Farm game fans, get ready for another foray – I played Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar at a preview event, and I’m here to say it’s growing into a blooming lovely game. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a remake of Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar on Nintendo DS, and is jam-packed with improvements, allowing it to look crisp on both Switch and PC.
As the game starts, you find yourself greeting the town’s Mayor Felix, who briefly tells you what’s what in Zephyr Town, then immediately gets you to work running your stall on market day. Yes, immediately. Get to it! He also furnishes your stall with some goods to sell, thankfully, and you can use a bell to ring and get customers’ attention (I love this thing; I rang it nonstop and ensured my business got its name out there).
After the first rush of stocking, selling, and bell ringing, you’re off to explore your farm and tend to new crops. Market day falls every Saturday, so you have six days to plant and pluck your produce so that it’s ready to sell to the townsfolk.
The next weekend does get a little more intense, as you take on two shifts at your stall. You can swap out items and restock to suit customer needs, and ensure they feel that sweet satisfaction to encourage repeat business. At least I think so – I heard that in business class years ago. However, something I didn’t learn in school was the fever time, where selling goes faster and prices go up, so keep your eyes peeled for that and get ready.
Once you’ve finished your hectic day of selling and have a stack of cash burning a hole in your pocket, you can visit other stalls run by your fellow villagers. Felix himself has a stand, there’s an animal shelter to take animals off your hands, a critter store to get you some new friends, a fisherman, a clothier, and building upgrades available, too. That’s kind of the gameplay loop in a nutshell, though there are friendships and romances to form, fish to catch, meals to catch, and events to attend, as well.
An Easter egg you may notice is some familiar friends in the crowd as you tout your wares. There are characters from across the franchise, along with some new faces sprinkled in. In total, you have 12 marriage candidates to woo, including the eight original options from the Nintendo DS game, and four new friends.
Along with your human companions, you also get some animals to hang out with. There are options for a dog on your farm, a horse you can use to ride through the town – and change into riding gear when you do, by the way – plus the usual round cows to inhabit the barn.
If horse riding isn’t your thing, there’s another option: the glider. Yes, there’s a glider in Story of Seasons. You can double jump and float into the air, allowing you to gently drift from farm to town. Plus, if you double jump while watering your plants, you hit more plots at once, cutting down the time you spend doing backbreaking farm labor.
Admittedly, I never played Grand Bazaar on Nintendo DS, so I can’t offer a full comparison, but this feels more like Fae Farm than some other Story of Seasons games I’ve played. For instance, in the previous remake, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, it felt a bit empty, but Grand Bazaar is bustling with activity and looks lovely.
I’m excited to dig into this farm game and grow a decent profit in my very own grand stand. Grand Bazaar releases on Nintendo Switch on August 27, 2025, opening your new market venture to the citizens of Zephyr Town.