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Harvest Moon Strategy Guide

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It took me 4 months to make this Strategy Guide and I think its the place where you'll find the most best strategies for this game anywhere.Now lets get on to the game.

First of all, you're going to type in your name when the shipper asks you. Next, he'll take you into town. Talk to everyone you see (Press A to talk). Go into all of the houses and speak to the people there. Make SURE to talk (behind the counter) to the lady in the Flower Shop (you'll get a watering can) and to the Livestock Dealer (you'll get some grass). You start out with 300G. The book in the church will tell you when all of the holidays are, so just look in there if you forget. The book in the Fortune Teller's place gives some tips on marriage and dating. Once you're done looking around town and talking to everyone, find the shipper and talk to him to go back to the ranch. You'll automatically go to bed.
***** Hint: Run everywhere (hold the B button down). You'll save tons of time by doing this. Only walk when you need to get into a small opening or something.
***** Hint: Watch TV before you go to bed every night. You'll see what the weather is going to be like the next day. If it's going to rain or there's any kind of bad weather, put your animals inside.
On the second day, you'll meet up with a puppy when you walk out of the house. This is Ellen's dog, but she can't keep it. Name it and it's yours. You never need to feed it. Just leave it somewhere (out or in, your choice) and don't worry about it. The L button on top of the controller will whistle for the dog. Now you're going to have to do some work. Run out of your farm (towards town) and go up the back hill. Find a wild grape, and press the A button. Choose "Don't eat" when it asks you (eating it will refill some of your stamina, which is just about full right now). Now, run back to your ranch and throw the fruit in your produce bin (that small thing that looks like a dog house directly below your own house). If it's still light outside, run up and get another one. These fruits will get you 150G apiece (money to buy crops tomorrow). The shipper will take the fruits and you'll find the money in your pocket the next day. You can't ship flowers (cave herbs aren't flowers, by the way), cake, animals, weeds, or stuff like that.
***** Hint: Never let a day go by without making money. Run up the back hill and pick some fruits if you have no crops to harvest for that day. This is very important to remember.
Now, pull all of the weeds (the green bushes) inside your fence and throw them anywhere (they'll vanish when they hit the ground). Once that's done, go to your tool shed and get the hammer (A to pick it up), then switch (X button), and pick up the axe. Now you can use the tool with the Y button, or switch tools with the X button. Go outside and chop all the stumps that are inside your fence (the wood is automatically stacked in the wood shed). After the stumps, pound the big rocks inside your fence. One thing to remember about big rocks and stumps is that it takes six solid hits to break them up and if you move during those six hits, you'll have to start the six hits all over again. The small rocks can also be pounded (just one hit), but this wastes your stamina. Just throw them in the nearest pond (picking up and throwing stuff doesn't eat up any stamina at all). By the way, one stump gets you six pieces of wood in your shed. But you'll take out two pieces from your shed for each piece of fence.
***** Hint: Read the book in the upper-right corner of your tool shed to learn some valuable info on tools.
What you'll need to do next is to get your hoe and make areas to plant the crops you'll buy tomorrow.

Figure 1., the square, is not a very good choice. When your crops begin growing, you won't be able to access the middle plant. Not too good. Figure 2. (the C) is a better choice, but you'll end up sacrificing two of your possible nine plants. Figure 3., the fat C, is a very good choice for your ranch at the beginning of the game. The shape allows you to water eight plants. You're only giving up one of your possible nine this time. Figure 4. shows that you'll need a walking space around each square, so plan your ranch accordingly.

You should make about three or four fat C areas for now. Make sure that they're all inside of your fence, or wild dogs will end up eating them (your dog will let out a "yip-yip" if one comes inside your fence during the night). Do as much work as you can to fix up your ranch tonight, and take a trip to the spa (up on the back hill in the very upper-right corner). Jump in and out about five times to completely restore your stamina. By now, you're probably not even hearing any music. It stops at 6:00 p.m. When you're married, you should be in the house before the music stops every night. But since you're single right now, work as late as you want. Remember, the day doesn't end until you go to sleep at night. Read the diary by the bed to go to sleep.

