Farming simulator Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, is a remake of Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town. It has been released under the Story of Seasons name due to a rift between developers Marvelous and publisher Natsume.
As with many games of this type, players take on the task of running and renovating a farm that was left to them by their grandfather. You'll need to grow crops, raise animals, and mine ores in order to collect enough gold to improve your farm and equipment. There are also villagers to befriend or date and festivals to enjoy.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town combines the best aspects of the original games with new protagonists, pets, livestock, and festivals, alongside some much-wanted quality of life and graphical updates.
Initial Impressions
If you've played Story of Seasons titles before, then the game will feel familiar to you right from the start as many of the basic mechanics are the same.
The last title in the series, Doraemon: Story Of Seasons, was a crossover between the farming simulator and the Doraemon anime. This led to a few issues, such as a very long introduction. Here, those worries are gone as players are thrown straight into the action while still being offered some help through the use of the television, bookcase, and library, which give you access to tutorials.
There are two ways to play the game, normal and simple mode. Normal mode is how the original begins and sees you start with 500g and an empty farm. Simple mode is ideal for newer players or those who hate the slower pace of the early game, as it gives you a small patch of turnips to harvest and some extra gold as a headstart. It also makes the overall game slightly easier as items ship for a little more and villagers can be befriended quicker.
Almost as soon as the game begins, you are ready to begin farming. As expected, seeds can be bought and the crops will need to be looked after and harvested. Crops are seasonal and the town changes through the year, meaning players need to time their crops well to get the most from them. You can also buy and raise a number of animals, which will produce materials for you to use or sell.
Over time, you can upgrade your farm, field, and barns in order to house more animals and participate in more events. You can also collect ore to upgrade your tools and make tending larger fields much easier. You'll want to upgrade your tools early on as this will save a lot of time when tending crops. As you explore, you'll also uncover stories involving the townspeople, especially as you come to befriend them.
The Differences
The very first difference between this remake and the original that you'll notice is there are four different protagonists to choose from, two male and two female. Pete and Claire both return, alongside new characters Naomi and Yuuto. All can be renamed and also redressed since the game also offers new clothing options. These are quite basic but do include a cow onesie, which is being given free to players who pre-ordered the game.
Mineral Town's villagers have also had a revamp. Some have new names, all have new looks, and there are two new NPCs, Brandon and Jennifer. All characters are also now romanceable, regardless of your character's gender, making the romance system more inclusive.
With regard to animals, you can expect to find new types of cow and chicken as well as angora rabbits and alpacas. You can also have cats, penguins, and capybaras as pets, as well as the expected dogs and horses.
You'll also discover a lot more festivals since all the original events have been combined with some new ones, as well as those from Harvest Moon: Back to Nature.
The final updates are mostly quality of life updates and include the ability to save at any time, extra save slots, and some tweaks to mining, fishing, and cooking to make them more user friendly. On top of these, the entire game has had an upgrade of graphics and sound, making it fit the current standards we've come to expect from games of this type and this franchise in particular. It's cute, crisp, and clear, meaning every crop, animal, and NPC are easily identifiable, as are the building types, even when playing on a Switch Lite.
The Switch Experience
Story of Seasons: Friends Of Mineral Town is perfectly suited to the Switch. The controls feel fluid, natural, and easy to master, while the pace of the game makes it ideal for the portable console in particular.
This game is perfectly designed to be played in bursts. While you can sit and spend hours at a time harvesting crops and milking cows, it's also well suited to being played for just a few in-game days at once. I've played both ways and found them equally enjoyable. The only disadvantage of small bursts of play is remembering to check where you are in the season to avoid planting slow-growing crops just before a season change.
Overall, the game very much feels like the very best of the original Harvest Moon title mixed with the newer mechanics and ideas that have been developed in the Story of Seasons franchise. It's a perfect mesh of old and new that feels well pitched for both veterans and newcomers to enjoy. If you're looking for a relaxing game to calm your mind at the end of the day, then Story Of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is here to fill that gap.
A Switch copy of Story Of Seasons: Friends Of Mineral Town was provided to TheGamer for this review. Story Of Seasons: Friends Of Mineral Town is available for PC and Nintendo Switch.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a Nintendo Switch remake of a remake, with the original title being Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. You must build up your farm in the titular town, meet the locals, and fall in love.