Harvest Moon: Back to Nature | 100% Walkthrough

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Harvest Moon: Back to Nature (HMBTN) is one of the most iconic farming simulation games ever made. This legendary title was super popular among gamers, especially those growing up in the 2000s.

In this game, you’ll learn how to run a farm and raise animals properly, and also how to earn money to support your daily life.

HMBTN brings back many characters from Harvest Moon 64, but it also adds its own twist. Characters now have unique personalities, jobs, families, and more differences compared to previous games.

This version also features more detailed 3D graphics and has plenty of new features that weren’t available in the Game Boy version.

Story

Just like other Harvest Moon games, in Back to Nature, you arrive in a peaceful village to take over your late grandpa’s farm.

But there’s a catch: the villagers have agreed to let you keep the farm only if you can restore it to its former glory and become a part of the community within three years.

At the end of the third year, Mayor Thomas will stop by to check on your progress. If he’s impressed, you’ll officially be welcomed as a Mineral Town resident—and you’ll be able to keep playing the game indefinitely!

Gameplay

After the intro scene, Thomas will ask you to enter your name, birthday, and name your dog and farm. Once that’s done, you’ll start your farming journey.

You’ll be given a big field to grow crops like vegetables, fruits, flowers, and grass.

On your farm, you’ll also find:

A chicken coop
A barn for cows and sheep
A stable for your horse
A fish pond
An apple tree next to your house

The main goal? Pretty simple—plant crops, raise animals, and make friends with the villagers.

You start off with basic tools like a hoe, hammer, sickle, and axe to clean up and prep your land. Later, you can upgrade your tools to make farming even easier.

Don’t forget to talk to the villagers, give them gifts (especially on birthdays!), and trigger fun events. You’ll also need to trigger heart events if you want to get married later.

Animals

Taking care of animals is a big part of the game. There are two types of animals:

Livestock: Cows, sheep, and chickens. These produce milk, wool, and eggs.
Pets: Your horse and dog. They won’t give products, but they can help you on the farm.

Make sure to treat your animals with love. Healthy animals give better-quality products, but if you ignore them, their products will drop in quality (and value).

You can plant grass in your pasture for your animals to graze on, or cut it and store it as fodder.

Also, don’t leave your animals outside during rain or snow—and never during a storm! Always bring them inside to keep them safe.

Livestock:

Pets:

Horse
Dog

Farming

Farming is one of the main activities in HMBTN. Use your tools to prepare your land, buy seeds from the supermarket, and plant away!

Your crops can be:

Sold for gold
Eaten for stamina
Used in recipes
Given as gifts

Plant smart and keep an eye on the seasons—some crops only grow in specific months.

Marriage

Getting married is a major part of the game. You’ve got 3 years to build a relationship with one of the five bachelorettes in town.

Once you’re married, your wife will eventually have a baby.

Each girl has her own likes, dislikes, and heart events. You’ll need to give them gifts and spend time with them to raise their affection.

Bachelorettes:

Check out their individual guides to see what gifts they love and how to unlock their events!

Events & Festivals

There are lots of events happening throughout the year. Some are random, and some are festivals you can join every year.

Festivals are fun and can include contests for your animals. Plus, they’re great for building friendships.

Don’t forget to give villagers birthday gifts—it’s an easy way to boost affection fast.

More info:

Other Activities

Tired of farming every day? Don’t worry—there’s plenty of other stuff to do!

You can: Go fishing, cook delicious meals, explore the mines for ores and gems, collect Power Berries to boost stamina, and more!

Helpful guides:

Villagers

There are 39 characters in the game:

5 bachelorettes
27 regular villagers
7 Harvest Sprites

You can build friendships with them just like with the marriage candidates. Learn their personalities and give them gifts to raise their affection levels.

Some key villagers:

Fun Facts & Trivia

You can give more than one gift per day to villagers to boost affection—rare for HM games!
Many characters are from Harvest Moon 64, but Doctor, Carter, and Won are BTN exclusives.
Your grandpa’s farm used to be amazing (lots of chickens in the flashbacks!), but now it’s pretty run-down.
The red mailbox near the Supermarket and Clinic doesn’t do anything—but if you interact with it, it says “Mom and Dad.” It might’ve been part of a scrapped event.
In the girl version of the game, it says: “Where is this place?” when you check the same mailbox.
Hackers found an unused “letter” sprite in the game, adding to the theory that the mailbox had a planned purpose.
Zack’s house is the only house in town that you can’t enter.
There was a rumor back in the day that if all bachelors got married, a secret girl named Elizabeth would move to town.
On Winter 30, if you watch the weather forecast, the announcer will say: “Expect a comfy and cool winter day.”
The Harvest Sprites throw a Spring Tea Party, but if you talk to them five times instead, they’ll help out on your farm instead of partying!
The mysterious girl in your childhood flashback? That’s actually the girl you’ll end up marrying—it’s revealed at the end of the game.