Line #50 Main/FarmLifeSim


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsFriendsOfMineralTown https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sos_fmt.png]]]]
6
7	->''"A harvest of a lifetime!"''
8	-->-- {{Tagline}} for ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife: Special Edition''
9
10	The Farm Life Sim genre is a SubGenre of {{Life Simulation Game}}s and {{Roleplaying Game}}s focusing on life as a small-town farmer. They're not realistic farm sims like ''VideoGame/FarmingSimulator'', but instead use a lot of ArtisticLicense while focusing on the general life of the main character.
11
12	The games take place in a beautiful {{arcadia}}. They're usually set in either a RetroUniverse or a PeriodPiece (which means the protagonist will do a lot of hands-on farming with minimal machinery).
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14	The player is usually a CityMouse who [[FromNewYorkToNowhere decides to leave the hustle and bustle of urban life]] for a relaxing life as a farmer. Near their farm is a small town full of quirky individuals, including several potential {{Love Interest}}s that can be married if the player wishes. A good set of supporting characters is vital to this genre; the games can't work on farming alone, there needs to be a cast of interesting [=NPCs=] to befriend and interact with. There's also usually a MagicRealism element to the town.
15
16	This genre dates back to 1996's ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon1''. Released late in the Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem's lifespan, ''Harvest Moon'' was a niche but quirky game about the life of a young man who moves out to live in Flowerbud Village. The game was successful enough to get handheld sequels and eventually a true sequel in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon64'', which takes place [[SpinOffspring two generations in the future]] and expands upon everything in the original. The popularity of the games led to the successful ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'' series (originally localized as ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' until a change in English translators in the 2010s).
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18	Despite its success, ''Story of Seasons'' had little in terms of rivals. The closest were games like ''Franchise/AnimalCrossing'' from 2001 onwards, or ''VideoGame/{{Farmville}}'' and ''VideoGame/FarmingSimulator'' after 2009, which weren't quite in the same genre. 2016's ''VideoGame/StardewValley'' propelled the genre into the [[GenrePopularizer mainstream gaming landscape]]. It was essentially ''Story of Seasons'' with some added changes which appealed to both veteran ''Story of Seasons'' fans and newcomers. Originally released on PC, it became a SleeperHit which led to various ports. Many other developers took note of the game's popularity and were [[FollowTheLeader inspired to make similar titles]].
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20	Related to SimulationGame, RaisingSim, ImmersiveSim, and DatingSim.
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22	----
23	!!Examples:
24	[[index]]
25
26	[[AC: TabletopGames]]
27	* ''TabletopGame/{{Agricola}}'' is a board game for up to 5 players, in which the objective is to grow a farm and make it prosper.
28	* ''TabletopGame/StardewValley'', tabletop adaptation of the videogame listed below.
29	* ''TabletopGame/ATaleOfHeartAndHomes'' is a board game inspired by ''Story of Seasons''. If's a four-player game where you can farm, fish, go on quests, and marry. The main goal is to overthrow the mayor.
30
31	[[AC: VideoGames]]
32	* ''Franchise/AnimalCrossing'' has always been similar to a farm life sim, but ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' adds onto the similarities due to the deserted island theme: the player can now grow their own vegetables, craft tools, and till the land.
33	* ''VideoGame/{{Atomicrops}}'' combines farming sim with a roguelike shooter, with the player cultivating a farm in the Post-apocalypse where they must go out and explore during the day while protecting the farm at night.
34	* ''VideoGame/BountifulLife'' is an in-development game by Alcinous Studios. It's a ''Story Of Seasons''-inspired game with 40-50 planned characters.
35	* ''VideoGame/CloudMeadow'' is a HGame farming simulator crossed with an RPG, as instead of raising normal livestock on their farm, the player is rehabilitating (and romancing) humanoid monsters encountered in dungeons.
