Howdy, everybody! This is John with our final localization blog for Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. The game comes out next Tuesday (2/28). Don’t miss out on your chance to preorder the game from select retailers to get the adorable capybara pocket plushie bonus, which I have had a lot of fun posing for our little “Capy and Bunny Adventures” comics over the past month. (Okay, sometimes it was a little embarrassing getting those photos.)
We just released a new trailer showing off the four Super Mario Bros. costumes that you can unlock in the game. We’ll also be streaming the game on our Twitch channel from 2:30 PM PST today. Stop by and ask us some questions. (And here it is on YouTube!)
Before I bury the lede any further, I’d like to update you all on the DLC for Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. For more information on the patches released for free over the course of six months after launch in Japan, as well as our dilemma about whether or not to localize this content, see my previous blog.
We were really overwhelmed by the feedback we received from it. The patience and support of those who responded was encouraging to say the least, and we were grateful to hear all of your opinions, however you felt about the situation. One issue that came up on our forums that I’d like to address quickly is about the bug fixes that were included in the post-launch patches in Japan. Those fixes are all already included in the core game that we are releasing on February 28.
Now then, on to the big news: I’m happy to report that we have decided to localize and release the DLC in North America. I don’t have information on a release timeline or costs for you yet, but we’re eager to dive into translating and editing the text for this massive update. Stay tuned for updates in the months after the initial release.
Thanks again for all your feedback. It made our decision much easier. While the DLC is a ways off, until then we hope you enjoy Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. Even without the post-launch DLC, it is still the biggest game in the storied history of the farm/life-sim series.
As this is our final planned pre-release localization blog, I wanted to give some of the other members of the XSEED staff who worked on Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns a chance to give their comments on the game. As I mentioned in our very first blog, this game had a massive amount of text that we spent months and months focusing on.
Here are our questionnaire respondents:
Danielle: QA tester and editor
Nathan: QA tester
John: Project lead
1. Who were your favorite character(s) to work on and why? Have any lines in particular made an impression on you?
John: It’s hard to choose, but I will say that I love the dynamics between all the Lulukoko characters. Some of my favorite text in the game are the conversations that will take place between 3-4 characters during certain festivals. The normal groups (Zahau-Caolila, Lotus-Mithra, Iluka-Siluka-Ludus) are great, but funny conversations happen when you mix those characters together. There’s a really great exchange between Lotus and Tototara.
2. What were your favorite changes and/or additions made to the game?
Danielle: Streamlined farming. Unlike in the previous game, harvested animal by-products and crops go straight into your inventory.Another feature I really like is the addition of actual dog/cat breeds. The previous game had about 4 different “breeds,” and were mostly reskins. SoS: ToT has about 16 unique different breeds of dogs, and I have no idea how cat breeds work, but trust me when I say there’s a lot more variety there. And last but not least, there’s the new–and adorable–capybara!
3. Which of the three towns do you like the most, and why?
Danielle: Lulukoko hands down for me. I absolutely love locations with tropical and/or oceanside settings. The music for Lulukoko is one of my favorites in the game as well.
Nathan: Lulukoko. Generally speaking it had my favorite bunch of characters, shop hours that matched my playstyle, and the most expensive stuff on the ground for scavenging.
John: Tsuyukusa has my favorite music and some really beautiful scenery. The homes and shops are jam-packed with interesting decorations and knick-knacks from Japanese culture. All of those cultural references were difficult to localize, but I think they make the town so interesting for players.
Many of the decorations in Tsuyukusa are explained by the characters in dialogue.
4. Favorite bachelor/bachelorette? (Minor spoiler about a secret marriage candidate)
Danielle: Ludus. (Ford is pretty great too, though.)
Nathan: For the bachelors, I like Ludus, as he’s a good dude that works hard and helps directly. As for the bachelorettes, it’s a toss up between Siluka and Inari, though I may be biased as I spent a good deal of time with Siluka. Meanwhile, Inari is a god, so…
John: It’s a little weird seeing Inari referred to as a “bachelorette,” as we tried to keep the Tsuyukusa guardian’s text as gender-neutral as possible. (Though, ultimately, Inari will call him or herself your “husband” or “wife” in some scenes depending on your character’s gender. This is accurate to the Japanese text.)
Anyway, here in the office, Ludus is sort of everyone’s favorite because he’s so attractive and kind-hearted, but for me Ford is the funniest and sweetest bachelor. His response if you dump him just about broke my heart.
Iluka is a treasure. Komari was my choice when I originally played through the game in Japanese, and she’s definitely more my “type.” But Iluka’s sass just turned out so well in English.
To be fair to Iluka, most characters ask you to come back later if you talk to them while they’re eating.
5. Do you have a favorite non-farming SoS activity?
Danielle: Decorating my farmland (or house) is always fun. I also really enjoy creating all the different outfits.
Nathan: Mining for sure, GIVE ME ALL OF THE MONEY.
John: I love fishing in these games. There are so many different fish in Trio of Towns too; it seems like it could almost be its own game. Also, you no longer have to mash the A Button to reel your line in, which is gentler on my hands and my 3DS.
Fish alongside Lulukoko’s master angler, Zahau.
6. Which aspect of the game do you tend to focus on? The social or the farming?
Danielle: I’d say I probably focus about 60% on the social and 40% on the farming.
Nathan: I tend to do an equal amount of both, as I try to set up my farm to require as little attention as possible (and by that I mean planting trees). I do enjoy taking care of the animals though, especially my prize-winning cow: Horse.
John: I’m usually more interested in the social side. I’m always impressed by players who really micromanage their farms. (Like Nathan, who quickly became a fruit tree tycoon during his QA playthrough.)
7. Which festival would you most like to participate in IRL?
Danielle: The Beverage Bash. I like cooking (making drinks counts as cooking, right?), and I love tea even more, so getting together with a bunch of people to try and create a new drink concoction sounds like a ton of fun. I just hope people in real life have more common sense than to bring mayonnaise as an ingredient.
Nathan: Westown’s Goddess Festival, because, let’s be real here for a second, there’s a giant pizza. Giant. Pizza.
John: The “stargazing” events in Westown and Lulukoko are nice. In Westown, you go up in a hot air balloon to look at the stars. In Lulukoko, you go out in a boat to admire bioluminescent “sea sparkles” in the ocean. (Tsuyukusa has a similar event based on the Japanese festival Tanabata.) The prospect of going up in a hot air balloon (Westown) without a trained pilot is less appealing the more I think about it, however.
The “Beverage Bash” event.
8. If you were a character in Trio of Towns, what would be your number one most loved and hated item?
Danielle:
Loved: Pumpkin Pie
Hated: Pickles
Nathan:
Loved: Black Coffee
Hated: Mushrooms, of any type
John: There are over 1,100 items in this game, so it was hard to decide.
Loved: Curry (all types)
Hated: Olive (Who even likes these?)
You would also lose friendship points with me if you shoved a cat in my face (allergies).
9. What features or changes would you like to see implemented in future games?
Danielle: The biggest feature I’d like to see the return of is the multi-floored mining system (as seen in some of the Wii-era games), as opposed to just the mining points.
Nathan: I’d love to see something along the lines of expeditions or fishing trips for rare fauna as pets, plants, or fish.
John: I would like the developers to bring back larger wilderness areas and even caves/mines to explore. That was the thing I missed most in Trio of Towns.
And, of course, it would be nice to finally have same-sex dating options.
Don’t swing too far back, now.
That’s all from us. We really hope you enjoy the game. Look for another entry starting with “Howdy, everybody” on this blog in a few months’ time.