Once you go to sleep, the game will ask if you want to write in your diary before you go to bed or not. Saying yes will save your game, saying no will give you another menu. You'll be able to continue without saving or just forget going to bed at all in the second menu.

When you wake up (it should be the 3rd of Spring), you'll need to go into town and buy some crops to plant.

After purchasing as many potatoes as you can (the brown bag), go to your shed, where all the things that people give you will go, and get the crops you just purchased. Make sure you're PERFECTLY in the middle of a "fat C" square of plowed field before you use the bag.

Now you should just keep on buying potatoes (more and more) until you have about 10 "fat C" squares full. Keep them full and start to save money. When you have a little more than a thousand dollars, buy a chicken (and don't buy any more). If the Livestock Dealer says no when you try to buy the chicken, plant some more grass (in the shape of Figure 1.). Put it up in the upper right corner of your ranch. Not WAY up there, but far enough away so it doesn't interfere with your field of crops. It should be inside the fence, so chop some wood and make your fence bigger if you need to. Once you have a chicken, put it in the chicken coop (the building in your ranch that's farthest to the right and right above your toolshed). Feed it and wait for it's egg the next day.

***** Hint: It's good practice to feed your animals (cows and chickens) every day before you do anything else. It'll save you some time in the long run.

When you have the egg, CAREFULLY place it in the box in the bottom- right corner of the chicken coop. It should hatch in about a week or so. The egg doesn't need any extra food, and neither does the chick. The full-grown chicken DOES need food to produce eggs, however. Stop producing chickens when you have about 5 or so unless you have plenty of fodder to feed them. You should pick out a girlfriend about now and start giving her presents (fruit or herbs on the back hill makes a good gift). Give her something every couple days or so.

Just keep on making money on your potatoes, and if you need a fast- growing crop becuase you're nearing the end of the season, get some radishes. In Summer, buy a bunch of corn and save any leftover crops (radishes or potatoes) for next Spring. The corn will keep on going if you water it, so you'll save some money because you won't have to keep on buying it. Your next goal is to save up 5,000G to buy a cow. Once you get a cow, buy the brush. Talk to, brush and feed your cow EVERY day. Once it gets big, buy the milker and milk it everyday in addition to talking to it, brushing it, and feeding it. It's a good thing that time doesn't pass while you're tending your cows, because a good portion of your day you're going to be in there.

Keep buying cows as you get money. Remember that you'll need to have more grass planted for about every cow you buy. When Winter comes along, make sure to have your silo just about full (999) of fodder. If it's not, buy the bags of cow or chicken feed from the Livestock Dealer. It's not as good as regular feed, but it'll do. Also, in Fall and Winter when you can't grow crops, you should be making about three trips a day to the back hill to pick stuff.

I'll put more in this section later if you guys really want. Email me and let me know if I should or not. If you're stuck at a point or you're not making money or something, re-read over this whole FAQ or watch the "How to Play" demo on Harvest Moon (it really helps).

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:: :: MARRIAGE ::::.:::.::.::. :..:. :.... . .
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: Dating :......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .
First of all, you're going to have to pick someone to start dating. Here's a list of all the eligible women:

MARIA can be found at her house (the Mayor's) or in the church most of the time.

NINA works at the Flower Shop. Don't pick any flowers for her, buy them. She doesn't like people who pick flowers.

ANNE is usually in the Hardware Store, busy tinkering with something. She always says she'll invent something someday.

ERIN is the Livestock Dealer's daughter. She's the one who drops off the dog at your ranch.

EVE makes a really strong berry juice. She works every night except Sunday at the Inn.

Now that you've got a list, make your choice wisely. Most people will choose Eve because she works late at night, which is very convenient when you're really busy during the day (which you usually are).

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: Presents
:......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .

Make sure that you listen to what the girl says before you start buying presents. They all have different tastes. Once you've found out all the things she likes, make it a point to stop by and give her a present just about every day or two. After giving her the present, talk with her for a little while. Sooner or later, she'll say a few things hinting about marriage. When you think you're ready, buy the Blue Feather from the man who sells things on weekends in the Market.

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: Blue Feather
:......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .

