Cheap labor

With the recent success of Stardew Valley and Terraria it is easy to forget that the genre was essentially defined by the Harvest Moon series. Called Story of Seasons in the East, the Harvest Moon games ran for decades and spanned multiple consoles and generations, with the last release being in 2016. Given that the franchise has been going so long it isn’t hard to see why a Story of Seasons game is being released in 2019 on Switch and PC. What is unusual, especially here in the West, is the skin that this iteration is wearing: Doraemon.

Doraemon is a long running Japanese animation, aimed at younger children. Having started its life in 1970 in Manga form, it was quickly turned in to an animated series, which has been running, on and off, since 1973. The story centers around a blue robot cat who travels back from the 22nd century and befriends a young boy call NobyNobi. It certainly doesn’t scream farming sim does it?

Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch
Price: $59.99
Genre: RPG/Farming Simulator

In Story of Season,Doraemon and Noby find an unusual seed that neither of them has ever seen before. After consulting their friends, they all decide to plant the seed to see what happens. The seed suddenly grows to the size of a massive tree, which then creates some magic whirlwind that whisks them all to a faraway town. Once there, they all realize that it may be a while before they can find a way home and all the children decided to get jobs with the local businesses to help pay their way. With all of his friends tied up in places such as the Inn, Lumbermill and Shop Noby is the only one left without a place to earn his keep. It is then that he is offered the use of a plot of land that needs some nurturing and given the basic tools in which to turn this barren land in to a fertile farm.

The gameplay loop here is much like any Harvest Moon style game that has come before it. The player will start off with low level tools to use. Things like a shovel, hoe, axe, hammer and pickaxe. Using these tools will yield items and materials that can be used to upgrade the tools which will make the whole process faster. Having better tools means having a farm, which in turn, earns more money which can be used to buy bigger and better farm buildings. Eventually this leads to not just the growing of crops but also the tending of animals. As I said before, anyone who has recently played Stardew Valley will recognize the elements at work here.

There are a few things that stood out to me when starting this game. Firstly, Marvelous games have really put the effort in when it comes to making this look and feel as authentic as possible. I have never seen the Doraemon anime, but the game certainly feels like one. There is a kind of magical charm to the gameplay which I can only attribute to an attention to the small details when developing the game. A lot like Ni No Kuni, Story of Seasons made me feel like I was playing a cartoon with incredible character animations, a beautiful landscape in which to play and an entrancing soundtrack. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the cutscenes in the game were actually animated by the original studio, as it felt like I was watching a real cartoon.

The other thing that stood out at the start was how slow a game this was going to be. The game started off slow when setting out its story, which then only slowed down further when it came to teaching me the basics. Every single tool was explained in great detail, too much detail in fact. This is something I think could have been streamlined in order to get me into the action more quickly. It was over two hours before I was left to my own devices.

Once things got going it was time to explore the town. I had already visited each and every building during the tutorial, but this time I had mined a few ores and chopped a few trees and I wanted to upgrade my pickaxe, so off to the blacksmith I went. It had already been made clear to me that this is where I needed to go to upgrade my work tools, so where the hell was the blacksmith? He wasn’t there behind the anvil. In fact, he never bothered to show up every time I went there for two days. Sometimes I would arrive whilst he was at dinner in his kitchen, but then he just went straight out, not once stopping to take my money. The NPCs in this game have minds of their own, and I could not rely on them to be where I needed them to be. I did eventually get my pickaxe upgraded, but the process of trying to catch the blacksmith at work was a long and drawn-out one. It was also one I would have to repeat several times with several other NPCs. It was probably the most frustrating part of the game for me, and one that hampered my overall enjoyment.

Noby is governed by a stamina meter that drains anytime he does any work; digging, watering plants, milking cows. All of this drains a stamina bar, one that isn’t on displayed on-screen and can only be found in the menus. Noby can take naps during the day which will allow him to recharge his batteries slightly, but not so much that I managed to get that much more done in a day. He is also subject to a very small backpack, which meant I spent too much time managing my inventory than farming. Inventory management is not fun.

Along with the child labor, the town offers a variety of things to do; fishing, decorating and bug catching. There are relationships to build, both with the townsfolk and Noby’s friends. There are events through the year to take part in and competitions to win; all while trying to find a way home. There certainly is a lot to keep any budding farmer busy and juggling all of these activities and relationships will take many, many seasons.

There is a lot to like about Doreamon: Story of Seasons; the characters and the world they live in are well defined and a joy to experience. However, the game doesn’t push the genre forward in any way, and even takes the odd step back. But fans of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise will definitely have a great time, as will fans of the anime.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Gorgeous presentation
  • Competent gameplay
  • Lots to do
Bad
  • Slow to start
  • Nothing that hasn’t been done before
  • NPCs are a law unto themselves
7
Good
Written by
News Editor/Reviewer, he also lends his distinct British tones to the N4G Radio Podcast. When not at his PC, he can be found either playing something with the word LEGO in it, or TROPICO!!!