Regional Differences

This is a sub-page of Harvest Moon DS.

To do: So much to cover. Do a list of random character events that appear in each version. Sandymaxy has made a complete list of them on their YouTube channel detailing which game they appear in or not. Find a way to rip the unlocalised Japanese text: Channel 7 of the Sprite Station had seven different shows for each of the week rather than just Rookie Detective Kanako. The DVDs actually have full scripts on them, while the International version does not. Ones that appear in the mailbox or Newspaper. Expand on the Game Boy Advance link further, and test to see if it works with the Korean version or not.

Harvest Moon DS had a total of six revisional and regional versions altogether, a robust number for a singular Nintendo DS game. Those changes range from small to huge, from bug fixes to cutting out features. Below are the following versions;

• The original Japanese version.
• The Japanese v1.1. version.
• The North American version. (based off the original unpatched Japanese version)
• The North American v1.1. version.
• The European version.
• The South Korean version.

Note: The region-exclusive glitches can be found on the Bugs page.

Main Differences#

Developer/Publisher Logos#

In the Japanese version, the Marvelous Interactive logo displays with the title screen music playing, but in the International versions, the music starts only after the logos are shown. This change doesn't apply to DS Cute.

North America	Europe	South Korea

The publishing company of the game varies between regions. In North America, it was published by Natsume while in Europe, it was published by Rising Star Games. In South Korea it was published by Daewon Game and IronNos instead.

International	South Korea

The Marvelous logo was updated with the one used in the international versions of DS Cute for the South Korean version of the game, as Marvelous Interactive was now known as Marvelous Entertainment.

In the international versions, a screen saying "Licensed by Nintendo" was added in.

Title Screen#

Japan	North America	Europe	South Korea

The copyright date of the title screen got updated in each regional release. The characters at the bottom are more distanced from the player and the Harvest Sprites outside of the Japanese version, likely to make room for the "New Game" and "Load Game" graphics.

The logo in the Korean version is almost identical to the Japanese one, only missing the texture that was present in the original.

HUD Differences#

The HUD on the top screen is somewhat different in the European version of the game. The names for the days of the week are now even shorter (ex. MON = MO) and are color-coded. These changes would later be carried into Cute.

Japan	North America	Europe	DS Cute (NA)

Changes from the Japanese Version#

Sprite Casino Lettering#

Japan	International

The Sprite Casino location had the rainbow "CASINO!" lettering removed in the international releases.

Japan/South Korea	International

The background conversation graphic also had this change, but it strangely still appears the first time that the location is unlocked. It's in the Korean version as well, used as said graphic, even though the "CASINO!" overworld lettering isn't there.

Fade-to-Red#

Japan/Europe/South Korea	North America

At the beginning of the game, when Thomas greets the player and the former is attacked by the player's dog, the player has the choice of saving him. If declined, the screen fades to red and the credits start rolling. The red color was changed to white in the North American version likely due to it looking gruesome, but was oddly reverted back to red in the European and South Korean versions. Also in the North American version, the fade to white cuts off the scene early, preventing the last few letters from being displayed.

Other Changes#

• The obtainable videos from Van had it's textual dialogue completely removed, only showing a still image.
• Channel 7 of the Sprite Station had many different shows whereas only Rookie Detective Kanako got fully-translated. As of a result, new episodes are shown daily than weekly even though Uranus still says "See you next week!".

Game Boy Advance Link changes#

In the Japanese versions, by linking Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town with that game already being linked to Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, a gravestone with the name of the protagonist from the latter game would appear near the grounds where Barney's Circus would be. In the North American version, said detail was changed to protagonist's name from Friends of Mineral Town.

It's still possible to do the method in the North American version using Japanese copies of the aforementioned games, but doing so could cause major glitches in that Harvest Moon DS save file.

The Japanese version also has an exclusive Achievement system, in the form of newsletters sent to the player's mailbox by connecting with both gendered versions of Friends of Mineral Town. The Boy version shares records for Mining, Fishing, and Rock Paper Scissors, while the Girl version shares records of Festival wins.

The Game Boy Advance link was completely removed in European versions, making things completely unobtainable without hacking, such as the Mineral Town characters appearing more frequently, with some as love interests, and the last five Records, Spring HM, Summer HM, Autumn HM, Winter HM and Last Dance, that would have been buyable from the Sprite Casino.

European Version Changes#

To do: Comparison screenshots.

Font Differences#

The ellipses were moved from the center to the bottom, as they are centered in the Japanese language.

Sprite Casino Minigame Changes#

In the Japanese and North American versions, there are three tables in the Casino, each with a unique game: Poker, Black Jack, and a card-based memory game. In the European and South Korean versions, the Poker and Black Jack games were completely removed and their associated tables were replaced with the card-matching game.

This is likely due to PEGI introducing a law in 2006 where gambling-based minigames would raise the age rating to 12+. Similarly in South Korea, gambling is illegal whereas the game would've been outright banned.

Minor Dialogue Changes#

The Church, that can be called from the telephone at home, was bafflingly renamed to the Temple in the European versions, as well as in the descriptions for the Cursed Tools despite mentions of it already being in the previous game. It was probably done to remove some religious references.

Miscellaneous Changes#

• The bookshelf at home, that would have supplied tutorials and hints for various game mechanics, cannot be interacted with. It likely was done to make translating into other languages easier, and maybe because Channel 8 has enough information to cover the tips that the bookshelf would have covered.
• Channels 3 and 4 of the Sprite Station cannot be normally accessed in the European version.