Review: Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Remake Is Stronger Than the DS Game

I think the Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar remake is a stronger and more compelling game than the original Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar release. Sure, part of it is that this new version is prettier now. It also feels like there’s more to the whole mission of restoring the town via building up its weekly bazaar. But in general, there’s a lot more to do here, and I loved going through a daily routine to ensure I was constantly growing, manufacturing, exploring, and connecting with characters. It imparts such a strong sense of purpose, which is paired with a gorgeous Nordic aesthetic. 

Like many Bokujou Monogatari games, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar begins with a young adult leaving a life in the city for one in a more pastoral, rural village. Zephyr Town used to be known for its bazaar, but it fell from favor. As the new farmer, your job is to help Mayor Felix and the residents build it back up again by selling crops you grow, animal products you collect from livestock, things you foraged/mined, and items you crafted. Each Saturday, the market opens for two shifts, and your sales performance and efforts to help attract new booths will help it rise through the ranks to become a notable tourist attraction.

Because of the nature of Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, the daily routine proceeds a bit differently than other Bokujou Monogatari games. While you do tend animals, odds are your cat(s) and dog(s) get them to the pasture and back on days when the weather isn’t bad. All you need to do is gather the eggs/milk/wool. You’ll visit the plots of farmland in your fields to water, tend, and fertilize. Since many quests and higher bazaar prices are tied to quality, investing in field soil upgrades, sowing fertilizer, and watering twice a day are typically more important than before. 

From there, the manufacturing process then takes priority. There are windmills around town, including one on your farm. Each one is capable of manufacturing different types of items if you bring the crafting ingredients necessary. So if you want to make a recipe with butter or have a fancy, more expensive herb butter to sell at the market, a task on your to-do list should be taking any milk you got to the blue windmill in town with some mint or chamomile to churn it. This takes a number of hours or even days, so preparing for a day when you need a high level of income can mean setting up things like time-intensive jewelry on at least a Wednesday to be sure it is ready in time. Likewise, these are tied to tool upgrades, so you need to constantly visit them.

Unlike in the original Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar game, there’s a greater sense of the verticality in Story of Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar. Your farm is at the top of the village, and the new glider function means you can float down quickly to spots in town. This might even allow you to reach inaccessible or precarious spots on especially windy days to access more mining spots. The mountain area is also expanded, which both further establishes the idea of being in the countryside and offering more gathering and growing opportunities. After all, your beehives and mushroom logs are there. Even the equestrian race track is home to some very handy mining, fishing, and bug catching spots on days without events. I absolutely adored the use of the glider and the additional layouts present in the remake. It really makes me feel like my character is more active, I’m taking advantage of “secrets,” and even saving time.

Socialization is also a big deal in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, as interactions always feel valuable. There are romance options, of course, with newcomers Arata and Diana both debuting in the remake. They’re both great, with the former enhancing the Samir storyline and Diana adding to the bazaar one. Connecting with others can help feel like you’re getting folks invested in the weekly market, since they might agree to open their own stalls as it starts to prosper and you connect. In addition to the heart events with love interests, there are more platonic scenes with other characters to see too. Not to mention, giving the sprites living in the land gifts tied to their specialties will boost the starting quality of those items, which helps with quests and earning greater profits. These moments with characters feel especially satisfying in this remake of the game, and I also loved the inclusion of characters from other entries as bazaar vendors or making other cameos. 

All of our actions in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar serve to push us toward a greater goal. That is, to be a big shot at the weekly market. We’re constantly striving for higher sales, more income, and more booths. It essentially consumes every Saturday. To the point where trying to accomplish other elements of your routine, aside from animal husbandry and farming, fall to the wayside to ensure you are there when it opens at 10am, use the break between shifts to do things like purchase bag upgrades, homestead improvements, seeds, animals, and other things you can’t get anywhere else, then have a successful second shift until it all shuts down at 7pm. While getting used to that break in the pattern takes time, I really appreciate feeling like I’m working toward something. It’s also especially satisfying to get these upgrades early, provided you’re hustling during the week. At the same time, once you do unlock everything, it’s possible to play more leisurely and enjoy those days.

In a way, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar also reminds me of some older Bokujou Monogatari games, but in a not-as-pleasant way. Back when they’d go under the Harvest Moon name, and even with some recent releases, you’d always sort of expect some sorts of bugs. In the case of this entry, it involved crashes. They weren’t too frequent. I’d say it ended up being about three crashes after about 40 hours of gameplay. But they weren’t easy to pin down so I could avoid them. One time, it crashed after I left the barn attached to my house when I realized one of my pet dogs didn’t let every animal outside. Another, it happened when I was  refilling my shop stock for the second half of a bazaar in late summer. Another time, it crashed after I fainted. (I was honestly glad about that one, since it was a festival day and I’d forgotten to eat to keep that from happening!) I’m confident these types of issues will be patched, but these happened and that’s annoying! Other than that and some less-than-smooth gliding when coming from a high altitude area to a lower one, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar runs smoothly on the Switch 2, and it’s a relief.

That doesn’t mean I’m completely and 100% enamored with every design choice, even though I am completely captivated with the game. However, the other things are more of my own nitpicking of elements I didn’t enjoy as much, as I acknowledge other people might be okay with those things. I’m still upset about the lack of a shipping bin, even though the focus is on building up the bazaar. Once you hit certain milestones, it doesn’t feel like there is as much stress to only sell there. I’d like the option! Especially since food will go stale, and I don’t want to trek to the shop in town and hope it is open to offload them there. While I also appreciate that the affection system, relationship building, and heart events are locked behind completing some quests for characters, I hate when that totally blocks any affection from growing. Sometimes it involves seasonal items! Or you building up bonds with the sprites to improve quality of things you catch or forage. Okay, lock away the special scenes, but at least let me keep building up the relationship!

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a far stronger game on the Switch 2 than Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar. The setting feels a little less claustrophobic with the move to 3D and redesign for some areas. The characters feel stronger and more interesting thanks to romantic and platonic events. There’s a wide range of crops to grow and items to produce, and it’s always satisfying to get big numbers on a bazaar day after successful restocks. I do wish relationships didn’t end up stuck in limbo because I couldn’t complete certain requests and I had a shipping bin option, and of course the handful of crashes I experienced got me down. Still, I absolutely love this remake and its aesthetic. 

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar will come to the Switch, Switch 2, and PC on August 27, 2025.