Story of Seasons Reviews
Story of Seasons is a solid entry into the Bokujou Monogatari franchise. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's full of content, and almost all of it is fun. It has a few flaws, and poor optimization and a slow early-game progression curve drag down the experience. Once you past that, though, it's just plain fun. Whether you're wooing bachelors, raising parrots or planting crops, you have a near-infinite amount of stuff to do. It can get a bit grindy at times, but there's nothing more rewarding than selling your farmed tomatoes and watching the cash roll in. Story of Seasons is easily the best of the Harvest Moon games available on the 3DS, and it's a great entry for fans and newcomers alike. It isn't for everyone, but if you're looking to till soil instead of kill monsters, Story of Seasons is a great candidate.
Story of Seasons is a very run of the mill farming sim. It doesn't elevate the genre and it is a very long and tedious endeavour. It does have an unbelievable amount of options and fans of the genre that don't look for much will most likely be satisfied. For everyone else, though, it all just takes way too long to get interesting and is a sloppy game with a lot of slowdown. Never mind that there is an unfathomable amount of busy work the game calls gameplay, the rewards don't feel worth the effort. Are there better farming games out there? Probably, but Story of Seasons should be commended for how much content was put into it, even if most of it feels hollow.
Story of Seasons continues the Harvest Moon series tradition by pulling players into an expansive world full of lovable characters, deep gameplay, and enjoyable music.
Extensive in-game content and its new ideas attached to series' staples give us an accomplished beginning to a new name. The game does turn out to be a somewhat light on top, commanding little attention at all in its first month, but with eventually engaging gameplay and overall appeal, it will undoubtedly hook players with its charm in due time. Marvelous hasn't lost their spark for creating a farming game worth picking up, and for that, we're grateful.
Story of Seasons is a great entry in the long running series that adds a lot of new depth, and has a clever Mario crossover.
I suspect a chunk of Harvest Moon's veterans will skip Story of Seasons on account of its general resemblance to prior entries, but that would be a real gaffe since Story of Seasons is one of the finest iterations in years. While it lacks the outright ambition present in Natsume's recent interpretation of the franchise, it utterly nails the atmosphere and offers impeccable trimmings that just might win over fans experiencing barnyard burnout. It goes without saying that those uninitiated in the ways of life on the virtual ranch had best brace themselves for hundreds of hours to be sapped away
With lots to do and a great localization, Story of Seasons is one of the better iterations of this series to come out in some time.
Story of Seasons is a strong entry in this venerable series of sim games. It includes a ton of activities, some nice system upgrades like streamlined farming and complex manufacturing huts, and a much-improved localization over previous titles. It's a bit lacking in the story department and has a few questionable design decisions like the spread-out rental fields and a lack of farming help, but farming fans should be quite pleased with the overall experience. In a world where most simulation games have moved to the mobile marketplace and include obnoxious timers and microtransactions, it's wonderful to see this good old series keep evolving and improving. Farm on, my friends, farm on.
Story of Seasons is probably the best Harvest Moon game to come along in ten to twelve years, depending on if you believe Magical Melody or Friends of Mineral Town was the last great installment in the series.
Eventually rewarding but needs patience
Farming can be a chore, but not always.
Far superior to the latest game that got to be named Harvest Moon.
Story of Seasons may rightfully belong in the Harvest Moon family, but it's a strong enough entry to stand on its own. Taking familiar gameplay elements such as farming and the romance system, this title uses the framework that came before it and expands on that in many positive directions. It may not be the most polished game, with its finicky frame rate and an underwhelming 3D display, but the charming characters and satisfying gameplay make this a game worth any Harvest Moon fan's time. If you're looking to start a relaxing new virtual life full of charm and charisma, look no further than Story of Seasons.
I cannot suggest Story of Seasons to everybody, but those who like the idea of a calming experience that lets you peacefully escape to a charming world should definitely consider Story of Seasons. If you can get over a painfully long opening before the game opens up and lets you actually play the game, a poor soundtrack, and dull characters, you will be rewarded with an engaging world and a ton of variety and options. It is a fun, relaxing experience – just remember that it is anything but perfect.
Barring the frame rate drops and sometimes clunky interface, if you're looking into getting into the genre, Story of Seasons definitely does the job well and will easily occupy you with fun and addictive gameplay for hours on end.
Story of Seasons feels like a new chapter of Harvest Moon but it goes further than its inspiration. Its gameplay mechanics are very well executed, despite a rather slow start and its trade system, as well as the romance story, work like a charm. Where Story of Seasons disappoints is in its visual interface, which falls behind the benchmarks that the 3DS has set.
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Story of Seasons is a niche game for an extremely small crowd. It's not bad and as another in this small genre, it's good. The slow pace and plethora of tasks can be overwhelming at first, accompanied by a slow start, but those who put in the time will reap its rewards. Fans of Nintendo's Animal Crossing series will feel at home and enjoy this as well. And to other gamers, like this one, maybe it's time to branch out the old genre branch.
I played a lot of Animal Crossing last year, in the process rekindling my love for life sims. Playing Story of Seasons was a much different experience because it's more fast-paced and goal-oriented. It's not too unlike past Harvest Moon games, but it's a worthwhile entry nonetheless. There's a lovely little game to uncover here, though it'll likely take you a couple dozen hours to really get things going. That said, the time investment is certainly worth it, because at the end of the day, you're left with a fine farming sim that's totally rewarding.
Story of Seasons, for all intents and purposes, is Harvest Moon without the title, and continues the series' tradition of making the mundane into compelling gameplay.
Story of Seasons doesn't rewrite the book on farming sims, but it's a big, healthy break from the Harvest Moon series that adds a few strong new ideas. It's Harvest Moon in everything but name, and one of the best of this kind of game to come along in a while.