Localization announced by XSEED as "Story of Seasons"

[ILikeStrawberries]

Honestly, as much as I'd love to see a pre-order plush from XSEED for SoS, it's very doubtful we'll get one. XSEED themselves has directly stated they can't be sure of anything yet. However, if we DO get one, I'll most likely be ecstatic (I say most likely, because when I got my Hometown Story plush, it had a hole in it ). As long as it's good quality, I'll be satisfied.

[Melody Muse]

Honestly, as much as I'd love to see a pre-order plush from XSEED for SoS, it's very doubtful we'll get one. XSEED themselves has directly stated they can't be sure of anything yet. However, if we DO get one, I'll most likely be ecstatic (I say most likely, because when I got my Hometown Story plush, it had a hole in it ). As long as it's good quality, I'll be satisfied.

That is horrible! And here I thought plushies were the one thing Natsume did well.

[Taniyama Mai]

Man, I wish my boyfriend was as into Harvest Moon as your partners are Kirie and Mai.

The plushies are cute; I own the chicken from Sunshine Islands and the yak from A New Beginning (the yak is adorable!). Maybe we'll get the rabbit, but I do think it's a bit early to be talking about preorder bonuses when the game was just announced in less than a week. (I'm also surprised this thread exploded!)

lol we actually became friends because we both love HM, and after talking about the series in more detail I made the comment that she'd make the perfect girlfriend (and she agreed ;P) and here we are two years later

you might could get him into it, but that's prolly the best you'd be able to do bar finding a new boyfriend, which I doubt you want to do =P

I have them all(or at least very close to it starting from the games that came after the original AWL) it is a little early, but at the same time, I kinda want to figure out what I have to do before they're all gone =P

Honestly, as much as I'd love to see a pre-order plush from XSEED for SoS, it's very doubtful we'll get one. XSEED themselves has directly stated they can't be sure of anything yet. However, if we DO get one, I'll most likely be ecstatic (I say most likely, because when I got my Hometown Story plush, it had a hole in it ). As long as it's good quality, I'll be satisfied.

That is horrible! And here I thought plushies were the one thing Natsume did well.

that is awful! which one was it? not the $30 one I hope!

[Ronin19]

Man, I wish my boyfriend was as into Harvest Moon as your partners are Kirie and Mai.

The plushies are cute; I own the chicken from Sunshine Islands and the yak from A New Beginning (the yak is adorable!). Maybe we'll get the rabbit, but I do think it's a bit early to be talking about preorder bonuses when the game was just announced in less than a week. (I'm also surprised this thread exploded!)

lol we actually became friends because we both love HM, and after talking about the series in more detail I made the comment that she'd make the perfect girlfriend (and she agreed ;P) and here we are two years later

you might could get him into it, but that's prolly the best you'd be able to do bar finding a new boyfriend, which I doubt you want to do =P

I have them all(or at least very close to it starting from the games that came after the original AWL) it is a little early, but at the same time, I kinda want to figure out what I have to do before they're all gone =P

I have practically all of the Harvest Moon games as well. Yeah, I don't want to find a new boyfriend; love him a lot. He's played Back to Nature and A New Beginning though. I've tried to convince him to preorder Story of Seasons with me, but he won't at the moment since he views all Harvest Moon games to be the same (which I can understand coming from his viewpoint). Maybe he'll get it after a few months have gone by and he's sick of me talking about it constantly (which is probably how he ended up playing BtN and ANB, lol)

@Ilikestrawberries: That is horrible! I considered preordering Hometown Story just for the plushie alone because I thought Ember was cute.

[ILikeStrawberries]

It was the Ember plush. He had a giant hole between the inside of his wing and his back.
Not a huge deal, though. At the very least, the stuffing wasn't falling out.

[Melody Muse]

It was the Ember plush. He had a giant hole between the inside of his wing and his back.
Not a huge deal, though. At the very least, the stuffing wasn't falling out.

I'm sorry. That's still really shameful, especially since Natsume raises the preorder prices for us to essentially buy the plushies. If I knew you irl, I'd sew that hole up for you. I am so sorry.

[Arcy]

As someone who grew up in a "Christian" household where religion was often an excuse to abuse me and stunt my mental and emotional growth, that Family Friendly Games series of tweets now has me determined to buy as many copies of Story of Seasons as I can afford. So happy with the stance XSEEDGames is taking with this. One copy for me, a copy for my sister, and a third copy for her girlfriend are on the table. Maybe I will get a second copy for myself or get one to give away, too.

[pichikid]

I think if this game does well, in the future, XSeed might think about doing a pre-order bonus. But if they do, I wouldnt want a plushie. I have so many already. Maybe a cute cell phone, or 3ds strap. Or something SoS related that would have some practical use.

I also hope they change the font on the cover of the box. It reminds me too much of Hometown Storys.

[Guest]

Since they are very early in the localization process we're probably not going to hear very much news until later on in the year. Next big thing will most likely be the demo at E3.

