Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a modernized remake of the original 2004 title, and does an excellent job of balancing its classic elements with quality of life improvements. The game comes from developer Marvelous Inc., which has had a hand in titles like Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, and publisher XSEED Games, known for releases like Rune Factory 5 and No More Heroes III. Just as the original, A Wonderful Life’s differences from many other mainline entries make it somewhat divisive, but it’s perfect for longtime fans or those looking for something new.
Players will begin Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life with a move to the small town of Forgotten Valley to take over a farm alongside their father’s longtime friend Takakura. The largest difference between this entry and other Story of Seasons – formerly Harvest Moon – games is a larger focus on a linear nature; residents including the main player and their child age, and some older villagers even pass away. There are only a set number of years to experience, and the game focuses more on the overall experience of living in Forgotten Valley rather than an ever-increasing farm set up.
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life manages to maintain the core facets of the original while offering worthwhile improvements. The original game was unnecessarily difficult in some ways; milk-producing animals would only give a finite amount of product before needing to be bred to continue, and players were given essentially no guidance on raising successful crops. These didn’t add to the enjoyment of the game, and have been changed – animals now give milk indefinitely, new notes from Takakura offer useful hints, and residents’ locations and relationship levels can now be found on in-game menus, for example.
Things have also been made brighter both literally and metaphorically; animal death is no longer a major concern, the shadowy color palette has been made more multifaceted, and the designs of many residents have been improved. The look of some marriage candidates and other villagers in the original A Wonderful Life arguably left something to be desired, and have been modernized in a way that feels like a good balance between original and new. Players can also live more like their true selves, with the ability to play as a male, female, or a nonbinary character in A Wonderful Life, as well as marry any of the eight candidates they wish.
The day-to-day of Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life has many ways of keeping players busy, albeit differently than may be familiar to fans of more modern Story of Seasons releases. While there are still farming and animal care tasks to be done each day, there’s a much bigger focus on work-life balance. Players won’t be spending large amounts of their day chopping wood or smashing rocks to collect materials, nor will they be filling their yard with endless rows of makers like in Pioneers of Olive Town.
2023-06-20 13:00:05
Source from screenrant.com
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