The best Harvest Moon is now out as Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town released this week. The game is ready on Switch and PC, and it’s an excellent title to play.
For old Harvest Moon fans, the new Story of Seasons is a remake of an old GBA game. The original Friends of Mineral Town for the Gameboy Advance was the best ever. This modern iteration is a beautiful reminder of a once superb game.
Friends of Mineral Town was the best version of the franchise
The venerable series of farming games comes from Bokujo Monogatari by Yasuhiro Wada. The game first released in 1996, published by Nintendo for the original SNES. Eventual titles went to the United States, with Natsume handling localization.
The original Friends of Mineral Town was so good, regarded as the peak of the series. It inspired many modern farming sims, including Stardew Valley and Ooblets. The replay value was superb, and the game aged well too.
Now, Story of Seasons is back as a Switch and PC game, letting players relive their idyllic life. The game is superb, with Mineral Town more colorful now than ever before. The game is in beautiful 3D, with a near faithful recreation of the original town.
Compared to previous modern titles, the game is smoother and cleaner. The art is robust, giving new life to the once 2D locale. The citizens are also cuter and more colorful now, with original characters absent from the original game.
What’s better in the newest Story of Seasons is the farm. For people who loved the original FOMT, this should work out the itch.
Story of Seasons inspired modern farming sims like Stardew Valley
The newest Story of Seasons is, oddly enough, the best “modern” Harvest Moon. For those curious of the name change, Natsume and the game’s dev, Marvelous, broke off. Marvelous now publishes with XSeed, but Natsume holds the naming rights.
Natsume still publishes “Moon” titles, albeit at a horrible quality. Story of Seasons is the new name, and with the new name comes fresher gameplay.
All the hallmarks of the original game are still there. Players would come to a dilapidated farm, clean it up, and start farming. The cows and chickens are cuter than ever, and the game is still tons of fun.
While the game won’t upend Stardew Valley in the sheer level of content, it is fun. It’s a focused game with a ton of things to do. For people who love life sims, the new Story of Seasons is the Harvest Moon players want.
Image courtesy of Marvelous/Youtube Screenshot