Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town just hit the PC and Switch today, bringing players back to the charming community of Mineral Town filled with a cast of lovable villagers. To the uninitiated, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a remake of the 2003 Harvest Moon game of the same name. However, with the split of Marvelous and its western publisher Natsume, the franchise was labeled under the name Story of Seasons, which is not to be confused with Harvest Moon games released after 2012.
Now, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is pretty much faithful to the original Harvest Moon game, which is often regarded as the best in the series. For those wondering, all of the adorable villagers of the original game return to the remake, with the addition of two new villagers. However, apart from the normal townsfolk that players will encounter in the game, newcomers to the franchise should also get themselves with the mysterious Harvest Goddess, who is an important character in the game.
Who is the Harvest Goddess?
The Harvest Goddess is a divine deity who serves as the Guardian of Mineral Town. While players won't be able to encounter her walking around the village, they can summon the Harvest Goddess by visiting the waterfall located beside the Hot Spring just outside the player's farm. Upon throwing offerings to the waterfall, the Harvest Goddess would appear and would either thank or reprimand the player for their offering. It is worth knowing that while the Harvest Goddess would be polite in receiving most gifts, she will not be happy receiving items such as trash and other useless items in the game.
Throughout the game, players can give the Harvest Goddess gifts that would not only increase their relationship with her but would also lead to rewards that will be beneficial to the player. Some of the rewards that players may receive from the Goddess is a Power Berry that would increase the player's stamina, granted that they give her 10 liked/loved gifts. The Goddess may also increase the player's relationship with a bachelor/bachelorette of their choice by giving 20 liked/loved gifts to the Goddess. Additionally, offering 30 liked/loved gifts to the Goddess would trigger an event that would allow players to meet Van, who is a traveling merchant where players can purchase rare items and pets.
What is Her Role in the Game?
Technically, the Harvest Goddess doesn't really play any significant role in the game. Those who do not know how to summon her may not even know that she exists in the first place and continue playing without even meeting her. However, if the player never meets the Goddess, then they won't be able to trigger the event that would allow them to meet Van who is the only person that sells pets such as dogs, cats, penguins, and Capybaras in the game.
Can Players Marry the Harvest Goddess?
Although the Harvest Goddess may appear a distant figure in the game, she is also one of four special characters that players can marry with the other three being the other traveling merchant Huang, the food gourmet Bon Vivant, and the amphibious water imp Kappa. However, players who plan to woo and marry the Harvest Goddess should know that she is one of the most difficult marriage candidates to pursue, given the long list of requirements that players must first complete.
Early on in the game, after offering 20 liked/loved gifts to the Harvest Goddess, she will ask the players if they have a special someone in the village. When this happens, it is important that the player chooses the Harvest Goddess herself, because choosing another marriage candidate would make it impossible for players to marry the Harvest Goddess. Just like other marriage candidates, players must first have the Harvest Goddess at a Red Heart level. Again, since the Harvest Goddess can only be summoned by giving gifts, reaching her red heart level is difficult because players cannot just walk up to her and talk. There are also appears to be no heart events for the Goddess, so the only way to increase her heart level is to give her liked/loved gifts.
After reaching the red heart level, another requirement is that players should be at Year 5 or higher, have an upgraded house with the big bed, and confess an intent to marry her. However, since the Goddess is a powerful deity, players must first obtain the local minister Carter to marry her. To get his blessing, players must simply go to the church on either a Monday, Wednesday, rainy day, or snow day. In these times, Carter can be found in the confessional booth, where players can ask for the blessing. It is important to remember that Carter may refuse to give his blessing, but players can just try again on a different day.
However, the requirements don't stop there. The most time-consuming requirement to marry the Harvest Goddess is that the player should have shipped at least one of all the items in the Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, have caught all species of fish, found every item in the Spring and Lake Mine, and earned the Goddess Gem. Of course, while those requirements may appear too much, it is worth noting that players can only marry the goddess on Year 5, which is more than enough time to complete all of those. Once successful, players can now but a Blue Feather and propose.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is out now for the PC and Nintendo Switch.