Gallibd Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Review

The game is good. I played it for over 100 hours on the Switch 2 until the end, marriage, family, etc. But I really think it still falls far behind the classic titles of the franchise and very very very far behind games like Stardew Valley or even Animal Crossing. Regarding the franchise itself, they removed a lot of classic features that were easy to implement and highly significant for player satisfaction. For example: house upgrades, farm and house customization (both interior and exterior), and a wider variety of map locations (we do not have a beach environment, we do not have an island or foreign land, we do not have the unlocking of exotic fruits and vegetables in the late game, we do not have appliance purchases, we do not even have a TV in the house). As for additional features they should add to stay competitive in the market, like multiplayer, forget it. Overall, I had the clear impression that the game was developed in a lazy and cost cutting way: polished enough to look nice and presentable, but stripping away anything that might have taken an extra week or two of developer work. Finally, in today’s world where they are no longer the only ones making this kind of game, I honestly think they are heading toward irrelevance. The only way to reverse that would be with a well crafted remake of the franchise’s most complete titles (for example Animal Parade or Tree of Tranquility), updating them with modern features like multiplayer and references to current reality. That said, the game’s highlights are the large number of events and festivals, the voice acting, the pretty graphics, and the non chibi art style unlike Friends of Mineral Town.