Some people can get really het up over food - whether it's mixing cheese and fish or drinking white wine with a steak, there's plenty of unconventional pairings that may send a Michelin-stared chef running for the hills, or at the very least offend a passing Italian. Even if you like sprinklings of parmasan on some seafood pasta that isn't al dente, they know they're right with their traditions and you probably can't reason with them. And don't even think of having red wine with it.
Life in the latest Harvest Moon is kind of like that - the titular two towns have had a bit of a falling out over their culinary traditions, turning what were happy neighbours into bitter rivals. In fact, the disagreement was so severe, the Harvest Goddess that watches over the nearby towns was forced to block off the mountain tunnel connecting the two - although they do still meet up to compete with each other in the cookery festivals. The towns are designed to be opposites of the other, with the Eastern-styled Konohana filled with abundant fields of crops, whereas Bluebell tends to rely more on animal-related produce to get by, and as a new fledgling farmer, you need to side with one of them. And perhaps, you can convince them to be friends again too.
Bath time! Either that, or Bluebell have been cross-breeding cows and sheep...
As either town's newest farmer, it'll be up to you to either grow the crops or tend to the animals to make money, before nipping off down to the town to chat up the locals as soon as you've got a spare moment or two. Which town you choose will change how the game plays - for us though, we're thinking it'll be Bluebell Town and the animals all the way for us, especially as they've upped the ante a lot with them for this game. Whereas previous games tended to stick to pretty standard farm animals like sheep, cows and chickens, this one has a load more exotic creatures - Alpacas and honey bees to name but a few - and now there's a whole host of new produce you can make, presumably to make the choice of two towns worthwhile. You'll also get access to all the 'makers' you'll need for turning your produce into a variety of goods - wool into yarn, milk into cheese and such like.
But if you can't live without tending to some crops, hacking weeds and planting seeds then Konohana may be the way to go. The farming aspect has also had a bit of an overhaul to, giving you the opportunity to grow a wider range of crops, and create irrigation trenches that make watering your crops a breeze. Konohana is also the only town with rice paddies, and waterwheels which can be used to create pickled vegetables for some reason - maybe the rivers are filled with vinegar or something...
If you're still on the fence about which town to go for, though, there's no need to worry, as whichever you choose you won't be completely restricted - Konohana farms can raise a few animals too, while Bluebell has small patches of land for growing some crops (although it may well get used up with the fodder for your bigger animals). All that'll be different, depending on which town you choose, is that you'll get bigger fields or a larger barn depending on where you've made your home.
Each town also gets it's own specific festivals, like Konohana's Flower Festival.
As with every Harvest Moon game in existence, you'll have the opportunity to court and marry one of many eligible bachelors and bachelorettes - when you're not too busy being a town liaison anyway. A few characters from other games return, including cheery Mexican shop owner Raul from Grand Bazaar (who's still non-romanceable... sigh...), but the majority of your potential marriage candidates are brand new, and always they're rather materialistic and needy, requiring plenty of presents and chats before they warm to you.
A new feature of this game is the town message board, which lets you accept requests from the townspeople, like fetching certain items or delivering things. Completing some of the quests will reward you with special items or upgrades to make your life easier - like an axe to finally get rid of those annoying rocks on your field or whatever, and if nothing else, they may improve your relationship with the person in question.
Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns releases on both the DS and 3DS on the 29th of June - as far as we know, the only real differences are the 3D graphics and StreetPass functionality for the 3DS, so you won't be missing out on too much if you haven't got round to upgrading your Nintendo handheld yet.
