For more on HomeTown Story, check out our full HomeTown Story review. Or, for more of the best Nintendo 3DS games for a 10 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
Hometown Story is a slow-paced, story-driven game in which your character takes over the local shop, stocking shelves, earning money and helping the town grow. With more than a passing similarity to the Harvest Moon, Rune Factory and Animal Crossing titles, the game is as much about making friends and helping out others as it is about building up your retail empire. Each character in the village has their own unique story, wishes and dreams to discover, revealed slowly as you help them out with various tasks (most of which involve getting them a certain item).
Definitely a game for the more confident readers, Hometown Story has no voiceovers to speak of, with everything being told through on screen text. While older children should pick things up fairly easily through intuition alone, it's not always made that obvious what you need to do next, particularly when it comes to triggering various events with the townsfolk. Often trial and error, you need to be in the right place at the right time, or happen to be stocking a specific item, for the cutscenes to roll and the story to progress. With no hint system or log of the errands the villagers have set you, knowing what to do can be a bit of a problem, sometimes leading to a lot of aimless wandering around - and in a game with such a huge town, there's also the possibility of getting lost miles from your shop. Again, older players should have no issues, but it's one for little ones to watch out for. A map wouldn't go amiss!
Much like the related Harvest Moon titles, Hometown Story is about as squeaky clean as they come - with a strong focus on friendship there's nothing untoward here at all. Characters can get married, but relationships are about as platonic as they come, without the option to have children. Occasional discussions about death crop up, whether it's taking over the shop from your late grandmother or a villager's accidental death - but they are brief and rarely put too much of a downer on things.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Nintendo 3DS
