Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar

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Story of Seasons, or Harvest Moon, is a long-running franchise dating back to the SNES days. I personally didn’t discover the series until Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for the GameCube in 2004. Since then, I’ve been a pretty casual fan, having played a number of titles over the years. Now, after a nine-month timed exclusivity on Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 and PC, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S!

What’s interesting, though, is that this is actually a remake of a previous game! The original was released on the Nintendo DS under the name Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar. Developer Marvelous Inc. has completely revamped this 18-year-old portable title for modern consoles. But is it any good? Let’s take a look in our Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar review!

There’s Nothing Bizarre About This Grand Bazaar!

The player character has three stalls set up at the Grand Bazaar. They are selling various flowers, fruits, and foods. There are several NPCs clamouring to purchase the goods. — All sales are final!

Do you have a favourite game in the franchise? Whether it’s Story of Seasons, Harvest Moon, or spin-offs such as the Rune Factory series, there are plenty to choose from! I’d love to hear your thoughts on which one is your top pick in the comments below. No doubt I’ll add it to my backlog!

Grand Gameplay

Most Story of Seasons games have you moving to a small town, taking control of a local farm, and becoming friendly with the locals. Grand Bazaar is no different in that sense, but there is a pretty big change when it comes to your main goal. The titular Grand Bazaar, held every in-game Saturday, is a market packed full of vendors selling their wares. It starts off small but, as you progress, the variety of stalls grows. With these, you’ll unlock the options to buy new pets, upgrade your farm, and much more!

The bazaar serves as your main source of income for resources collected from your farm, items you’ve crafted, caught fish, and so much more. From eggs to jewellery, everything is sellable as you work to increase the renown of the bazaar. Some customers will want specific goods, and if you have the item in your inventory but not on display, you can swap them out to earn a guaranteed customer.

What could have been a small mini-game in the Grand Bazaar is actually so much more. The balancing act of gathering enough items, drawing customers in, selling wares, and turning a profit is surprisingly addictive and a whole lot of fun. I found myself getting ready to turn the game off for the day, before crafting something new and thinking, “Oh, I may as well keep playing and sell this on Saturday, then I’ll go to bed” constantly.

A Farmer’s Life For Me

The player character is using a watering can to tend to their crop garden. So far they have grown fruit & vegetables such as tomatoes and chillies, as well as some trees! — Grow, and make me rich!

Of course, it isn’t all about the Grand Bazaar. You will spend much of your time farming. It starts small; buy seeds, plant them, tend to them, and watch them grow! If you’ve played any games in this genre before, you’ll know the deal. It’s not overly complex, but it’s rewarding to see your small patch of dirt grow into usable crops. Eventually, you’ll start raising animals in your barn, which in turn will provide you with things like milk and wool. Windmills found around Zephyr Town can then be used to refine products into better, higher-selling ones. Combine an onion and vinegar to make pickled onion, churn milk to create butter, and so on.

It can start to feel like needless busywork, although unlocking better tools along the way does alleviate this somewhat. What can be a little unforgiving, though, is the stamina system. Basically, anything you do, from watering crops to mining rocks, causes stamina depletion. Not too surprising, but the rate at which it decreases seems way too fast. Granted, you can recover by eating and bathing, but I still found myself running out far too quickly. There are ways to permanently increase your stamina, thankfully, but this isn’t something you’ll discover early in the game. Story of Seasons has always had an emphasis on stamina and time management, though, so it’s hard to be overly critical here!

Sprites & Socialising

The player at the alter, marrying another character. The townsfolk are gathered round to celebrate, with the Nature Sprites sat on top of the alter cheering. — Awh, it’s like a fairytale!

The adorable Nature Sprites make a welcome return in Grand Bazaar. For those unfamiliar, these pint-sized NPCs are incredibly useful and will really help on your adventure. For starters, they can improve the quality of items. Higher quality = more profit! The Nature Sprites also use a currency known as “Happy Energy”. You gain this simply by playing the game. Simple, as almost anything you do nets you more energy! Then, you can spend it at the Happy Shoppe to earn lots of unique items and resources!

Let’s talk about the villagers you’ll be interacting with. There are plenty of friends to make along the way, each with their own side quests to tackle. Thankfully, it’s certainly easier to become best buds with people than it is in real life. Giving gifts, chatting to them, even just saying hello as you walk by; everything you do increases your bond. Each NPC has their own routines and personalities, making it so much more than just talking to generic characters who repeat the same dialogue over and over.

You can, if you choose to, also start a family. There are many romanceable characters that you can get to know, and eventually marry! There’s more to it than just increasing a gauge and gifting them an engagement ring, with some potential partners requiring certain quests to be completed or befriending other villagers. Eventually, you can then have a child, but don’t worry, all of this is entirely optional. If you’re not one for romance and responsibility, then you can keep your focus solely on your farm and the bazaar.

Graphics & Audio

The player character is floating through the air using a giant leaf as a glider. They are soaring about the towns rooftops during a winter evening. — Story of Seasons: Pro Glider

Considering this is a remake of a Nintendo DS game, Grand Bazaar looks absolutely brilliant. Marvellous Inc. has done a great job of reimagining the dual-screened title onto modern displays. Zephyr Town, for instance, looks like a vibrant place begging to be explored. It’s a shame that the map is so small, then, meaning wandering around town doesn’t take all that long. On the plus side, the environments and characters still retain that same, cutesy Story of Seasons charm fans know and love.

Speaking of the characters, they’re now voiced! Or at least they are in cutscenes. But still, this is a first for the franchise, and I hope is the standard going forward. Each voice is perfectly suited for the character, and it was a pleasant surprise to see how much effort had gone into the acting. But let’s not forget all the tranquil, super-relaxing music plays a big part in your cosy adventure! The soundtrack really ties together the overall aesthetics that create such a peaceful, stressless experience. These sorts of games are my go-to when I need to unwind, and Grand Bazaar is up there with some of the best, thanks to this.

Longevity

At around the 35-hour mark, I still don’t think I’m close to wrapping up Grand Bazaar. This is a content-rich title that will take a while to beat! Admittedly, I have been taking my time and just enjoying the world. If you simply stick to the main questline of ranking up the bazaar, then you may be looking at around 30 hours to beat.

Of course, like most Story of Seasons games, you could easily hit the 100-hour mark and still want to keep playing! This is definitely one I’ll keep playing after I finish this review; my farm needs me!

Final Thoughts

The player is brushing their cow in a lush green field. — You CAN pet the cow!

I had a blast with Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, and I’m not through with it yet! Its wonderfully charming art style is incredibly endearing, and the performance is consistently solid. Overall, it’s just a very fun, chill game. I’d highly recommend this to series veterans, or to newcomers who want to try something unique.

It’s so easy to lose track of time playing, which, for what it’s worth, is some of the highest praise I can give. Try it out; you may be pleasantly surprised at how engaging it (and the rest of the franchise) can be!

Therefore, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award!