Harvest Moon 64 was the Nintendo 64 exclusive addition to the Harvest Moon series of Farming Simulation/RPGs. It is one of the favorite games in the series among some fans. It retains many of the familiar gameplay from Harvest Moon on the SNES. There are, of course, better graphics, and new animals to take care of like Sheep.
You have two years (not real-time - a day can be a few minutes) to fix the farm from the ground up. You will plant crops, water them, and sell them to make your money. You will also buy animals, take care of them, and sell whatever comes out of their bodies (Whether it be milk, eggs, or wool). Another staple of the Harvest is marriage. Potential wives are:
- Ann, a farm girl.
- Maria, the town's librarian
- Karen, the waitress at the town's bar.
- Popuri, the daughter of the Flower Shop's owners.
- Elli, a baker.
Each woman is, in some way, based on the potential wives of the original Harvest Moon game. Except for Karen, who is a new, and also shows up in Harvest Moon: Back to Nature.
Your average day in the game will involve you taking care of daily chores, such as watering crops and tending to livestock. After shipping whatever goods you've gained that morning, you would probably use the remainder of your time to court women and check out the social scene in the nearby town. Afterwards, you head home, and go to sleep, since you've probably run out of stamina to continue any farm work. When you have no stamina, you can't use tools.
To break up the daily routine, there are time specific events. Some events will get you on the good side of certain townsfolk, while other events are festivals, where you can compete in minigames and win things.