The game begins with a touching backstory. As a child, the protagonist visits his grandfather's farm during summer vacation. He meets a young girl who becomes his best friend. Years later, after your grandfather has passed away, you return to the farm to find it in disrepair. The mayor gives you two and a half years to restore the farm to its former glory; otherwise, you will be evicted.
Several fan communities have created "all-in-one" launchers. While we generally discourage third-party executables, some safe curated ones exist on Reddit (r/harvestmoon) or GitHub.