Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Review – The most affirming game of all time!

Story of Seasons has been on my radar for years, yet I’ve never made the leap to playing through a game in the series. I’ve played the likes of Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Disney Dreamlight, and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, if you count that as a cozy game at this stage, like I do. When Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar for the Nintendo Switch 2 was announced, I was super excited for a chance to try the series out at what should be the best version of the game. The website for Grand Bazaar lists multiple ways in which this version is THE version to play; did the game deliver? Let’s discuss.

For a brief breakdown of the plot, you answer the call of a flyer to become the farmer of Zephyr Town. When you arrive, Mayor Flex… I mean, Felix is there to get you up to speed on what the town is up against. Their bazaar, which was once the talk of the area, has become a shadow of its former self. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to make their bazaar a Grand Bazaar. You’ll do this through farming, mining, fishing, cooking, and taking care of your farm animals. All of the products you create can be sold at the bazaar and will increase your rankings depending on how much money you make. As the bazaar grows, so does your town when it comes to the residents and the economy of the town itself. This game is pretty continuous with a main story and the ability to continue afterwards.

Character customization, fun patterns of play, great characters, lovely romances, continuous progression, beautiful music, and great/unique visuals are the main aspects that I’m looking for in a cozy game.

Sometimes a character customization screen can be simple AND good. You don’t always need to have thousands of options to make a player feel like the character is theirs. You’ll create your base character and give them the clothes you feel fit them best from two choices, then pick your hairstyle and color. Straightforward, and yet I felt like my character was ready to go in a minute or so. As you continue your game, you’ll have options for more clothing that you can make with wool and dye, but you’ll have to unlock that as your bazaar expands. 

The patterns in this game are fun to figure out, if not a little unforgiving at times. To maximize your time, you’ll need to take BIG swings early. The main patterns are farming, mining, fishing, and talking to townspeople. After that, you’ll use all of those aspects to make products that can either be sold as-is or can be used to make even better stuff. For example, you can sell eggs as they are and make some money, or you can turn the eggs into mayonnaise for a little extra money, but using production lines. These production lines are in the form of windmills all over town. The windmill worker, Isaac, will have quests for you to be able to unlock these windmills. As you do, you’ll have a chance to make all sorts of things from upgraded tools (taking previous equipment and upgrading it, such as watering can to watering can +), to dyes, and dog treats! As you continue, you’ll get better and better stuff you can make. 

As these patterns become more normal, you’ll learn to get the timing of different moments right. I always like getting the farming done in the morning so I can take a bath (which gives you half your stamina back) before heading to talk to people in town, then go mining and fishing in the mountains in the evening, ending my day with production so I can make something from everything collected that day. I find this similar to Stardew Valley, which makes sense given ConcernedApe’s (the creator of Stardew Valley) love of the franchise systems. My suggestion is to play the game the way you want to in order to have fun. 

The pets and farm animals add quite a lot as your pet learns to take your farm animals out to the pasture during sunny days. You can also compete in Pet Day which is harder than I expected but is a great way to bond with your pet. It’s also important to keep your farm animals happy as they’ll produce better products when happy.

The bazaar itself is a creative way to sell everything you possibly can. You’ll be given a stall that you’ll be able to decorate more and more as time progresses. You start with one counter, which you use to sell your items, and end up with three. You ring your bell to alert customers that you have something to sell. They’ll walk over and stand in front of what they want, and you can sell it. When you sell enough, you can activate the VERY HAPPY Nature Sprites who show up as you increase the town. They’re also the group that provides you with the paraglider, and you can get warp boxes from them. Warp boxes warp items from your storage to the location you’re at, such as the bottom-middle of town, the windmills, and the mountains. These Nature Sprites will do a big dance party where you can sell a lot of items all at once and get bonus money for it. The bazaars may feel chaotic at times, but as you go on, you’ll get better and better!

The characters are what make this game shine; the cast, from the adults your age to the older citizens and children, is full of heart and fun. They’re also some of the most affirming characters in gaming. No matter what you’re up to, they’re cheering you on. Which makes sense given you’re singlehandedly saving their town, but I’ve played many cozy games where I didn’t feel as affirmed as I do here. Even if you pass out due to lack of stamina, the next day, everyone is asking if you’re okay, and I mean EVERYONE. It makes playing through this game so much fun to see how everyone’s stories unfold in front of you. Something special about the Nintendo Switch 2 version is the inclusion of voice acting for the special events with characters! 

Romance is a part of cozy games that is not always the “most important” from a plot perspective, but it’s always a really fun and exciting way to play. With Grand Bazaar, you get the chance to choose from 12 different bachelors/bachelorettes with no gender locks in place. Romance whoever tickles your fancy. When you partner up, you’ll also be able to raise a family together. Events like Honey Day are good times to tell your secret crush how much you care about them!

While I’ve not gotten close to Grand Bazaar status, I have progressed pretty far into the game and still feel like I’m being introduced to new and exciting ways to play the game. As time progresses, your experience will as well. I suggest going as wild as you can, as early as you can, when it comes to getting your farm moving. Livestock, expanded farming, expanded storage, etc. This will make doing the quests easier for townspeople. For instance, because I didn’t get a cow during the first bazaar, I wasn’t able to craft 1-Star Warm Milk for Freya and couldn’t continue her quest. However, play this game at your pace since you’re not punished for not making Bazaar goals each time. Once you get to the end of the main plot lines, I understand you can continue the game as you wish. Most people may make a new save file at this stage, but it’s great to know you can keep going in the town you basically built by yourself. 

The story of seasons wouldn’t be complete without the seasons. These are drastic. Spring to Summer is a beautiful change! It might sometimes feel like small details, but they make such a big difference. Each has season-specific crops and forageables as well as fruit trees that produce fruit during the seasons!

The music is so much fun. It’s so good, in fact, that you can get the OST for the game in the Premium Edition of the game. It doesn’t feel like it gets repetitive, even if some areas have the same type of music. It helps to provide a cozy atmosphere, and plenty of times I forgot to pause the game while answering a text because the music was so darn catchy. 

While not all cozy games are the same when it comes to visuals and performance, Grand Bazaar does a great job of presenting a cutesy-style set of characters with a fun-filled world that looks stunning even when it’s raining. I never had any crashes or glitches during my time playing through Grand Bazaar so far, nor did I stay on any load screen longer than two seconds, which helps keep you immersed in the world you’re building. 

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a big game full of heart and fun. While some aspects are extremely easy, others take time to fully understand. You’ll have plenty of content to run through, as each month takes quite a few hours to get through. If you ever need a pick-me-up when you’re feeling blue, the amount of affirmation you get from characters in the town is enough to make a forest sprite tear up. If you’ve never played a Story of Seasons game or something similar, I would suggest the Nintendo Switch 2 version, as it’s indeed a wonderful game to play through.