We’ve all played a Harvest Moon game on everything from GameCube to DS to PC, and we all love the games. The franchise is known for its round cows and incredibly wholesome vibes, but since starting in 1996 on the SNES, there are almost too many games to pick from. That’s where our list of the best Harvest Moon games comes in handy.
It’s no secret that Harvest Moon is one of the best farm games of all time. Heck, it even went on to inspire our favorites. If you need a hand starting your new life on a ranch, we’ve got a guide on Stardew Valley farm layouts that can give you a lay of the land.
Here are the best Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games:
Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Skytree Village
Turns out there are technically two more games coming to the Switch in 2025. The Harvest Moon Cozy Bundle includes The Lost Valley and Skytree Village, which were initially released on 3DS. All DLC also comes bundled in.
We’re excited to check these out and will update when we know more about the release.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos
Perhaps the best Harvest Moon Switch game is Winds of Anthos. This is a good entry into the series with handy features like automatically picking the tool you need for you, a variety of mounts, pets, and an open world with plenty of forageables.
The art style in Winds of Anthos is a little different from previous entries but goes to show that the team is embracing change and trying new things with the future of the Harvest Moon franchise.
Harvest Moon: The Light of Hope Special Edition
Released to celebrate 20 years of the Harvest Moon franchise is the Light of Hope’s Special Edition. Now, this game has its charm, but it didn’t get a fantastic reception. This is also Natsume’s first Harvest Moon game on its own, without Marvelous behind it – more on that in a little bit. Some players reported getting stuck, having to deal with crashes, and a general lack of things you’d expect to be in the game, such as an in-game calendar.
The main story has you move to a seaside town where the lighthouse is in dire need of repair, which, of course, falls to you. If you find the game for a few of your local currency, it’s still worth picking up for a few hours of playtime.
Harvest Moon: One World
It seems that Harvest Moon games in recent years just don’t have the charm of the original games, and One World is, unfortunately, no different.
Limits on the number of animals you can keep, very similar and one-dimensional NPCs, and the lack of useful fast travel and a very large map don’t quite do it for most players, but if you enjoy slower and simpler farming games, One World might be for you. There’s unfortunately no same-sex marriage here due to Natsume facing ‘COVID-related complications’ and not adding the feature…
Doraemon Story of Seasons and Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom
I’m putting these two entries together as they’re quite similar and are both spin-offs from the main Story of Seasons line. Both games by Marvelous (in partnership with Bandai Namco) allow us to become farmers in a different way than we’re used to.
Doraemon, the big blue robotic cat from the anime of the same name, travels with Nobita, his human companion, to become a rural dweller and run a farm. They’re both good and fun games, but don’t revolutionize the farming genre. However, if you want to frolic in fields and pick up eggs and apples, they’re definitely for you.
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
You may have heard of this one already – it’s a remake of the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 game of the same name. A Wonderful Life follows the classic story of a youthful soul taking over the grandfather’s farm, though there’s more focus on relationships than turnips here.
We’ve got a Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life review showing how it runs on Switch, and we recommend you pick up the game if you want a blast from the past.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Friends of Mineral Town is another wholesome and cute entry, where life is slow and farming is key. Friends of Mineral Town does exactly what it sets out to do, and it perfectly encompasses the Harvest Moon vibes with its farming, mining, social climbing, and even horse racing.
The game does have a more chibi style for its characters, though, so bear this in mind if you’re not a fan of bobble-headed farmers.
What’s the difference between Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games?
So, we all know Harvest Moon as the long-running OG of farming games. But what is Story of Seasons, and is it the same thing? Yes and no. Think of it like a branching timeline.
Harvest Moon’s original publisher outside of Japan is Natsume, while the game’s developer was (and still is) Marvelous. In 2014, Marvelous passed publishing of the series onto its own division, XSeed Games. The issue was that Natsume still held the rights to the Harvest Moon name, so the newer games by XSeed are known as Story of Seasons – though they carry on in the same vein. There are games with the Harvest Moon title from the last few years, too, that are by Natsume.
Basically, the Story of Seasons games are Harvest Moon games, but with a different title and slightly different content. Since 2014, the community has been a little confused, and rightly so.
How many Harvest Moon games are there?
In total, there are 31 mainline Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games, with even more spin-off games, including the two Doraemon Story of Seasons Games, puzzle games, and a WiiWare game. You can find a full list of all the Harvest Moon games here.
Is there a new Harvest Moon game coming out?
In 2025, we get a double pack of games coming to Nintendo Switch – the Harvest Moon Cozy Bundle brings remakes of Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village to the console. Both are remakes of 3DS titles, and you can play them in summer, 2025.
There you have it – everything you could ever need to know about the best Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games. Perhaps there’s a new Nintendo Switch game that’s caught your eye? If not, we can recommend some excellent fishing games, ocean games, and hidden object games for you to try.