Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town for Switch

[Kross lover/fan]

I’ve been trying to keep up with all the news on this. I have a big ol bag of mixed feelings about this.
I’m upset that for some of the character designs, they are changing drastically! Seriously Kappa?! Why do you even need a barrette (that’s what it’s call right?) It’ll be soaked under water!
Plus Ann is supposed to be a tomboy, not wearing a dress or frilly(?) long shirt!

I’m not a fan of the chibi styles either but I’ve seen worse. MM had really bad (IMO) character graphics wise to me. they looked like humanized teletubbies to me. The MC’s looked like they were wearing bloomers or diapers :/ again imo.

Despite my complaints character design wise, I still want to know more about this game. I still loved MM despite the characters looking bad to me so I hope it’s the same here. I still have the original game of FoMT/MFoMT so if the remake turns out to be a bust, I can always go back and play the original(s).

[Night Owl]

Oh right, I wanted to point something out from the trailer. You can see the player riding their horse on the beach. Which means we might actually be able to take the horse to ride around Mineral Town and the forest areas with. That will definitely come in handy in the trek to the General Store. We also know items are stack-able, so that'll make things like foraging a lot easier in the earlier parts of the game. I wasn't fond of the early grind because you only had 3 slots in your bag, and one of those was carrying the item.

[Kikki]

These remakes are necesary. when companies make games for a brand new console they need to get familiar with the hardware. You will get a better New SoS game thanks to this remake existing. If they jumped directly to the new game the quality would be compromised. think aboud how different are HM: A new beggining and the first SoS

Even if you're right, that really doesn't change my feelings in any way. I'm still going to be disappointed. Bad news is still going to make me unhappy, even if it's for a good reason.

EDIT: Oh hey, Cherubae has tweeted that Igusa Matsuyama has confirmed that he is responsible for the designs, if anyone cares to know that little bit.

EDIT 2: Went and looked at his blog, and the translation could be REALLY wrong, but he seems to be saying that it's important to note that this game is a remake, not just a port or remaster. It's not all-new, but it is a re-imagining, not a...a transplant? Sorry, auto translations are not the most trustworthy...

[OctavieKnite88]

Sorry the fishie was me. I had logged in but apparently my phone can't handle this site and kicked me out. Has anyone talked about the other protagonists beside Jack and Claire? The ones in yellow. Are they supposed to be based on the GBA (?) protagonists from that one game where you can marry the other protagonist? In addition to that I'm super curious to see what the "new" characters look like. Hopefully the guy doesn't have blond hair or blue eyes because I'm planning on playing as the FeMc. But more importantly I'm already ready for my actual SoS game. It had better be worth the 2 extra years I'm probably going to have to wait for it.

As with any remake I hope this one addresses and fixes issues with the original.

[Kikki]

I think the yellow-clad brunette feMC is really cute, I'd definitely choose her

Yep, I feel the same. I'm already so ready for my new SoS game that I'm gonna need the next one to be crazy good to make this wait worthwhile, lol. If they build a really great art style with the extra time, it'll be worth it. Ugh, the pain of knowing we probably have to wait a few more years just to find that much out!

[Nurse Fin]

Sorry the fishie was me. I had logged in but apparently my phone can't handle this site and kicked me out. Has anyone talked about the other protagonists beside Jack and Claire? The ones in yellow. Are they supposed to be based on the GBA (?) protagonists from that one game where you can marry the other protagonist? In addition to that I'm super curious to see what the "new" characters look like. Hopefully the guy doesn't have blond hair or blue eyes because I'm planning on playing as the FeMc. But more importantly I'm already ready for my actual SoS game. It had better be worth the 2 extra years I'm probably going to have to wait for it.

As with any remake I hope this one addresses and fixes issues with the original.

