Developer: Marvelous Inc.
Publisher: XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Marvelous Europe
Platform: PC, Switch, Switch 2
Tested on: Switch 2
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar – Review
Story of Seasons is back with Grand Bazaar! This game is a remake of Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, released in 2008 for the Nintendo DS. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a farming simulator in which you sell your crops and buy other goods at a weekly bazaar. Just as any other title in the Story of Seasons franchise, this game focuses on growing crops, taking care of animals, and forging relationships with the locals. Grand Bazaar looks vibrant and always has something in store for you to do. If you’re into farming sims, then this one should be on your list, and here’s why.
Story
Grand Bazaar’s story is quite simple, but it does it better than most farming sims. At the start of the game, the protagonist sees an advert and decides to become a farmer in Zephyr Town, famous for its breezes and formerly for its weekly bazaar. As you arrive in Zephyr Town, the mayor asks you to help restore the bazaar to its former glory. He wants you to sell your goods at the bazaar every week. This brings us to the main goal of the game: ranking up the bazaar by meeting sales goals and achieving quests to unlock new stalls. Not only will new residents arrive in town as you progress, but a small plotline will also be revealed about the farmer before you and how the bazaar lost its spark.
In addition, each villager has their own questline, and now and then, additional scenes between residents become available that don’t involve the protagonist, and some of these are quite fun to watch. These scenes add a nice touch to the game.
The story is straightforward, but it’s more than enough to spur you on and try to restore the bazaar. You also get to know each character better through their personal quests and scenes, which is really fun. However, the characters lack a certain depth, which is annoying when you’re looking for the right person to romance. None of them stand out that much. However, even though the game doesn’t offer a deep storyline, it has enough other factors that make up for it.
Graphics
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar looks amazing. Both the town and its residents look very much alive. Everything looks vibrant and colorful, which totally warms your heart while you’re playing. It’s definitely one of the biggest pros of the game. Grand Bazaar also stands out in its effects that strengthen the visuals, like snow or the wind, which makes the bushes move, etc. It’s the little details like that which set this game apart from other farming sims. And last but not least, the animals in this game look incredibly cute.
Sound
The soundtrack in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is fitting, but it doesn’t stand out too much. However, the music fits the cozy atmosphere perfectly and helps draw you into the game. Next, it’s also interesting to know you can choose between Japanese and English voices. Some scenes are fully voiced and sound amazing, but sometimes scenes are only partially voiced, which feels a bit weird.
Gameplay
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a farming simulator in which you grow crops, take care of animals, explore the town nearby, and meet its citizens. All of this is paired with stamina and storage management. As wind is a key aspect in Zephyr Town, the windmills have an important role. You can process your crops and other materials there. The amount of time it takes depends on the item itself and how strong the wind is that day. The only con here is that your storage is really small at the start of the game, which also counts for the windmill, as it has limited slots. It takes a while before you can expand these, which makes keeping valuable items a hard thing to do.
Next, the weekly bazaar is lots of fun and even becomes challenging as you progress. During the bazaar, you put items on displays, serve customers asking for items before they lose interest, and switch out items if someone asks for something that isn’t on display. You can also upgrade your bazaar, adding more benches to display more items. The bigger your stall becomes, the more challenging this aspect of the game becomes.
Zephyr Town also has much to offer. You have the weekly bazaar and the occasional character events, but other events also take place rather frequently. All of these features make sure the game has a good pace and prevent it from becoming tedious. Next to the visuals, this is what makes Grand Bazaar a great game.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar also has 6 female and 6 male romanceable characters, and you can marry any of them. Before you actually start the game, you’re able to create your own character and decide whether your character is female, male, or non-binary. You can also wear both male and female-oriented clothes and switch them at any time. However, it takes a long time before you can romance these characters, as you have to get to know not only the character you want to romance but also the ones that surround them. On top of that, you often have to complete certain quests to reach the next friendship level.
Conclusion
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a great farming simulator. It looks vibrant and endearing, tries its best to offer an interesting storyline, has a cozy soundtrack, and Zephyr Town is a joy to explore. The bazaar is fun, and even besides the bazaar, there’s always something for you to do, which makes the game fast-paced and prevents it from growing stale. Unfortunately, the characters lack a certain depth, and the lack of storage can be frustrating. Yet, if you’re into this genre, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is definitely worth checking out.
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