36	* ''VideoGame/CoralIsland'' is a game set on a tropical, southeast-Asian inspired island. As well as the farming, ranching, and social mechanics common to the genre, the player can also collect resources in a cave on the island and go diving in the island's coral reefs to clean up trash.
37	* The Japan-only PC-engine game ''VideoGame/DaichiKunCrisisDoNatural'' can be considered the UrExample, predating ''Harvest Moon'' by over five years. It can also be considered an early RealTimeStrategy game. You play as a family of cows, planting crops, selling them, and fending off invading monsters. The goal of the game is to populate an island with trees.
38	* ''VideoGame/FaeFarm'' combines this with an ActionRPG; crops grown on the farm are needed for progression in dungeons.
39	* ''VideoGame/FarmFolks'' takes place on an island and has over 35 villagers in the main town of Port Meridian. It's a farm sim, however it has story-driven quests as well.
40	* ''VideoGame/GleanerHeights'' is a DarkerAndEdgier take on the genre that is heavily inspired by ''Series/TwinPeaks''. The protagonist moves to the StepfordSuburbia that is Gleaner Heights to become a farmer. There, they discover that the town is a DysfunctionJunction full of infidelity, murder, DomesticAbuse, and occult activity.
41	* ''VideoGame/{{Gr0wing}}'' is a sprite-based farm sim based off of ''Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town''. It began development in 2016 but has hit DevelopmentHell.
42	* ''VideoGame/{{Harvestella}}'' is an ActionRPG crossed with a FarmLifeSim.
43	* ''VideoGame/HarvestMasterFarmSim'', also known as ''Harvest Master Farm Adventure'', is a mobile [[TheMockbuster clone]] of ''Story of Seasons''. It has a similar style, down to the Heart Events.
44	* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonNatsume'' is a series of games started in 2014 by Creator/{{Natsume}}, who from 1996 until 2014 localized and distributed Marvelous’s ''Bokujō Monogatari'' series outside of Japan under the name ''Harvest Moon''. When Marvelous decided to break with Natsume and hand off translation and Western distribution of the series to Creator/XSEEDGames, Natsume was left with the ''Harvest Moon'' brand name, and decided to make use of it by making their own games "inspired" by the long-running series they formerly translated. Meanwhile, the ''Bokujō Monogatari'' series continues to be made by Marvelous, and new entries are now published by XSEED in the West under the new name ''Story of Seasons''. Like the series that "inspired" them, the Natsume-created games also focus on farming and romance, with some differences here and there (for example, character affection is shown by “Notes” instead of Hearts).
45	* ''VideoGame/HarvestTown'' is an Platform/{{Android Game\|s}} created by QY Games, and published by [=Avid.ly=]. Typical to its genre, the game allows players to plant crops, raise animals, forage, mine, fish, and interact with villagers. It does have an unusual premise in that the protagonist ''isn't'' a CityMouse newcomer moving into an abandoned farm. Instead, they are a Harvest Town native who had left the village for the metropolis decades ago, and had become old and regretful in their old age. While reminiscing the past, they inexplicably underwent a MentalTimeTravel to the moment before their departure, whereupon they cancel their plans to leave, and are determined to rebuild the farm that they have neglected.
46	* ''VideoGame/KitariaFables'' advertises itself as an Action RPG, but one of its main features is developing and maintaining Thunderbunn Farm, from which you grow and harvest ingredients for cooking as well as crafting upgrades for your adventures.
47	* ''VideoGame/LittleDragonsCafe'' has traits of this genre. It's by the same creator of ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'' and has similar gameplay mechanics. You take care of a dragon instead of farm animals. The player also fishes, hunts, and gardens to obtain ingredients for their cafe. The main crux of the game is the story and your relationship with the other characters who visit the cafe.
48	* ''VideoGame/{{Littlewood}}'' calls itself a "peaceful RPG". It's a fantasy-based farm sim and town-building game. The protagonist is an amnesiac former hero who has defeated the evil Dark Wizard. You settle down and try to convince townsfolk to stay in your town, all while trying to recover your memories.
