Is Grand Bazaar worth it?

[Dragoonwing]

Instead of giving you guys a long story I'm going to list the Harvest Moon games that have come out in the last six years and my views on them.

HMDS--Hated it.
HMDS Cute--Hated it less than HMDS.
Island of Happiness--Ruined by the Full bar, weather affecting stamina, and Wonderfuls.
Sunshine Islands--Didn't bother because it looked like another a more extensive Island of Happiness.
Tree of Tranquility--It was good but receives copious amounts of stick for small interiors, limited furniture movement, and the inability to move your animals which are among my numerous issues with the game.
Animal Parade--Thanks to you guys and a comparison thread between Rune Factory Frontier and Animal Parade I'm actually afraid to pick the game up.

Grand Bazaar--I haven't exactly heard positive things about the game but I still want to purchase it and in the hopes of a Harvest Moon in recent years I don't have problems with.

I still love Harvest Moon but the recent games haven't been doing it for me at all, and that mainly has to the do with the large levels of stupid Marvel has been putting into each game. So from one Harvest Moon fan to another, is Grand Bazaar worth buying?

[Alyx]

Well have you played Friends of Mineral Town or Back to Nature? Its more like that because there isn't much of a plot and is more relaxed gameplay. I've heard people say it's boring and the characters suck, but isn't that true for a lot of HM games? I've enjoyed the game, but know people who haven't. I get tired of all HM games after a while so then I switch and return to them later. I love Grand Bazaar because of the bazaar or other new features.

So if you like relaxed gameplay with no real plot, Grand Bazaar might be worth it for you.

[Xirilia]

If you could mention what you do like in the hm series it may help to say what you'd like in grand bazaar. I liked the other ones but was relatively disapointed with bazaar. The interaction with villagers and especially conversation with possible mates is pretty limited and rather boring at times for me. But it does have some pretty cool features like cats and dogs being useful and herding your animals in and out. 3 Fields at max. And the whole bazaar system is pretty nifty though I wasn't utterly enthralled with it and that would probably be a big reason to get the game.

Maybe since i liked the ones you didn't like you'd like the one I wasn't a major fan of? lol

[Kam]

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Hell no.




















Okay, fine.

GrB is a good game for newbies to the HM series. There's no fullness bar and everything's pretty simple, but that makes it boring. The characters are all cardboard cutouts, and there's absolutely nothing to do for most of the day.

I don't really care about customization, but you seem to like it, and there is none. You can't even expand your house. You can put flowers in a vase, expand your storage, and buy more fields, but that's about it.

[Guest]

i thought i was the only one who hated HMDS. hahaha.

those sprites will be the death of me.
personally i like grand bazaar. its a little confusing at first though.

[Dragoonwing]

If you could mention what you do like in the hm series it may help to say what you'd like in grand bazaar.

List of what I liked in Harvest Moon:

Green House but that's optional
Crop hybrids
Losts of rucksack space
The ability to move your animals
Having an actual farm and not just a piece of land with a house
AWL had the entire valley joined together without a loading screen, bring it back.
I'm fine with tool upgrading as long as it doesn't involve Wonderfuls what so ever.

While it's good to see Marvelous trying new things, they should at least expand on/keep the stuff that obviously worked in the past not leave it out.

[pshycho]

i just got GrB because i needed something to do, which it did. however, i had never had more boring characters in a HM series in my life :/ it was too easy for me but some people like that. my favorite part about the game was being able to own multiple dogs and cats and they herd your animals. otherwise, i wasnt too fond of it. however, you seemed to hate alot of the HM games i liked so i say try it. i got it for like $30 and it wasnt a total waste

[Googaboga]

If you could mention what you do like in the hm series it may help to say what you'd like in grand bazaar.

List of what I liked in Harvest Moon:

Green House but that's optional
Crop hybrids
Losts of rucksack space
The ability to move your animals
Having an actual farm and not just a piece of land with a house
AWL had the entire valley joined together without a loading screen, bring it back.
I'm fine with tool upgrading as long as it doesn't involve Wonderfuls what so ever.

While it's good to see Marvelous trying new things, they should at least expand on/keep the stuff that obviously worked in the past not leave it out.

There is no Green House but there is a basement plot you can use to plant whatever you want. As long as you have the correct season stone (at first you can only plat Spring crops there)

I don't know this one. I never had any animals, since you can't sell them I was afraid of having to be stuck with them until they died .

