Series guide
All Harvest Moon games in order
Harvest Moon invented the farm-life game: seasons, crops, animals and a village of people to win over. It is also the series with the most confusing shelf in gaming, because since 2014 the real series continues under the name Story of Seasons, while the old name went elsewhere. Below is the main line in release order, both eras, with the platforms linked — because those are the copies we stock and test.
The short answer
Classic era: Harvest Moon (SNES, 1996) through Harvest Moon DS (2005). Modern era: Story of Seasons (3DS, 2014) through the A Wonderful Life remake (Switch, 2023) — same series, new name. No order required; start with the Friends of Mineral Town remake on Switch.
The classic Harvest Moon era in order
- Harvest Moon · 1996 · SNES — the farm-life idea, fully formed on day one
- Harvest Moon 64 · 1999 · Nintendo 64 — a fan favourite that never released in Europe
- Harvest Moon: Back to Nature · 1999 · PlayStation — the Mineral Town cast begins here
- Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town · 2003 · Game Boy Advance — Back to Nature reworked for handheld — the classic most people mean
- Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life · 2003 · GameCube — slower and more personal: one valley, a whole lifetime
- Harvest Moon DS · 2005 · Nintendo DS — touch-screen farming, connected to the GBA games
The Story of Seasons era in order
- Story of Seasons · 2014 · Nintendo 3DS — the same series, renamed — Europe got it in 2015
- Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns · 2016 · Nintendo 3DS — three villages, the biggest 3DS entry
- Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town · 2019 · Nintendo Switch — full remake of the GBA classic — Europe 2020
- Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town · 2021 · Nintendo Switch — the all-new Switch entry
- Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life · 2023 · Nintendo Switch — remake of the GameCube life story
Do you have to play them in order?
No. Each game starts a new farm from scratch, and the remakes retell the classic stories in full. What order does explain is the family tree: Back to Nature’s villagers return in Friends of Mineral Town, A Wonderful Life is the slow, one-valley life story, and the Story of Seasons games carry those same ideas forward under the new name.
Which one should you buy now?
- Starting today: Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Switch) — the remake of the best-loved classic.
- All-new rather than a remake: Pioneers of Olive Town (Switch).
- The slow classic, as it was: Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (GameCube) — or its 2023 Switch remake.
- Original handheld farming: Harvest Moon DS — touch-screen era, plays on any DS or 3DS.
Buying Harvest Moon second-hand
Story of Seasons ís Harvest Moon
In 2014 the Japanese series and its western name parted ways: the original developers kept making the same games, now published as Story of Seasons, while the name Harvest Moon stayed behind with a different company that builds its own, unrelated farm games. If you loved the classics, the continuation is called Story of Seasons.
A "Harvest Moon" from after 2014 is a different series
Titles like Harvest Moon: Light of Hope and One World carry the old name but not the old makers. They are their own thing — worth knowing before you buy on the name alone. Everything on this page above the split is the original line.
The remakes are the friendly way in
Friends of Mineral Town and A Wonderful Life both exist twice: the originals on GBA and GameCube, and full Switch remakes that tell the same stories. Pick per console — the farming is the point either way, and every copy we sell is play-tested on real hardware.
Old saves need no battery care here
The GameCube game saves to a memory card and the DS cartridge stores its farm on the cartridge itself. Region: DS and GBA are region-free; the GameCube disc and Switch cartridges in our shop are European releases, stated per listing.
Every copy tested before it is listed
Booting, an in-game day, saving, label and disc condition — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.
Browse tested Nintendo gamesQuestions we get asked
Do I need to play the Harvest Moon games in order?
No. Every game is a fresh start on a new farm. Release order only matters for spotting returning towns and characters — Mineral Town, for instance, spans several games.
Is Story of Seasons the same as Harvest Moon?
Yes — it is the same Japanese series under a new western name since 2014. The old name went to a different developer, whose later "Harvest Moon" games are unrelated to the classics.
Which game should I start with?
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town on Switch — the remake of the best-loved classic. Prefer the original hardware? The GBA cartridge or Harvest Moon DS.
Why can’t I find Harvest Moon 64 in Europe?
It was never released here — European players jumped from the SNES game to Back to Nature. That is why 64 rarely turns up on the European second-hand market.
What is the difference with Rune Factory?
Rune Factory is the fantasy spin-off — farming plus dungeons and combat. It grew into its own series and is not part of this list.
Do you ship outside the Netherlands?
We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
Years given are the first (Japanese) release; classic-era European dates ran one to two years behind. Onze Switch-collectie in het Nederlands.