49	* ''VideoGame/LullabyGardens'' is a shopkeeper and farm RPG inspired by ''Story of Seasons''. You are a shopkeeper at a coastal town who must gather goods for the shop to bring back customers.
50	* ''VideoGame/MoonlightTales'' is a [[DevelopmentHell cancelled]] sim inspired by ''Story of Seasons'' and ''Animal Crossing''. Only a prototype exists. The game would have involved cooking, farming, decorating your house, and raising relationships with townsfolks.
51	* ''VideoGame/MyTimeAtPortia'' takes heavy inspiration from ''VideoGame/RuneFactory'', and to a lesser extent, ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons''. It's more focused on ItemCrafting as the player is a craftsman and trader, not a farmer (though crop harvesting and livestock raising exists).
52	* ''VideoGame/{{Ooblets}}'' combines this with the MonsSeries, and allows you to grow your own {{Mons}}.
53	* ''VideoGame/OrangeSeason'' is inspired by ''Story of Seasons'', with some ''Animal Crossing'' and ''Zelda'' added in. There are four towns, over thirty types of farm animals, and over ten marriage candidates.
54	* ''VideoGame/PaleoPines'' takes place in a world of DomesticatedDinosaurs. While you can grow crops, your farm is called a ranch, and a big part of the game is befriending new creatures and riding them.
55	* ''VideoGame/PeacefulDays'': You play as a MC who has graduated years ago but still can't find the ideal job. You see an old man sitting in front of your house and give him food and water. He gives you a note about the rural "Aurora Town" then disappears. The protagonist moves to Aurora Town and becomes the owner of Evergarden Farm. In Aurora Town you can raise crops, befriend locals, etc.
56	* ''VideoGame/ReLegend'' is a co-op farm sim where you raise {{mon}}s called Magnus on a planet named Ethia.
57	* ''VideoGame/{{Rimworld}}'' has some elements of this genre, particularly if you add some of the [[GameMod game mods]] designed to expand on the existing mechanics like Fertile Fields or the Vegetable Garden Project. The overall tone is rather less {{Arcadia}}n the other examples on this page, however. [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty Especially if you don't plant enough crops before winter.]]
58	* ''Platform/{{Roblox}}'' has some: ''[[https://www.roblox.com/games/2772610559/Farming-and-Friends Farming and Friends]]'' (the most realistic), ''[[https://www.roblox.com/games/3601201039/Farm-Life-HOUSING Farm Life]]'', and ''[[https://www.roblox.com/games/3126992939/SUBSIDIES-ARE-BACK-Welcome-to-Farmtown-2 Welcome to Farmtown!]]''
59	* ''VideoGame/RootsOfPacha'' is a farm life sim set in a Stone Age-inspired world. Seeds are typically gathered by exploring outside the village while wild animals are tamed into livestock by playing the flute for them. Since money hasn't been invented yet, selling your products and resources is called "contributing" instead.
60	* ''VideoGame/RuneFactory'' is a ''Story of Seasons'' spinoff that became so popular it became its own series. It features similar gameplay to the original series, except that it uses a fantasy setting instead of a modern RetroUniverse one. There's also combat due to the added [=RPG=] elements.
61	* ''VideoGame/SakunaOfRiceAndRuin'' has been compared to ''Rune Factory'' in terms of combat and farming, taking place in the country of Yanato (Japan-equivalent). The titular protagonist Sakuna has to balance between farming rice to replace the destroyed stock that was meant to be a tribute to the gods, while also exterminating demons on the Island of Demons, both parts punishment. Farming rice is important to Sakuna as the better her yield is in quality, the better her combat stats are, courtesy of inheriting aspects from both her war god father and harvest goddess mother.