Once you hand your wife-to-be the Blue Feather, she'll say yes if you have purchased the Super Deluxe Log House and if she really wants to be married. Try to bring her a present and be in the house before dark every day when you're both living together. You may even have children if everything works out between the two of you.

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:: :: MAKING MONEY ::::.:::.::.::. :..:. :.... . .
:: ::::::::::::::::::::::.::::::.:::::.:::.: :.:... . . .
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: Cows
:......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .

Your Cattle Barn should be your first stop in the morning. A handy thing to do is to have the Brush and Milker in your hands before you go to bed every night. That way, you won't waste valuable time running to the Tool Shed in the morning. Once you're in here, brush, milk, talk to, and feed every one of your cows. This procedure can be really time consuming with a full herd of cows. Luckily, time does not pass when you're inside a building. It does, however, pass outside and in caves. If you have a full barn of content cows, you can make about 4,200 gold pieces a day. So make sure you spend time with them. Once you're done with your cows, move on to your chickens.

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: Chickens
:......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .

< Your chicken coop makes the least money out of all the aspects of your ranch. The most you can make in one day from their eggs is a measly 600 gold pieces. However, selling a chicken gets you 500 gold pieces. This will reduce the amount you make from eggs, however. After collecting all their eggs (and placing one in the incubator if you need to), it shouldn't be past 6:00 a.m. Now it's time to pick your crops.

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: Crops :......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .

Picking the crops is the most time consuming process of the day. Pick as much as you can, as fast as you can, as accurately as you can. It might take a little practice before you don't ruin any of your vegetables while running and picking. When the Shipper arrives at 5:00 p.m., you're done for the day. Now water anything that needs it (remember that you don't need to water the grass) and plant any seeds that need to be planted. If you run out of stamina, make a trip to the Hot Springs in the upper right corner of the Back Hill. For maximum effect, go in and out of the spring about five times.

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: The Back Hill
:......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .

If you don't have any crops to harvest (in Fall or Winter), make a few trips to the Back Hill after you feed your animals. You won't make much money doing this, but at least it's something. Don't let a day go by without making money.

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:: :: FAQ ::::.:::.::.::. :..:. :.... . .
:: ::::::::::::::::::::::.::::::.:::::.:::.: :.:... . . .

Q. How come I can't buy chickens or cows?

A. You don't have enough grass growing. Buy some grass seeds (the green bag) at the Flower Shop and plant them in your field. Now go talk to the Livestock Dealer again. Plant more grass if necessary.

. . . .. ... ..... .........

Q. How do I propose marriage?

A. First of all, you need to get a girl to really like you. Check her diary (the book in the back of her house or where she works all the time) to find out how many hearts you have. When you have about six or more hearts, you'll probably be able to marry her. She'll also hint around marriage when she's ready. On Saturday or Sunday, drop by the Market and buy the Blue Feather for 2,000 GP. Put it in your hand and give it to her when you're ready. You should be married within a week if she really likes you.

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Q. Where's that Moon Flower?

A. This very rare flower grows only once a year. Search the very top of the Back Hill between the 10th and the 12th of Fall.

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Q. What's the secret to winning the prize at the Egg Festival?

A. Try again and again. If you mess up, just reset and continue your game from the day before. After a few trys, you'll be sure to win the prize.

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Q. How do I get through Winter?

A. Make sure to have your Silo stocked with as much fodder as you can (999 max). Remember, each cow and chicken consume one piece of fodder each. Just add up your cows and chickens and multiply the number by 30 to find out how much fodder you'll need for the Winter. If you're running low, you can either sell some animals (preferably chickens) or even buy the packages of food from the Livestock Dealer. He says though, that it's not as good as real fodder. The packages work just like farm tools (pick them up and switch to it to use), but they only last a certain amount of uses. Make sure that you're also throwing the cave herbs (the only thing that grows year-round) in your produce bin every day for added cash.

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Q. How do I get the Watch?

A. All you need to do is upgrade your house once (to the Super Log House) before the end of the first Summer. It will cost you 5,000 GP and 250 pieces of wood. You can chop all the wood in one night if you need to. Go in and out of the Hot Springs about 5 times to fill your Stamina up completely, and keep on chopping.

