In the past year, a new video game secret, or “easter egg” if you will, has been gaining popularity on the internet. This secret, dubbed “The Harvester” by fans, is shrouded in mystery for a multitude of reasons. First, this secret isn’t limited to one game, in fact, it isn’t even limited to one game series; it has spanned companies and console generations, dating as far back as the GameBoy Color. Second, despite the secret being found in such old games, it has only been discovered recently, and by multiple people. Third, when questioned, anyone involved with the games reported never adding the secret to the game, and were genuinely surprised to learn that it actually existed. Fourth, the secret itself is generally eerie, and many parts of it are not understood.
A large community has formed around finding all games with this secret, as well as uncovering all the mysteries surrounding it. Now, while we are still far from figuring everything out, but we at least have a basic guideline for finding the secret. If you wish to help us, or just want to experience the secret for yourself, you will need a video game with the following.
A late game, but uncomplete save file.
A town early in the game with:
A government building, mayor’s house, or a spot at the exact center of the town that is uncovered.
A place that you can heal, a shop that does not sell weapons, or a pond/lake.
A weapon shop, arena, or a fountain.
A library, graveyard, or a tree.
An old man/woman or child npc.
A time function that is able to keep track of time and date.
Some form of combat system.
A forest area.
The ability to use a weapon.
One of the people who worked on the game must have had a death in the family during the creation of the game.
If you have a game with all of the requirements, you are ready to start. Keep in mind that not all games with the requirements contain the secret, or at least, we haven’t found it in them yet.
To begin, you must set the game’s in game clock to a certain date. The date changes from game to game, but it is almost always either the birthday, or death date of the aforementioned family member that died. Note that is the game has a way of connecting to the internet, it will use that to set its time, and you must wait until the actual date in order to perform the secret.
After this, start up a save file that is at least halfway through the game, but has yet to complete it. In this save file, go to a town that you visited during the first half of the game that meets the requirements. In this town, go the the government building/mayor’s house/center of town, (the first place listed always has higher priority, with the other two only happening if the one before it doesn’t exist in the town) and if you’re lucky, you will see a figure cloaked in a large black hooded cloak, fans have dubbed this figure “The Reaper”. If the games graphics allow it, you will see that the reaper’s face is almost completely shrouded in darkness under his hood, showing only his blue eyes, and sharp, jagged teeth. His sleeves droop down and cover his hands, but the very tips of claws can be seen protruding from underneath.
If the reaper is there, go up and talk to him. He will reply with a simple “...” and begin to walk away; follow him. While you are following him, do not come within his range of sight, as the moment he sees you, he will become hostile and attack, making it impossible to progress, even if you reset. The reaper is very powerful, and can dispatch almost any character with just a few attacks, but the same applies to him, and he will often go down after the second hit.
If you manage to avoid his sight, as well as follow him close enough, he will eventually lead you to the town’s healing center/non-weapon store/lake/pond. If he brought you to the healing center or store, he will begin to interact with an employee, but if he brought you to the lake or pond, he will simply stand and watch the water; do not attempt to interact with him while he is doing either of these things, as he will still become hostile.
After about one minute, he will begin to leave, and you must once again follow him. This time, he will take you to the weapon shop/arena/fountain, and begin talking to a random npc. After another minute of this, he will leave again. Talking to the npc that he interacted with will result in nothing but “...”.
Next, he will bring you to the library/graveyard/tallest tree in the town. After arriving, he will sit down and begin reading a book. When another minute passes, he will lay the book on the ground and leave. It is recommended that you go and read the book, and don’t worry about the reaper getting away, as he won’t move while you read. Examining the book will give you text that seems to be a message from the person who worked on the game to the family member that they lost. The message is usually them talking about their regrets, and how much they miss the other person, though if the two were not in good terms at the time of death, the message may have a darker tone. It is also recommended that you write down this message somewhere, as it may be useful later on.
Now, follow the reaper to the old/child npc, whom he will interact with. After the minute is up, the reaper will leave, and the npc will sit down and cry, refusing to be talked with. Finally, follow the reaper back to where you first saw him. It is now safe, and necessary, to talk to him; doing which will cause him to tell you “Meet me in the forest.” before disappearing.
You now have one hour to find him, or else the secret will not work. He can be in any part of any forest in the game, so depending on how many forests are in the game, this can be very easy, or very difficult. When you find him, he will be standing next to a hole that was not previously there. Talking to him will cause him to disappear into the hole; you should do the same.
After entering the hole, you will be presented with the secret’s final challenge; a puzzle. This puzzle can range from insultingly easy, to frustratingly hard, but one thing that all the puzzle’s have in common is that the message from the book earlier contains a hint hidden in it. With luck, you will solve the puzzle and open the door to the last part of the secret. Behind the door will be a room with a single chest in the middle; opening the chest will grant you a weapon, The Harvester.
The Harvester is always a large rusty sword with a bloody handprint on the hilt. Checking the weapon will make it appear that it is incredibly lackluster, with stats that rival those of your first weapons, but if you do decide to use it, you will find that it has an unlisted ability that will make it very powerful, such as fourthing taken damage, or drastically increasing speed. While this ability makes it very strong, The Harvester will never be the most powerful weapon in the game, always being outclassed by one or two others, but many use it regardless.
The final, and perhaps the strangest thing that The Harvester does, is that whenever you have it equipped, a counter will appear at the top of the screen, starting at zero, and increasing by one for every living (not zombies or robots, or other things like that) thing that you kill with it. No one knows exactly why the counter exists, or if something will happen if it hits a certain number, which is why it remains one of the greatest mysteries of the secret.
Now that you know how it works, dig out some of your favorite games, and try to find it for yourself. We appreciate all help, and who knows what else you may discover?