62	* ''VideoGame/ShepherdsCrossing'' is a rare pre-''Stardew Valley'' example. What differentiates it from ''Harvest Moon'' was focusing more on animal husbandry and economics, and also having somewhat of a more mature and cynical tone. For instance, this is one of the few games in the genre where you can actually slaughter your livestock for meat.
63	* ''VideoGame/StardewValley'' is the GenrePopularizer. Until this game, only the original ''Story of Seasons'' and ''Shepherd's Crossing'' existed, but the popularity of ''Stardew Valley'' led to [[FollowTheLeader a slew of clones]]. The game started out as a ''Story of Seasons'' FanGame before becoming a SpiritualSuccessor. The game includes elements that differentiate it from its inspiration, such as {{Gay Option}}s and modding (thanks to it originally being a PC title). ''Stardew Valley'' is inspired by the original few ''Story of Seasons'' titles, which is why it contains mature topics like alcoholism and depression.
64	* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'', which was formerly known as ''Harvest Moon'' in English and changed names in 2014, is the TropeCodifier and TropeMaker. You start as a young person who moves to a small town, where you start your own farm, meet various people, and usually have the option to settle down with someone and have kids. The games have varying degrees of MagicalRealism involving the local [[NatureSpirit Harvest Sprites]] and CrystalDragonJesus deity, the Harvest Goddess. The series is also an UnbuiltTrope to a degree, as the series creator never ''intended'' for it to be a "farm sim", but about life ''as a farmer'' in a small town and the characters they interacted with there, using farming as a backdrop more than the focus. This is why ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife'' (the creator's favorite game in the series) and ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonSaveTheHomeland'' are so bare-bones when it comes to farming and ranching. Over the years, ExecutiveMeddling led to more focus on the farming side, which caused the series creator to [[CreatorBacklash quit the series]] in the mid-2000s.
65	* ''VideoGame/StrandedSailsExplorersOfTheCursedIslands'' has an emphasis on farming and exploration, but it does have [=NPC=] characters to interact with as well.
66	* ''VideoGame/SunHaven'' is a Farming Sim with a greater emphasis on RPG elements like skill trees and combat than most other farming games, but it still features a wide variety of farming sim style gameplay, for instance, growing crops, animal husbandry and fishing.
67	* ''VideoGame/{{Sunville}}'' is a {{retraux}} farm sim with survival and crafting elements.
68	* ''VideoGame/VerdantSkies'' is a sci-fi twist on the genre. It takes place on an alien world named Viridis Primus. The protagonist is a part of a colony and the goal is to ensure the survival of the colony. Along the way you can farm, fish, cook, befriend fellow colonists, and marry other colonists.
69	* The ''VideoGame/VivaPinata'' series is about turning a ruined wasteland into a beautiful garden that can be customized to your own will. But what makes this game truly stand out is the [[{{Mon}} brightly-colored, animal piñatas that are actually living creatures.]] You can attract them to come visit your garden, and they might stay as "residents" if certain requirements are met. For each resident piñata, they have a "candiosity" meter. With it maximized, they can be sent to Piñata Central to be whisked off to parties, and then... ahem get bashed to pieces as any real piñata would. (Don't worry, they enjoy getting bashed ...well, most of them do.) Then eventually, they return to the garden seemingly unscathed.
70	* ''VideoGame/VoodooGarden'' is a clicker game about harvesting the fruits of a garden that grows automatically, buying new plants for it, and crafting various magic potions.
71	* ''VideoGame/WildSeason'' is about a job-hunting city kid who takes up an ad for a farm. You end up in Bedford Valley, however everyone is unpleasant and uninviting. The plot revolves around befriending them and finding out why they want you out of town.
72	* ''VideoGame/WorldsDawn'' is a colorful sim that's set in a quiet seaside village named Sugar Blossom Village. You're a farmer who harvests crops, tends livestock, discovers magical secrets, builds friendships, and more.
73	* ''VideoGame/WyldeFlowers'' is a farming sim game where you just so happen to also be a witch.

Context Main / FarmLifeSim