At some point within our lives, we make a decision that will affect our future. Will the decision be filled with regret? Or will it pay off and we reap the benefits? In the games we play, they simulate that decision through moral choices along the journey. Fallout 3 has the [spoilers] Nuclear Bomb [/spoilers] and the first Dragon Age gives you the opportunity to decide the fate of your allies in the war against The Blight.

In Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns for the Nintendo 3DS, there are no moral decisions that will affect the game. What you  have to ask yourself when it comes to playing this game is "Do you like tending to livestock or tending to crops?" In previous iterations of the series, raising chickens and tomatoes go hand in hand. However, in this latest release, the developers are giving players the opportunity to pursue their choice in farming.

Right smack in the beginning of the game, the player is introduced to a decision that will affect what the future will hold. Will you go to westernized Bluebell and concentrate on livestock? Or will you go to the eastern styles of Konohana and concentrate on crops? 

Once the player has made that decision, veterans of the series will instantly find familiarity within the game. Farm life has not drastically changed, and so players can revel in the relaxing gameplay of farming. Fishing, foraging, festivals, befriending NPCs, and marriage also make their way back into the fold. In essence, The Tale of Two Towns is the same Harvest Moon as any other. Or is it?

To fill the void of gameplay-starved farmers, the message board features requests from villagers of both towns for the player to fulfill. Unfortunately, these requests are nothing more than fetching quests that make veteran RPG fans groan. As if fetching quests were not enough, there is a limit on how long the player has to fulfill the request. The penalty for failing is a guilty conscience, but if no remorse is felt, then there is no real penalty for failure. 

Aside from the message board, another diversion in The Tale of Two Towns is the cooking competition. About every week, villagers are tasked with cooking up a dish for the competition. Player will have to gather the best ingredients to overpower the competition. But having the best dish is not all fun and games; the villagers' cooking is all over the place and may skew the results. 

Ultimately, the main goal of The Tale of Two Towns is to unite both sides in harmony. The Harvest Goddess has given that task to our intrepid farmer. However, the main goal does not persist in the player's path. Farming, foraging, and befriending NPCs have their place within the game. The main force in uniting the two sides is the cooking competition. Progressing through the weekly competitions will progress through the story. As a symbol of the towns' unity, the tunnel within the player's farm will be opened up and travel will be less taxing on the player.

With the marriage of new gameplay and the traditions of the old Harvest Moon, The Tale of Two Towns should be the best one of them all, right? Unfortunately, it is not. The game lacks a charm that previous entries possess. The message board feature is a nice step in the right direction, but it lacks a variety in gameplay. The weekly cooking competition was a nice diversion, but it fails to deliver with its randomness. 

With the decision to concentrate on certain methods of farming, the developers tried to deliver different types of gameplay to sate the appetite of the Harvest Moon player. Unfortunately, the game is a misstep in that direction. The decision to change up the Harvest Moon formula may be one made with regret. Unlike the gamble of Rune Factory, The Tale of Two Towns does not provide the player with charming gameplay. In the end, I hesitate in recommending this game.

GameDynamo's Score for Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns (3DS)

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