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Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
Released On: Jun 27, 2023
72
8.0
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
72
54% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
46% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
72
54% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
46% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a game worth getting for anyone looking at grabbing their next relaxing experience on Switch. I was afraid of technical issues given recent games from Marvelous on Switch, but this is the best Story of Seasons on the platform, and well worth its asking price. As someone completely new to this entry, the developers have made it feel good enough to be a brand new game as well.
As a long-time fan of the Story of Seasons games, I love what Marvelous have done with Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It’s the same game I enjoyed playing all those years ago but with a fresh coat of paint and meaningful quality-of-life updates. The controls and UI are swift and easy to navigate — the amount of time I’ve saved with the new inventory navigation and livestock bells is impressive — and the game feels right at home in the current market. You can tell the development team wanted to preserve what was already an extremely memorable and worthwhile experience, yet understood that gamers’ expectations for accessibility and efficiency are different than they were 20 years ago.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 User Ratings
8.0
74% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
13% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
13% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 User Ratings
8.0
74% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
13% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
13% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
It's a pretty faithful reimagining of an old classic. It adds a few things (more crops, for example) and subtracts others(animal health), but is overall a very enjoyable experience.
While some old HM fans might be disappointed at some of the (very few) omissions, they were clearly mostly done as QoL changes to make the experience less grindy and more streamlined. The main criticism of the game from critics is that it is too slow by 2023 standard, and that is in spite of these changes. So it's understandable why these changes were made in the first place as otherwise the game would feel even slower. But mostly it is a very calm and cozy affair with no glaring flaws to speak of.
However, it is disappointing to see that some with radical extremist views are review-bombing this game with wholly unjustified 0/10 scores simply because it expands on the original by providing more character choices. There's no pandering, no-tokenism, no in-your-face grandstanding show of diversity, nothing is shoved down anybody's throat. It literally just allows people to express themselves in a manner that fits them without substracting anything from anybody else's experience.
Of course, the original game was from a time where minority voices were not given as much importance as they are now, and it seems like some people are just much too 'nostalgic' of those times. Clearly, to the privileged, equality feels like oppression. I worry about the mental and physical health of these 'concerned' individuals and that of their children and other family members as well.
8/10, but gave a 10 anyway to hopefully counteract some of the review-bombing.
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Nintendo Switch
Great game with great additions, such as making it more inclusive for **** and non binary people. It doesn't take away from other groups and just makes it more accessible and more enjoyable for everyone!
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Nintendo Switch
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life remains both an oddity and a gem, and is a must play for fans of the farming sim.
Compared to newer farming games Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is somewhat slow. This can lead to some frustrations, yet at the same time it gives you a sense of peace, something which is very welcome in today’s often rushed society. If A Wonderful Life had added more things to do, this slowness would’ve probably been a lot less noticeable. The characters, who are the heart and soul of the game, are the saving grace. They make you want to keep returning to Forgotten Valley.
If you can take the time to pace yourself and slowly enjoy everything the game has to offer from charming neighbors to home-cooked meals, then there is a whole lot to enjoy about Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life.
It all adds up to a feeling of becoming enmeshed, slowly but surely, in a little community – one that you become familiar with and part of, even if the moment-to-moment interactions can feel a little shallow. Marvelous also seem to have finally nailed the technical performance for their remakes, too, especially on the Switch, with fast load times and little to no slowdown even with loads of animals on screen. It’s not going to be a game for everyone, but if you can meet A Wonderful Life on its terms, you’ll find a lot to love in its slow-paced, small-town gait.
There's nothing particularly bad about Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, but compared to modern farming games it's just a bit dull.
This game deserves far better scores I can not even begin to state what a master peice the orignal was and the added same-sex marriage and non-binary options are only the cherry on top. I looked over the reviews that are negative, they are not worth reading and they do not belong on this site as they go into hate-speech and claim my existence is politics, they are all extremist biggots who would kill me and others like me if given the chance and use their religion and politics to justify it. I am pan and non-binary. I found the representation to be accurate, a slight alteration on the source material in some parts such as character names, designs, and a slight altering of morning after clear depiction of after sex in the source material was not here, a lot of small translation fixes as the original port studio did a poor job of translating in the original and there was a lot of engrish. This game left me with dysphoria in the best of ways. I would happily recommend this game over the original as it has improved in literally every way with the small changes they did make and the original was a masterpiece in itself. The original every farm/date sim tried to capture the lightening from again after and all of them even future Story of Seasons/Harvest moon games just well couldn't for me. This was the best remake **** I have ever seen and I love it. When I heard it was out I threw Friendship of mineral town out of my switch, rushed to the store and bought it while on vacation miles appart from any store. If you want to talk about politics I would love to talk about how in friendship of mineral town pushes so hard on the church. Keep your religion to yourselves I have cookies. In all seriousness friendship of mineral town tried shoving that church down your throats by requiring you to interact with it, in this game you are not required to be non-binary, you are not required to have same-sex marriage, and none of the characters in the main cast are. I do wish one of them was non-binary but I can understand why they didn't take this route. I am allowing my children to play this game after I am done with it. The only scenes censored in it involved after sex scene, so if that is your complaint and your complaint is also about you thinking its a kids game, then those two things don't make any sense.
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Nintendo Switch
Cute and fun! Definitely the go-to version if you want to replay the classic.
But if you're not comparing it to the original, the game feels very... meh. I found myself befriending mostly the older folk in the Valley because they were the only ones whose dialogue wasn't daily commenting on the weather.
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Nintendo Switch
This is a remake of one of my favorite games, and for the most part it does a decent job of recapturing the old game. But there are some strange and downright stupid changes. From pointless name changes, to stubble and not so stubble politicalizations, to the worst character creation I have ever seen. You are forced to lock in your eye shape and color before you even choose your gender. And all of them look horrible expect for the default options. The entire replacement of an old character with a bland and boring replacement. Removal of a lot of dialogue. It’s a great game that I would recommend to old harvest moon fans and farming sim fans but I can’t help but feel like an upgraded port would have been better then this remaster. If you can play the original, play that instead.
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Nintendo Switch
While the game improved in many ways such as new events, crops, and animals, it came with a cost.
This more of a watered down version of the original game. It makes it less of a challenge if none of your animals can die and that you don't even have to feed them. I get that the gameplay was changed to be easier on new players, but this was a core mechanic in the original. At least give an option to change it back with a difficulty.
If you're a casual gamer, you might be fine. But play the original Gamecube version if you can.
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Nintendo Switch
a dire mockery of what this game used to stand for.
Nobody should have to be forced to experience the is price of rubbish vapor ware.
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Nintendo Switch
Summary Your new life begins in Forgotten Valley, a tranquil community where your father and his friend Takakura once dreamed of running a farm. As you befriend the valley's residents and fulfill your father's legacy, you'll live a carefree life on the farm growing crops and raising animals. As the seasons go by, you'll find your lifelong partne...
Rated E
for Everyone
Platforms:
- Nintendo Switch
- Xbox Series X
- PlayStation 5
- PC
Initial Release Date: Jun 27, 2023
Developer:
- Marvelous Inc.
Publisher: XSEED Games
Genres:
