'Harvest Moon' video game remake is now LGBTQ inclusive
It's indeed a wonderful life as the original Harvest Moon game released on GameCube, titled A Wonderful Life, is getting a remake that features LGBTQ options and lets you marry characters of the same sex.
Now under the Story of Seasons franchise, the game's first trailer was released during the recent Nintendo Direct presentation.
A reimagining of the beloved title, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life has everything you love about the classic farming game, from cultivating your own farm, growing crops and raising animals, and just enjoying life in your peaceful community.
The story is set in Forgotten Valley, a tranquil community where your father and his friend Takakura once dreamed of running a farm. Here, you can befriend the valley's residents and do lots of other things like fishing, hunting for ancient treasures, and attending festivals.
Marvelous Europe, the developer of the games, listed some of the key objectives that you can do, and one of which is to start your own family. However, unlike previous titles, A Wonderful Life lets you roam free when it comes to marriage options.
To recall, the original Harvest Moon version was released back in 2003 and it only featured a male protagonist and female romance options. This time around, the game finally lets you pick whoever you want to spend the rest of your life with regardless of gender.
"With the option to play as a male, female, or non-binary protagonist, as well as all eligible marriage candidates available for romance regardless of that choice, you can truly be who you want to be," Marvelous Europe wrote on their website.
This is not the first time that the Story of Seasons franchise became progressive in their works, however, as they also had LGBTQ inclusivity in their previous games, Pioneers of Olive Town and their other Harvest Moon remake Friends of Mineral Town, which both allowed same-sex marriage.
This comes as Japan is still not open to making same-sex marriages constitutional for its citizens.
Aside from marrying the love of your life, another notable feature in the remake is starting a family and watching your child grow into adulthood as the years pass. But whether they will inherit the farm or find a career somewhere else is still a mystery.
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is set to be released on the Nintendo Switch in Summer 2023.