If you knew you me, you’d know I was actually a big fan of Stardew Valley. And what brought me into Stardew Valley? It is the original Harvest Moon in SNES. And of course, I have played plenty of Harvest Moons from the Playstation and PS2 eras as well.
As much as I enjoyed them all, after a long time, it does feel a little bit repetitive after you’ve played and done the same thing over and over again. Trust me, I enjoy it, and that is why I play these farming games anyways. They are therapeutic and you feel like you’re progressing every day. But.. something just feels missing.
And here comes, Grand Bazaar! Grand Bazaar actually introduces a new mechanic that dictates how you farm and consequently makes everything feel fresh, while things that we enjoy remains the same. And oh boy, what a joy when I dove into the game blind and found out how the game goes.
Story
Well, the story is just a typical story for a farming game. You move to a small town. But instead of inheriting a farm from your grandparent, the mayor gives you the farm and trusts you in handling it and get the farm to its former glory.
Yes, that’s pretty much it. There are other subplots and stuffs, but that is how the game starts.
Beginner Friendly
What I felt first about the game is how beginner friendly it is. The game actually teaches you stuff on what to do, how to farm and handholds you so that you do not miss any, or at least much, gameplay or methods. It does not leave you hanging with no idea what to do next, which helps immensely especially if you are a beginner to this genre of games.
…Which makes this game an easy recommendation to any casual player, including your non-gaming girlfriend or wife. In fact, my wife loves playing this game.
The game is also less punishing compared to other a little bit more hardcore game like Stardew Valley. This is a plus for the casuals and beginners, though maybe the hardcore ones would raise an eyebrow to this.
But with that said, just because it is beginner friendly does not mean it does not have depth. Just like the previous titles, this game is simple to play but it has a deep mechanics that allow you to play, build your farm and express yourself in any way that you want.
And here it is, what makes Grand Bazaar, the Grand Bazaar
Now this is where the game gets interesting. The usual farming games pretty much have this core loop, which is:
- Prepare everything in the day
- Ship everything in the evening
- Profit immediately
However, there is a reason why this game is called Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar.
And it is because, the town that your farm is in hosts a grand bazaar every Saturday. So basically, what happens are, some of the townspeople will open stalls there, and people from other places will come there on Saturday to do shopping and stuff.
Of course, you, as the farmer, will need to open a stall there too.
Now, here’s the catch: You can only sell your stuffs during the bazaar only. That is the only day where you can get money. You can do everything during the week, but if you miss the Grand Bazaar, you get $0 for the week. You can do everything right during the week, but if you wake up and open your stall late, you will only get a little bit of money for that week.
This mechanic is what makes the whole week urgent. You can’t just “Hey, I’ll just grab the highest value crop and just sell it.” Because then you will have $0 for a couple weeks. Plus, just having the highest value crop does not mean you’re going to definitely sell it. Why?
Because, when you sell in Grand Bazaar, you need to actually sell your stuffs to the customers.
Unlike other previous farming games where all you need to do is put your crops and stuffs in a box, and immediately get cash (or get cash by tomorrow), you do not get that kind of luxury here.
You need to sell your crops to people. So, you gotta put the crops on the table at your stall and hope that people will be interested and buy your stuff. And interests are based on trends, so you may have the highest value cash crop, but they all are worth nothing if nobody buys it.
“Cool, then I’ll just store it and sell it next week.” Oh you sweet summer’s child. This game also has the freshness mechanic. Meaning, the longer your crop stays in your inventory, the freshness will lower and lower day by day. And, it will ultimately become rotten and will only be good to make fertilizers.
And of course, the very low inventory space does not help either. If you somehow decide to stash your stuffs, good luck. There’s simply not enough space for you to store all your crops if you decide to hoard them.
But, this is why Grand Bazaar shines. This kind of mechanics and limitations are what makes the game so engaging. Your farming activities need to be strategically planned so that you are not stuck with crops that you can’t keep. And the weekly bazaar always keep you on the edge and removes the dullness of simply shipping your crops at the end of the day.
Characters
Well, I did talk a lot about the mechanics because I felt that is the strongest part of the game. But how about the characters?
The characters are loveable. There are plenty of guys and girls for you to choose from. All of it with their own personalities, which I feel would fill in all kind of tastes you guys and gals have. You have the happy-go-lucky girl, the goth girl, the enchanting but mysterious girl. And for the boys, you have that brotherly guy, the rich and mysterious guy, the artsy guy, the hippie and gung-ho guy.
Yeah, there’s plenty for everyone.
Get it!
If you enjoy farming games, you definitely need to give this game a try. It breaks the monotonous nature of farming games and forces you to strategize your farm while still keeping this chill atmosphere. It is beginner friendly so you can get your more casual significant others or friends to play with you as well!
