The tale of Story of Seasons is a bit of a strange one. Originally conceived under the series name Harvest Moon, developer Marvelous enjoyed relative success with titles like Friends of Mineral Town, A Wonderful Life and Back to Nature. However, in 2012, the licensing of the name lapsed, and owner Natsume reclaimed ownership of the Harvest Moon name – but original developers Marvelous soldiered on regardless. With the first Story of Seasons title released for 3DS in 2014, they carry on the original spirit of the Harvest Moon titles of yore. Natsume has now started making its own Harvest Moon titles, but it’s generally considered that Story of Seasons is the true successor to the Harvest Moon name, which makes this Doraemon collaboration even more curious.
Doraemon: Story of Seasons could have easily been a simple reskin of the original game that we saw on 3DS, but it aspires to be much more and takes in tow with it the core values that make both the Japanese manga and anime series Doraemon and Story of Seasons so wholesome. After being transported into another world where Doraemon loses all of its cool, futuristic tools, you take the role of Noby, a child who gets transported alongside Doraemon and the group to the town of Natura. Noby is designated to revitalising an old derelict farm, and become a valued citizen in Natura.
Doraemon: Story of Seasons is an absolute beauty, and exploring Natura and its surrounding areas is just as enjoyable as other elements in the game. It feels like there is a distinct personality to the game, and that’s expressed through Doraemon: Story of Seasons’ painterly look, which is pulled off perfectly. When you mix in the addition of the day and night cycle and titular seasons, the game goes from pretty plain-looking to legitimately being one of the charming-looking games we’ve seen on the Switch. While it might not be technically impressive, the game’s art style is beautiful and brings that unique Doraemon personality to the game in the process.
There are a wealth of things to do in Natura, and much like other games in the genre such as Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon, you’re able to interact with other villagers, give them gifts and slowly foster relationships with the people around you. This is serviced through gathering items in other areas, giving them gifts, or running errands for them. Combined with managing your farm and planting seeds to grow, it’s likely that the game will never really leave you wanting if you’re dedicated to farming and growing crops. You also manage the animal herds, and can easily get lost in the endless farming and tasks at hand.
This will lead to you exploring out in the world, where you’re able to use items to mine for ore to make money to upgrade your gear for more efficient farming. As you descend into the real nitty-gritty of Doraemon: Story of Seasons, there really is limitless potential for those folks who want to collect every bug, get rich through mining ores, craft decorations, or just want to make an exceedingly pretty farm. Personally, we spent hours making thousands of loaves of bread in order to make money, since it is pretty tight in-game. It was fairly simple, it was fairly repetitive, but it was relaxing and rewarding at the same time. Granted, if you’re grinding for something particular that requires a certain time of day in a certain place it can get tiring, but for the most part, the sheer amount of activities you can perform in Doraemon: Story of Seasons carries it through.
There is a minor gripe that we have with the game, which is that marriages are not present for obvious thematic reasons, given that you play as a child. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a meaningful arc to Doraemon: Story of Seasons. There are story beats to pay attention to, and they’re just awash with the cheese and pomp that you’d come to expect from a Doraemon game, which is incredibly welcome. The family-friendly themes, alongside the wonderful cast of characters, mean that you’re always left grinning. There's a lot to be said for a game that puts a smile on your face.
Doraemon: Story of Seasons is incredibly slow-paced, meaning that its ideal for those wanting to chip away at these tasks on the go; the saving system is streamlined in comparison to older Story of Seasons games, which makes it ideal to take with you on the road. However, the slow pace of the game meant that it took over an hour for us to get over the introductory hump and finally get out into the world. You will absolutely need some time to set aside from the get-go to just to set everything up.
Story of Seasons veterans might not have much to find here outside of a new lick of paint and availability on the Switch, so it makes the game harder to recommend to older players who may be used to the previous games. Nevertheless, Doraemon: Story of Seasons does streamline some aspects and that makes the game a slightly more palatable ride for those who might not be used to this type of adventure.
Conclusion
Doraemon: Story of Seasons is an enchanting, relaxing romp through a world that is so much simpler than ours. With gorgeous visuals and a never-ending list of things to do, it’s unlikely that you’ll get bored while playing it. While its slow-pace might turn off some, it’s incredibly welcome to play a game where the fate of the world isn’t at stake, and you can instead just sit down and decide what plants you might want to grow for the upcoming year.
Comments 43
It does look pretty fun while I’m waiting for Rune Factory goodness but I would miss the marriage aspect. Nothing beats repeatedly giving your waifu/husbando turnips until they love you.
Tried the demo but was nothing for me. Nice graphics though
Something to hold me over until Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town comes out. I really hope they stealth drop that within the next week or two.
I don't know. I like Rune Factory more because of the combat. I've never played Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons or Animal Crossing because I think they're all similar and have no combat.
No marriages is a plus. This sounds like it could be good for kids.
Since the reviewer seems confused by the name situation still...
Both Harvest Moon (to 2013) and Story of Seasons (2015 on) are the same series, called Bokujou Monogatari in Japan.
The game titled 'Story of Seasons' in the west was just another entry in the series, subtitled 'Connecting New Worlds' in Japan.
It's just like how the game titled 'Fire Emblem' in the west was just another entry in the series, subtitled 'Blazing Blade' in Japan.
A Marriage in this game isn't a must. These are children. Everyone wants to get married these days... in games
@bluesun I think the confusion stems from the fact that they continued making games under the Harvest Moon name, that aren't related or in the same series. For Japanese players, sure, it's easy to tell the difference but for someone who hasn't followed the series in 10 years, you can see why they would be confused.
@bluesun The thing is that the current Harvest Moon Games are not connected to the OG Harvest Moon games and the current Story of Seasons games; not only in the fact does it not have any of the OG devs on it, but while Story of Seasons continues to improve the core of what the OG Harvest Moon games did; the current Harvest Moon games are dirty cash grabs.
