Category:Story of Seasons

Introduction
One chilly winter day, as you leafed through your mail, a simple pamphlet caught your eye. "New Farmers Wanted! Join us and help Oak Tree Town grow as you work the land!" ''Wouldn't it be interesting to become a farmer? To leave city life behind and live off the land, in harmony with nature? With visions of green pastures and friendly animals in your head, you filled out and submitted the application. One week ago, the reply came. You'd been accepted! Now, a new life awaits you in the countryside..'' - Prologue Story of Seasons: A Connected New World, known just as Story of Seasons, is the first title under the brand new Story of Seasons name (presented by Marvelous and XSEED). As a continuation of the Bokujou Monogatari series, Story of Seasons once again places the main character in charge of a farm in the hopes of improving the town and environment that exists around it! Meet a colorful cast of brand new (and returning!) characters, raise animals, customize your farm, and even fall in love while playing this title. It's up to you to make Oak Tree Town a vibrant and wonderful place to be!

Features and Innovations

 * Streamlined Farming System: Crops are now grown in sets of 9; they are watered and harvested this way. This method is much faster than previous installments!
 * Rival Farmers: You're not the only one working the fields! Story of Seasons introduces rival farmers Eda, Fritz, Giorgio, and Elise. Do your best to earn their respect! You'll be rewarded with rival farm events as well as friendship points!
 * Public Fields and Conquests: Grab your tools and get ready to fight! In Story of Seasons you must challenge the rival farmers for the right to use public fields for your own crops.
 * Trading Depot: Somewhat similar to the Bazaar in Grand Bazaar, the Trading Depot is the busiest place in town. There are a total of 7 vendors that will come to your town, and you'll have to unlock them all to access all the goods in the game. One is unlocked at the start for you!
 * The Safari: In Fall of Year 1 you can unlock the Safari, which is a beautiful little place outside the main map of the game. You can either go there on your own horse, pay Veronica 100G to go by yourself, or take your animals to relieve their stress. When you have a family, you'll be able to take them there as well! The Safari is also the location of the only mining point in game; the mechanics of which are very similar to A New Beginning.
 * Swimming: You can now swim in certain rivers and dive to pick up fish and other items. A great alternative until you get your fishing rod!
 * Fashion Contests: Don your best clothes, because the Fashion Fiesta is coming! This festival happens twice a year- and if you win, not only do you get a cool prize, but your rank in clothing goes up, which means you make more money off of shipping clothes!

Reception
Overall, the reception of Story of Seasons has been surprisingly popular in the west. Here are some reviews of the games:
 * "Story of Seasons is a must-have for anyone into the Harvest Moon series or simulation and resource management games in general." -The Escapist, 4.5/5
 * "Story of Seasons is a wildly addictive, bizarrely rewarding adventure constrained by tight restrictions that only loosen after a significant time investment. The early pacing problems do well to bolster the sense of progression later in the game, and while the restrictive stamina system tempers the fun early on, the eventual payoff for all your hard work is enhanced by the early days spent toiling in the fields." -Gamespot, 7/10
 * "Story of Seasons is a very run of the mill farming sim. It doesn't elevate the genre and it is a very long and tedious endeavour. It does have an unbelievable amount of options and fans of the genre that don't look for much will most likely be satisfied." -Cubed3, 5/10