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PREVIEW: Story Of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town




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wolf10



Joined: 23 Jan 2016
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:31 am Reply with quote
Curse you, early press copy. The official release isn't for another month, but I want it now.
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Aura Ichadora



Joined: 25 Apr 2008
Posts: 2281
Location: In front of my computer
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 3:40 pm Reply with quote
I can't wait to play my copy once it comes out! Which, unfortunately, is still a ways off, but still. I'm looking forward to seeing what this world will have for me. Especially given that I wasn't a huge fan of Friends of Mineral Town (although a lot of that is probably my own hang-ups; I loved those games as a kid, but since this one was pretty much a straight-up remake with not a lot of the newer changes from its predecessors Story of Seasons and Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, I actually got bored with it rather quickly), I'm looking forward to having a new game to play with a lot more new features and things to explore and enjoy.

Still also have to get the DLC pass when it releases. Do we know if you can try and buy it directly from the game itself, such as what you were able to do with the DLC for Trio of Towns on the 3DS? Or will it be something you can buy direct from the eShop upon release? Since my physical copy I have pre-ordered (the deluxe version, with the poster and buffalo plushie) doesn't come with it and there hasn't been any physical copies updated showing that the DLC is to come with it, I have to assume it'd be one of these two options in order to buy the DLC pack.
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mewpudding101
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Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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Location: Tokyo, Japan
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:48 pm Reply with quote
I beat (the story ends like, really fast. If you can call it a story) the game in two days. It unfortunately relies way too much on the maker mechanic, and the game overall is made way too easy, even on normal mode. Animals are free, and can never be ill, and they automatically go inside when it's raining.
It's mostly just you spending your time putting items in makers and waiting for them to process.
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wolf10



Joined: 23 Jan 2016
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:34 am Reply with quote
It's actually not that unusual for a BokuMono to have a fairly short/simple story. Harvest Moon 64 (numerically Bokujo Monogatari 2) had a basically nonexistent story, but your farm would be evaluated after three years. Magical Melody introduced the "objectives checklist" style of progression, and it was pretty much those two that ConcernedApe combined when he made Stardew Valley.

My Rune Factory experience is minimal, but I got the (first) ending of RF4 in Spring of Year 1, and I've heard things about the other games as well.

Short-or-nonexistent story probably isn't going to scare off any veterans (though I hardly count), and honestly my animals never got sick anyway when I was playing the Mineral Town remake, so I probably wouldn't have noticed. All that really matters to me is that there's enough other gameplay that you don't miss the micromanaging.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5888
PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:35 pm Reply with quote
mewpudding101 wrote:
I beat (the story ends like, really fast. If you can call it a story) the game in two days. It unfortunately relies way too much on the maker mechanic,


Not really surprising considering how important Maker machines were in the first two 3DS games

mewpudding101 wrote:
and the game overall is made way too easy, even on normal mode. Animals are free, and can never be ill, and they automatically go inside when it's raining.


Those are not actually bad things especially the never falling ill and going inside the barn mechanics. It was kind of tedious in New Beginning when one of your chickens would get sick because you forgot to pet them or feed them so they wouldn't lay eggs for a couple days. Same with putting your animals back in the barn at least before you got a dog or cat.
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mewpudding101
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Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:20 pm Reply with quote
BadNewsBlues wrote:


Those are not actually bad things especially the never falling ill and going inside the barn mechanics. It was kind of tedious in New Beginning when one of your chickens would get sick because you forgot to pet them or feed them so they wouldn't lay eggs for a couple days. Same with putting your animals back in the barn at least before you got a dog or cat.


HM stories are simple. This was amazingly not even a story. I think there were three events and then it was over by summer.
I miss the Tree of Tranquility and Animal Parade games.

Besides the animals not getting sick thing
You get free materials and even cooked food from sprites every day
You can pray to a shrine pretty early in the game with minimal effort to raise the quality of your fields and increase your stamina
Most festivals you don’t do anything—you just watch a pre-made event.
You can save anywhere.
You have both a horse and a bike. Both move at the same speed—SLOW
You don’t have to feed your horse.
Nothing really changes after getting married.


Sure, convenience can be a good thing
But to what amount can it have automation before it’s not a game anymore??
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5888
PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 11:54 am Reply with quote
mewpudding101 wrote:

You have both a horse and a bike. Both move at the same speed—SLOW


Sounds dumb.


mewpudding101 wrote:

But to what amount can it have automation before it’s not a game anymore??


I mean in the interest of fairness the games essentially started off as a simulation.
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mewpudding101
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Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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Location: Tokyo, Japan
PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2021 7:26 am Reply with quote
BadNewsBlues wrote:

mewpudding101 wrote:

But to what amount can it have automation before it’s not a game anymore??


I mean in the interest of fairness the games essentially started off as a simulation.


It was a simulation, but it always made you feel like you were in control, and had a level of challenge to it.
As someone who has played Harvest Moon for around 20 years
This was the easiest (not in a good way) experience I ever had.
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