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Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town review on Switch

July 22, 2020

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Friends of Mineral Town

Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town is the latest game in the long-running Story of Seasons series formerly known as Harvest Moon. And, it is a remake of the classic 2003 Game Boy Advance game. Your goal, much like other games in the series, is to make a profit from your farm by producing crops and raising livestock.

Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town marks the return of familiar faces and a number of quality of life updates have been made since its initial release 17 years on the Game Boy Advance.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town Details

Platform: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Marvelous Inc.
Publisher: XSEED Games
Genre: Simulation, role-playing
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10+)

A charming and occasionally mysterious world

The game begins as you receive a letter from the Mayor of Mineral Town. Mayor Thomas breaks that news that you have inherited your grandfather’s farm! As you make your way over to Mineral Town, Mayor Thomas greets you and reminisces about the summer you spent in Mineral Town as a child.

In an act of desperation, the Mayor begs you to stay and fix up your new inherited farm. And, just like that, you’re off to fix up your farm, taking care of your animals, fishing and tending to your crops. The game is packed with locals, some from the old Game Boy Advance Game and new charters that you will get to know who are always willing to lend a helping hand.

Same great gameplay with modernized controls

If you’ve played previous games in the Story of Seasons franchise, you pretty much know what to expect when it comes to gameplay in Friends of Mineral Town. Time and resource management is critical, to be successful you must have a steady income by planting and harvesting your crops. Upgrading your tools is the best way to get more work done in less time and to do that you must sell what you have grown.

You start out with a set of basic tools to plant and water your crops. For the first several days you can expect to get your hands dirty on the farm by clearing the land, plowing the fields, planting seeds and watering your crops. Time passes in the game at a rather quick pace, so it’s important to stay on task in the beginning of the game.

Friends of Mineral Town

In no time, you’ll get into the routine of waking up, watering your crops, feeding your livestock, and then heading into town to pick up supplies. While all of this may sound like a lot, Friends of Mineral Town makes it easy to get into the swing of things by not forcing you to take on more than you can handle at one time. The sense of accomplishment in taking care of your farm and expanding it is very rewarding and satisfying.

Each season in Friends of Mineral Town comes with new festivals and events. The first of which is the Spring Derby. Placing your bets on which horse will win or entering the race is both fun and exciting. The mini game offers some intense moments of action and with your money on the line it makes it a must win situation.

Friends of Mineral Town

Upgraded graphics with a unique visual charm

Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town has seen a massive upgrade in graphics over its Game Boy Advance counterpart. Characters have been given giant heads along with a cartoony look, which results in the game having its own unique visual charm that fans will love.

There were a few instances in the game where I noticed some collision detection issues such as animals standing on top of and inside other animals. And, a few times I was able to walk right through some of the other townsfolk. Luckily, it’s nothing really that detracts from the overall fun of the game.

Each season in the game has its own set of different music tracks. Some will have you humming and whistling, while others are repetitive and dull. All the expected farm animal noises are present here, and surprisingly, even the insects make their own noises.

Friends of Mineral Town

Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town feels like a trip down memory lane

Fans of the original game on Game Boy Advance will feel like Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town is a trip down memory lane. If you are a fan of Animal Crossing, then more than likely you’ll enjoy this game. Though, you might be a little disappointed with the lack of character customization and relatively simple story.

On the other hand, mini games are exciting and help shake up your daily routine. The updated artstyle really lends well to the Switch and the Story of Seasons series as whole. Fans will instantly notice that gameplay feels familiar and the game runs at a decent pace. Each of the game’s four seasons are about a month long, so things don’t feel dragged out and prolonged.

If you are a fan of the Story of Seasons franchise, Friends of Mineral Town is a welcomed addition to your collection. And, if you are fans of other games in the genre, I urge you to give Friends of Mineral Town a try—you just might be surprised!

+ Rewarding Gameplay
+ Mini games shakeup gameplay and are fun
+ Cute updated graphics

– No multiplayer
– Limited character customization