Harvest Moon: Back to Nature is a farming life simulation with role-playing elements, developed by Victor Interactive Software and released for the PlayStation in Japan on 16 December 1999. Natsume published it in North America on 22 November 2000 and in Europe on 26 January 2001. Yasuhiro Wada produced it, and it was the first Harvest Moon game for a non-Nintendo console.
The player has three years to bring a neglected farm back to life or must leave. Characters from Harvest Moon 64 return with new lifestyles, personalities and relatives. There is no energy bar: the hero visibly tires, and overwork leads to blackouts and a hospital stay, while rain, hurricanes, frost and blizzards can damage the farm.
A Japan-only version with a female protagonist, Harvest Moon for Girl, followed in December 2000, and both stories later shared one PSP disc as Boy & Girl. The Game Boy Advance games Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town are remakes of Back to Nature. Palapa's Indonesian localization is linked to the series' popularity in Indonesia.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Harvest Moon: Back to Nature | PlayStation | Nov 22, 2000 | Natsume | 1 |
| NA | Harvest Moon: Boy & Girl | PSP | Jul 31, 2007 | — | 1 |
| JP | 牧場物語 ハーベストムーンBokujō Monogatari Hābesuto MūnJapanese Wikipedia names the publisher as Victor Entertainment. | PlayStation | Dec 16, 1999 | Victor Interactive Software | 1 |
| JP | Harvest Moon for GirlVersion with a female protagonist; Japan only on PlayStation. | PlayStation | Dec 7, 2000 | Victor Interactive Software | 1 |
| EU | Harvest Moon: Back to Nature | PlayStation | Jan 26, 2001 | Natsume | 1 |
| JP | 牧場物語 ボーイ&ガールBoth PlayStation versions on one disc. | PSP | Nov 23, 2005 | — | 2 |
| JP | 牧場物語 ハーベストムーンPlayStation Network re-release (Game Archives) of both PlayStation versions; English Wikipedia credits the 2008 PSN release to Marvelous Interactive. | PlayStation 3 | Dec 24, 2008 | — | 2 |
Also known as: 牧場物語 ハーベストムーン JP2Bokujō Monogatari Hābesuto Mūn JP1Harvest Moon: Boy & Girl NA1
Box art by region
NA Harvest Moon: Back to Nature 
EU Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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ContentHarvest Moon for Girl
Harvest Moon for Girl, a Japan-only PlayStation release, has a female heroine (Claire by default) who survives a shipwreck and is given the abandoned farm.1
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ContentPSP: Boy & Girl
The PSP version Boy & Girl puts both stories on one disc but reviewed worse: 61 on Metacritic against 82 for the PlayStation original.1
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ContentGBA remakes
Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town for Game Boy Advance are remakes of this game; Friends of Mineral Town was later remade again for Switch as Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.1
Reception
The PlayStation version scored 82 on Metacritic and 31 out of 40 in Famitsu; GameSpot gave it 8.3/10 and IGN 7.5/10. The PSP version, Boy & Girl, got mixed reviews and a Metacritic score of 61.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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