Harvest Moon: Magical Melody

Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (牧場物語 しあわせの詩 for ワールド, Bokujō Monogatari: Shiawase no Uta for Wārudo, lit. Ranch Story: Song of Happiness for World) was the third Harvest Moon'' game to be released for GameCube, but it was released in the PAL regions as a Wii game after the GameCube version was cancelled for unknown reason. This is the second game next to Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland to be cancelled in PAL regions.

It is mostly an improved version of Bokujō Monogatari: Shiawase no Uta which contained numerous glitches. Jamie, was added as a marriage candidate for both male and female players. This title features many new characters, many of these characters having been based on characters throughout the series. It's also the first game in the series to have a multiplayer feature.

Plot
In Magical Melody, the player arrives in town after reading an advertisement that they saw in the newspaper. The player will then meet Theodore, the town's mayor, in Town Square. The player will be prompted to pick a name for their character, as well as the farm. The player will also get to choose where the character's starting home will be from among three different locations.

Once a home has been chosen, the player will settle into their new home. Upon sleeping, the character will have a dream of somewhat a reality which is a flash-back or vision of what happened years ago. The player is awoken the next day to the presence of the Harvest Sprites, who are surprised that the player can see them. The sprites were also shown in the dream the character had, leading to surprise and shock. The sprites will ask the player to help them, and the player will then be enlisted by the sprites to awaken the Harvest Goddess, along with the rival farmer Jamie, who has turned herself to stone out of melancholy at the townspeople's disregard.

The player's goal is to collect musical notes so that the Harvest Goddess can be resurrected. While the sprites say that 100 notes are needed to free the Goddess, only 50 notes are required to awaken her. Once the Goddess is awakened, it is still possible to get all 100 notes and complete the game.

Gameplay
The Wii version of Magical Melody differs from the GameCube version of the game. Although the story is identical and features the same villagers, the Wii version's major difference is that it does not allow the player to choose between a male or female protagonist. The GameCube version allows both genders to be the main hero/heroine, but the Wii version allows only a male character.

Controls also differ between the two versions. The Wii version features motion control for activities such as mining and fishing, whereas on the GameCube the controls are simplified, only needing the player to press buttons to perform tasks.


 * Own various plots of land to customize.
 * Grow crops.
 * Raise a variety of different animals.
 * Collect musical notes to free the Goddess.

Marriage Candidates
The player can marry any of the 11 bachelor and bachelorette characters provided for each gender.

Bachelorettes


 * Alex - A doctor at the Clinic. If he is not at the Clinic, he can be found at the lake.
 * Basil - A wandering plant hunter. He loves nature. He can be found in the caves and at the lake.
 * Blue - Ellen's cousin who works at the Blue Sky Ranch. He's very hard working and toils in the pastures.
 * Bob - A young man who does deliveries. He helps out at the Blue Sky Ranch and mines in the caves.
 * Carl - A laid-back young man who works at the cafe. Running a lovely cafe has been his dream.
 * Dan - A young man who came from the south. He lives to have fun.
 * Joe - One of Woody's two apprentices. If not in the workshop, he is usually prowling around streams with a fishing rod.
 * Kurt - The second of Woody's two apprentices. He often explores caves on his days off.
 * Louis - He lives in the Junk Shop. He's a scholarly-type inventor. The player may also see him exploring caves.
 * Ray - A young man who truly loves fishing. He can be found anywhere that the player can fish.
 * Jamie (Secret) - a stubborn farmer who is your rival to save the Harvest Goddess. He is ill-tempered and rude, but he eventually finds his way. Be warned, if you marry him your game will end and take you back to your last save.

Trivia

 * The characters are taken from Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon: Save The Homeland with the same families and personalities. The only difference is Doug is Gwen's uncle.
 * It was the first game to obtain the blue feather from an event rather than the shop.
 * Adam, the male protagonist in Magical Melody, is identical to Pete, the first and well-known protagonist of the franchise. But both are separate characters.
 * It was also the first game to feature voice acting but the characters only make sounds rather than talking.