You can bet people will post any new info though as it comes though. I might transform my general discussion thread into a tumblr/twitter/fb faq thread for people who don't have a lot of time to keep up. I did that with RF4 and people seemed to like it.

yea, most likely, unless someone asks just the right question and gets something else interesting, though I think we've asked all the big things so-far.

plus it's a new month which means corocoro will be coming out soon with (hopefully) more info about the new pokemon games so I'll most likely go back to focusing on that until we get more interesting info here.

Spoiler:

I am aware of all of the 'emotional domestic abuse' situations you know. But comparing them to the personality of a fictional character is absurd. It's not like Allen seriously means everything he says, perhaps if you had just given him a chance you would be aware of this.

Also, I never said you were the one attacking people, I actually meant the people that were attacking you and sending you death/rape threats over tumblr which is what I meant by 'viciously'.

One more thing, why would someone stop playing just because of Allen? They aren't required to talk to him, why complain about a character you hate when you didn't even try to know the guy completely? I brought up Michelle since her personality is by far the worst out of all the ANB characters and was baffled by the amount of hate Allen gets in comparison to her.

And before I forget, I wasn't 'derailing' the discussions from abuse survivors at all. When did I do that? It just seems silly to me that someone would get so angry over a fictional character who was never intended to be an 'abusive husband' as many put it.

Also, to add to the discussion of the topic, I really hope we at least get some sort of a pre-order bonus. Even if it's just that rabbit strap.

um, comparing the words and actions of actual abusers to the words and actions of a character is absurd? really now? could you please logic for just a few minuets, it'd make things so much easier. or ya know, google it for yourself because it is not my job nor is this the place to be educating you on something so simple.

I'd also like to point out 'not meaning something' and 'it was a joke' are both things abusers claim when called out on their abuse.

really? you weren't? then boy did you word that horridly I must say, though if what you say here is the truth, I appreciate that.

see, thing is, he's very hard to avoid, and once triggered(aka, once he's made you remember a traumatic point in your life) even just seeing him can be enough to set off more triggers and make it nearly impossible to play the game. (and it doesn't even need to be him himself. he wasn't overtly triggery for me, though he did bring back bad memories, but what his psycho fans did to me did cause triggers and I couldn't even see him anymore without being reminded of them) if you want to change your hair at ALL you *have* to talk to him. it's not that easy to just completely avoid any character unless they come later and you can just not make their house so they can't move in. sadly, allen is not one of those characters, though michelle is(and I will say if she's anything like allen, she's not worse, she's most likely just as bad, and you've not noticed it because you like him)

I wasn't saying you were, I said don't. should survivors be talking about how allen makes them feel, you can bring her up and talk about how she makes you feel and how it upsets you that she's not talked about as much as he is, but don't completely take the convo away from the fact that allen is upsetting to a lot of people. I guess we're even now for misunderstandings/bad wordings.

also, as far as "not intending to be bad", it doesn't really matter. just last night someone was asking for lesbian characters in a series I like and someone replied "she's not a lesbian! she's a strong female character with a secret she doesn't want people to know." they didn't intend it to come off as lesbians can't be strong female characters, but that's what she said and she couldn't tell me what it was she actually meant by it (because there's really nothing else one *could* mean by that) but just because that's not what she intended doesn't make it suddenly ok. if people are calling him an abusive husband, regardless of how he's intended to be that's what he is, to us at the least.

Also, to add to the discussion of the topic, I really hope we at least get some sort of a pre-order bonus. Even if it's just that rabbit strap.

was it a strap? I thought it was a plush. I'd prefer the plush and I'll be greatly disappointed if we don't get it. didn't Japan get it?

also, @centen and blue: .......... *ew*

as both a pescitarian and a lesbian, this person greatly offends me on many many levels.

they're pretty obviously a troll, an « Mr.Gourmet's hat », and XSEED is smart enough to recognize not only that but also that they (very obviously looking at our last conversations with them) do not represent the fandom in any sense.

and can you all stop replying for a second so I can get my post through! urgh! >3<

"um, comparing the words and actions of actual abusers to the words and actions of a character is absurd? really now? could you please logic for just a few minuets, it'd make things so much easier. or ya know, google it for yourself because it is not my job nor is this the place to be educating you on something so simple."

Okay I just have to say, you are INCREDIBLY rude and you're getting on my nerves. I wouldn't make an account here just because of the way you've been treating people. You keep acting as though you are right and everyone else is wrong while belittling them at every chance you get, who even acts like this in a community? I'm the original OP who defended Allen and it seems like I'm not the only one, since back then, who has an issue with the way you're "expressing your opinions".

You're treating people like « Cow Poopoo ». Stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Stop.

If you can't handle the fact that you're actually upsetting people with the way you speak then maybe you should be the one to go away and stop reading. And no I won't put this in a spoiler because I'm not bending over for your demands when you can't even treat anyone like human beings. You claim you're an abuse victim and yet, here you are, treating people like trash for not agreeing with you.

[Taniyama Mai]

I'm not even going to dignify such bullcrap with a response. not here, at least.

make an account and show your face (or at least actually back up your claims) or get over it and move on before you get the topic locked.

