STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar

Maybe my favorite remake of a game. I’m being so serious, I love this version of Grand Bazaar and I’m loving comparing and contrasting it to the older title. The controller scheme is much more comfortable and easy to swap out. Just wish I could alter contrast in game. Happy birthday to one of my favorite franchises.

Having played a few other, older, Story of Seasons titles I can see how this game is the pinnacle of their evolution, so far. The game has wonderfully engaging characters and is FULLY voice acted which was a luxury I was not expecting. Unlike some other games (Stardew Valley) where I honestly wanted nothing to do with romance I actually had a hard time deciding which character to go for in this game. The developers did a great job giving the game an "ending" that a player can reach in a reasonable amount of play time while also giving the player a lot of accomplish after the "ending" if they want to keep playing. My only caveat to potential players would be: this is the most hard-core of cozy/farming games I have every played with its complex systems of product quality, product freshness and seasonal specials. If you are looking for a very relaxed game this one may frustrate you.

Grand Bazaar was a game sorely in need of update and polish, and Marvelous has vastly improved on the original 2009 DS game with this remake to the point where I'd highly recommend that everyone just pick up this version instead. There's a fine line between sanding off a game's edges and completely removing its challenge, and I'd argue that Grand Bazaar still has some tooth to it (though less than previous entries for sure). If you were disappointed in Pioneers of Olive Town, GB is probably what you were really looking for. It's a shame that Marvelous' wholly new games in the SoS series haven't really hit since Trio of Towns (which gets referenced in this, making me happy as a long-time player and lover of the 3DS entries) but between this and the Wonderful Life remake, they've proven they can successfully mine older games for content without feeling like wastes of time and money. I'm hoping they either bring back Tale of Two Towns or Tree of Tranquility/Animal Parade next, because all three are sadly forgotten gems of this series. (Dare I ask for a Magical Melody re-release?)