May2021
News Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed Gets A Western Switch Release This July
Launching in Japan this month
Update [Fri 14th May, 2021 00:55 BST]: XSEED Games and Acquire Corp have announced Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed will be released in North America for Nintendo Switch and multiple other platforms on 20th July. It will set you back $39.99 USD. Marvelous Europe has not yet confirmed if its local release date...
News Rune Factory 5 Live Stream To Share New Info Ahead Of Next Week's Japanese Release
Now we just need a western release date
If you've been holding out for Rune Factory 5, the good news is it's arriving at some point here in the west this year. And for anyone in Japan, it's actually out next week on the Nintendo Switch. While we've already seen some of the combat and gameplay (above), later this week, on 15th May, there'll be a...
News E3 2021 Bolsters Its Line-Up With Square Enix, Sega, Bandai Namco And More
"All-virtual" event kicks-off this June
E3 might have skipped last year, but in 2021 it's making a comeback as an all-virtual event. In the latest update, several high-profile publishers and developers have been officially locked in. This includes tech, hardware, and streaming companies, too. So, who are they? There's Square Enix, Bandai Namco...
April2021
News Turn Your Wife Into A Cat With The New Story Of Seasons DLC Costumes
Feline pretty
Last week, we covered the arrival of Felicity and Neil in the new Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town DLC, which will come out in the West on the 27th of May. This week, XSEED have released information on the Animal Attire costumes that come along with the DLC, too. Protagonists can don the new animal-inspired kigurumi, and...
News Story Of Seasons Gets A DLC Trailer To Show Off New Marriage Candidates, New Area
We all just want to marry Clemens and Beth, though
The first marriage candidate DLC for Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is just around the corner, and familiar faces from Harvest Moon: A New Beginning will move in just down the road from your farm, ready to be wooed. The "Windswept Falls" expansion pack adds a new area to the map, where...
News No More Heroes III Broadcast Shows New Footage And A Trilogy Box Set For Japan
Update: Get up to speed with "The Garden of Sylvia"
Update (Thu 8th Apr, 2021): The stream has been broadcast and you can check out the full archived video if you like, or watch some brand new game footage — plus a suitably Suda-style recap for No More Heroes newbies courtesy of character Sylvia Christel — via its own YouTube video. We're unable...
News The Latest Story Of Seasons Patch Is Live, And We Have Details On The Next One, Too
When will they patch in the ability to marry Beth???
Congratulations, farmers! Your farm has just been updated to 1.0.4, and with that comes a few new patch notes! It's just like real agriculture. Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town launched late last month in the West with a bit of a lukewarm reception - many reviews (including ours!) noted...
Random Story Of Seasons' Photo Mode Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Bumholes and crotches and legs, oh my
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is a pleasant, relaxing little farm simulation game, where players can gently explore a town, raise livestock, and have a lovely old time. Every now and again, though, you'll have to wait through a loading screen - and loading screens are boring! They're just a blank...
March2021
News You Could Win This Cow-Shaped Artwork To Celebrate Story Of Seasons' 25th Anniversary
How many more cowmpetitions can there be?
Boy, is it a busy month for lovers of cows and competitions. Just a few days after the Cow-Shaped Switch competition, we now have a Cow-Shaped Art competition, run by the actual makers of Story of Seasons themselves. A tiny cameo from the more traditional HM main character XSEED has been teasing this since...
News Story Of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town Has Sold Over 700k Worldwide
Buyers are flocking like sheep
Holy cow! Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town might be the best-selling Story of Seasons title so far, although don't make us do the whole "what counts as a Story of Seasons game" thing right now because it is Friday and we are SLEEPY. Marvelous Japan, the publisher for Story of Seasons (or Bokujo Monogatari, as...
Feature Should You Buy Harvest Moon: One World, Or Story Of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town?
We did a direct compare and contrast to answer that question for you!
Right, farming fans and friends: let's get it out of the way. Harvest Moon is not Harvest Moon. The series known as Bokujo Monogatari in Japan was translated as "Harvest Moon" when it came out back in 1997, and that title stuck with the series until 2013, when Natsume - the...
Soapbox How One Large Vegetable Highlights The Issue With Japan-Only Merch
I want the Big Turnip
While perusing news on the upcoming release of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town - a game I am reviewing, and a series I love - I stumbled upon something special: a limited edition turnip plushie, available only in Japan. I... love the big turnip... And, you see, the thing is, I want the Big Turnip. But more than just...
