Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town impressions topic!

Poot Poot Poot! A mainline Bokumono game set in a resort town that wants to be more resort-y. Available for Nintendo Switch, Steam/PC, and Ps4/5. [ Game Guide ] JP release = Feb 2021. NA = Mar 2021. EU = Mar 2021.
A Nonny Fish
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Anna_Lynn wrote:
A Nonny Fish wrote:Yeah I noticed that too! This is the most "realistic" SoS game in regards to hair color; not one character has a wild color! Unless Iori counts, but his hair is so dark navy, it's practically a shade of black. Ludus is totally gonna stick out when he arrives, lol.
was actually chatting with my brother about this as well, though I’d say the OG SoS was pretty tame with hair color as well, save for Marian.

....but I do so love Marian and that delightful fuchsia. I’m excited to have her back :heart:
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Anna_Lynn
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A Nonny Fish wrote:
Anna_Lynn wrote:
A Nonny Fish wrote:Yeah I noticed that too! This is the most "realistic" SoS game in regards to hair color; not one character has a wild color! Unless Iori counts, but his hair is so dark navy, it's practically a shade of black. Ludus is totally gonna stick out when he arrives, lol.
was actually chatting with my brother about this as well, though I’d say the OG SoS was pretty tame with hair color as well, save for Marian.

....but I do so love Marian and that delightful fuchsia. I’m excited to have her back :heart:
Ooh, Marian's returning in DLC? That's awesome, since I had thought that only previous marriage candidates were returning! I hope Marian gets a proper place to stay since like...there's apparently no clinic or doctor in the game.
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PrincessAi
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It took me a bit longer than I liked to get my hands on the game. Amazon really screwed me over >.>

That said! Here are some impressions from playing it over the day:
Spoiler:
Things I've liked so far
  • This is just a quality of life thing but having a meter for how many hits a tree/rock has is a blessing to me. I just like knowing how long I have and an approximate of my stamina for that.
  • character design in general, I really like all the character looks tbqh
  • the gender/sexuality expansion - I'm gay and trans, and having a SOS game that actually kinda caters to that is like, insane to me
  • collecting and adding things to the museum, building things up... I like feeling like I'm starting from scratch. It's a cool design for the game, even if it might not be executed the best
Honestly there is probably more but I have only played about a week in game so I know that I haven't developed my full opinions yet.

Things I don't like as much
  • Seeds being one per bag. Hate this feature, always have. Especially with a bag being over 100g. Early in game that's a large expense. I guess I'm just used to 9 plots of one veggie and it's hard to break myself from that formula when it comes to SOS/HM games. Edit: Okay I see that you can do 9 spots after some skill uping, still not a big fan of that though! weird feature
  • Makers. It's good in concept but given how they only produce one thing at time, in the beginning, it really slows down the game. This could be bad or good depending on how much content there is when you start unlocking things but I don't know much about that yet.
I don't really have much interest in particular bachelors or bachelorettes just yet. Maybe Iori if I am hard-pressed but I'll make my judgement calls as I get to know them. This is probably the first game where I haven't had a looks-decision, and it's made harder by the fact that there's 12 instead of 6. (And more later of course--)

I am sad I can't romance Jacopo and I don't care if I'm the only one, he's just so cute-looking.
Anna_Lynn wrote:Ooh, Marian's returning in DLC? That's awesome, since I had thought that only previous marriage candidates were returning! I hope Marian gets a proper place to stay since like...there's apparently no clinic or doctor in the game.
This was something I realized today, while playing, that there isn't a doctor in the game... which has been a standard so I was surprised. but I guess Marian eventually will fill that role. which I say <3 to that.

As an aside, I believe we get 4 characters from SOS and SOS: Trio each. And ANB as well, I think. So a total of 12 DLC characters which is pretty nice.
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greensara
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I'm still waiting on my copy to arrive (ordered from GameStop), though according to tracking it should show up today. *crosses fingers* I am so ready to get started.

I totally agree with you about Jacopo. He's been my favorite since he first showed up in the previews. Guess he'll just have to be my BFF since he's sadly not a candidate. I don't know why they don't have different body types and more personalities for the candidates, including big guys and gals as candidates and not gag characters would be great. I'm guessing that's not a Japanese thing? I think Owen was the last big guy, though he was more buff with a huge head. :P
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ryume
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Been playing this game every day this week since release and am currently on spring 16! It's been able to keep my attention away from FFXIV, which means I'm enjoying it a lot to the point I don't feel like playing anything else right now, which is big for me since grad school generally sucks up most of my free time anyway

I like the way the game looks - big, wide open space for both your farm and the town so far. I do wish the townsfolk were out milling about more though, because the town just seems empty most of the time since if they aren't out on their scheduled "move around town" time, the place is just empty. I couldn't figure out how to access the DLC at first either, since I didn't realize the outfits and such wouldn't be available until you unlock certain things, which while available early, was a bit irksome. I've seen a lot of events too, and they are just so random and totally unrelated all I can do is laugh. All previous entries in the series made each character event feel like it belonged in the game and helped with character development, but these are just so utterly random feeling, almost like they were an afterthought.

The trees and grass come back at an alarming rate, which on one hand at least with trees is good IMO, because getting lumber quickly was always annoying to me in previous entries. That being said yes, if you don't keep on top of it, you'll be overrun very quickly, and those that like their farms to look neat and tidy, beware. The same goes for the makers. THAT choice boggles the mind - why on earth couldn't they make it so each maker will produce 1 product every 2 hours off a stack of material, rather than forcing you to refill it every time something is done? Bah. ALSO - the music choices are very odd in this game, and don't fit IMO lol.

