This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the beloved farming simulation franchise, Harvest Moon. The game first released in North America in 1997, and has continued to see a steady rise of popularity and players, making it one of today’s most beloved franchises. Harvest Moon is revered for being a non-violent, family oriented game for everyone, and there have been more than 30 games released in the series.

In celebration of Harvest Moon’s 20th anniversary, Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, and Rising Star Games, European video game publisher and long-standing partner of Natsume, has announced an all new title, Harvest Moon: Light of Hope.The new game will encompass twenty years of spirit that has made the franchise what it is today, and will be available on Nintendo Switch, Steam, and PlayStation 4.

This is the first time the Harvest Moon brand will be on Steam and the Nintendo Switch.

In Harvest Moon: Light of Hope, players begin the game as they set out looking for a fresh start and new surroundings. During their voyage, their ship is hit by a monsoon and goes down. As they drift into a small harbor town, now in a shambles from the storm, it will be up to the player to help rebuild the town and save the lighthouse… but it won’t be easy! Nevertheless, with some hard work growing crops, tending livestock, and gathering materials for repairs, players will be able to make new friends, start a family, revive the lighthouse, and save the town!

“Harvest Moon: Light of Hope will set itself apart from other Harvest Moon titles with its depth, including a robust story and clear-cut goals,” said Hiro Maekawa, President & CEO of Natsume.  “We set out to create a SNES-style nostalgic game with deep and meaningful characters and events, and we are excited to have our fans play it at E3 and tell us what they think!”

“Partnering with Natsume for over a decade, we’ve been delighted to bring the joyful gameplay of Harvest Moon to fans in Europe and beyond”, said Martin Defries, Managing Director, Rising Star Games. “We are excited to be part of the unveiling of Harvest Moon: Light of Hope at E3″.

As part of the year-long 20th anniversary celebration, Natsume has also unveiled the re-release of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life Special Edition and Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland for the PlayStation 4, and Harvest Moon 64 for the Nintendo Wii U. Rising Star Games, in cooperation with Natsume, announced its first ever app for smart devices, Harvest Moon Lil’ Farmers. The history of the franchise can be seen at a new site with official release dates, artwork, box art, and interesting trivia HERE.

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An exciting new life where you take care of animals, nurture flowers and crops, and make new friends awaits in Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, releasing on the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS.

Choose whether to play as a girl or boy, then get ready to shape the land to create your very own personalised farm. Fulfil the requests of visiting townsfolk, befriend them and even get married, all as part of a quest to restore the four seasons back to normal.

While exploring the mountains high above the Lost Valley one day, you become caught in a sudden snowstorm and find shelter with the help of a faint voice. When the storm lifts you find and help a kindly Harvest Sprite buried under the snow, who tells you all of the seasons in the valley have vanished except for winter. To return all four seasons to the Lost Valley you’ll need to farm the land with the help of the villagers, the Harvest Sprites, and even the Harvest Goddess.

In Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley you can experience the freedom to create your own farm your own way, by moulding and shaping the land in a fully 3D environment. Dig down into the ground to create caves or stack the earth high to form mountains. Create fishing ponds and crop fields, and build roads and bridges to reach and explore new areas. Context-sensitive controls help streamline the action so that shaping your own world has never been so easy. Simply approach an object or area in-game and choose to perform an action like sowing seeds, picking flowers, or fishing.

Throughout your farming adventure a wide variety of animals becomes available to nurture, including cows for milking, sheep for their wool and chickens that lay eggs to sell. Tend to your livestock everyday by stroking and brushing the animals, keeping them comfortable, well-fed and happy, and they will provide you with better quality produce to sell.

As well as the daily care of your farm you will also meet and befriend local townsfolk who will offer you quests and useful items to purchase. Among the cute cast of characters you’ll also encounter bachelors and bachelorettes who you may even end up calling your husband or wife.

Offering a world you can shape your own way and the joy of seeing your crops and animals grow and blossom as you care for them, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley is available in stores and from Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS from 20th of June 2015.

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