Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town has already been released in Japan but western gamers are yet to receive a localized version of the title. Fans will be relieved that the title will eventually come and it seems that the western version will have some differences to the already available Japanese Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. The latest change to be implemented is the ability to have same-sex marriage in the game.
Formerly known as the Harvest Moon franchise, Story of Seasons focuses on renovating farms and socializing. The original Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town was released in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance and the Friends of Mineral Town remake will bring the game to the Switch with updated features as well as visuals. While many players enjoyed the original iteration of the title, the game will likely feel a lot more relevant for newcomers with the variety of updates that are set to feature. In a statement from the developer of the localization, XSEED, explained the changes that were taking place.
The full statement from XSEED explains why the developer has introduced same-sex marriage to Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town:
"One major change between both the original version and the remake, as well as between our version and the Japanese version, concerns what has been called the “Best Friends” system in the Japanese release, where the player character can form a lifelong partnership with a character of the same sex. In our version, this will just be called “marriage,” and the relationship between same-sex couples will be given identical treatment to opposite-sex couples. This has been a very long time coming in the STORY OF SEASONS series, and the producer has been supportive of our decision from very early in development. One minor but important change for the North American and European releases of Friends of Mineral Town is that the “heart icon” indicating a marriage candidate’s romantic affinity for the player will display for all marriage candidates from the start of the game, where in the Japanese release it will only display for same-sex candidates after you confess and start dating."
Choosing who to marry on the Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town can be a difficult choice and many will be excited about the new avenues this will open up. This is not the first title to have same-sex marriage in it, but it does mark the first time that this has been available in the Story of Seasons franchise. Many players will be interested in what other new features come to the title and while variations occur in most games that are localized for a global market, it seems that the team at XSEED is taking extra time and effort to deliver an accessible experience.
There has been plenty of discussion about the development of this upcoming title, and it will be intriguing to see what direction the game decides to go in. The teams who are directing the localization of Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town are clearly taking the task seriously and trying to make the game as accessible as possible. While the Japanese version may already be available, it seems that the localized version will provide plenty of original content that is worth waiting for.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is in development for Nintendo Switch.
Source: XSEED Games