I think he does have blond hair and blue eyes... in any case, there is a mystery guy in a couple screens that some think might be Gray but it’s hard to tell because he’s lacking his signature hat—but the outfit looks like it might match up w/the silhouette in the scan. And if that’s the case it isn’t Allen. But I agree it’s a little disappointing if that’s the guy, so many color palettes to choose from and they go with generic blond.. not even blond hair with an interesting flair like having an unusual style or suntan or an unusual eye color. Oh well.


They made Kappa more “handsome” so does anyone else wonder about the Gourmet? Will he be available? It’s been in the back of my mind because FoMT had my favorite cooking system (getting to pick your tools and ingredients, not limited to available recipes and very experimentation-friendly) and I hope they keep it or even better, improve upon it.

[JustABeautifulGuy]

EDIT: I must have missed this. How do you know exactly who those silhouettes are, JustABeautifulGuy? Does it say on the page in Japanese or something?

No, the website doesn't say anything. It's actually really obvious who is who judging from the silhouettes from just looking at the FoMT characters.
Edit: A very wild guess but what if the new characters are actually Pierre and Witch Princess

[hanajimaismycat]

Anyone else notice this?

Spoiler:

Bahahahahaha. I LOVE everyone’s reactions to my favorite bachelor in ANB!

At this point, if it ISNT Allen, then Igusa Matsuyama (if they're still the artist!) has some explaining to do.

Has anyone figured out the mystery girl yet? The only one I can recall with a bandana is Chelsea from Island of Happiness. At least it looks like a bandana due to the perfect roundness of the head.

[Shan O 123]

Anyone else notice this?

Spoiler:

Bahahahahaha. I LOVE everyone’s reactions to my favorite bachelor in ANB!

At this point, if it ISNT Allen, then Igusa Matsuyama (if they're still the artist!) has some explaining to do.

Has anyone figured out the mystery girl yet? The only one I can recall with a bandana is Chelsea from Island of Happiness. At least it looks like a bandana due to the perfect roundness of the head.

From what I remember, Mark/Chelsea doesn’t have a personality what’s so ever. So if it’s Chels I wonder what they’d do with her character.

[Blue Rose]

Somehow, they managed to make Kappa even more ugly than the original.

Also, I hope the hat-less Gray and Ann in a dress is just "formal wear" sprites and not their actual main designs. Especially for Ann. @_@

TBH Im just hoping the silhouettes are new characters entirely at this point.

[infel]

I never got a chance to play this game, but my first game was HM DS so the chibi style is nostalgic, at least somewhat. I think Popuri looks super cute, personally! I love that braid! But that doesn't stop me from being irritated. I don't want a remake, I want a NEW story of seasons game with NEW characters. I want my character customization, I want non-chibi character designs. If this is what they meant by a story of seasons game on the switch and we're not getting an actual one later on then I'm gonna be pretty angry. First doraemon and now this. The only silver lining is that we hopefully won't have to do any crafting and people like Gotz who are carpenters will actually do their jobs. And hopefully they give Claire more outfits to wear than just her overalls. I need some variety. I guess it's good for those fans that liked the older games. I'll still get it so that I can finally spend some time in an actual mine.

I feel the same way, Fishie, at least partly. I don't object to the existence of this remake, but when I realized that they might mean that THIS was the game that was already in the works, I was very disappointed, because I want a NEW game, with graphics that are as good as or, preferably, better than what we saw in SoS and Trio.

I'm not concerned that we'll NEVER get a new game, but I do still wonder if the remake being announced now means that the new game is even further off than I thought...and I already thought it was going to be about 1-2 more years before I'd get to play a new SoS game. I really hope they come up with a beautiful new or evolved style, too.

EDIT: I must have missed this. How do you know exactly who those silhouettes are, JustABeautifulGuy? Does it say on the page in Japanese or something?

