instead just sit down and decide what plants you might want to grow for the upcoming year.
Publisher: Natsume / Developer: Natsume
Release Date: 25th Aug 2008 (USA) /
12th Dec 2008 (UK/EU) Island of Happiness is a decent entry in this long-running series, yet you can certainly feel the absence of Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada. Moving events to an island is a fun idea which really helps us to fall in love with the world and our farm. But if there's one huge stumbling point, it's the controls, which spoil any enjoyment we otherwise get from our daily life of populating this new island with residents and building up a thriving farm. Alas, the touchscreen controls really hold this one back, and make this extremely hard to come back to.
Publisher: Rising Star Games / Developer: Marvelous Interactive
Release Date: 21st Feb 2008 (USA) /
26th Nov 2010 (UK/EU) The inclusion of regular button controls over the previous game's touchscreen-only commands helped to elevate Sunshine Islands, but even with its neat island-raising idea to expand the game world, it felt a little unambitious. It rarely puts a foot wrong, controlling well and teasing you with enough new items and areas to convince you to play through just one more day, and is one of the strongest titles in the series on the DS, but don’t expect much to shake up the farming formula.
Publisher: Bandai Namco / Developer: Marvelous Inc.
Release Date: 2nd Nov 2022 (USA) /
2nd Nov 2022 (UK/EU) Even though Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom doesn't offer much to separate itself from the first game, there's no denying it is a wholesome bundle of farming fun that still manages to carve out its own identity compared to other life and farming sims. Outside of the cutscenes which drag on and then some, it never feels too repetitive — an issue a considerable number of farming sims face thanks to the crop-based tasks associated with the genre — and outside of navigation issues with the map, it's welcoming to both new players of the genre and still feels relatively fresh to those who are incredibly familiar with the Story of Seasons franchise. If you go into this game expecting a decent Doraemon farming sim, you won't be disappointed.