History VideoGame / HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife

It's somewhat darker in tone than the rest of the series, themes of adultery, divorce and loneliness are approached quite seriously, though nothing "child-inappropriate" is explicitly referenced. It's also the first game to realistically imply your cows mating, though Takakura seems to try to hide this fact from you, which is odd considering your character's old enough to have their ''own'' children.

** At first glance the games, especially the male one, seems to take place in the early twentieth century. However you have characters like Rock, Gustafa, and Griffin who embody TheSixties, a retro-looking color TV, and relatively modern fashions on certain characters. If you watch TV you'll notice references to ''cellphones''. Tim implies airplanes aren't even a thing in the protagonists country. It's worth noting that Mineral Town looks more modern and it's literally just a few miles away.

* OffModel: Nami doesn't look ''anything'' like her concept art.

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead:
** Among the bachelorettes in the original game, we have Muffy (blonde), Celia (brunette) and Nami (redhead)
** For the bachelors in ''Another Wonderful Life'', there is Rock (blond), Marlin (brunet), and Gustafa (redhead, though it's a darker shade of red than Nami's).

* InnocentCohabitation: Despite living in a tent for all of the game, Carter and Flora's relationship [[PlatonicLifePartners is strictly professional]]. Though they've received a RelationshipUpgrade in ''DS''.

Each game has three eligible marriage candidates, except for the ''Special Edition'', which has 4. A marriage candidate must be chosen by the end of year one, or the [[NonStandardGameOver game will end]], though the marriage candidate with the highest affection will propose to you at the end of the year if you didn't get around to doing it. Each season is 10 days long, and most crops can only be harvested in one season.

The game is something of a [[OddballInTheSeries black sheep for the series]], as it's the first to subvert many of the series' ancient constants. Unlike every previous game, time ''does'' pass inside buildings, characters age, marriage is a necessity to continue playing, there are no festivals, none of the previous characters made appearances, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the main character doesn't wear a hat]]. The game was given a sequel in 2006 as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', which can be seen a mix between this game and ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature Friends of Mineral Town]]''. On September 13th 2022, Marvelous had announced a remake of ''A Wonderful Life'' to be featured on the Nintendo Switch, set to release in Japan in January of 2023, then internationally the following Summer. More about that on [[VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsAWonderfulLife its own page]].

* DarkSkinnedBlond: Cody and Rock, though Rock less so.

* BalefulPolymorph: Mukumuku's character profile from ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature Friends of Mineral Town]]'' states that he was once human, but was transformed into what he is by his long life in the forest.

The game is something of a [[OddballInTheSeries black sheep for the series]], as it's the first to subvert many of the series' ancient constants. Unlike every previous game, time ''does'' pass inside buildings, characters age, marriage is a necessity to continue playing, there are no festivals, none of the previous characters made appearances, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the main character doesn't wear a hat]]. The game was given a sequel in 2006 as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', which can be seen a mix between this game and ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature Friends of Mineral Town]]''. On September 13th 2022, Marvellous had announced a remake of ''A Wonderful Life'' to be featured on the Nintendo Switch, set to release in Japan in January of 2023, then internationally the following Summer.

The game is something of a [[OddballInTheSeries black sheep for the series]], as it's the first to subvert many of the series' ancient constants. Unlike every previous game, time ''does'' pass inside buildings, characters age, marriage is a necessity to continue playing, there are no festivals, none of the previous characters made appearances, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the main character doesn't wear a hat]]. The game was given a sequel in 2006 as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', which can be seen a mix between this game and ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature Friends of Mineral Town]]''. On September 13th 2022, Marvelous Europe had announced a remake of ''A Wonderful Life'' to be featured on the Nintendo Switch, set to release in the Summer of 2023.

The game is something of a [[OddballInTheSeries black sheep for the series]], as it's the first to subvert many of the series' ancient constants. Unlike every previous game, time ''does'' pass inside buildings, characters age, marriage is a necessity to continue playing, there are no festivals, none of the previous characters made appearances, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the main character doesn't wear a hat]]. The game was given a sequel in 2006 as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', which can be seen a mix between this game and ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature Friends of Mineral Town]]''. On September 13th 2022, Marvelous Europe had announced a remake of ''A Wonderful Life'' will be featured on the Nintendo Switch, set to release in the Summer or 2023.