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:: :: APPENDIX ::::.:::.::.::. :..:. :.... . .
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: Festivals
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FLOWER FESTIVAL 23rd of Spring
The Flower Festival is the first festival you'll attend. It's also the only festival that takes place while crops are growing. You don't need to bring anything when you come. Make sure you feed your animals and harvest any crops you want to sell that day before you go to the festival (as with most of the others).

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HARVEST FESTIVAL 12th of Fall
Now you're going to have to bring something to the Harvest Festival to go in your soup. If you can't find anything else, make a quick trip to the Back Hill for a mushroom.

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THE EGG HUNT 20th of Fall
At the Egg Hunt, there is actually an egg hunt. Someone will hold up a colored egg in the middle of town, then you have to run around, opening chests and searching for the correctly colored egg. When you find the right color, run back to the man and give the egg to him. He'll award you a point. After a few times, he'll announce the winner of the contest. If you happen to win, you'll acquire a small charm that is supposed to protect against disasters.

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THANKSGIVING 10th of Winter
If you have enough hearts in a girl's diary when Thanksgiving comes around, they're sure to bake you a cake. Other than that, nothing much happens during this festival.

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STAR FESTIVAL 24th of Winter
Make sure you find out where your girlfriend is going to be during the Star Festival the day before. You'll have quite a few places to choose from when you wake up in the morning.

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NEW YEAR 1st of Spring
At the New Year's Festival, everyone meets at the top of the Back Hill to watch the first sunrise of the year.

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: Crops
:......... ...... .... ...... . . .. . . .. . .

Here's a price comparison table for you. As you can see, potatoes will make you the most money in the Spring, and corn will make you the most money in the Summer. But if you're just going for some fast money at the end of the season, it's better to buy the radishes or tomatoes because they'll grow faster.

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: VEGETABLE : RADISHES : POTATOES : TOMATOES : CORN :
:.......................:..........:..........:..........:..........:
: TIME TO HARVEST : 4 days : 6 days : 10 days* : 13 days* :
:.......................:..........:..........:..........:..........:
: HARVESTS PER SEASON : 7 : 5 : 7 : 6 :
:.......................:..........:..........:..........:..........:
: AMOUNT FROM 8 SQUARES : 480 GP : 640 GP : 800 GP : 960 GP :
:.......................:..........:..........:..........:..........:
: SEASON GROSS : 3,360 GP : 3,200 GP : 5,600 GP : 5,760 GP :
:.......................:..........:..........:..........:..........:
: SEASON NET : 1,960 GP : 2,200 GP : 5,300 GP : 5,460 GP :
:.......................:..........:..........:..........:..........:

* If you keep on watering your tomatoes and corn, you'll be able to pick more vegetables every three days.

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: Selling Prices
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Here's the selling prices for all of the things on the Back Hill.

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: SEASON AND ITEM PROFIT IN GOLD PIECES :
:...................................................................:
: SPRING :
: Cave Herb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
: Fish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
: Wild Grapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Gold Pieces :
:...................................................................:
: SUMMER :
: Cave Herb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
: Fish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
: Southern Fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Gold Pieces :
:...................................................................:
: FALL :
: Cave Herb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
: Fish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
: Mushroom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Gold Pieces :
: Poison Mushroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
: Moon Flower (only one grows per year) . . . . . . 600 Gold Pieces :
:...................................................................:
: WINTER :
: Cave Herb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Gold Pieces :
:...................................................................:

Here's the selling prices for all the things on your farm.

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: ITEM PROFIT IN GOLD PIECES :
:...................................................................:
: Radish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Gold Pieces :
: Potato. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Gold Pieces :
: Tomato. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Gold Pieces :
: Corn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Gold Pieces :
: Chicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 Gold Pieces :
: Egg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Gold Pieces :
: Cow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 GP / 8,000 GP / 10,000 GP :
: Milk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 GP(S) / 250 GP(M) / 350 GP(L) :
:...................................................................:

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SPECIAL THANKS
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Thanks Natsume for making a very fun game to play.This is probably the last RPG for Super Nintendo.And it was a good won.I can't wait for the Game Boy and Nintendo 64 versions.

Copywright 1997 Natsume

Email: dkulas@hotmail.com