Walkthrough (Harvest Moon: Back to Nature)

This walkthrough is designed as more of a guideline (ie. a to do list), since Harvest Moon is not designed to follow such a strict guide. The whole point of the game is to do things your way, not to be told exactly what to do and when, which is why the guide is set up as such; to give you an opportunity to do what you want while having an idea of what you should do.

Day 1
TIP: There is a trick on the first day where you can level up all your tools without fainting. Just get a tool, then keep using it over and over again until it eventually levels up. This is very time-consuming and very cheap, but you can manage to do it because you cannot faint.

As your first day begins, the Mayor will come to your house and ask if you would like a tour around the town. If you do, he will show you around, but you will lose two hours of your first day. Afterwards, even if you say no, Zack will arrive to tell you about shipping. After this, you can finally begin your first day.

The first thing you should do is get your hoe, your hammer and possibly your sickle. Go out to your plot of land and begin clearing an area near the shipping bin. An area large enough for four plots of seeds, or maybe even 8x8 or 9x9 squares should do fine. Create four patches in this area with your hoe (make it as close to the bin as possible), and then head off to town. (If it still before 10 in your game, you may want to clear the farm some more before continuing.) Head over to the store and purchase four bags of turnips, which should leave you with 20G. (You will probably run into an event here, so choose "You should pay" as your choice.) Now head back to your farm and plant these four patches of turnips.

By now you should be into the afternoon. Instead of watering your crops, head to the spring and pick up three items, stopping to talk to any villagers that may be there. Return to your farm and deposit these items into your shipping bin before 5:00 PM, so that you can receive payment that day. Now just get your watering can, fill it up, and water all of your crops. You can go to bed now if you would like, but it may be a good idea to clear some more of your farm for later, especially chopping branches and clearing weeds; note: you may want to avoid breaking rocks now, so just move them away. Once you are finished with today's event, head home, go to sleep, save the game, and continue onto day two.

Day 2
When you exit your house, you will find another scene where you meet Won. He will stay on your farm for a while, but you can always go tell Harris about him.

After the event you can do whatever you want, although you should probably start by foraging near the spring. Get a few items to sell, and talk to the girls when they come. You may also want to give Popuri a few flowers while you're there. Your main goal for today should be to sell a few things and meet the villagers.

Unfortunately the shop is closed today, but you can always go to the clinic right next door and meet Elli. When you do you'll find another event, where Elli finds you have a cut. If you manage to get the bandage (choose "excruciating pain") then you can give it to Stu in another upcoming scene, when you head back toward the library. At this point, you and Elli should be becoming increasingly closer, so you may want to start to get to know her better.

You'll end up finding a lot events today, actually. If you try to meet a lot of villagers, this will be quite a fun. Among these scenes are two key ones: Harris and Won (which are on-going events), and the horse. Choose to get a horse now, so that you can start raising it - which will take a year. Remember to talk to your horse before you go to bed tonight!

This is actually one of the few days you'll spend more on villager events than your farm. Take the chance to enjoy this (long) day. Can you complete all the events before 5:00 PM?

After you long day of events, head back and water your crops. Now go to sleep and get ready for your third day.

Day 3
Today will be a little less eventful, but here is where you start to develop a daily style. Since Harvest Moon is such a non-linear game, I will no longer give you a day-to-day walk through of exactly what to do, but rather suggestions and a possible guideline to follow. This will be the last in-depth day.

Start off by foraging for items like usual, and then get some flowers for a girl you like. Head into town to give away these flowers, as well as meeting any villagers you might have missed yesterday. Next, go to the store and buy two more bags of seeds (I recommend cucumbers), bringing you up to six plots. Now go and make two more plots on your farm, then plant these. Go out to forage, meet more villagers, or clear your farm, then water all of your crops. Don't forget to talk to your horse, and hold your dog.

If you haven't gotten a chance to clear much of your farm yet, then you may want to start now. You should have no weeds or rocks near your crops, for starters.

Day 4
Continue your regular schedule. Nothing big should happen today.

Day 5
Your turnips should have grown today, so harvest them all. If you get a chance, head back to the store and buy some more seeds to replace these (I recommend turnips again).

If you get the chance, take a break from your harvest, to get your fishing rod today! Just leave a space for a new tool in your rucksack and head to the beach. You should see Greg who will give you a fishing rod. If he's not there you can always try again, later.

Day 6
If you want, add two more plots to your farm with your new found money from yesterday. You may also want to buy a brush, or even a chicken, if you have enough.

You'll probably notice some of the girls asking you to if you'll go to the Goddess Festival with them tomorrow. Unfortunately you probably won't be able to, unless you've managed to woo one of them really well in these past few days.

Day 7
Today's your first festival! Just finish up any farm work you have, then head to town square. After the event you can go to bed, or finish up some more work.

(Note: From now on, the guide will follow a weekly basis.)

Week 2

 * Upgrade Rucksack
 * Get Brush
 * Have at least one full-grown chicken
 * Get at least one girl to a purple heart

Week 3
On Sunday the 15th, the Mayor will come by and ask that you deliver 3 turnips by the 21st. This is a great opportunity for you, so take it.


 * Upgrade axe to copper, and begin chopping tree stumps.
 * Save at least 5,000G for the end of the week
 * Have at least one more full-grown chicken

Week 4
Some time this week, Ann will drop by and ask you to deliver three eggs to the inn for the next couple of days. This is yet another great opportunity for you, as each egg you give will be worth 150G instead of the usual 50G. You can continue to do this up until the end of Spring, making at-least 2,000G.

By the 25th (Wednesday), you will probably want to upgrade your watering can to mystrile. Just make sure you've gotten any final crops before you do this - no need to miss a good harvest just to save a day. By doing this, you will have an excellent start come summer! Just save a bit and prepare for the next season in the final days of the season.


 * Upgrade watering can to mystrile.
 * Have a full chicken coop (5 chickens)

End of Spring
In the final day of your first Spring, just make to prepare for summer. Clear down any crops that you can no longer harvest, save up money for new seeds, create more plots of land, etc. Also, if you get the chance, upgrade your chicken coop, though you might want to wait until later in the summer.


 * Get a girl to a blue heart
 * Get either the large rucksack or a basket.