Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town Veteran's Review
As most veteran farmers know, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a remake of one of the most beloved entries in the series. The previous GameBoy Advance and PlayStation iterations of the game are well loved and many returning fans, some of whom may have not played any games in the series since pouring hundreds of hours into the previous release in 2003, might be wondering: How does it compare?
Overall, the relaxing zen-like experience of going through your days making progress to your self-made goals piece by piece is preserved and enhanced. Movement is smoother, swapping through tools is easier, the inventory is expanded to the point the basket is obsolete, the new translation is top-notch, and you begin the game with home storage instead of waiting every week for it to show up on the Saturday Shopping.
Returning players should also be delighted to find that Mineral Town itself is faithfully recreated with many of even the smallest visual details matching up between the GameBoy Advance and Switch versions. Every path, home, store, the town square, and the beach are all exactly as you left them, with a singular addition of a new nature area in town serving as both an additional shortcut between the north and south sides of town as well as additional foraging and resources.
However, while Mineral Town itself is nearly unchanged, the residents have undergone a complete makeover. Long-time fans may already be aware that the Mineral Town cast originally appeared identical to residents of Flower Bud Village, with all of their character designs being initially designed for their appearance in that game. For two decades, the Mineral Town iterations of the cast have been lacking in designs that faithfully represent their families, personalities, and even occupations; but Igusa Matsuyama, the original designer of the cast, has finally been given the opportunity to give Mineral Town the visual overhaul they’ve needed for so long.
The farming and socializing mechanics established in the earliest days of the series will work exactly as you remember. Veteran farmers will be able to slide right into the rhythm of planting seeds in 3x3 plots, giving gifts, and planning your days based around your stamina and resources. There are also a few new crops like chili peppers, which will be important for farmers wanting to become master chefs.
On that note, cooking has evolved into a treasure hunt of different recipes to collect. Rather than simply experimenting with ingredients, you’ll need to first gather recipes by befriending villagers, taking courses at your neighbor’s house in baking, watching the cooking show on TV, and occasionally a flash of inspiration while cooking other dishes. In total, there’s 121 recipes to gather; this will be a long-running side-venture for players to explore.
While you’re befriending people for their recipes, you may also find that courtship has been updated. You can now marry any of the 16 candidates regardless of the character you choose to play as, as well as engage in a new dating phase that features new events with your prospective partner that are completely new. However, rival marriages are unfortunately removed from the game, with potential couples cutting off after the first two rival events.
Unfortunately, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town isn’t quite the perfect iteration of the game fans may have wanted. As a faithful remake of the GameBoy Advance iteration of the game, elements of the original PlayStation release such as characters like Greg and Kano or events like the Goddess and Tomato Festivals are still missing. However, Van and Lou are still visitors from Forget-Me-Not Valley and will still visit Mineral Town after the player makes enough donations to the Goddess, a system roughly equivalent to the original, minus the GameCube link cable requirement.
The mining system is very much the same as the original game, but due to the expanded inventory to carry medicine and loot, reaching the bottom of both the spring and lake mines while actually profiting from the venture should be an achievable feat by any willing challenger rather than something reserved solely for the most devoted players.
The player unfortunately no longer starts the game with a dog on their farm, ready to train for pet related festivals. Instead, once the player meets Van, they will be given the opportunity to purchase a variety of pets including dogs, cats, capybara, and penguins. Though the player can only choose one at first, they can eventually raise up to 5.
Oddly, the horse is also considered a pet rather than one of the barnyard animals, though they’re not counted among the 5 pets you can buy from Van. Once you receive your horse from Mugi, raising them works in much the same way as the classic game. Though a notable new feature is being able to ride your horse around town once you’ve raised them to adulthood rather than being limited to the farm.
Ranching is probably one of the systems that’s received the most significant overhaul for returning players. While we still see the return of old livestock (Chickens, Cows and Sheep) we now have the availability of Brown Chickens, Coffee Cows, Strawberry Cows, Fruit Cows, Angora Rabbits, and Alpacas. The festivals pertaining to animals are still the same, only with the slight change to the Sheep Festival: due to the presence of two other wool-producing animals, it’s now dubbed the “Fluffy Festival” and you can enter Sheep, Angoras and Alpacas. Angoras are housed in the Coop with the Chickens, and Alpacas in the Barn with the Sheep and Cows.
The changes to the husbandry system go beyond the new selection of animals, however: you must breed your livestock in order to gain more achievable hearts per animal. For instance, for every new birth, that animal has +1 heart added to its maximum possible heart level, which gates higher quality byproducts. By default, when you first purchase an animal it will always begin with 5 hearts, which is only sufficient for “Good” quality. In order to unlock achievements such as making certain recipes to complete the Goddess List or Recipe List, or supply all animal byproduct items necessary for a complete Shipping List - you must be able to earn those last five hearts.
In the original, you had to ring the bell to call your cows in from outside and you had to lift your chickens and physically put them outside. Now there’s the presence of a freestanding bell outside both the coop and the barn. Additionally, around 8:00 pm your animals will go back inside the buildings themselves, so you don’t have to waste any time ringing the bell again. As long as you remember to ring the bell once at the beginning of each day, they will do the rest. Subsequently, the Bell no longer exists as a tool that can be carried in your rucksack.
While a lot of these additions can seem cumbersome, it really gives more depth to animal husbandry in a way no other game in the series has explored. Instead of keeping one animal forever, you’re required to actually utilize the breeding kits available in the stores as a way to progress. As a veteran, at first I was surprised by this, but the challenge is a welcome one after I’ve played the game for a while. These added features only add more enjoyable layers to the game, making the rewards from raising animals feel more like they come from tangible effort and dedication.
While not the definitive version long-time fans may have hoped for, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is without a doubt the strongest and most enjoyable version of Mineral Town to date. Tried and true gameplay mechanics are kept as fans will remember them or intelligently expanded upon to offer a deeper and more satisfying game.
If you’re a longtime fan who’s hoped to return to this classic, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town will not disappoint.
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