Preview: Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Takes Us Back to Market

Marvelous revealed that Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is going to return and provide us a chance to play a former Nintendo DS exclusive game on the Switch and PC. It’s always been one of the more unusual ones, due to the fact that there’s a balance between farming and acting as an actual vendor. After getting some hands-on time with it, it still feels like that sense of balance is preserved. In my first moments with Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, I first got to actually make a character. Like more recent entries, a player picks out every element of their avatar. You choose one of two body types, select the facial features, decide on the hair, and choose an outfit. You also name yourself, of course. After that, it’s off to town and learn how Felix hopes your arrival can rejuvenate the bazaar they were once known for. This segment also led to a tutorial showing how that element is prioritized. Images via Marvelous In Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, you’re attempting to build up a selection of products, which you will then sell at your booth whenever the bazaar opens. This means items foraged, things grown, products from farm animals, and whatever you make. Improving the quality can increase the value, so a big element also involves putting in the effort to constantly improve what you can offer. During the bazaar segment, I was also able to see how not only putting out products was enough, but ringing a bell to draw potential customers’ attention and building up a gauge that would allow the Harvest Sprites to chime in and provide buffs and basically a “fever time” would make my time at each bazaar more valuable. From there, I was able to explore. In addition to the farm area, where you can tend animals, have your pet herd your flocks, and care for crops, the mountain area provides foraging opportunities. During my session, I was able to see the mushroom log, which I was able to upgrade with materials in order to result in eventually higher quality mushrooms, and the beehives. It also was the perfect place to test out the glider. In this entry, you can jump around environments to cross rivers or go to higher or lower terrain. A new addition in the remake is a glider that lets you drift from one spot to another while in midair. This made it easier and faster to get from the outdoors back to town again, I found. Images via Marvelous Part of these initial moments spent in Zephyr Town with Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar entailed getting to see some of the love interests. I got to see a heart event with Ivan, for example! He was easy to spot in town by the fountain, and this time there are no gender barriers around pursing characters. That event should feel familiar to those who played the original game, as it involved a talk about books. After walking a bit further, I was able to visit Sherry and Felix in their home for her heart event. There, it was possible to encourage the mayor to trust his daughter more and allow her to assist in running the town, and in return to assist in housework so she doesn’t feel stuck indoors maintaining a home. I also got to meet the two new love interests in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, which are the romance options Arata and Diana. He’s connected to Samir, and he can be found training (and living) in the forest or running a booth at the bazaar. Diana is tied to the bazaar commission and, as such, can often be found at those grounds. The in-game compendium already seemed quite adept too, as I was able to look both up already and see she likes sweets and red items, but hates greasy foods. Meanwhile Arata enjoys hearty meals and blue items, but can’t stand sour food. Finally, the last part of Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar I got to experience firsthand ended up involving preparations for dealing with bad weather. Hurricanes and other events can strike the town. While in some installments, that means hunkering down for a day and dealing with it, there are extra efforts to take here. In this case, I needed to go to my field, a mushroom log in the mountains, and the beehives in the mountains to put up precautionary screens to protect against the storm. If someone doesn’t craft and place them, the crops, beehives, and mushroom log could all be destroyed, so there’s a sense of purpose. This means you really need to check the weather and prepare to alter your schedule as needed. Like the DS version of the game, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar feels like it will make selling at the weekly market a priority. The updated graphics seem to suit the area, while still preserving the European atmosphere and character designs. It also seems like it’ll be fairly easy to set a schedule and get into a groove. We’ll know more though, of course, when it debuts this summer. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar will come to the Nintendo Switch on August 27, 2025. The post Preview: Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Takes Us Back to Market appeared first on Siliconera.

Mar 31, 2025 - 14:39

Preview: Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Takes Us Back to Market

Marvelous revealed that Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is going to return and provide us a chance to play a former Nintendo DS exclusive game on the Switch and PC. It’s always been one of the more unusual ones, due to the fact that there’s a balance between farming and acting as an actual vendor. After getting some hands-on time with it, it still feels like that sense of balance is preserved.

In my first moments with Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, I first got to actually make a character. Like more recent entries, a player picks out every element of their avatar. You choose one of two body types, select the facial features, decide on the hair, and choose an outfit. You also name yourself, of course. After that, it’s off to town and learn how Felix hopes your arrival can rejuvenate the bazaar they were once known for. This segment also led to a tutorial showing how that element is prioritized.

In Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, you’re attempting to build up a selection of products, which you will then sell at your booth whenever the bazaar opens. This means items foraged, things grown, products from farm animals, and whatever you make. Improving the quality can increase the value, so a big element also involves putting in the effort to constantly improve what you can offer. During the bazaar segment, I was also able to see how not only putting out products was enough, but ringing a bell to draw potential customers’ attention and building up a gauge that would allow the Harvest Sprites to chime in and provide buffs and basically a “fever time” would make my time at each bazaar more valuable.

From there, I was able to explore. In addition to the farm area, where you can tend animals, have your pet herd your flocks, and care for crops, the mountain area provides foraging opportunities. During my session, I was able to see the mushroom log, which I was able to upgrade with materials in order to result in eventually higher quality mushrooms, and the beehives. It also was the perfect place to test out the glider. In this entry, you can jump around environments to cross rivers or go to higher or lower terrain. A new addition in the remake is a glider that lets you drift from one spot to another while in midair. This made it easier and faster to get from the outdoors back to town again, I found.

Part of these initial moments spent in Zephyr Town with Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar entailed getting to see some of the love interests. I got to see a heart event with Ivan, for example! He was easy to spot in town by the fountain, and this time there are no gender barriers around pursing characters. That event should feel familiar to those who played the original game, as it involved a talk about books. After walking a bit further, I was able to visit Sherry and Felix in their home for her heart event. There, it was possible to encourage the mayor to trust his daughter more and allow her to assist in running the town, and in return to assist in housework so she doesn’t feel stuck indoors maintaining a home.

I also got to meet the two new love interests in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, which are the romance options Arata and Diana. He’s connected to Samir, and he can be found training (and living) in the forest or running a booth at the bazaar. Diana is tied to the bazaar commission and, as such, can often be found at those grounds. The in-game compendium already seemed quite adept too, as I was able to look both up already and see she likes sweets and red items, but hates greasy foods. Meanwhile Arata enjoys hearty meals and blue items, but can’t stand sour food.

Finally, the last part of Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar I got to experience firsthand ended up involving preparations for dealing with bad weather. Hurricanes and other events can strike the town. While in some installments, that means hunkering down for a day and dealing with it, there are extra efforts to take here. In this case, I needed to go to my field, a mushroom log in the mountains, and the beehives in the mountains to put up precautionary screens to protect against the storm. If someone doesn’t craft and place them, the crops, beehives, and mushroom log could all be destroyed, so there’s a sense of purpose. This means you really need to check the weather and prepare to alter your schedule as needed.

Like the DS version of the game, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar feels like it will make selling at the weekly market a priority. The updated graphics seem to suit the area, while still preserving the European atmosphere and character designs. It also seems like it’ll be fairly easy to set a schedule and get into a groove. We’ll know more though, of course, when it debuts this summer.

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

The post Preview: Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Takes Us Back to Market appeared first on Siliconera.