Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life - Gameplay

Gameplay

The player starts the game with one cow, and can later acquire additional, higher-quality cattle as well as male sheep, male and female chickens, and a male horse. The cow will stop producing milk after 40 days, and will have to be impregnated for her to continue making milk. In addition to these traditional Harvest Moon animals, this is also the first game in the series to feature ducks and a goat. The ducks appear not to incubate eggs of their own, but after acquiring ducks, some of the eggs the player harvests from chickens will hatch as ducklings. It is notable that no fertile eggs are produced in the absence of a male chicken, despite the presence of female ducks. The goat produces milk for one year then stops, and may be sold in A Wonderful Life Special Edition for 1000G.

The player also starts the game with a dog, and has the choice of floppy or pointed ears. Later in the game, the player may receive a cat from Romana. Also seen in the wilderness are a raccoon, a lizard, and a turtle, as well as a chihuahua that appears to be a pet at the dig site.

Also notable is the Mukumuku, who resembles an abominable snowman. The Mukumuku can only be seen during Winter near the tree in which the Harvest Sprites live, and the surrounding area commonly referred to as "the forest."

The player's farm has three fields, with varying levels of fertility. Plants must be watered more than once per day and nourished with fertilizer to obtain high-quality fruits and vegetables. Each crop has its ideal growing season, and will do poorly if planted at the wrong time of year. To obtain the highest quality crops and seeds, the player must water and fertilize the crops every day.

The game offers a variety of crops and trees, and also offers the ability to create hybrid crops. The player can do this by feeding any two different seeds or crops to a talking plant, Tartan, who appears after befriending Takakura and visiting him in the morning, from Chapter 2 onwards.

This is the first Harvest Moon game in which the player not only has a child after marriage, but the child ages to adulthood as well. The player's son will look similar to their wife, and have a unique set of interests and talents. The child's developing personality may be influenced by taking him places, introducing him to people, and giving him gifts related to various fields. At the end of the game, the (now adult) son will choose one of seven possible careers: Farmer, Rancher, Musician, Artist, Scholar, Athlete, or Scientist. If he becomes a farmer or a rancher, he will take over the family farm. He can not marry.