BS Bokujou Monogatari (partially found Satellaview game; 1996)

Title screen of original (not BS-X) version of the game.

Status: Partially Found

BS Bokujou Monogatari (「ＢＳ牧場物語」) is a BS-X game for the Satellaview, an expansion for the Super Famicom (The Japanese SNES). It was developed by Pack-In-Video, published by Nintendo, and distributed by ST. GIGA. Due to the temporary nature of BS-X games, it is no longer available to play.

The Satellaview

BS-X games were special games broadcast over the radio to Super Famicom systems with a Satellaview expansion attached. Games would be broadcast in weekly or daily episodes (usually four). As new episodes were added, more and more of the game became available. These games were not permanent and would be erased at the end of the broadcast period to make space for new games. Additionally, Sound Link games (Which BS Bokujou Monogatari was one of) could only be played at set hours due to real-time narration being used. This makes the games impossible to obtain, as new broadcasts are not being sent out (as the service shut down in March of 2000).

Gameplay

BS Bokujo Monogatari was based on an existing cartridge game for the Super Famicom, called Bokujou Monogatari (Farm Story), which was eventually released in other regions under the name Harvest Moon. The game is a life/farming simulator. Players are placed in charge of a farm, and it is up to them to farm crops, take care of livestock, and rebuild the farm. There are also family-related tasks, such as courting a wife and becoming friends with other villagers.

Differences

A number of differences exist between the cartridge Bokujou Monogatari and the BS version. In BS Bokujou Monogatari, the player cannot leave the farm and go to town. The player also starts off in summer (Instead of spring) and with a set of gold tools and infinite corn and tomato seeds. There is also no livestock, no use for money, and no marriage system (because of the aforementioned lack of a town). As time goes on, pre-set events such as rain and seasonal changes occur.

Resurfacing

On September 17, 2018, it was revealed that ROM dumps from episode two and four had been leaked online. Episode two, known as Bokujo Monogatari Dai-2-Wa was leaked on Satellablog, a blog dedicated to the Satellaview on December 22, 2009. The SoundLink features are missing, as those were streamed live rather than stored in the game data. However, the blog owner believes that actual game data may be missing from this ROM dump. The time-limited components that were common on Satellaview games appear to be missing. Also, the basic gameplay of growing crops seemed to stop working correctly after the in-game summer season ended. Episode 4, known as BS Bokujo Monogatari Dai-4-wa Bokujo Masuta wo Mazase (BS Ranch Story Episode 4: Aim to be a Ranch Master!), was leaked via Satellablog on December 25, 2011. According to the blog owner, this one contains livestock, which were notably absent from episode two. The blog owner also found what they believe to be a pre-release demo of the game. Episode 1 and episode 3 have not yet resurfaced.

Broadcasts

Two broadcasts of BS Bokujou Monogatari are known to have occurred. The broadcast hours were from 5 PM to 7 PM.

Original Run

• Episode 1: Sep. 2, 1996 - Sep. 6, 1996
• Episode 2: Sep. 9, 1996 - Sep. 13, 1996
• Episode 3: Sep. 16, 1996 - Sep. 20, 1996
• Episode 4: Sep. 23, 1996 - Sep. 27, 1996

Rerun

• Nov. 4, 1996 - Nov. 30, 1996

Gallery

Gameplay video for Bokujo Monogatari Episode 2 (courtesy of Kiddo Cabbusses's Unpoplar Obscurities)

Gameplay video for Bokujo Monogatari Episode 4 (courtesy of Kiddo Cabbusses's Unpoplar Obscurities)

Recording of Satellaview Broadcast for Bokujo Monogatari Episode 1 (courtesy of "kukun kun")

External Link

• English Satellaview Wikia page. Retrieved 29 Sept '16