Well there is a house/barn. A field, a pasture, and a Windmill on the farm in this game. You can add two more fields later.

They are not connected like that. But there is pretty much no loading times.

You can improve Windmills using Wonderfuls. Tool upgrades are permanent. Unlike in other games you don't need different ores. Each upgrade uses the same recipe.

Honestly though if you pretty much hated/disliked all the DS Harvest Moons I doubt you'll like this one any better .

I personally liked it, but I was done with it by Summer of the second year.

[Tsunderekko]

If you could mention what you do like in the hm series it may help to say what you'd like in grand bazaar.

List of what I liked in Harvest Moon:

Losts of rucksack space
The ability to move your animals
Having an actual farm and not just a piece of land with a house


While it's good to see Marvelous trying new things, they should at least expand on/keep the stuff that obviously worked in the past not leave it out.

Well, you seem quite unhappy for various reasons in your a fore mentioned list, and some of those games such as Sunshine Islands were well received. This makes me a bit hesitant to give my opinion to you.

I will speak on a couple of points you mentioned in your pros post. I am a huge storage/rucksack person myself. I both want and need lots of it or it frustrates me to no end. You cannot upgrade your rucksack, but it has plenty of space as far as I am concerned. I have never had an issue with this at all. When you say "having an actual farm and not just a piece of land on it" I think you would like what they have done here. Your cows and sheep have a specific area they graze in. The chickens have a pre-made pen with a fence around it. Once you place your animals in these areas, they stay within those areas and are not wandering all over your farm. I hated how I had to make my own fenced in areas in the past so really appreciated this. You can also purchase more plots of land to farm on including one near your farm that has little stairs leading up to it.

As far as the Bazaar aspect there are those who say it is a novelty that eventually wears off. I have yet found this to be the case. I always look forward to it. I simply love trying to meet the goal and beyond. It is a great deal of fun to see what a good or poor salesman/woman you are going to be. I enjoy getting the attention of potential customers, getting out the correct number of items to them in a timely manner so they do not walk away in anger. I enjoy answering the questions people stop by to ask and attempting to choose the correct answer to build my reputation. I enjoy the other stores that are unlocked over time as you expand the Bazaar.

I had a hard time deciding on if I wanted this game or not due to reading so many negative reviews. I am fortunate enough to where money is not so much of an issue regarding the purchase of games, therefore I could tell myself if I purchased it and did not like it in the end, I would not become terribly upset feeling the sting of a money waste. With that I decided to take the chance. So, I suppose mainly due to your unhappiness in the past and wishing to be cautious, I would say if you really want a new HM game that does not have the sometimes insane amount of hustle and bustle of the past games, a few charming additions and can afford to purchase it knowing you are indeed taking a risk, do it.

[Pestilent]

If you disliked the series so much why play heh. There are other farming games out there.. or for something slightly different you could try Rune Factory.. it's uhh interesting ^_^

As for Grand Bazaar, I like it ok, not as much as HMDS, but thats because its slow going in the begining for me. But i'm getting the hang of it.

[Dragoonwing]

If you disliked the series so much why play heh. There are other farming games out there.. or for something slightly different you could try Rune Factory.. it's uhh interesting ^_^

As for Grand Bazaar, I like it ok, not as much as HMDS, but thats because its slow going in the begining for me. But i'm getting the hang of it.

I still love the series, but the recent games haven't been doing it for me.

Also I've come to a decision. I'm going to get Grand Bazaar and try it out. I remember liking what I saw before it came out but do to college and other games, didn't know where it could fit. I'll get it in about a week and let you guys know what I think.

[Guest]

The town and farm etc are alot more beautiful than previous ds games, if this means anything to you.
I got up to year 5 and am married to Dirk (Im too patient) honestly, imo it will probley be a game you won't be interested in past the first or second year, but if you're really curious and need a new hm game to play id try it out, id say its a better game than the last 3. You could try renting it if you can find a rental store for hand-helds. The Rogers in my area does.

[haloharvestmoon]

If you are really patient and don't require a lot to keep you entertained GrB will probably do it for you. There is no plot other than improving the bazaar (no islands to restore, goddess to save, etc). This was probably my least favorite aspect of the game.

The farm is beautiful though. I hated having a giant square that you had to customize also. I want everything in a place that looks realistic.

I think the characters are nice, and the glossy sprites are by far my favorites.

I also like the bazaar better than the shipping bin. It gave a very creative yet simple way to entertain yourself while selling stuff.