Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town from Xseed Games and Marvelous arrives next month as the first mainline entry in the Story of Seasons franchise on both Nintendo Switch and PC. The simulation RPG franchise has found a lot of success across multiple platforms across multiple decades with the most notable releases in recent years being on Nintendo 3DS in the form of Story of Seasons and Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. I’ve been playing Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town on both Nintendo Switch and PC for review and here’s what you need to know.
What is Story of Seasons?
If you’ve never played a Story of Seasons game before, the series has had multiple entries and spin-offs but always has a farming simulation RPG focus. The recently released Rune Factory 4 Special is actually a spin-off to this franchise with a more narrative and RPG focus.
Your main objective in the series’ mainline games is always to build up a rundown farm into a successful one through tending to livestock, becoming friends with various characters in a small town or village, tending to crops, and more.
Is Story of Seasons the same as Harvest Moon?
This is something that confuses a lot of people. Back in 2012, Marvelous (the owners of the Bokujou Monogatari franchise in Japan), stopped licensing out the games to Natsume in the West for localisation. Natsume retained the Harvest Moon name and the subsequent games in the Bokujou Monogatari series started being localised under the Story of Seasons name with Xseed Games beginning with the Nintendo 3DS entry with the same name.
Basically the original and beloved Harvest Moon games from the handheld Nintendo days and the PlayStation days are now under the Story of Seasons name for newer entries while Natsume releases its own Harvest Moon games that have nothing to do with the developers of the classic entries. If you’re still curious about what happened with the name change in the West, watch this.
What is Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town?
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a full 3D remake of a Game Boy Advance game Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town that was already a remake of the original PlayStation game Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. For a lot of fans of the Story of Seasons (previously Harvest Moon) franchise, Friends of Mineral Town is a fantastic simulation experience and one many consider the best entry.
In addition to the visual changes, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town includes a wealth of quality of life improvements that make for a much nicer experience. In the few days I’ve been playing it, the inventory management and tool switching is already way better than what Animal Crossing: New Horizons has.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town has tons of things for you to do outside the farm like fishing, cooking, befriending people, getting married, exploring a mine, and more. This game leaves a lot up to you with its relaxed game flow. If you’re looking for a story focus with combat in addition to farming, you’re better off playing Rune Factory 4 Special.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town platforms
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is releasing on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam only. It was released only on Nintendo Switch in Japan last year and a PC version has been added for the Western release.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town release date
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town releases on July 10 in Europe and July 14 in North America on Nintendo Switch. The worldwide PC release is on July 14 via Steam.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town physical release
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is getting a physical release in North America and Europe on Nintendo Switch. Don’t expect a physical release in India due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Nintendo Switch situation in the country.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town download size
The Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town download size is 1.096GB on PC and 999MB on Nintendo Switch.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town pre-order bonus
The Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town pre-order bonus is a limited costume that will be sold separately for $1.99 after the game releases. This applies to both Nintendo Switch and Steam.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town price
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is priced at $49.99 (approximately Rs. 3,812) on both platforms. The India price is Rs. 1,099 on Steam. This follows Valve’s recommended regional pricing.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town PC requirements
- OS: Windows 8 or higher
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8265U
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel UHD 620
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 2 GB available space
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town review
I’ll have a full review of Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town on both Nintendo Switch and PC closer to launch.