The game is something of a [[OddballInTheSeries black sheep for the series]], as it's the first to subvert many of the series' ancient constants. Unlike every previous game, time ''does'' pass inside buildings, characters age, marriage is a necessity to continue playing, there are no festivals, none of the previous characters made appearances, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the main character doesn't wear a hat]]. The game was given a sequel in 2006 as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', which can be seen a mix between this game and ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature Friends of Mineral Town]]''.

* [[IllGirl Ill Boy]]: When Marlin was younger he was sickly and weak. It's why he moved out of the city and into the valley. He's still rather fragile though.

* StockCartoonAnimalDepictions: Subverted -- most of the animals in the game are generic cartoon animals, and you begin the game with a black-and-white cow, but you can adopt cattle in a variety of colors.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/another_540.PNG]]

!!Tropes, moi:

* DarkerAndEdgier: Darker, at least, due to the more adult themes explored. Some magical elements notwithstanding, the game is much more grounded than other installments; characters age over time, some of them die (including [[spoiler:''[[TheHeroDies your character]]'', by the end), and you can even get a divorce with your spouse under the right circumstances. The ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS DS]]'' installments based on this game are LighterAndSofter, oddly enough.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Darker, at least, due to the more adult themes explored. Some magical elements notwithstanding, the game is much more grounded than other installments; characters age over time, some of them die (including [[spoiler:''[[TheHeroDies your character]]]]'', by the end), and you can even get a divorce with your spouse under the right circumstances. The ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS DS]]'' installments based on this game are LighterAndSofter, oddly enough.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Darker, at least, due to the more adult themes explored. The ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS DS]]'' installments based on this game are LighterAndSofter, oddly enough.

* {{Meganekko}}: Flora and Chris.

* AdultFear:
** If your toddler isn't in your great room by 9p.m., a brief cutscene will occur where your spouse panics, tracks the child down, and brings him or her home for a light scolding before they both go to bed.
** Rock and Muffy's children are adventurous, and wander about the farm almost constantly. Be careful during the toddler stage, because if you set them down while walking around the village, they may not return home on their own.

* BlondeBrunetteRedHead:
** In the original: Muffy, Celia, and Nami respectively.
** In the DistaffCounterpart: Rock, Marlin, and Gustafa, though the latter is a darker shade of red.

* DummiedOut:
** The locked shed on your farm is never unlocked. Neither is the one on Romana's property. The former was meant to be a horse shed.
** Your dog was meant to herd animals and be taught tricks. In the final product he's little more than a LivingProp, though ''Another Wonderful Life'' [[DevelopmentGag added]] the tricks and made him more interactive.
** The circus from ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS DS]]'' was to originate in ''A Wonderful Life'', but the characters were scrapped.
** Your daughter was supposed to take after the mother, not Mark, but they couldn't implement the designs due to time constraints.

* {{Heaven}}: In the ''Special Edition'', the newly added, endless PlayableEpilogue is titled "Heaven".
* TheHeroDies: Rather shockingly, the player character dies after 10 in-game years and the game ends. Just like that. The Special Edition at least allows you to keep playing afterward.

** ''Another Wonderful Life'', along with being a DistaffCounterpart, added a lot of other new content to the game. Minigames to train your dog, the ability to change your outfit, a mirror by your bed, added difficulty in getting fodder, and making the special tools have different effects while farming. Some of these additions were included in the [=PS2=] special edition, but not all of them.
** ''Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life: Special Edition'', which added in an extra love interest (Lumina), changing outfits, the ability to have a daughter and sell the goat, two new horse colors, a few extra dialogues, and a PlayableEpilogue. But at the same time, the graphics got a little worse due to the original being a UsefulNotes/{{Gamecube}} exclusive, while the special edition was released for the [=PlayStation=] 2. It also got LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading for everything and had lag issues.

* JerkAss: Marlin, if you get too close to Celia. If you marry someone else though you become good drinking buddies. He's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold ''most'' of the time though.

* OlderThanSheLooks: