Story of Seasons: Review of Mineral Town Friends
I will be honest, readers. By taking this review, I had no idea that the Story of Seasons series was actually the Harvest Moon series, with a new name much more accurate than its Japanese name, Bokujō Monogatari. What makes this even more confusing is that Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is not a new entry in the series; Instead, it s a remake of two GameBoy Advance games that were a remake of an original PlayStation game. And what makes things even more confusing is that this game derived from Story of Seasons on PS1 was the first game of the series to be called Harvest Moon in Japan! Madness!
The simple way to explain all this was a game Story of Seasons PS1 released under the name Harvest Moon: Back to Nature in North America. It lands between Bokujō Monogatari 2 (Alias Harvest Moon 64) and Bokujō Monogatari 3 (Alias Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland). Harvest Moon: Back to Nature was redone for the Gameboy Advance as Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. A second version of Gameboy Advance game called Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town has been created, featuring a women s protagonist. These two GameBoy Advance games have now been assembled, created in 3D and published for modern consoles under the current Story of Seasons banner. OUF!
Once again, I do not know the Story of Seasons series very well. The only titles I ve enjoyed were Harvest Moon for the Super Nintendo and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for Gamecube. The two were a long time ago. From what I read, the Gameboy Advance version of Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town is a favorite of the series that has introduced many mechanisms that have become stables in the series. Because it s the 25th anniversary of the Story of Seasons series, Xseed Games has decided to celebrate by publishing the remake of this well-liked title for the first time, for PS4 and Xbox One.
Not a lot of story
For a game with the word story in the title, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town really has no story to tell. You play a child who inherits his grandfather s farm and you spend your days watching the farm grow while interacting with the inhabitants of the surrounding area. That s it. I am a pretty narrative player, and without one, I did not think there was reason to be satisfied with my growing farm. I know that many firm simulation fans would say that these games are designed for players to relax and relax and that a story is not necessary for that, but anyone seeking motivation will probably find that Friends of Mineral Town should be renamed in JRPG Secondary Quest: The game
Others could argue that the story of Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town comes from the player s interactions with the various inhabitants of the village just outside the farm. It is true that if you talk to each villager every day, you will know more about their lives. With more conversation comes more connection, and finally, even romantic relationships can flourish with a good amount of gifts. But apart from a potential marriage, there is no gameplay bonus to win by talking to these characters; No statistics of type Persona increase or anything. If the characters had interesting stories to tell or a unique dialogue, talk to them could provide his own motivation, but the stories of the character are all boring and all dialogues are flat, robotics and without feelings.
In addition to walking around the city, talking to NPCs and creating links, the main gameplay consists of taking care of your new farm. It s the dream gameplay that has come true for players who wanted more bush in The Legend of Zelda: a Link To The Past. It s all a busy job; There is no threat or challenge. There is a little management of endurance, where a farmer overworked and sub-sleep will not work both the next day. Yet, because there is no long-term pressure on the player to finish in a certain period of time, it s just a rinse and a repetition of doing the same things again and again. Friends of Mineral Town is doing very well by introducing play mechanisms in a clear way that does not overwhelm this inexperienced player.
One thing that many games from top to bottom are guilty is to have a camera too zoomed, and Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is very guilty. It took me a lot of time to spot me in the very small town in which all the game takes place. Fortunately, there is a card in the game, but I spent too often on it.
In fact, I found the visuals in the set very unattractive. The graphics in pixels of the GameBoy Advance have aged very well and, unfortunately, the graphic upgrade obtained by Friends of Mineral Town was a generic 3D. Everything seems bland and little impressive. There is no attempt to do something interesting like The Legend of Zelda: Link s Awakening made it on the switch. All character models are Mii type Chibi, and the level of detail looks like something undeveloped in the Evoland games. The graphics are net and the game works well, but it simply has no visual pizazz. And the music is good Generic JRPG city music, but it does not change much, and if I had not seen the game, I would have listened to my own pieces while playing.
I have the impression that I m going to have a counterpour for that, but I did not appreciate my time with Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. I am not usually a fan of the SIM firm, but I can tell others non-fans that it is not the game that will participate. It s a remake of a 22-year-old game, and for that, he has the merit of helping to build this kind of niche and have little on which to rely. But there are other options. Stardew Valley trampled the Story of Seasons series under his shoe, and the Persona series made the daily exciting and significant. But if you like farm simulations and you are looking for a simpler and more relaxing alternative to Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town will undoubtedly provide you with hours and hours of content. For a point of view of a fan of the series, consult our review of the Switch version, where Haley has assigned a 70.
PS4 Code provided by the publisher
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