Harvest Moon 64/Gameplay

Planting and Harvesting
In a game about farming, it makes sense that one of the main objectives would be to grow and sell crops. To grow crops, you will need seeds, a hoe, and a watering can. Seeds must be bought from the Flower Shop, which is the building with the gate that you see on the right just after entering the village from the crossroads. Seeds can only be planted in tilled plots of soil. Using the hoe, till out a 3x3 section (with the center square left blank if you plant regrowable crops, because you can't walk through or around crops) in the light brown section of the farm. Stand in the center of the square to sow the seeds, which will be planted in the eight or nine (depending on whether or not you left the center blank) individual plots around you. If one of these plots is not tilled dirt, it will not be planted. Once the seeds are planted, you must water them to make them grow. Head down to the small pond in the left-most corner of the farm and fill up the watering can. When you water a plot, it will turn a darker shade of brown. A watered plant will advance to the next stage of growth the following day. A plant left unwatered will suffer no consequences, but it will remain at the same growth stage as it was the previous day. You will end up with a silver (and later gold) hoe and watering can if you use them enough times

Clearing the Field
In the beginning, the farm will be overgrown with weeds, stumps, boulders, and rocks. Before you can plant anything, you must remove these from the area that you want to grow crops. In the beginning, there are 80 weeds, 135 rocks, 8 boulders, and 10 stumps on your farm. Weeds can be picked up and dropped on the ground or scythed with the sickle, but it will use up energy to use the sickle. To remove stones, they can either be dropped into the watering hole, shattered with your hammer, or saved to make a fence. The boulders and stumps must be broken down with the hammer and axe respectively. You will end up with a silver (and later gold) hammer, sickle, and axe if you use them enough times.

Stamina and Fatigue
Using tools and consuming food will affect your stamina and fatigue. Stamina level dictates how much energy the character has, and ranges from 0 to 100 or more, where higher numbers mean more energy. Stamina points will decrease when tools are used, but can be increased by consuming food and drink or by sleeping, unless the character stays out until 6:00am. In this case, the character will be forced back into your house at 6:00am to eat breakfast and only twenty stamina points will be recovered. In the beginning, stamina points can range from 0 to 100 points, but the maximum will be raised by 15 points for each Power Berry that is found and consumed. If the level reaches zero, the player will simply fall down when he attempts to use a tool, though there are no other consequences for doing this.

Fatigue level dictates if the character will get sick the following day and range from 0 to 100, where 100 is completely worn out. Fatigue level will increase if tools are used on a rainy day or after 6:00pm. Fatigue points can be reduces by eating a Medicinal Herb or by sleeping. Fatigue points can also be reduced by 10 points by using the toilet or jumping in the bath or hot springs, though this only works once per day. If a large fish is thrown into the pond near the fisherman's tent, a green imp will rise up and present the character with a red power berry that increases maximum stamina and prevents fatigue changes when tools are used in the rain. There is also a blue power berry you can get from the imp by giving it a small or medium-sized fish. However, due to a programming error, the blue power berry is useless. Fatigue points will decrease two points per hour of sleep the character gets (or three with the bed cushion that can be won in the flower shop raffle), rounded down to the nearest hour. If the character goes to sleep with 100 fatigue points, he will be sick the following day. When this happens, he will spend the entire day in bed unable leave bed to do anything. The following morning, stamina and fatigue points will be reset to normal.

Though the stamina and fatigue values are never shown directly, they can be discerned from how the character acts. When stamina is drained to a sixty percent, the character brings out a handkerchief and wipes his forehead. At thirty percent, the character faces the camera and sweats out multiple drops. At zero percent, he will fall over, unable to do any more work until stamina recovers. When the fatigue level rises too high, the character will rub his forehead, which becomes a shade of purple. In the morning, if the fatigue level is dangerously high, the character will rub his forehead instead of using a tool the first time that day.

Making Money
There are many ways to make money in this game, though there are very few ways to lose money. Growing, harvesting, and selling crops is one way, though it generally takes days from the initial investment to the eventual profit. Another way to make money is by selling animal products. Chickens will lay eggs every day that sell for 50G each. Cows will give milk if the player has the milker that sell for different amounts, depending on the quality of milk. Sheep will grow wool that can be cut and sold once per week. If not fed, however, animals will not produce these items, and may become sick.

Another option for making money is by collecting items from Moon Mountain. Most objects gathered from Moon Mountain, with the exception of weeds and flowers, can be sold by throwing them into the selling bins, which are the beige boxes sitting next to the doghouse and inside both the chicken coop and the barn. These objects don't generally sell for as much money as vegetables to, but they reappear everyday. These objects will vary in type and abundance by season, and no collectable items will appear at all during winter.

Girls and Marriage
One of the many features of the game is the ability to marry and have a child with one of several female characters. These characters can be distinguished by the colored heart that appears at the bottom right of the speech box that reflects that character's affection level toward the player. Each girl also has an admirer that the player competes with that will end up marrying her if the player is good enough friends with him and either chooses to marry a different girl or hasn't gotten the girl to 120 or more affection points.

Like any other character in the game, the affection level of these girls depends on how much the player talks to her and gives her gifts. Affection level will rise more if a girl's favorite item is given to her or if an item is given to her on her birthday. Unlike other characters, the colored heart in the speech box will reveal the girl's interest level. Additionally, there will be more ways to raise the affection level than just talking and giving gifts. Each girl has an event that will also bring the player closer to them, such as the dream events, photo events, and ankle events. Some festivals have dancing, so the player can raise a girl's affection level considerably by choosing her as a dance partner. In the case that she is the goddess during the Flower Festival, if you are good enough friends with the king that year, or if you are married to the girl that is the chosen goddess, he may allow you to dance with her anyway. Other festivals, such as the Fireworks Festival and New Years Festival, may have the girls at different locations that the player can go to as a "date". The player can also go to the Goddess Spring, give an offering to summon the Goddess, and ask for "love" as their wish

There are five different color hearts that appear when the player talks these girls:
 * White: Indifferent (0 - 51)
 * Blue: Friendly (52 - 103)
 * Green: Stirring feelings (104 - 155)
 * Yellow: Likes you a lot (156 - 207)
 * Pink: In love with you (208 - 255)

When one of these girls is at 220 affection points and the carpenters have built the kitchen extension, Rick will supply a Blue Feather for purchase. To propose to a girl, the player simply walks up to the girl at a pink heart and uses the Blue Feather. If the girl is at a pink heart, then the odds are fairly good that she will accept and the wedding will take place on the following Sunday. Otherwise, there is a pretty funny rejection response.

After marriage, the player's wife will lose one affection point every day no matter what, so the player must keep talking to her and giving her gifts to offset it. If the wife's affection drops to 119 points, the player's wife will return to her childhood home, but will come right back to live with the player again if he visits her and apologizes.

To have a child, the player must buy the baby bed from the Carpenters and be in good standing with his 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, which is always a boy, will grow until he wears clothes, walks, and talks a little.