Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (Switch 2) Review

One would be excused for thinking that the Nintendo Switch has enough farming games already; what could possibly be offered that has not been done already at this point? First of all, this is the Switch 2 Edition, and I am arguing that the console does not have enough farming games yet. Secondly, the weekly bazaar gameplay loop is worth checking out if you are after something different.

Created as a remake of the Nintendo DS game of the same name, Grand Bazaar pits you as a plucky young farmer who is looking to build the reputation of Zephyr Town. The town was once a beacon of capitalism, where people from all around the world would visit to shop at its various markets. However, the previous farmer left town in mysterious circumstances, and the town could not cope with the pressure, losing all of its reputation.

Upon booting it up, I could not believe I was playing a farming game where I was not inheriting grandpa’s run-down old farm. Instantly, I was looking forward to how the narrative would pan out, since I was not trying to build the reputation of my own family but instead building the reputation of the town. The mayor welcomes you to the town and shows you basically how the entire game works.

As I mentioned before, this felt like a fresh approach, despite the game being a remake. I wondered why the mayor could not just do all the farming and everything himself since he seemed to know it all; however, a variety of cutscenes smattered throughout the game reveal that there is more than just “farm and earn money” to this game.

The game has its usual mechanics. They include farming, mining, building relationships, caring for animals, and building relationships. I am relieved to say that the balance of this is tighter than any other Story of Seasons game I have played. I never felt like I had to spend weeks on end mining, nor did I ever have to spend three quarters of the day tending to my fields. Even after spending a whole in-game year playing this and building my way back to Grand Bazaar, I rarely felt the stress of having to choose a specific task over another.

I put this down to the fact that the game does not have a mine in it. While I understand that many people enjoy the mining aspect of these farming games, I am one in the camp where mines take up too much of your time in most games. Instead, there are rocks littered around Zephyr Town and its surrounds that you can use your hatchet to bash open. Yes, one of your tools is an axe and mallet combination, allowing you to mine rocks and bust up logs in one go, handy!

The game does really well at introducing new aspects of the game to you over a period of time. About a month into the game, when you think you have nailed just about the whole thing and know what to do, the mayor quickly visits and tells you the Pet Show is coming up in a few days.

It is at that point the mayor tells you to get yourself a pet, and that training it up well enough gives it the skill to herd your animals in and out of your barn for you. A dog can gain the ability to herd cows, sheep, and alpacas, while a cat can herd your chickens. As you can get multiple barns in the game, you can get multiple pets to ensure that some part of the barn is automated, giving you time for other things to do in your day.

In lieu of a town museum, the game has its own encyclopaedia contained within your house. Every fish, bug, and animal you collect or own is entered into the encyclopaedia, as well as crafted items, plants, and just about everything else you can think of within the game. It may not be as well-received as an actual museum where everything is on display, but at the very least, there is a way to track what you have and have not caught yet.

Building relationships is not anything new in the series; however, as most of the characters are now voiced, they have some sense of personality to them. As usual, there are a variety of characters around the farmer’s age that they can marry, including the mayor’s bubbly daughter, a recluse introvert, an uptight government official, and a skater bro, to name a few.

As you progress through each NPC’s relationship hearts, you are able to perform specific tasks for that character and experience cutscenes that reveal more of who they are as a person. As with most games, you might be four or five hearts in on multiple characters, and they all start falling for you at the same time, which is always strange. That being said, the more you talk to them and give gifts, the more they eventually open up and let you learn about their history.

As you build upon your bazaar, you unlock new areas of the game to explore. There are the mountains where you can find lots of rocks (and no mine!), a horse racing track that has spots for fishing, and a little bit of horse racing. As you progress, more and more of the game opens up to you, and as a result, it never gets overwhelming. I really liked this approach.

In order to craft items in the game, you must take raw materials to one of the three mills located around town. The red mill is on your farming grounds and does a lot of the basic wood and materials. The blue mill is located on the other side of town, near the bazaar, and takes care of more complex tool upgrades and pickled vegetables, and the yellow mill is located near the mountains and processes vegetables to be turned back into seeds, as well as the highest grade tools, wood, and metals.

Seeing that there are only three machines that do all the work for you is refreshing; however, having them placed around town instead of a singular location is a bit strange. There is also a limit of six different processes at once, which can be upgraded later in the game with the right items, so selecting what you want processed is a careful and considered process.

The game is called Grand Bazaar for a reason, and this is because every Saturday, you have the opportunity to sell a bunch of things you have grown, crafted, and cooked. Setting up your stall involves choosing a type of tent and tables you want to use, as well as placing some decorations around. Different items give you different boosts, such as having each customer purchase more items off of you and increasing the price of all your items.

Once your shop is set up and you have chosen up to 24 things to stock in your market, you can then open your shop to the public. You are then entered into a frantic minigame where you have to put your items on display and attract customers to your store. Customers will look at your wares, and if they want something, they will approach your counter for purchase. Sometimes a potential customer will want something you have but is not on display, so trying to replace an item while selling goods becomes frantic fast.

Despite doing a lot of juggling in the bazaar, it never feels stressful. You can have a maximum of three tables at once, allowing for twelve items. This sometimes means that customers wait too long and end up leaving your table, but another customer may end up wanting the same thing, so I have never felt bad when this happens.

The better you perform at your bazaar, the greater the potential for the town to increase its standing in the bazaar world. As your bazaar grows, you can attract new stalls to your town. This opens up opportunities for other merchants to expand your farm’s crop abilities, get your kitchen renovated, and build your storage so you can hold more. You can even purchase boxes that are placed around town that can teleport you back to your farm. Sadly, these boxes are a one-way-only trip, so there is no authentic fast travel system, unfortunately.

It is also the best day to purchase items from other members of town to increase your cooking repertoire and to buy raw materials so you do not need to spend hours gathering things. It is a tremendously fun and well-implemented system.

I have been playing farming games for quite a while now, going back to the original Harvest Moon on the Super Nintendo. I can honestly say that Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar likely will rank in my top five games in the genre. There is plenty to do in the game, the voice acting is surprisingly well done, and most importantly of all, it is not a chore to play. I never played the DS original of this; however, I am confident when I say that this is a definitive version of the game and well worth checking out.

Rating: 4/5

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game was tested for this review.