For as much as I love life sims, particularly the farming variety (Stardew Valley and Coral Island, my beloved), one of my biggest pet peeves is when they raise up the player character as some sort of messiah figure. Everything hinges on your actions, which makes sense in the interactive media format known as a video game, but ultimately only makes me roll my eyes. Even if you try to downplay your efforts, either through dialogue or simply just messing around to do your own thing, it feels like that only makes your community love you more. “The farmer is much too humble to say they’re the best. Even more reason to know they are!”
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar — a farming life sim that originally released as Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar back in 2008 on the Nintendo DS and is now getting a beautiful remake from Marvelous Games — doesn’t feel as though it will change that formula. Except it does. Let me explain.
After the old farmer leaves Zephyr Town, a picturesque place (which has been hugely expanded with new areas in the remake) that wouldn’t look too remiss on a postcard, there’s a new player-sized hole for you to fill in. You’re greeted by the Mayor, a boisterous and incredibly hench older gentleman who explains that since the old farmer left, their standing in the Grand Bazaar has gone downhill. What once was a thriving marketplace now looks barren, with barely enough stalls to even keep the Saturday marketplace going. Now you’re here, that’s all about to change.
Like every farming life sim out there, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar eases you into your new life as a farmer. You get your own plot of land to grow crops, you have a barn to host animals, and you’re encouraged to forage and cook in order to make money. The more you find, the more you can save in storage and use it to create new items that will sell well alongside your crops during the weekly bazaar.
What surprised me was how fast it was to progress, even with the game slowly introducing new mechanics for you to explore. In only the second week of the game, I had managed to get not only the windmill in my farm working, but also upgraded all my items to copper. Nothing incredibly fancy, of course, but in comparison to my other farm life sim ventures? Very fast. It allowed me to get other things done without overtly stressing about how I didn’t have enough time to collect all the seasonal goods before the next month came rolling in. I never played the original, so I can’t comment if that’s a new change or not, but I am not complaining and feel like more games should just throw you into it, face-first.
The most exciting thing for me, though, was actually setting up a store at the bazaar and selling my wares. I mentioned before how I didn’t like the messiah figure that you become in farming life-sims. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar initially seems to follow the same formula, but it quickly shifts to a more community-driven approach. You never feel more like a community than when you’re selling your wares. While you pitch up your tent and ring your bell to attract customers, it’s with the knowledge that others around you — such as Miguel, the general storekeeper of Zephyr Town — are doing the exact same thing. While you may be the figure leading the charge, helping other stall owners with their setup by providing materials and resources, your journey would be insurmountable without the people of Zephyr Town. You help them, and in return, they have the means to help you. There is an undeniable sense of community spirit in knowing that you’re all pulling together to make the town and its marketplace better.
This sense of community is further highlighted through the inclusion of events that allow players to get to know the residents of Zephyr Town more, such as Honey Day, which, you guessed it, means you can deepen bonds with your neighbors by gifting them honey. This isn’t a new feature for farming sims or Story of Seasons whatsoever, but the biggest difference I’ve found is that Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar actively goes out of its way to give you a helping hand during the first time you do these events. For example, the Mayor provides you with all the ingredients necessary for the tea event, and again for the honey one. It’s a small gesture, but it goes a long way in making the player feel included in ways that some of its other gaming counterparts don’t.
When you aren’t doing general farmwork and selling your crops after a week of hard work, there are plenty of characters to speak to and get to know, including brand new characters like Diana and Arata, who also happen to be new romance interests. And, in this new iteration of the old Harvest Moon classic, you’re able to romance any of the 12 bachelors and bachelorettes regardless of whether you’re female, male, or non-binary. I have to hand it to Marvelous for continuously making strides to diversify and be more inclusive with their remakes. And it’s this fact that makes this old Harvest Moon classic feel like a truly revitalized take. There’s also the added perk that I can be a butch non-binary farmer and kiss the muscular himbo that lives in the forest. Now that’s what I call gaming.
The downsides of Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar are very few. This really is a wonderful remake, with an upgrade to its art style and new locations. But, if I had to choose, it’s that even with all these changes, it does feel as though there are only so many little things you can change about this genre’s formula. You, the player, are brought into a new community. The community has a problem, either internally or externally, and you are a key to fixing said problem, both through building connections with others and your work on the farm. The bazaar angle is definitely what makes this game stand out from the crowd, and I deeply enjoy that aspect, but even then, it can grow a little stale over time.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a phenomenal remake with additional changes that, whether you’re a new fan or a returning one, will keep you occupied for a long time to come. More importantly, it goes the extra mile to make you feel part of the community every step of the way.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar will be available from Aug. 27 on Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. The game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a prerelease download code provided by Marvelous Games. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.
