Pre-order Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns

The farming simulation franchise has become rather busy in recent years. The Harvest Moon franchise split off into two separate but similar franchises, and Stardew Valley popped up to show that they could also participate in the adorable farming market. The original Bokujo Monogatari series, which is now called Story of Seasons, is still a strong contender for the best of the lot. Each entry brings new ideas to the table. The latest installment is Story of Season: Trio of Towns, and from the title, you can guess what it's about.

Unsurprisingly, the three towns are the biggest feature in Trio of Towns. Rather than just having a farm outside of a regular town, you have three different towns. One is a Western-inspired town that used to be a mining town, one is a more Japanese-style village with cherry blossom trees and rice paddies, and one is a seaside tropical land. Your farm and the three villages are distinct areas with their own needs and weather, and learning to take advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of all three towns is vital to turning the best profit and creating the biggest farm. After all, why would a mining town want the same crops as a coastal village?

We're told that each town will even have a distinct cast of characters, including potential friends and marriage candidates. Each different village has different customs, so don't expect everyone to respond the same to your blue feather. Each town even has its own festivals and events, so you'll have to keep track of important days for every region if you want to make the most out of your time as a farmer. According to XSEED, you don't necessarily have to focus on all three towns if you don't want to, but it seems like a poor plan to alienate anyone. After all, this is Story of Season, a series that's known for a whole lot of friend-making and gift-giving.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Story of Seasons without all the usual farming antics. We're told that not a lot has changed mechanically from the previous Story of Season game, but there's simply more crops to farm, more animals to tend to, more clothes to wear, and more people to meet. Apparently, the animals include such esoteric creatures as quails, and clothing can come in a variety of styles to match the different town settings. You'll also be able to use special items like scarecrows to create bonuses for your farm. At its heart, it's still about planting, watering, harvesting and shipping. The core controls and interface feel a lot like previous Story of Seasons titles, and unfortunately, the preview build was in Japanese, so it's difficult to say if more complex changes lurk beneath the surface.

Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns looks to be a solid update to the beloved franchise. It doesn't seem like it's reinventing the wheel but just going bigger than ever. You now have three towns to keep track of, which is a pretty big twist for the Story of Season franchise. That's a lot of potential friends (and future husbands and wives)! Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns will be out in 2017 exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.