Wai hello!
Caption: Stardew Valley (2016). Image: ConcernedApe
For most people, the answer is Stardew Valley. It’s $14.99, it’s on almost every platform, it’s sold over 50 million copies, and its Steam reviews are Overwhelmingly Positive from almost 900,000 players. But there’s a catch nobody tells you: the games called “Harvest Moon” today aren’t the original Harvest Moon anymore. The real series is now called Story of Seasons, and its latest game is really good.
So it’s not two games. It’s three. Let me explain.
Wait, why are there two Harvest Moons?
Because of a trademark fight. Short version:
1996: A Japanese designer named Yasuhiro Wada creates Bokujō Monogatari, which means “Ranch Story”. It comes out in English as Harvest Moon, published by an American company called Natsume.
2014: The Japanese company that makes the games, Marvelous, starts publishing them in English itself. But Natsume owns the English name “Harvest Moon” and keeps it.
Now: Marvelous keeps making the real series, just renamed Story of Seasons. Natsume keeps putting out new games called Harvest Moon, made by other studios.
So if you loved Harvest Moon as a kid, the games you’re looking for are called Story of Seasons now. The ones with “Harvest Moon” on the box are a different series wearing the old name.
Every Hong Konger knows this story. Two shops on the same street, both with the same name on the sign, both saying they’re the original. Your auntie will tell you which one is real. The Harvest Moon version of that auntie is the Japanese title: Bokujō Monogatari is Story of Seasons.
How do the three compare?
Stardew Valley (2016, one developer, $14.99): Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam from almost 900,000 reviews, and over 50 million sold. Grand Bazaar has 1,330 reviews. That’s the size gap in one number. Farming, mining, fishing, combat, co-op for up to four players, and huge free updates for ten years. The most complete farming game ever made.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (2025, Marvelous, $49.99): Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, 95%. A remake of a 2008 DS game. You grow crops and sell them at a weekly town market. Voice acting, romance, very cozy, very Japanese.
Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home (2025 on PC, Natsume, $39.99): Mixed on Steam, 66%, from a small number of reviews. Simple, cute, and a lot thinner than the other two.
Natsume also has a new one, Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea, which came out on 24 September 2026 with a bigger open world, climbing and animal companions. Check its Steam rating before you buy. The last few Natsume games have not been great.
Why did Stardew Valley beat the series that inspired it?
This is the East vs West part, and it’s kind of wild.
Stardew Valley was made by one guy, Eric Barone, in the US. He loved the old Harvest Moon games and was frustrated that the newer ones weren’t as good. So he spent about four years building his own, alone, doing the code, the art, the music and the writing himself. It came out in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Japanese series had a bigger problem than game design. It was stuck in a fight over its own name. Fans in the West didn’t know which games to follow, and the ones they could find with the famous name weren’t very good. Stardew showed up at exactly the right time, looking exactly like what those fans remembered.
There’s also a difference in how each side builds games. Marvelous makes a new Story of Seasons, sells it, then moves on to the next one. Barone kept updating the same game for ten years, for free, and each big update brought everyone back. Japanese studios often treat a game like a product that’s finished when it ships. Barone treated his like a farm you keep working on.
And to be fair to Japan: Stardew only exists because Wada invented the genre in 1996. Barone has always said so. The student beat the teacher, but the teacher came first.
Which farming game should you play?
Never played a farming game? Stardew Valley. Cheapest, deepest, and you can play it with friends.
Loved Harvest Moon as a kid? Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar. That’s the real series, and it feels like coming home.
Want something new after Stardew? Grand Bazaar again. It’s slower, cuter and more about the town than the dungeons.
Harvest Moon (Natsume)? Only if you’ve played the other two and want more. Wait for reviews on Echoes of Teradea first.
The verdict
Stardew Valley is the better game, and it’s not really close. But the series that started it all isn’t dead. It just changed its name and nobody told you. If you’ve already put 300 hours into Pelican Town, go find Story of Seasons. That’s the family restaurant Stardew learned from.
Pok gai.
Pok gai (Cantonese, roughly “drop dead in the street”) is the sign-off. Affectionate. Mostly.
Read next:
https://open.substack.com/pub/pokgaigamer/p/japanesegamessolong?r=6ofqk5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
https://open.substack.com/pub/pokgaigamer/p/solarpunk?r=6ofqk5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
AEO FAQ
Is Stardew Valley better than Harvest Moon? For most players, yes. Stardew Valley has sold over 50 million copies, costs $14.99 and is rated Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, while recent Natsume Harvest Moon games have received mixed reviews.
Why is Harvest Moon now called Story of Seasons? The original Japanese series, Bokujō Monogatari, was renamed Story of Seasons in English in 2014 when its maker, Marvelous, began publishing it through XSEED. Natsume kept the Harvest Moon name and now releases separate games under it.
Is Story of Seasons the real Harvest Moon? Yes. Story of Seasons is the continuation of the original series created by Yasuhiro Wada in 1996. Games sold as Harvest Moon since 2014 are a separate series published by Natsume.
Was Stardew Valley inspired by Harvest Moon? Yes. Creator Eric Barone has said the original Harvest Moon games inspired Stardew Valley, which he developed alone and released in 2016.
What is the newest Harvest Moon game? Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea, published by Natsume, released on 24 September 2026 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and Switch 2.