I will not dignify any more anons with a response on this topic any longer. anyone who wishes to continue can send me a message like an adult.

as for the actual topic, apparently Hatsuu was asked about the name, and after making it very clear they did all they could to try and get the name "Harvest Moon", Hatsuu had this to say:

The answer to your question is that it is absolutely, 100% impossible to use previous names or similar names to represent Bokujo Monogatari under XSEED.

so that "Harvest Story" that was brought up before wouldn't have worked if similar names are off the table.

plus, I could see not wanting to go that way because let's be real, how many times have we seen a knock off of something with a really similar name to a known product? if they went too close it could easily come off as a crappy knock off (with oddly nice art for a rip off) trying to build on the success of this well established series.

"Story Of Seasons" is most likely the best name this could work under, all things considered (which apparently, were considered)

[Guest]

I'm not even going to dignify such bullcrap with a response. not here, at least.

make an account and show your face (or at least actually back up your claims) or get over it and move on before you get the topic locked.

I will not dignify any more anons with a response on this topic any longer. anyone who wishes to continue can send me a message like an adult.

as for the actual topic, apparently Hatsuu was asked about the name, and after making it very clear they did all they could to try and get the name "Harvest Moon", Hatsuu had this to say:

The answer to your question is that it is absolutely, 100% impossible to use previous names or similar names to represent Bokujo Monogatari under XSEED.

so that "Harvest Story" that was brought up before wouldn't have worked if similar names are off the table.

plus, I could see not wanting to go that way because let's be real, how many times have we seen a knock off of something with a really similar name to a known product? if they went too close it could easily come off as a crappy knock off (with oddly nice art for a rip off) trying to build on the success of this well established series.

"Story Of Seasons" is most likely the best name this could work under, all things considered (which apparently, were considered)

You tell others to act like an adult when you yourself refuse to follow such rules.

[KonekoChan]

that's good. "farm story" sounds a bit too... bootleg imo. also, SoS is way more fun to say and type.

[Taniyama Mai]

lol my only issue is that the acronym is "SOS" which sorta worries me. I don't want that to be an omen and this series suddenly end up flopping for one reason or another. otherwise, it's sorta ironically cute x3

but yea, it does sound sorta bootlegy when you compare it to a name that's been established.

I also like what Hatsuu said here on the same topic: X

I like hearing about the creators being so involved with how their game is presented here, like it actually means something to them; like we actually mean something to them and they want us to feel the same way about the games as their home audience does, and that's really nice. there's a lot of companies that don't care that much. just like with nentendo, it's nice to see Japanese players not being the only ones cared about

[Guest]

I really hope that that don't change any or the established names. Though I didn't like when natsume changed any unnessisisary names, I kind of liked when they changed names that sounded weird, like licorice to reina.

So what do you guys think should happen to these names, since a majority are already english?

Rega (レーガ)
Cam (カミル)
Agate (メノウ)
Reina (リコリス)
Kuron (クロン)
Melty (メルティ)
Wantantan (ワンタンタン)
Goddess
Witchkins

I don't really know what I'd like for rega, I'd like the ones that were already established to stay the same, maybe Karen for kuron? I don't really like the name agate, I think it sounds kind of ugly in English, so maybe some sort of gem-based name? I'd like goddesskins for megami chama. As for wantantan, his name is supposed to be some sort of pun, isn't it?

What names would you guys want?

[Arcy]

First, taking into account the fact that they have already decided the names, I believe. It wasn't just XSEED which did this, Marvelous AQL had to sign off and approve on every name. XSEED is just being coy about releasing the names to us... getting them in dribbles so far from Hatsuu, who confirmed Fritz, Elise, and Klaus are all staying the same.

I think they are going to translate directly from the Kana alphabet into the English alphabet whenever possible. A great deal of the names are already "Americanized" more than enough (Veronica, Angela, etc), and they haven't been shy about leaving in "Japanese sounding" names in the past with this series. (Not sure how much oversight MAQL had over Natsume's name changing process though...)

I could see certain things changing, like Rega into Vega or Reg (short for Reggie/Reginald... my body is ready), or Menou into Agate, or even kept as Menou or changed into Menora (which I think is a pretty name). But in all honesty, given the names we've gotten so far confirmed, they may just leave them as Rega and Menou.

Also, words that are wordplay, such as Wantantan? I think they should do their best to translate not literally, but in a way that captures the essence of that. My Japanese is not so good, but I believe Wantantan is sort of onomatopoeia for the sound of a dog barking? In that case, a name like "Ruff" would be close enough without being blatant for me.

Anyway, they are approaching this game's localization with nothing but respect for the fans, the game itself, the game series' large history, and above all the wishes of the parent company in regards to localizing. So whatever names we end up getting, I am sure they will be faithful to the Japanese game, and when they change the name, I am sure they will translate it to something that captures the same essence as the Japanese name.

I also don't like Lilie as an alternative spelling for Lily. But that's just because I think extra vowels are superfluous. (They are!)

ETA: Just looked up "ワンタンタン" ... does it have something to do with noodles? XD