I'm enjoying the gameplay loop way more than I thought I would though, and the character customization is top-notch in this entry. I'm really liking just gathering materials, growing crops, building stuff and doing my own thing, versus previous entries where my goal was always make money ASAP and woo all the marriage candidates ASAP. It's a different feel from previous entries, but one I am enjoying a lot nonetheless.
Silent
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A Nonny Fish wrote: ....but I do so love Marian and that delightful fuchsia. I’m excited to have her back :heart:
I thought Marian was male?
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JustABeautifulGuy
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ryume wrote:I'm enjoying the gameplay loop way more than I thought I would though, and the character customization is top-notch in this entry. I'm really liking just gathering materials, growing crops, building stuff and doing my own thing, versus previous entries where my goal was always make money ASAP and woo all the marriage candidates ASAP. It's a different feel from previous entries, but one I am enjoying a lot nonetheless.
This is completely me. I never expected to be more involved in farming, crafting, mining, fishing, and other related miscellaneous activities than in dating and all that. The events are actually silly and great, despite being very short, but the characters are not as interesting as I had hoped. Nevertheless, I am enjoying the gameplay as well!
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midnighttherabbit
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I got the game earlier and I'm enjoying it way more than I expected given what I've heard about it - I'm glad I didn't buy OW instead like I considered doing, lol. After playing through the first week I don't really have any complaints. Imo, the slight annoyance of not being able to see the characters' faces sometimes when you talk to them is overshadowed by how nice the game looks overall, I really love the town and the way its lit, it gives me massive AP vibes. Compared to FoMT the graphics are SO good, I really hope they keep using this style of character model instead of the little squished chibis.
I also understand why people were complaining about characters not having a huge amount of variety in dialogue, but since I'm mostly used to playing the older HM games I don't really find it an issue - having them say more than 2 lines over and over for every friendship stage is the bare minimum for me, so I don't really mind if I'm getting varied lines of dialogue on the same subject every day.
It also feels a lot more relaxed than the previous SoS games (excluding FoMT,) which I actually found a bit overwhelming. The tutorial is really short, and you're pretty much allowed free reign over your farm. The makers and crafting element are probably going to get annoying, but compared to a lot of other signature mechanics of past games, I don't think it's going to bother me too much.

My only complaints are that I did feel a bit of lag before I cut down all the trees on my farm, and I'm finding the controls a bit clunky. It's pretty easy to miss the spot you were trying to water. The fishing minigame is also annoying me, but that's just because of how much I hated it in SDV.
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Silent wrote:
A Nonny Fish wrote: ....but I do so love Marian and that delightful fuchsia. I’m excited to have her back :heart:
I thought Marian was male?
Yes, Marian is a man.
Briarwyn
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It'd be cool to have Tigre, his grandfather, and Dunhill in the game.
dagon
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The game for me really gives the coastal city vibe.
It really reminds me of Rune Factory Tides of Destiny on Wii/PS3 both on graphics and environment, which is a little problematic since ToD was released waaaay back and had actual voice acting inside the game, instead of the casual "Hi" "Hello" *weird female noise", I'm looking at you Reina.

The music/sound effects got me really disappointed, the music is not that bad but some sounds are awful. The title music has a FoMT feel somewhere but the overall music is more HotLV.

Social is very lacking since most characters don't have a distinguishable personality.

The cutscenes kinda looks like you just swapped channels on tv and got a program already running, and the ending of the cutscenes are lacking contextually as well.

I'm still in spring but the game looks really enjoyable on the farm side.
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Still having lots of fun with this game :) But I do wish it didn't rain so much! Have had rain almost every other day during Spring, Summer and now Fall. Enough, already! Sooooo many puddles everywhere and my animals have to stay inside too often. Other than that, my only complaint is about the bleeping electric moles in the 3rd mine. No likey! Especially when one pops up right under my feet...owie :(
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After getting through Spring and into Summer. Time to post my thoughts, the good and bad.
Good:
I really like how the game looks, the natural, grassy forests remind me of going to the woods and just give it a sort of ambience.
Customization as far as hair and face is really nice. I have a character that looks like me!
Farming is as usual, and the addition of sprinklers is a nice QoL change from previous games.
Actually going out and foraging plants makes the crops you grow feel more achieved than just having it handed to you once you ship so much money.
Bad:
Makers. They. SUCK. It is super annoying to need three of each type to really make items you need, and I am so behind on lumber needs it's just frustrating.
Very noticeable lag and my farm isn't what I would call reasonably developed. Mostly paths, my makers, and my animal farm and a couple patches of crops. I really hope this can be fixed.
Villagers are bland, again. They've been talking about my Derby Win for like 4 days straight. This disappointment isn't exclusive to SoS in games lately.
I'm not a big fan of the rate that trees and stuff reappears on the farm. I cut down one tree and three more are there the next day.
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Anna_Lynn
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dagon wrote:The cutscenes kinda looks like you just swapped channels on tv and got a program already running, and the ending of the cutscenes are lacking contextually as well.
YES, this x1000!!! There is zero point in having 200+ cutscenes in this game, other than the developers showing off the "technical power" of the switch. It's truly quantity over quality, which breaks my heart when you compare these events to previous SoS games.

I just got married in my game, and the "heart events" were soooo bad. Then again I did marry Jack, who's probably considered the "boring" bachelor. I only liked one or two events, all the other cutscenes just made zero sense, had rushed pacing, or were over as soon as they began. They weren't even romantic!!! I feel less like lovers, and more like "bro's 4 life."
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nightshade2010
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I wonder if we're going to get a second game in a year or so that has everything fixed like how we got animal parade after people considered tree of tranquility a disappointment
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