"Marriage are missing"
Oh, well... I understand. 😏
Because Nobita (Noby) is still too young to get married with Shizuka (Sue). 😆
Nobita is still 10 years old boy forever, so.....
fyi, the tutorial. intro to this game is literally an hour of pressing the a/ b button
EI! EI! EI!
...
Fun game aside from the above
Love that shade of blue that Doraemon has.
I like the look of this game, it seems so charming. If I had more time for games would definitely get it but unfortunately I don't.
Mmm well I like the titular character a lot for some reason I’d be down for a slow relaxing game .
I’m already 40 hours in. It’s a good farming sim and very relaxing. Much better than Harvest Moon: Light of Hope or the crappy Harvest Life. But it is also very... very... VERY grind heavy. I’d also give the game a 7/10.
"Con: No Marriages"
Huh
Not my type of game... but the art looks great!
Doraemon is like the quintessential kids cartoon in Japan and other parts of Asia and has been for decades. I imagine people with the nostalgia ties to it would love something like this.
I didn't even know it existed until I was in college however. So it's just not for me.
Nintendo Life knocks the review score down partially because of a lack of marriages, despite admitting that these are children?
Weird...
This looks nice but I think I'll stick to Stardew Valley
I want ranting 10/10
No marriages? Good! They are far too young!
Seems nice, but I've enough with one time sink, and that is Stardew Valley in my case.
Sadly the grinding puts me off.
One for the sales pile for me.
I will never understand this type of game where gamer chose to do manual labor. Where is the fun? You may as well spend the time actually farming or working in a factory if you like manual labor, at least you get to earn some money.
Tbf there is a special episode where we see Nobita and Shizuka marrying, in the future when they're older.
"While not technically impressive" - Well, I am not looking for games to be technically impressive, I just want them to be impressive.
This looks to be one of those games, but then I never was a huge fan of Harvest Moon. Seems there is a demo, might download that.
@nessisonett If waifu is wife transliterated from Japanese, how is husbando a thing? It's just husband with an O. It sounds like fake Spanish, not Engrish. It should be hazubando.
@Xylnox Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons aren't just similar, they're literally the same series. Marvelous changed publishers in the US and in turn had to change the name of their franchise from Harvest Moon to Story of Seasons. Anything after 2012 named Harvest Moon was a knock off made by the US publisher just trying to confuse the fans who didn't realize they didn't actually make or have rights to the series, they just owned the US name Harvest Moon. Oh and.. Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons really isn't similar to Animal Crossing but it is true neither have combat.
@bluesun You're not wrong, but how is that even slightly like Fire Emblem? Just because it released here without the subtitle isn't remotely similar to Marvelous changing publishers and being forced to use a different name in the US.
@nintendolie It's not manual labor in a video game. The physical strain is what makes manual labor into manual labor. In the game, it's just that. A game. With story, quests, objectives and rewards. Like any other game. If the gameplay is fun or the story is compelling or the content is interesting or the characters are good, that would be why people play them. Your rationale of doing actual manual labor so you make money could be said of literally any video game. Why pretend to race a car in a driving game when you could drive an actual car for Uber and make money? Why be a cop or criminal in a game when you could be a real one and make money? If you honestly don't understand the appeal of video games, why are you even on a gaming website?
Gave the demo a try, found this game to be so charming.
There's nothing pervy about mentioning the marriage thing: it's a major component of SoS, the wooing, marriage and child. Pointing out the lack of it in this SoS game is just information.
I really wanted to love this game, but it's kind of meh for me. I have heard that the demo isn't representative of the experience of playing from the beginning. I'm not spending $50 to find out. Maybe when a sale hits.
Here's hoping FoMT is released soon.
For those wanting sale good luck looking especially for the Physical edition that is a EU release only you won't get it other then from eBay. As for digital they aren't crying whether you like or want it - it's sales are doing well for it. StarDew was a indie and Story is a Publisher different support for different type of game players. But I have both Physical so I can play either one.
@Deltath Oh ok, that makes sense. I like Rune Factory a lot but maybe I'll try out Story of Seasons for a more relaxing game with no combat. Who knows, I might like it too.
Tried the demo. Loved the art style but hated the characters. Guess Doraemon just isn't for me
@peanutbuttercup Hated is a strong word. I don't know how old you are, but Doraemon is made for kids 10 and under. The characters and story. But it's a little like a Pixar movie where it's supposed to be wholesome for the whole family. So it might not be for you. It probably isn't for most age groups, as a general rule. But I like seeing them use such a family friendly property. It's good for a lot of kids out there.
@Xylnox The main series has always been better with the farming, simulation stuff, romance, etc than the Rune Factory spinoff series, since it had no combat to fall back on. They're both good for their own reasons and I'm excited for Story of Seasons: Return to Mineral Town and Rune Factory 5 (and 4 Special).
@Deltath My comment wasn't as clear as I intended, but the first two paragraphs of the review read like "Story of Seasons" was some spiritual-successor spinoff series the 'devs' started up after leaving the 'owner', it was that point I was trying to address.
Fire Emblem was the only other case I could think of where the latest game at the time was released internationally without a subtitle, leading to people mistaking it as the first game in the series when it wasn't.
Nothing like a gimmicky robot cat from the future to help you cultivate you land the pre-industrial way!
If you're a fan of HM games, then this game is for you, good UI, good controls, and good colors also found this app for guides https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sosdoraemon.app
I enjoyed it but I don't plan on playing a farming game for a long time after having played and beat this. Repetitive farming tasks are one thing, but having to chase down NPCs on a daily basis in order to increase their affection to unlock side stories/cinematics became a real chore.
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