Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (NS) - Review

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Life simulation is a trendy game genre these days, and it's easy to see why. The real world is often filled with doubt, anxiety, and indignity, and so it's nice to disappear for a while into a reassuring video game world where your biggest concern is a turnip spoiling overnight. The latest entry in life simulation, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, is doubly comforting, because it embraces the cozy gameplay intrinsic to the genre and because it's a remake of one of the industry's most beloved farming sims, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Built on top of the 2004 GameCube best-seller, A Wonderful Life retains the original's mechanics and overall flow, but buttresses it with new options and quality-of-life fixes.

A Wonderful Life opens on the shoreline of Forgotten Valley, a close-knit, tranquil community far removed from the big city. We meet Takakura, a gruff-looking farmer whose eyebrows make Jerry Orbach's look dainty. In an internal monologue directed at his old, departed friend, Takakura reveals he's taken his friend's child under his wing and bequeathed them the farmstead that the two friends always dreamed of running together. That's where you, the player character, come in. It's up to you to spend your days growing crops, raising animals, befriending the oddball residents of Forgotten Valley and, eventually, falling in love and starting a family.

From the very beginning of the game, during the character creation process, it's clear that developer Marvelous has made A Wonderful Life more customizable than ever before. You can design the character of your choice, whether male, female, or non-binary, with a wide range of aesthetic options. This is a far cry from the original game, where the protagonist was locked into a single male template, and if you wanted to play from a female perspective, you had to buy an entirely new release, Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life. Not only is this remake more inclusive, it's simply more efficient.

Once you create the character that suits you best, it's off to the farm, and the leisurely, addictive gameplay loop that comes with it. As the inheritor of the farm, it's your responsibility, on a daily basis, to wake up early in the morning, till the earth, plant and water crops, feed and groom your animals, and when you have the extra bandwidth, visit the people of Forgotten Valley, go shopping and fishing, and sell your wares to make a profit. There's a satisfying, encouraging rhythm to A Wonderful Life, helped along by the reliable routine of farm work and also by the game's snappy internal timing — for each real-world second, a minute passes in the valley. 

Completing all your chores and activities is simple and straightforward, thanks to the intuitive controls and updated UI. Tilling, planting, watering, and harvesting is easy, since everything takes place on a grid, and taking care of animals is painless due to context-sensitive actions. It's possible to milk cows, nuzzle sheep, and pick up items without actually touching them, which leads to some awkward moments, but in general you can trust the control scheme to do its job. One of the most significant improvements over the original game is the ability to immediately pull up and cycle through your complete set of tools and the items in your backpack with the L shoulder button. No more clumsy digging through your inventory.

Despite a rewarding rhythm and easy-to-master controls, A Wonderful Life suffers from some tedium. You'll spend the majority of your time in the game buying and planting the same seeds, watering and fertilizing the same patches of land, and milking your favorite cows two times a day like clockwork. Thankfully, Marvelous has put into place several novelties to spice up life on the farm, including new facility upgrades, more hybrid crops, all-new tools, and the ability to breed goats and sheep. These additions, along with the revamped UI, reduce the tedium, even if they don't eliminate it entirely. There will still be days where all you'll do are monotonous chores without much to show for them. But that's just part of the deal with a slow-burning farm sim like this one. Eventually, if you plan and save wisely, your hard work will pay off. It might just take a few seasons or even years.

The biggest issue with A Wonderful Life isn't the tedium of farm life; it's the lack of depth. This remake is incredibly faithful to the 2004 release, which is great for folks who fell in love with it two decades ago, but not ideal from a gameplay point of view. There's a certain shallowness and simplicity to the game that holds it back. Outside of crop and livestock management, there just isn't much to do that's interesting or challenging. Fishing is rather boring, and there are limited dialogue options with the residents of the valley — even the romantic candidates. Once a season, the village holds a festival, but it's not very interactive. Even the archaeological dig site, which sounds like a place of discovery and mystery, is just a dusty flat area where you use a trowel to gently chip away at the earth. Ultimately, it doesn't compare favorably to recent Marvelous releases like Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town or Rune Factory 5, or to the better life sims out there.

What helps A Wonderful Life is its structure and weirdness. Unlike a lot of life and farming sims, it tells a multi-generational story over decades. You'll get married and raise a child to adulthood, your home and farm will expand, and Forgotten Valley will lose old friends, gain new neighbors, and change with the years. This is a big part of why the game remains so celebrated, almost 20 years later. It's the rare video game where lifelong memories are made.

It's also a delightfully weird game. There are some truly exciting personalities in the valley, including a frazzled scientist, an abominable snow creature, a talking plant that wouldn't look out of place in Little Shop of Horrors, and a trio of elf-like harvest sprites.

In terms of content, A Wonderful Life earns high marks. Because the story lasts for decades, you could spend anywhere between 30 and 50 hours in Forgotten Valley, managing your farm, raising your family, and growing old. Furthermore, thanks to improvements like the ability to romance any of eight bachelors and bachelorettes, regardless of gender, there's more replay value than ever before.

Not only has Marvelous expanded and refined the player options in A Wonderful Life, but it has also provided a complete visual overhaul to the experience. Everything is now in widescreen and high-definition, with a brighter, cleaner look and more detailed characters. The downside to the artistic refresh is that it lacks the warm earthiness of the 2004 release. In many ways, thanks to its deep browns and dark greens, the GameCube release looked richer and more natural. Still, when compared side by side, it's hard not to marvel at how defined and vibrant everything is in relation to 19 years ago. The only visual "defect" in this remake is the walking animation: characters have a way of sliding forward while taking steps, as if on a moving sidewalk.

Regrettably, the soundscape in A Wonderful Life hasn't received the same type of upgrade. Apart from the main theme ("Breeze Song"), which is fantastic, there just aren't many songs to enjoy. The ambient sounds of Forgotten Valley's hills, woods, and waters similarly lack diversity, not to mention nuance.

On the performance side of things, the game maintains a steady framerate without tearing, stuttering, or glitches of any kind. The lone drawback: noticeable pop-in, especially in wooded areas.

Returning to A Wonderful Life after 19 years is a comforting, warmly nostalgic experience. The colorful characters and climactic moments in Forgotten Valley stand the test of time, even if the mechanics and gameplay possibilities compare unfavorably to modern takes on the farming/life simulation model. Anyone who grew up with and loved the original game on GCN and, later, PS2 should keep an eye on this remake, thanks to its quality-of-life adjustments and expanded suite of farming and romance options. Those unfamiliar with the title should take a look only after exploring some of the better sims on the market.

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