One of the things I like from the Story of Seasons games is that each has something unique to them that complements the farming core. The first Story of Seasons on 3DS with its trade depot and competitions between farms. Pioneers of Olive Town with its lean into having makers for absolutely everything. And now comes Grand Bazaar, with… well, it’s grand bazaar.

Not that it’s so grand at the start of the game. My character had accepted a position as the new farmer of Zephyr Town, which had been advertised in the city. The mayor of the town wants its bazaar to return to its former glory after the previous farmer left it to decay. Such is the importance of the bazaar to the progression of this Story of Seasons that it is the first place I gain control at.

Wanting to see me in action at the stall, Mayor Felix provides me some items to sell. Managing the stall is easy enough, with a bell to make people passing take an interest in what’s on offer. With the bazaar operational every Saturday, it pays to make sure there’s a lot to sell so that it can expand. Expansion means new stalls offering new items to buy, with new additions to old stores, too.

With the selling done, a new day can begin. The true start of this newest farming adventure. Felix is ready for when I wake, wanting to teach me about farming. Hah, I thought. I don’t need to be taught that. And to my surprise, I could say I already knew how to do so. Which makes Felix respond with excited exuberance that someone who knows what they’re doing accepted the position.

Yes, important cutscenes are fully voiced, making this cast of residents show more personality than text and portraits alone. Even when they don’t have voice, the personalities are easily seen. Whether that be the shy little kid, sweet old hotel owners, or the something-to-prove café worker. Conversations with these residents are always fun, reacting to events or the weather. And even the bazaar ranking up or myself getting new titles such as barrel bouncer.

The farming is the same routine as usual, with the only difference being how the charge to increase the tiles interacted with happens. Traversal of Grand Bazaar includes a jump, that can be upgraded to a double jump. By using the jumps, along with upgrading the tools, a lot more tiles can be interacted with to till, water, or chop. Using such takes more stamina, so utilising food to gain more is wise if there’s a lot to do in a day.

Crops and animal produce have a chance to be the rare variant of that item. The odds of it doing so can be increased with the bonuses food provide. There’s many bonuses that food can provide, with decorations at the bazaar also providing boosts to items sold. Such means there’s a reason to spend money to gain new recipes from the café, new bazaar decorations from the Harvest Sprites, and both from completing quests.

Friendship with the residents increases the same as usual, though when each person reaches a certain number of hearts, they will have a quest. Until it is complete, their friendship can increase no more. As such, it pays to get them complete as quickly as possible. Sometimes that might be difficult depending on how I’ve used my time, such as needing to make a bouquet when I’ve not been growing any flowers.

Taking part in events is also a good way to increase the relationship with people, as everyone there will like you for it. Events include the usual animal and crop shows, plus a few others such as the Flower Festival and Honey Day. Should you not have an animal of that type, I go get given one a few days before the event. Which is neat, as it meant I got a cat and a horse for free!

Across these days with Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, I’ve been enjoying all that’s been going on. Selling to the bazaar, interacting with residents, caring for animals, creating stuff with the windmills, and of course growing the crops. It’s a great core loop that’s made better with the bazaar, even if to start I’ve got so much stuff and not enough storage. So Grand Bazaar gets an easy recommendation from me. It honestly is the best since Harvest Moon DS. Which makes sense, with Grand Bazaar also being from the DS era.

Images Taken From:
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar | Nintendo Switch 2 [Docked]