Harvest Moon 64/Gameplay

One of the many features of the game is the ability to marry a woman and have a child. Each girl also has an admirer that the player competes with. The player can give gifts to the other admirers to get them to marry the other girls, often becoming good friends with both sides.

Its best to give gifts that each girl likes related to where they work (Ann: wool and corn, Popuri: flowers, etc). Each girl has an event that will also bring the player closer to them (they all have a day they get sick, so the player should check his girl's house on a rainy day). Girls will particularly like it if you give them a gift on their birthday. The player can also go to the Goddess Spring, give an offering to summon the Goddess, and ask for "love" as their wish. Some festivals have dancing so the player can choose his potential girl as a dance partner (unless the girl is the Goddess at the Goddess festival and if the player is not the King). Other festivals may have the girls at different locations that the player can go to as a "date" (i.e.: the Fireworks Festival has some of the girls at the Square, Karen at the beach, etc.).

There are five different color hearts that appear when the player talks to a potential bride:
 * White: Indifferent
 * Blue: Friendly
 * Green: Stirring feelings
 * Yellow: Likes you a lot
 * Pink: In love with you

Then, the player must purchase a kitchen from the mountain carpenters as the wife likes to spend time there. Once the relationship enters its final stage, the player must purchase a "Blue Feather" in order to propose to the woman of his choice. The player and the girl are then married the following Sunday.

To have a child, the player must buy the baby bed, also bought from the Carpenters, and keep giving gifts to the wife. Thirty days after the wedding, the wife will feel uneasy and say she's pregnant. Sixty days later, the wife will be ready to give birth. The baby (it's always a boy) can grow until he wears clothes, walks, and talks a little.

There are five women who the playable character can wed, each who have different hobbies and interests:

Karen
Karen can be the easiest or the hardest girl to impress. She is often rude towards strangers mostly if they are talkative. Her father, a gruff man, owns the vineyard, so she appreciates gifts of wine or wild berries. Karen will also like you if you break through her father's gruff exterior (give him grapes and after a few times he'll give you a recipe). She and her father seldom get along, and her only real friends are Kai (a worker on the vineyard) and Ann. It is also noted in the game that Cliff is her cousin. Once she is befriended, she will begin to be more open and sociable at festivals, even saying her dream is to be a famous dancer. Somewhat of a wine connoisseur, Karen waitresses nights at the local bar and is the town champion in the customary New Year's drinking contest (outdrinking her will impress her). Her other male admirer is Kai, the vineyard worker. Her birthday is the 29th of winter. Her event is that Karen will show you around where her family keeps wine and you'll get locked in for a while, and the player can either find the secret entrance in the basement or wait until her father comes and lets you both out. If you do not befriend her, she will eventually leave for the city. An easy way to get her to love you is to show her your dog 250 times (every 50 times she will increase by one heart)

Another good way to win Karen's affection (or even if you're not marrying her), is to help the vineyard with its bad business of bitter wine. To do this, you must become good friends with the Harvest Sprites in the mountains (giving them brown mushrooms is a good way because they will eventually give you a recipe) and the owner of the bar. The bar owner will eventually give you a bottle of special wine, and after the Sprites begin to speak normally, they'll eventually tell you of the old tree in the vineyard that houses the Tree Spirit and it has been asleep for some time, and it's the reason the vineyard's wine has been bad. Go to the Goddess Spring and give an offering to summon the Goddess, and you'll get the option to awaken the Spirit. You and the Goddess will go to the vineyard at night and she'll awaken the Spirit. After a few weeks, Karen will come over one night and say that some fairies are making the grapes better, and you'll go there and Karen will dance with the fairies. A picture will be added to the album and the vineyard's business will become better.

Maria
Maria is a modest and thoughtful girl who works as the local librarian. She is the daughter of the mayor of Flower Bud Village. She is initially very quiet and shy, but will open up more as your relationship with her grows. She is terrified of dogs and loves to study insects, much to the chagrin of the other girls in town. Maria is fond of cabbage, and will even give the player a recipe if she receives one. Since she rarely leaves her haven at the library, Maria is happy when people come to visit there. She is a talented organist, and can sometimes be found playing at the church. If the player marries Maria, her mother takes over as librarian. Harris, the mailman, is her love rival with the player. Maria's birthday is the 11th of Winter. She is similar to Mary the librarian in Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town and Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.

Ann
Ann lives at Green Ranch and adores animals, especially horses. She has a protective older brother named Gray. Ann's family raises every kind of livestock available at their ranch, so she is an expert at caring for sheep, cows, and chickens. She gives the player a pony that the player can raise and use in the horse races. The mention of wild animals, however, is one of the few things that can dampen her usually high spirits. She is cousins with Rick, a gadget inventor (a role which Ann had in the Super Nintendo game). She loves corn and wool. She'll also become warmer if the player wins the horse races and befriends Gray. Cliff, a wanderer and Karen's cousin, is Ann's suitor. If the player gets Cliff to marry Ann, his hawk friend, Cain, will lead the flock of doves that fly above the church instead of the lead dove. Ann's birthday is the 14th of Summer.

Elli
Elli is a warm and generous young woman who runs the local bakery with Jeff. She also takes care of her ailing grandmother, as her mother and father are deceased. Though Elli is a wonderful cook, she particularly likes gifts of food items, such as eggs, milk, and fish. She also loves strawberries and will be flattered if the player buys cake or pie from the bakery. The chances of wooing her will dampen if the player talks to her grandmother on a festival (usually New Year's of the second year), where the grandmother will die. Her other potential is Jeff, the bakery owner. Elli's Birthday is the 1st of Fall.

Popuri
Popuri is a sunny, upbeat girl who helps her mother and father raise and sell vegetables. Her mother Lilia is the local florist, and her father is a botanist. She loves flowers, especially pink catmint flowers, and will be overjoyed if the player plants them in his fields. Another of her favorites she likes to receive are strawberries. Popuri often journeys to the mountains to pick wild flora, and has a favorite spot at the very top of the northern peak. Her event is that she'll fall climbing the mountain and you have the option to help her or to get help. Getting help will bring Gray, her potential other and Ann's brother, or helping her yourself will bring her closer to you. Popuri's birthday is the 22nd of Spring, the day before the Goddess Festival (her mother states that this was the reason for Popuri's name).

Another good way to win Popuri's affection (or even if you're not marrying her), is to help her bloom a special blue flower. The seed will be planted in the Goddess Spring and you must water it EVERY day. After about 12 days, a special butterfly will visit the flower, and you and Popuri will get your picture taken with the flower and butterfly by a visiting bug catcher.