Welcome, dear readers, to my diary detailing the first month in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar. During the first 31 days, I settled into Zephyr Town, planted hundreds of seeds, and started my new life as a small business owner selling my wares.
Immediately, I was thrust into the thick of things by Mayor Felix, who set me up with a stand the moment I walked into Zephyr Town. I quickly sold out of items and was then shown to my new farm. Here, I could start sowing seeds and clearing up the place, but I opted for a good night's sleep first.
Pretty soon, I was on my way to a flourishing field of crops. OK, it was about nine turnips, but still. I set out to explore the town in my free time and found that there's a lot to do outside of growing goods. A few days into the game, I had a full arsenal of tools, including a fishing rod, milking machine, and shears for my sheep.
You have to wait until the weekend market to buy any new animals, so in the meantime, I went fishing. Thankfully, the fishing minigame isn't bad here - it's a simple case of tilting the stick in the direction on screen and then boom, you have a fish. There are also ore nodes knocking around town that I recommend you start mining as soon as possible in your first month, as you need a lot of materials to upgrade your tools and farm areas.
Notably, there's no bug net, which did trip me up. It took me embarrassingly long to realize you can just sneak up to a bug and then hit A to catch it with your hands. So, there's something else to do as you wander the town. Smash that locust with your bare hands and then sell it.
I didn't neglect my neighbors, even if I did spend a lot of time picking up flowers and foraging. Talking to townsfolk gets you fetch quests, or requests for meals or crops to fulfil. You can also wander into cutscenes with most characters, letting you learn a bit more about them. I've not quite decided on a suitable marriage candidate just yet, but there are a couple of notable options like lovable Arata, who lives in the woods and works out a lot, or Lloyd, the quiet traveling merchant.
Events crop up every week or so, too. The first month saw a two-day flower festival, Honey Day, and a village-wide teaparty where everyone gathered in the town square to sip tea. I like the NPCs in this game; they have a lot to say and have personality that shines through.
As Spring 31 came closer, I upgraded my market stall and unlocked some new vendors, while making a name for myself as the best darn local farmer Zephyr Farm had ever seen. I closed out my first month with three chickens, a big round cow, a field full of quality crops, and a functioning windmill on my property. Some of my tools had upgrades, I had friendships on the go, and even a dog by my side. From humble beginnings on day one with but three items on my stall, I was well on the way to a homegrown empire.
I got absolutely stuck into Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, and am very excited to continue the farm game. Fans of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise will enjoy this, as not only is it an excellent remake, but it's perfectly accessible for new fans, too.
For more juicy details, you'll need to wait for the full review, but we also have a Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar preview, which has a sneak peek at later gameplay.