SoS: Trio of Towns General Info Thread!

[Shan O 123]

Oh, speaking of Uncle Frank having his own farm, that was something in SoS that always nagged me just a little. We had FOUR other farmers...and yet no evidence that they were ever contributing to bringing any revenue into the town. (They SAID that it was thanks to everyone that the vendors were unlocked but I didn't see any sign of Elise making 15,000 cooked dishes or etc.) In this game, I'd like to see Frank actually do some business, somehow. The only thing in SoS was that you could see them grow crops if you didn't conquer all the fields yourself. But it would have been fun for me to see them actually working those fields a little, or carrying crops in to the vendors, or...anything that showed them as actual working farmers. (The rivalry events somehow never managed to give me the feeling that they were anything more than hobbyists.) I think you could sometimes see Fritz petting some cows or something like that, but they always just seemed to be wandering around, to me, not really working.

I'd like to see another farmer actually working, and I'm pretty sure I saw a screenshot of Uncle Frank tending crops, for this game. Oh yes, here:

Spoiler:

I know it's a very small thing but it makes me feel less...lonely, sort of. Less isolated. I felt pretty isolated from the other villagers in SoS, not very connected to them. It's nice that we have actual relatives this time, too.

Oh, yeah, Kyu-kyuusha, I'd love having a best friend. And I'm not sure about having enemies (or whathaveyou) but the option would certainly be interesting.

You'd see Eda working in spring...

[Kikki]

That so, Shan? I do remember seeing Eda wander around her farm a lot, (as the others wander around their own too, but Eda does it the most, I think) but I don't remember her actually *doing* anything. Though she seemed the most like an actual fellow farmer out of any of them, perhaps because you do your training week with her and live right beside her. Hmm, now I want to see the first month of the game again to see if I can see her actually doing something...

Well, I liked that tiny screenshot of Uncle Frank, anyway, it made me happy. (I'm slightly inclined to make my character look like Frank and/or Megan, just to cement the feeling of family...but I've never wanted to have a blonde character...)

I know this is extremely unimportant, but I wonder which one is our blood relative: Frank or Megan. (I think it's supposed to be Frank.)

EDIT: OH! Something for my new-game wishlist!

I want the option to use more than 6 letters in anything I name. (Like my own character's name, for example.) I know why it's like that, but surely they could let us use more letters when they localize the game? I always have to spell my favourite girl-farmer name 'Cricket' as "Criket", and it makes my skin itch. :/

[Shan O 123]

It's Frank. Megan isn't our aunt....I think....?

[Kikki]

The only thing I have to go by is Cherubae's Precious Friends preview info page, which says this: In the latest version of Story of Seasons you embark on a farming journey to Westown to learn agriculture management from your Uncle Frank and Auntie Megan. I don't know where that information came from originally.

But I think it's probably Frank who is blood related. I don't have anything to base that on, just...well, it's just what i assumed, that's all. I've also assumed Frank and Megan are married, but they could be siblings, I suppose. (In which case they'd both be blood relatives, of course.)

[Shan O 123]

They could be siblings, cousins, even. otherwise Megan could be a friend who we call a aunt. I don't think Frank is married.

[Kyu-kyuusha]

About the whole rivals working in a field thing, they do water their crops. I saw Eda, Fritz, and Georgio doing that, though I'm pretty sure Elise doesn't for obvious reasons. I'm not sure they do anything else, but I know they at least water them.

[Kikki]

I managed to find a tiny screenshot of you eating with Frank (or perhaps it's an event, but you're sitting at a table with Frank anyway) and no Megan in sight, so maybe so. I'd probably like Megan to be Frank's sibling rather than wife, though. More interesting to me. I just assumed the other way. Not sure how to find out for certain...finding that teeny screenshot was about as close as I could get to confirming anything.

EDIT: I didn't post the bitty screenshot of your character having a drink at the table with Frank because I didn't think anyone would care, but I can, if needed. It comes from the trailer video...near the end when the screen shows 4 screenshots at once.

[RopeMaidenKirie]

She's not your aunt. The scan said おばあちゃん and not おばちゃん which is a super easy mistake to make.

Also corroborated here: http://friendsof3villages.tumblr.com/po ... r-the-poor `

She’s an older lady with a quick tongue, but she’s beloved by many people.

[Shan O 123]

She's not your aunt. The scan said おばあちゃん and not おばちゃん which is a super easy mistake to make.

Also corroborated here: http://friendsof3villages.tumblr.com/po ... r-the-poor `

She’s an older lady with a quick tongue, but she’s beloved by many people.

Ah, that's what I assumed, thanks!

[Kikki]

Okay, thanks Kirie. Too bad, though; I'd have preferred having two relatives in town to just one. And it would have been fun for me to have them to be siblings. (I was indifferent to the idea of them being married.)

I can't read even a single character of Japanese (in any alphabet) so I have no way of looking up original information myself and can only go with whatever I find in English, which is automatically second-hand. I'm not even sure what information counts as 'first-hand'. Only things published directly by the makers, I guess. (Though I'm sure anything published in Famitsu should be considered true. Afaik.)

[Cherubae]

I read おばあちゃん as "auntie" or a more affection version of "aunt," but true there's nothing on the official site that refers to her as the protagonist's blood relative like it does with Frank's description.

[Kikki]

Sorry, it's my fault for misunderstanding. In my family at least, you don't call someone 'aunt' or 'auntie' unless they're really your aunt. I personally can't call to mind anyone who does among those I know, actually, so maybe it's a bit uncommon in my region in general. (Though I know it does happen in special circumstances, generally with an older woman who is very close to your family. Sort of an honorary title, I guess.) It know it's extremely common in places like India...but it's not something I'm used to, so when I saw 'Uncle Frank and Auntie Megan', I thought it was literal rather than a form of politeness or affection. Anyway, my fault. Sorry about that.

[Arcy]

I don't know about Japan, but in Tagolog/Taglish/Filipino (or at least the region my husband is from), actual biological aunt is "tita/tiya", but there's a different word for sister, "ate", which is used to address pretty much every female you're close to whether or not they are actually related to you or just friends of your family. I've always thought of the Japanese "obaachan" with the extra "a" as similar to that, just because it seems to be used in a similar way in the small amount of Japanese stuff I see/watch/play. When it isn't being used to harrass a woman for looking/being mature, anyway.

(In case you're curious, the male version of ate is kuya, some families or regions may attach these titles only to elder female/male relatives/friends. Also, pronounced "ah-tey", not like the past tense verb form for eat.)

If Frank is your MC's biological Uncle, and Megan's lived near him all your life and is good friends with him... well. She's probably someone your MC has been close with in the past from a childhood visit or two, or even from his letters and phone calls, thus the affectionate/respectful title.

[Nurse Fin]

In Japan basically all old ladies are grandmas, all middle aged women are aunties, and all young adult women are big sisters (same with men and grandpa/uncle/bro). You often use the terms for total strangers. It's just a language/culture thing, though i think its most commonly used by children

[Kikki]

Thank you for the explanations, Arcy and Nurse Fin.

Ah, about information...there looks to be a new page on the official site, but I don't know what it is. I *think* it's just links to Precious Friends merchandise (or 20th anniversary merch, or both). It's here: http://www.bokumono.com/series/tomodach ... ndex4.html