Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns

Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns (ふたごの, Bokujō Monogatari: Futago no Mura, lit. Ranch Story: Twin Villages) is the sixth Harvest Moon title to be released for the Nintendo DS system. Natsume Inc. also ported it for Nintendo 3DS system for the North America region, making it the first Harvest Moon game to be released on the Nintendo 3DS.

The DS version was released in Japan on July 8, 2010, and in North America on September 20, 2011.

The 3DS version was released in North America on September 20, 2011.

The Japanese version of the game then receives an enhanced port for Nintendo 3DS system titled Bokujou Monogatari: Futago no Mura+.

Plot
Hundreds of years ago, the towns of Bluebell and Konohana were friendly neighbors, joined by a tunnel underneath the mountain that separated the towns.

The mayor of Bluebell began fighting with Konohana's mayor as time went on. Each mayor claimed that their town was better, and it created more and more tension between the two towns. As the mayors continued to fight, the Harvest Goddess grew more and more restless.

When the fighting didn't stop, the Harvest Goddess punished the two towns by blocking the tunnel that once connected them. Generations have passed, the town's have very little interaction now, but still remain bitter to one another.

As a new farmer, you are eager to begin your new life on a new farm. While travelling on the mountain, you fall off of your carriage after nearly colliding with foxes, and you forget which town you were supposed to live in! Rutger, mayor of Bluebell, and Ina, mayor of Konohana, will each tell you a bit about their own, and it will then be up to you as the player to decide which town you like best. After picking a town, you will begin your new life there, and attempt to mend the relationship between the two towns.

Gameplay
The game's main purpose is to win the cooking competitions that happen four days out of each season. This is when each town will come together and compete. By competing in each competition, it will slowly increase the friendship between the two mayors. By increasing their friendship, the Harvest Goddess will eventually decide to unblock the tunnel that is blocking the two towns.

Although the game's main purpose is to cook dishes for the cooking festival, the game has many of the classic Harvest Moon elements to it as well. The player has a choice between a female (Lillian) or male character (Phillip), and will also have a choice of which town they'd like to live in. The player will then be introduced to their farm.

The player can grow crops on their farm, raise livestock, forage, fish, catch bugs, and do requests to make money. Relationships are also a very key part of the game. Interacting between NPC's is important in order to build friendships, and it can also build the flower level of the person.

New Features

 * Some returning characters, such as Alisa the nun, Pierre the Cooking Festival judge (although the player cannot marry him), Raul with his brothers Diego and Enrique, as well as Dirk (but with very different role). The rest are new.
 * The Player can choose between Konohana and Bluebell. They can also move to the other village at the end of each season.
 * There is a tunnel that runs between the two towns as a way of transport between the two villages.
 * New animals to raise like Alpacas and Honey Bees.
 * A pet owl that can help you fly between towns from the mountain top.
 * New crops are available to be planted such as daikon radish and bok choy.
 * Instead of a heart near a character's portrait, there is a chain of flowers to tell friendship levels.
 * Brand new way of triggering flower events, and being able to take somebody out on a date.
 * Plant crops under the Goddess' Spring for your friends to be able to harvest over Wi-Fi.
 * Certain bachelors can now perform 'reverse proposals'. (Ash, Hiro, and Kana)
 * Villagers sometimes post requests on the request boards in each village.
 * From this version of Harvest Moon game onward, there is no rival marriage with rival children anymore.

Platform Comparison


There are only a few differences between the Nintendo DS version and the 3DS version. the 3DS version has 3D capability, while the DS version does not. The graphic quality is better on the 3DS because of its enhanced graphics. The 3DS's screen is also wider, as it gets a wider view of the area.

Another difference is that the DS version is not region-locked while the 3DS version is region-locked. The 3DS version also has a StreetPass feature. The player can put items in your 'StreetPass Box' and trade items with people you pass by. The last feature that is unique to the 3DS version, is that it has an extra petting minigame, like the ones in Island of Happiness and Sunshine Islands that make it easier to max out your animals' hearts.

Otherwise, the two games are completely identical. On a negative note, the 3DS version has some unexplainable framerate issues on larger farms.

Marriage

 * Year 2 or later.
 * Full flowers (60,000 FP).
 * Big bed (When you get to year 2 and have Eileen at 7750 FP or more she will post a request on the message board to obtain the big bed).
 * Watch all flower events.
 * Additional requirements by candidate.


 * Laney
 * Georgia
 * Reina
 * Nori
 * Oracle
 * Alisa

Children
After getting married, you are able to have one child with your spouse. The requirements are:
 * Upgrade your house size by completing Eileen's "Renovations" request (costs 1 million G, needs 30 Lumber and 30 Material Stone).
 * Complete "A New Bed" request (becomes available after you are married).

The female-side of partnership will be pregnant for two seasons before the baby is born. There are three stages of growth for your child before it stops growing forever. At each stage, the child will have his/her own unique set of likes and dislikes.

Trivia

 * The title is a reference to A Tale of Two Cities, a novel by Charles Dickens.