Developer Interview
"Forgotten Valley" Farm Network
We asked Yasuhiro Wada, the producer of Bokujou Monogatari: Wonderful Life (Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life), to share setting secrets! Reading this will make you love "Forgotten Valley" even more!
"Forgotten Valley" Special Info
Pouring 10 Years of Passion into this Title
— This time, the story spans a period of 30 years. What kind of concept led to this format?
Wada: About 10 years have passed since production began on the very first entry in the Bokujou series (1993). Truthfully, back when we released the very first game for the Super Famicom in 1996, I already wanted to make something like A Wonderful Life. I wanted to create a game where you interact with many people while raising crops and animals on a farm.
This time, through various trial-and-error processes, it was tough, but we decided to depict a whole "lifetime." In the meantime, we made sure it wasn't just about farming work, but enriched with human elements too.
In previous Bokujou Monogatari games, children were born, but no matter how many days passed, they stayed children. That always bothered me a bit… So this time, I made it so the residents of the valley grow from the time the protagonist first arrives at the farm until about when he reaches old age.
Children with different personalities are born depending on which of the three wives you marry. From there, their personalities branch out into roughly 3 to 5 different patterns based on how the player raises them. There are about 15 different pathways depending on the upbringing, so I think you'll make new discoveries every time you play. Also, I hope players can feel a "human connection" as the protagonist passes down important thoughts and feelings to his child and the local villagers.
— "Forgotten Valley" and "Mineral Town" can be linked together, but do they have a connection in terms of world-building?
Wada: "Mineral Town" is set up almost like a parallel world to "Flowerbud Village" from the N64 version. "Flowerbud Village" was set several decades after the Super Famicom stage. In this setting, that town changed its name and appeared in the Bokujou world as "Mineral Town," and right next to it is "Forgotten Valley."
— What is the origin of the name "Forgotten Valley"?
Wada: "Mineral Town" is like a mid-sized rural town, whereas "Forgotten Valley" is really out in the countryside. As for why it's called "Forgotten Valley," it means a place forgotten by people in the city. Artists, minstrels, and inventors live here; all are people living while chasing their dreams. On the other hand, there are also people living here who long to be free spirits but just couldn't quite become one. It's a place where even people like that can coexist.
Takakura Was a Fairy!?
— Unique residents live here, but what kind of people are they? I'm particularly curious about Takakura's presence…
Wada: As for Takakura… how should I put it… he's like a fairy of "Forgotten Valley." Actually, he isn't human. Well, that's behind-the-scenes lore, though. That fact is never revealed in-game, but Takakura is a fairy possessing the combined personalities of myself and Takeda (the director) (laughs).
[TLN: Yosei 妖精 is the term used here which translates directly to fairy or sprite]
— Why are Sepiria (Celia) and Nami living separated from their parents?
Wada: Sepiria's body isn't very strong, you see. She came here because people told her, "Go recover your health at Vesta's place."
Sepiria is a normal, sweet girl, but Nami is a girl with an incredibly strong inner core. However, if you only look at her face-value, she might seem cold and distant, but that's just because you're only seeing one side of her. That child has a similarly warped view of the world and just wanders around, so the protagonist needs to teach her that she might see something different if she takes a moment to get to know things more deeply.
In a sense, the most worldly person is Mumu (Muffy). She doesn't understand anything (laughs). That's why she's extremely pure. Garfan (Griffin) is a friend of Mumu's father. Mumu's father has passed away, but Mumu hasn't let that crush her spirit.
Wada: While the overall cast of characters is set up to be a bit gloomy, Rock is the only relief character. If things get too serious, it gets dark, so doing foolish things sometimes is also important - there’s that kind of intent behind him. So even though Rock is a good-for-nothing, spoiled son, it's not like "he's a good-for-nothing, so he's no good," but more like "Hooray for good-for-nothing sons!"
The Sully (Hugh’s) family is one that relatively doesn't overthink things. But actually, in the city, Sully and Chris used to argue. Simply put, Sully wanted to raise Hugh in nature, but Chris wanted him to walk the elite's path. However, after some persuasion from Sully, Chris now watches over the father and son duo with warm eyes.
Also, Moi (Murrey) comes from a place called Popo Valley, but in Popo Valley, the concept of property ownership doesn't exist. So it's not that Moi is stealing; he’s simply taking things because they happen to be there.
— What are Sebastian’s feelings toward Romana?
Wada: He has been in love with Romana for decades. He has liked Romana since he was a child, and he has always watched over her from by her side so that Lady Romana would be happy. In fact, Romana as a child looked identical to Lumina.
— Mukumuku is also very cute, isn't he?
Wada: Yes, he is. His image is something like a sloth,yeti, and snowman hybrid, and he's a rare character you can only meet in winter.
— Finally, do you have a message for the players of the game?
Wada: I think if you don't proactively try out various things in this game, it might get boring. Instead, if you hold curiosity and test out all sorts of things, new discoveries will keep popping up. We’ve prepared plenty of fun mechanics, so I’d love for players to play with a positive mindset.
I want you to expand your imagination and dreams through this. It would make me happy if people who played Bokujou Monogatari end up pursuing creative jobs in the future.
Also, if you show items to the residents, you'll get lots of different reactions back, so I hope you try showing them all kinds of things. The "showing" action didn't exist in previous entries in the series, so it's a lot of fun. There is plenty of play time, so please actively take on new challenges!
