Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom puts us into the delirium of the famous franchise, which, not satisfied with giving us a farm to take care of, transports us to a new planet full of diverse landscapes, characters of different species, and an entertaining story and touching in equal parts.
I didn’t realize how much I needed a game like Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom until I started playing it. The gorgeous watercolor visuals, soothing soundtrack, relaxing gameplay, and loveable cast of characters makes it an easy game to keep coming back to. If you need a break from brutal dungeon crawlers and difficult deck builders like I did, or if you just need something peaceful to float away with, I couldn’t recommend Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom more.
Improved from the last and now great, multiplayer is to rare and almost never good in farming sims. In this game it feels harmonic, wich is the reason why I play theese types of games. Just great!
Whimsical fantasy has always been the name of Doraemon, and in this context, both the original Story of Seasons collaboration and now this one is the perfect video game partner for the beloved manga icon. I do find it slightly strange that these games get localised, given that the anime, manga and films don’t tend to be, but perhaps Bandai Namco is counting on the warm spirit and people’s never-ending love for Story of Seasons to draw them in, rather than the iconic mascot. And if so, that makes sense, because once you peel past the Doraemon exterior, you’ll realise that this is a classic Story of Seasons title, to the point of being nostalgic, and in this case, that’s a very good thing.
Friends of the Great Kingdom polishes some of the issues of the original and compensates for the lack of new features with characters known and loved by several generations.
I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that there was going to be a sequel to Doraemon Story of Seasons, and Friends of the Great Kingdom was a decent experience overall. It’s clear that it has learned from the previous game’s mistakes, fixing pacing issues and offering more activities to keep the experience varied. Friends of the Great Kingdom is a great game to chill out with, providing so much whimsy and silliness that it’s hard not to grin like a fool when playing it. Even though not all of the new content was a home run, it feels like the Doraemon Story of Seasons series has finally found its footing with room to blossom even further.
Even though Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom doesn't offer much to separate itself from the first game, there's no denying it is a wholesome bundle of farming fun that still manages to carve out its own identity compared to other life and farming sims. Outside of the cutscenes which drag on and then some, it never feels too repetitive — an issue a considerable number of farming sims face thanks to the crop-based tasks associated with the genre — and outside of navigation issues with the map, it's welcoming to both new players of the genre and still feels relatively fresh to those who are incredibly familiar with the Story of Seasons franchise. If you go into this game expecting a decent Doraemon farming sim, you won't be disappointed.
While an enjoyable and relaxing title, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom needs some major improvements when it comes to translation and some graphical and gameplay elements. Nevertheless, it is not unplayable, and those who enjoyed the first game will also have a good time with it.
Literally every single thing in this game has been improved from the first one. I have no idea how a licensed property game can be so good, but once again it is. I know nothing about Doraemon, yet I am considering ranking this as my second favorite game of all time. Buy it at full price so they will continue making this series.
SummaryDoraemon, Noby and their friends land on an unknown planet and decide to help a new friend fulfill his dreams - by farming!
Plow the fields, harvest crops and tend to the animals. You can even use Doraemon's secret gadgets to farm in a flash!
Relax by living with friends, eating delicious meals and fishing. And with local play, you an...