Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life manages to toe the line between the core features that made the original great while adding and improving upon aspects that needed a little love. If all the systems had been completely modernized, it wouldn't maintain the charm that made the game so beloved in the first place. The differences between Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life and most other modern farming games will likely be somewhat jarring and divisive among players, but it's a unique journey unlike any other, and one worth going on for veterans of the genre especially.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a remarkable experience. It takes the classic farming formula and gives it a purpose beyond just seeing how many S-ranked tomatoes you can grow. With its focus on family, legacy, and living a good life, this is a farming sim where what you do away from the fields is as important as what you do when you’re tilling that land. It’s a game that encourages a healthy work-life balance, and there is no better lesson we need in our modern era than that.

A Wonderful Life on the GameCube was perhaps the most perfect execution of the Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons) ethos out of all in the long-running series. As such, it’s the one that also generates the strongest pathos. Heart-meltingly warm good-naturedness, mixed with a perfectly adequate remake make this wholesome masterpiece relevant all over again. With the state of the world being this lousy, these little escapes are more valuable than ever.

As a long-time fan of the Story of Seasons games, I love what Marvelous have done with Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It’s the same game I enjoyed playing all those years ago but with a fresh coat of paint and meaningful quality-of-life updates. The controls and UI are swift and easy to navigate — the amount of time I’ve saved with the new inventory navigation and livestock bells is impressive — and the game feels right at home in the current market. You can tell the development team wanted to preserve what was already an extremely memorable and worthwhile experience, yet understood that gamers’ expectations for accessibility and efficiency are different than they were 20 years ago.

In the end, A Wonderful Life still feels like a game that was released in 2003, and whether or not you consider that a good thing will depend on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a very simple farming game to kill a few hours with here and there, or just looking for a trip down nostalgia lane, you’ll probably find yourself enjoying it. If you’re hoping for something as full featured and engaging as the modern games that have come out of the genre’s recent indie boom, then you’re not likely to find it here. Personally, I have enjoyed my time in Forgotten Valley and the experience of building a little family. While years can feel like they crawl by slowly, the progression you get to see as kids around the village get older and new people arrive in the valley is nice and satisfying to experience. I look forward to spending a lot more of my time in this sleepy little village.

All too frequently, video game escapism means slaying hundreds of opponents. But Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life recreation of agrarian life is an entirely dissimilar experience, driven by an appreciation for life’s simple pleasures. Whether tending to a thriving garden or basking in the warmth of social interaction, its virtues largely continue to shine twenty years later.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life gets it right when it comes to updating the 2003 classic to the present day. It is not the most complete of the saga, and inherits errors, but Marvelous knows how to transmit nostalgia in this remake, as special and charming as usual. A new life awaits you in the Forgotten Valley.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life remains both an oddity and a gem, and is a must play for fans of the farming sim.

Improving old features, alongside introducing new ones, results in a delightful reimagining of a classic farming simulator.

While it is a simple farming simulator at its core, it’s also profound in its design, leaning heavily into a quiet philosophy that lends the action a sense of meaning and purpose. It’s a wonderful exploration of living, and while silly and simple at times, it understands exactly why the smaller moments are so precious.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life brings one of the most beloved episodes of the franchise back to life, with new events and a revamped (albeit still old) presentation, but the lack of new features keeps this remake away from greatness.

Story Of Seasons: A Wonderful Life brings some welcome modernisation to an old classic, while at times sticking a little too closely to its roots.

Compared to newer farming games Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is somewhat slow. This can lead to some frustrations, yet at the same time it gives you a sense of peace, something which is very welcome in today’s often rushed society. If A Wonderful Life had added more things to do, this slowness would’ve probably been a lot less noticeable. The characters, who are the heart and soul of the game, are the saving grace. They make you want to keep returning to Forgotten Valley.

A stark reminder of the fact that this genre has been standing still for the last 20 years. Are you tired of all the Animal Crossings and Stardew Valleys? You’re not going to find anything new here. Otherwise, welcome to the farm!

A remake that is mostly true to the original with small changes that improve the feel of the game, but compared to its genre colleagues it is no longer up-to-date.

I’ve got to tell you, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life feels like a game that arrived right when I needed it most. This is a game about redefining what matters to you. First, it’s about settling into a new community and forming bonds with your new neighbors. One of them being romantic. Then it’s about supporting your growing family both emotionally and via working hard on the farm. As time passes, you get to see how that influences things. It’s like you are building a life while farming, rather than working a farm and taking “you” time to be social when you can.

If you can take the time to pace yourself and slowly enjoy everything the game has to offer from charming neighbors to home-cooked meals, then there is a whole lot to enjoy about Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life.

A modernised and remade classic – Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life – provides a very laid-back and pleasant journey through farming, raising animals, and finding a partner to spend your life with.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life retains the charm and the pleasant tedium of the original while bringing enough features up-to-date that it's not a total chore to play. Fans of later farming/life-sims might find it too slow and too dull, but we encourage you to embrace the slow-and-dullness to find a surprisingly fulfilling and earnest game underneath. After all, this game is the granddaddy of Stardew Valley, and it's not too hard to see the family resemblance. Just, uh, use a guide. Trust us.

I think any gamers who want a farming sim with less grind and hustle will enjoy Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It trims a lot of the fat that has become common in the genre. You’re not a warrior or a spelunker or a craftsman. You’re simply a farmer trying to live a quiet life and make your way with the resources you have. If you played the original and loved it, you’ll definitely enjoy the remake because it’s almost the same game but prettier. However, if you’re more used to modern farming sims and want one that will give you more to do on a daily basis, AWL might be too simplistic for you. There’s just not a lot happening in Forgotten Valley. Regardless of your preference, the in-game marriage being pushed within the very first chapter felt way too rushed and forced. If you were hoping to have fun, interesting characters to spend your in-game life with, you’ll again likely be disappointed.

It all adds up to a feeling of becoming enmeshed, slowly but surely, in a little community – one that you become familiar with and part of, even if the moment-to-moment interactions can feel a little shallow. Marvelous also seem to have finally nailed the technical performance for their remakes, too, especially on the Switch, with fast load times and little to no slowdown even with loads of animals on screen. It’s not going to be a game for everyone, but if you can meet A Wonderful Life on its terms, you’ll find a lot to love in its slow-paced, small-town gait.

As someone who loved the original Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life as a child, I find its 2023 remake difficult to recommend over other farming sims with more expansive worlds, more interesting stories, and more satisfying progression. Marvelous has admirably updated the graphics and gameplay to cater to a more modern audience, but those improvements only do so much when the heart of it feels as dated as it does. Its standout feature is still the way the town and NPCs impressively adapt and age over the course of its potentially 30-year campaign, but there aren’t enough noteworthy characters or rewards to make me want to stick around that long, either. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life doesn’t offend, but it sure doesn’t impress either.

Back in 2003, A Wonderful Life offered a refreshing and sentimental take on the farming sim genre. However, even then, it felt a bit empty when compared to what many other simulation games were doing. While Marvelous added greater inclusivity, clarity, and additional events and dialogue, it doesn't keep this 2023 remake from feeling empty and stuck in the past.

Ultimately, however, this latest entry in the franchise is simply not exceptional. It’s easy to get sunk in and lose huge chunks of time tending crops and animals or befriending villagers. But, overall, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a steady middle-of-the-road offering with nothing to recommend over anything else currently available in the genre. Almost every aspect of the game is good but not great.