If it makes you feel any better, people said the same thing about Pokemon. That after Ultra Sun and Moon, there would be no more main stream pokemon games. An article even predicated that. But he was very wrong about that. I'm guessing this is a way to pass the time for players since they are making Rune Factor 5 and like a new Story of Seasons. But I am not too thrilled that this is a reimagining. Basically it means a remake. In games though, remakes due have a better time compared to movies. But I do understand your worry. I felt the same way about Pokemon and hated the last two games made. Thing about farming games is, plenty of people love then and play them, but not as much as things like Sims, Pokemon, and big games. Maybe this is to help them earn some extra money to stay afloat. That might explain the graphics being iffy for some. They may have rushed that part.

For me, I'm still wanting to play. I am disappointed about some character designs. For me, a part of me feels like they changed Karen and maybe Ann to fit a certain norm for women. In Japan, being feminine, small and cute and being a good cook are traits they want women to have. That's why I fear Ann's new design, because she broke social norms along with Karen in a way. Basically they may be doing the ideal beauty thing, which sucks. This may explain why not character is on the chubby side. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to see what happens.

[marumaru]

When I first heard the news I was pretty stoked, since M/FoMT were my first Harvest Moon games and are still one of my favorites. Unfortunately though after watching the trailer some of the exitement diminished a little.
They went really heavy handed with some of the character redesigns, which I don't think is the best idea when making a game that's obviously supposed to pander to the fans of the original. Some of the NPC's look nothing like their old selves, and have went from relatively realistic people to quite cartoony (Harris and Carter both seem to have gotten the short end of the stick design wise.. and they used to be so cute, too). The marriage canditates don't look too bad I suppose, but it does bother me that even though everyone else got a redesign, the playable characters weren't changed at all (to the point that the male PC even wears his cap during his own wedding ceremony). It's actually a really big shame since the only thing I've liked about the new SoS games has been the character designs, so if anything I was expecting an improvement and not what I consider to be a downgrade.

I'm not a huge fan of the graphics either. They remind me of the late DS - early 3DS era, which has probably been my least favorite in terms of overall aesthetic. Doesn't help that the original M/FoMT games have aged really well in that regard, the pixel art still looks really lovely and works great for the game. Out of all the handheld games it's actually my favorite graphics wise, the second being the DS and DSCute titles (which are essentially the same look, only a bit more bright and polished). Not to mention the rectangular maps and top down chibi look reminds me a lot of a couple other remakes of old games on the Switch, so I guess there's a pattern here Nintendo's advocating for.

The only real deciding factor for me really is what they'll do gameplay wise. How much will they change, and will it be for the better? Like I already said I haven't been too into the newer SoS titles for various reasons, but my biggest problem has been with the lack of actual farming features and bigger focus on other gimmicks. I especially really dislike the timed crafting (feels like something out of a F2P mobile game), and artificial lenghtening of the game by locking some features behind having to reach a certain year in game. I think this would be a really good chance to revisit the farming aspect and maybe work on making it more enjoyable, rather than focusing on other things entirely. I'm also really curious to see if they'll adapt the map faithfully, or if they'll expand some areas with new stuff to make it feel less small. Maybe even add some completely new areas?

All in all I think it will be very hit or miss, since M/FoMT have aged really well and personally out of all the games they're the ones I've probably replayed the most. If they can't make it better then I don't think there's a need for a remake for these games specifically. I'll probably wait until release to see if I'll buy these, since I still don't have a Switch and aren't exactly in a hurry to buy one at the moment. In the meantime all I want from a Switch Bokumono game would be something similar to ToT and AP. Honestly I'd be cool with even just a port of either one, maybe with some updated textures and shorter loading times and it'd be gold.

[Billy--]

Karen was my woman back in my original Mineral Town days... I think I'll still go for her :p Hopefully they keep some of that attitude for her, and that she still likes her wine

[Kikki]

Xseed has put up their own announcement, now. I don't think there's actually any new information in there at all, though. I think it's just their press release info.

[Billy--]

Xseed has put up their own announcement, now. I don't think there's actually any new information in there at all, though.

How long do you think it will take them to translate it?