Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns is an incredibly involved resource, settlement, business, and relationship management simulation. At the game's beginning you have the option of settling in either European-styled, livestock-focused Bluebell or Asian-themed, crops-centered Konohana. The option is generally superficial, as you have access to both towns and much of their content at the outset, only limited to town-specific festivals and a partial ability to raise/grow the other town's specialization. As you can choose to move to and from each town once a season, you're encouraged to take up residence and manage farms in both to maximize your experience.

The plot setup in Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns is entirely nonsensical, but it does enough to put events in motion. The Harvest Goddess, fed up with the towns bickering, collapsed the tunnel connecting them. Realizing her mistake, she enlists you to mend the towns' relationship. Story progression is tied to developing your farming skills, so you're going to get more satisfaction out of interacting with the various characters than making great strides in the narrative.

- Expect the same farming gameplay as always, but updated -

The Tale of Two Towns character designs are endearing, with each non-player character (NPC) distinctly drawn, adding a more tangible element to their unique personalities. The mayors of Bluebell and Konohana, for example, dress and behave like a proud elegant gentleman and a stern and authoritative, yet congenial lady, respectively. The animations are quick and slightly rigid, but not distractingly so (the jumping animation is particularly adorable), NPCs move believably compared to the awkward patterns exhibited in similar games.

The atmosphere in Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns is remarkable considering the DS's technical limitations. Trees sway to-and-fro in the breeze, leaves and petals flutter across the screen, and the light shadows of clouds traverse across the ground, giving a real sense of depth to the attractive scenery. The soundtrack is limited, but proficiently used. The diverse music is pleasantly upbeat and appropriate for each setting, ranging from Konohana's string-focused accompaniment to Bluebell's jovial whistle-while-you-work ambiance.

And work, you shall. Earning money solely through farming is a moderately slow process, and the price of upgrading your items can become exorbitant. Fortunately, there are many avenues to help hasten currency accruement. For example, the Harvest Goddess allots you a special field where you can maintain the conditions of any season, growing any seasonally specific crops, at any time. Visiting players pay a fee to gain access to your field and vice versa. As you cannot harvest your own special field crops, venturing into a friend's game allows you entry to otherwise off-season produce. This element's mutually beneficial nature encourages real-world social networking.

Don't have any Two Towns-playing friends to help you along? Each town also utilizes a message board system wherein you take requests to acquire rewards. There's no penalty for failing to conclude these quests by the specified deadline and they often reappear should you not succeed, so taking on as many requests as possible is an excellent method of gaining plenty of useful items and resources.

Completing requests also builds your relationships with each village's residents. You have the ability to court various NPCs and a large chunk of the game is reserved for discovering characters' likes and dislikes and acting accordingly (eg. giving gifts, going on dates). It adds appeal to the numerous management mechanics, keeping them from becoming too monotonous.

- The graphics will surprise you on the DS -

Whether you're raising livestock, growing crops, or both, caring for your farm is high-maintenance. Two Towns includes day / night and seasonal cycles where time moves at a swift pace. You can only save by sleeping (ie. ending that day), so you have to allocate your time wisely. Luckily, as Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns is a portable game, you can put the game's clock on pause. A stamina bar regulates how many actions you can perform per day and when completely depleted, you pass out and the day ends. You can use food, and eventually the restroom, to replenish your stamina and extend your activities, but you will still be restricted by time. 

Many elements are paced according to the game's discretion. You may only get access to certain tools and events when the game believes you are ready. This provides a gentle learning curve for newcomers to get acquainted with the game's mechanics, but it might prove annoying to players who know what they're doing. As such, Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns is an excellent entry point for players new to the series. 

The credits roll once you've managed to woo someone into marrying you, but by no means does your farm life have to stop. You're then encouraged to start a family while you continue to grow crops, raise livestock, and fortify your relationships. Comparable to the many games like it, your stay in Two Towns will not end unless you want it to, and given the game's quality experience, that's a difficult proposition. 

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

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