In a year that’s given all of us the worst kinds of surprising news, it’s nice to have some good news on the horizon. Game publisher Marvelous (XSEED) delivered that in spades when they announced a new mainline game for the Story of Seasons franchise during Nintendo’s Partner Direct last month. This news is especially surprising, as the publisher had recently released a remake of the fan-favorite Game Boy Advance game Friends of Mineral Town for the Nintendo Switch back in July, a move which would usually dash fans hopes for seeing a mainline title due to the length of time and effort involved in development.
Titled Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, the game follows your main character as they leave their home in the city after being inspired by their grandfather’s stories of farm life. Of course, by the time they arrive, the farmstead has been long abandoned. Now it’s up to you to take dilapidated buildings, feral farm animals, and an overgrown forest, and turn it into a world-class farm that not only helps support the nearby port town of Olive Town but also helps increase the town’s tourism.
So far the gameplay shown has been a pleasing mix of old and new concepts, such as bringing back the older mining system, revamping fishing, and allowing players more control over planning and decorating their farm. A Japanese trailer has also been released recently, giving us a sneak peek of these new concepts and more.
Also returning to the series is same-sex marriage. The option made its return to the series with the Switch remake of Friends of Mineral Town, and it’s nice to see Marvelous continue to make the series inclusive. Adding to this are reports that Japan may be on track to recognize same-sex marriage by the end of the month. This would be a great step forward for Japan, as a passing vote would have them be the second Asian nation to recognize same-sex marriage, after Taiwan.
Well, while we all cross our fingers that Japan makes history, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town will be waiting for us either way on March 23rd, 2021.
Source: Niche Gamer
