Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town takes me back. Back to the Gameboy Advance era, spending countless hours farming. Sure back then it was as a Harvest Moon game, now it’s under the Story of Seasons banner. Now we live in a post-Stardew Valley world, how do these long running farm/slice of life games compete with it?

Friends of Mineral Town (FoMT) starts with a montage from when you visited your Grandfather's farm when you were little. You’ve now inherited it and are tasked with restoring it. The story is ultimately the one you make for yourself as you build up your farm, raising livestock and making new friendships with the townsfolk of Mineral Town. 

Story of Seasons is a farming and slice of life RPG. While FoMT on the GBA was originally sprite based visuals, this remake gives the world a 3D makeover. The animals easily retain their charm, probably because they are a mainstay of the series. The townsfolk might not have the same nostalgic feel as they’re upgraded to 3D, but they feel familiar enough. The dialogue portraits are a mixed bag. Some characters benefit from a more modern look, others seem to have lost their style.

How you approach the game is entirely up to you. If you want you can stay super focused on farming and mining to upgrade your house, farm and equipment. Or you can slowly work on your farm while getting to know everyone in town, focusing on getting maximum affection points with everyone. You’re never funneled into having to play a certain way. If you want to participate in some events you might be limited to how much you can be involved. The game will never punish you for not doing enough, if anything it is a little lax on giving you direction. The old GBA gamefaq guides are still useful to this day. There are some additions that won’t be there, but they still help you get the most out of the game. 

SoS:FoMT isn’t a 1:1 remake, although if you remember the original it will feel very familiar. It also combines elements from More Friends of Mineral Town, which made some improvements on the first version. There is also a new translation for the dialogue. Some quality of life improvements help make daily farming routines a little smoother. There’s also more animals and special varieties of animals (Coffee and Strawberry Cows forever!), as well as Alpacas and Capybaras added from more recent games.

There are also two new marriage prospects, and same sex marriage is also possible. The two new citizens blend into the original cast well enough, it has been so long since the original games I didn’t recognise who was new straight away. 

It is still very much the same game when it comes to interaction with the other citizens of Mineral Town. The personalities of everyone in town has to be shown through their dialogue. They usually spout the same two lines for stretches of time, so don’t expect characters to ever get too chatty. All of that aside, the townsfolk can surprise you when they suddenly say new dialogue that fleshes out their character a little more. There are also heart events that can raise the love interests affections, adding a little more personality. Once you get married to someone in town (if you even want to get married that is) it brings some changes, but the limited dialogue is still lacking. Something that always stands out in these farming games is that you’re interacting with all these other people, but your own character is a blank slate. I get that it’s meant to be that they’re just a stand in for yourself, but even then you’re spending a lot of time with no real input to how you communicate with everyone. 

From the start there is an option between 4 different styles of farmers - two male and two female, one traditional design and the other more modern. There aren't tons of customisation options, you can alter the colour of your clothing afterwards. A welcoming option is to choose either the Simple or normal difficulty. Simple starts you off with some seeds already planted and some extra money. It doesn’t break the game in any way, but you can be up and running a little quicker. Overall, a few of the changes help make your time farming a little less tedious. The different animal barns have bells to call the animals back at the end of the day, no more drawn-out cow pushing. You can also reach the middle area of the seeded areas, that middle seed/plant never needs to be stuck playing catch up.

Something I’ve always struggled with in games of this sort is the anxiety of trying to do everything right as quick as possible. It was impossible with the original game, and it is still impossible here. Initially you won’t have the house upgrades or the means to do very well in the events. Early farming is limited by your carrying capacity, low level tools and stamina. It’s worth remembering that it does improve considerably. The first year usually feels a little more stressful while you’re still building up the farm, your friendships and your cash reserves. Once you find your groove with the game it really picks up. There are always plenty of town events each year, and with every passing year you have more access to better ingredients and your livestock has higher ratings to see just how much you’ve improved. 

Friends of Mineral Town is a much needed ray of light in the current times. Even outside of 2020 this remake is a welcome addition on the Switch. If you are expecting a brand new Story of Seasons you might feel a little disappointed. While there’s a bunch of quality of life updates to the original, it is still a 17 year old game. If you’re expecting a game that compares to Stardew Valley then you’re likely to come away disappointed also.

The Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons have a strange history outside of Japan. Technically Story of Seasons is the continuation of the Harvest Moon series under a new name. Harvest Moon games keep getting made as Natsume holds onto the rights for that name, the series has sadly become a shadow of its former self. Even the Story of Seasons series has felt tired in a post-Stardew Valley world. While I have little hope for the various attempts the Harvest Moon series shambles on with, I do still have hope for Story of Seasons. It’s also worth keeping in mind with FoMT, that it is intended to be a remake of a near 20 year old game. The goal never feels like it’s about more than bringing back a classic for those who enjoyed it the first time round as well as introducing new generations to Mineral Town. 

One of my struggles with Stardew was that it felt like there was so much I could and should be doing that I quickly felt overwhelmed. FoMT still has tasks that need juggling, but it does feel more manageable. This blast from the past feels like a comfort food game, a return to the cozy little Mineral Town. If you have fond memories of the original game then it’s time to come back to the farm.