News Story Of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town Is Getting Patched, A Lot
The developers are feeling sheepish
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town came out last month in Japan, and quite a few players were disappointed with the way the game felt a little... unfinished. Common problems included bad framerates on the farm, long loading times, villagers with nothing to say, and not being able to submit more than one item...
Soapbox Why Do People Love Games Like Stardew Valley And Animal Crossing?
Playing games shouldn't feel like work, right?
One of my favourite things to do after a long day of nine-to-five work is crack open a beer, get cosy on the sofa, and play two to five hours of a game where I have a nine-to-five job. It seems ludicrous to spend my free time doing exactly what I do in my non-free time, and yet, here I am - one of...
Video Check Out 12 Minutes Of Story Of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town Gameplay
Pet racing, clothing options, and more
Did our recent preview of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town leave you with questions about the game ahead of its 23rd/26th March release? Perhaps our early opinion of the game made you decide not to get it - or perhaps the news that
News Rune Factory 5's New Gameplay Trailer Shows Combat And Rune Factory 4 Save Data Bonuses
Introducing the Seed Circle
With two months to go before Rune Factory 5's Japanese release, we're slowly getting new information about Marvelous' anticipated RPG simulation sequel. Having previously revealed a "Premium Box" last month, Marvelous has now launched a fresh gameplay trailer during the recent "Rune Factory Channel: To a New
Video Watch Harvest Moon And Story Of Seasons' First Half Hour, In This Side-By-Side Comparison
Speedrun Any% Pre-Cow
In the race for "best farming game of March 2021", there's still everything to play for. Harvest Moon: One World came out earlier this week, and Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town has a release date of 23rd/26th March depending on whether you're in North America or Europe/Australia, and we've been reporting on the battle...
Many Japanese players criticised the game's loading times among other issues
The Maker issue is a particularly egregious example of the game's flaws Earlier today, a blog post was uploaded to the Japanese site for Bokumono - short for Bokujō Monogatari, the Japanese name for the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series. In the blog, producer Dai Take
Preview Story of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town Is Not Quite As Pioneering As We'd Hoped
Can the series keep up with Stardew Valley?
How does Story of Seasons continue to innovate when Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing have done so much to develop the 25-year-old formula? Well, with Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, the answer is twofold: one - borrow the ideas of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, and two - change things for...
Watch Streamers Are Showing Off Story of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town In English
Content creators got the codes a few weeks ahead of time
Following last week's Japanese release of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town - which hasn't been particularly well-received, thanks to a few new changes - some EU streamers have been given access to the English localisation of the game, which comes out later this month on the 23rd...
February2021
News This Insight Into The Localisation Of Story Of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town Is Fascinating
How do you solve a problem like a pun name
The newest Story of Seasons game is already out in Japan, so we're starting to get more information trickling down to us as we wait another month for the western release. A new trailer premiered today, with an English voiceover talking about a year in the life of a farmer, and players have even discovered...
News New Story Of Seasons Interview Reveals New Secrets Ahead Of Next Month's Release Date
Read all about puddles, sprinklers, and the Witch Princess
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town will come to the Switch in Japan this Thursday, the 25th February, but for the western world, we won't get our hands on it until the 23rd March. We will, of course, be covering the Japanese reception here on Nintendo Life, but until we can play it for...
News No More Heroes For Switch Has Been Updated To Version 1.1.1, Restores "Missing" Music Track
"The K-entertainment music is back"
No More Heroes made a surprise return last year, allowing Switch owners to take control of Travis Touchdown and his beam katana with their Joy-Con. If you've not got around to finishing this one just yet, now might be the time to return. According to Engine Software (the team that helped port the game across to...
Find out more about Photo Mode, mining, and puddle fishing
It's not long now until the 23rd of March launch of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, and Marvelous Japan have been sending out copies to streamers andYouTubers in an effort to reveal a little more about the game (h/t Fogu). Two Let's Play channels, HikakinGames and SeikinGames,...
Video Story Of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Gameplay Features Trailer
Start your farm life next month
Apart from Monster Hunter Rise, one other game we're rather excited for in the month of March is Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town. It's out next month on 23rd March, and to help build some excitement, Nintendo has published a video of all the gameplay features into a single trailer. As previously noted, if...
