Story of Seasons: Grand Bazar – Early Preview

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazar comes out on August 27, 2025 for Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2. One in-game month in, and the remake is already the classiest entry yet.

Visuals, Audio, and Characters

The game is stunning. There’s a vibrancy to Zephyr Town that no other Story of Seasons is really captured before. The orchestral score adds substantial heft to every area, with some tracks reinterpreting familiar melodies while others are completely original. Story and romance scenes alike are accompanied by full voiceover in Japanese, while you have the ability to switch between English or Japanese soundtracks, as well as opting between 2D portraits for that retro feel.

And let’s not forget that cutscenes are now even more animated and full of life when it comes to characters. The character however are the same from the DS version, but dialog has been re-written to show more depth. Relationships advance in a new way — some heart levels are now blocked until you have completed one event or request. This is to discourage what would otherwise be the customary “gift spamming” and to add a sense of value to building friendships.

Farming and Activities

Farming implements capabilities that permit broader, faster actions — suddenly it’s exhilarating to ground-pound a whole pile of crops at once. These actions also pertain to off-farm areas, so resource gathering feels effortless and enjoyable.

Bug catching introduces a layer of sneaky timing to the mix, and fishing employs an input polarising system that feels simplistic but slightly underweight in tension. Beekeeping and mushroom farming are more passive, creating goods once you’ve set them up.

Item quality is now a core system, from half a star to five. Fertilizer helps your crops, and if you donate other things to the nature sprites, it increases what lucky finds will occur in the future. Even the small tasks, including picking stones or catching bugs, establish a feedback loop where you feel like you’re making progress when almost anything is accomplished.

Ranching remains hands-on with a daily handbell call for animals — later automated by performing pets.

Exploration

I felt like movements seemed new and fresh thanks to jumping and gliding mechanics. The town is fun to cross, but that wind system has one downside – it's easterly 99 per cent of the time so you always feel a bit locked onto glide back. It adds strategy, but there could be more variety in wind patterns. Wind also dictates what areas can be accessed, and fuels the game’s crafting hub, the windmills.

Crafting, Trends, and the Bazaar

Crafting through windmills is much easier than managing dozens of machines. Things are much more valuable when processed, whether it’s potatoes (potatoes don’t make you pick a mint once they’re pickled).

Playstyles keep shifting thanks to a seasonal “trend” system. Red foods, red accessories, pink-themed goods — you’ll sell these at inflated prices in spring as a player changes up her farming and crafting tactics. Cooking is also a huge part of Stardew Valley, offering buffs such as faster running, stamina boosters or increased friendship gains.

Stamina is quick to drain but not so tough to manage, as a meal and a hot bath keep energy levels right where you want them. Storage management is part of this loop, too, meaning you have to decide whether to cook them, gift them, process them or sell some of your backlog to free up space. The sweet freshness makes its way back from the DS game, though it feels less punishing here.

There are more Saturday bazaar now. With upgraded stalls you can sell so many different items, and how fast it starts to make money! It is now a high-point of the weekly calendar.

Pacing and Concerns

Progress goes much quicker than the DS game. In a single season, players can unlock windmills, purchase multiple animals, upgrade tools and enlarge storage; you can even acquire a glider. It keeps the schedule of each day uncertain, but also makes you wonder about long-term pacing.

The original Grand Bazar was purposefully a slow drip, the patience necessary spread out over many seasons. The remake, by contrast, unveils new tools and systems at a breakneck pace. And there’s hope that this is just an excitable opening to hook players, with later seasons slowing down the pace here and restoring that drip-fed sense of satisfaction.

Closing Thoughts

Thus far, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazar feels more like a complete reinvention than a mere remake. Its eye-catching, upbeat visuals and amiable character vibe are better than ever in Zephyr Town. Farming, gathering and crafting have been rationalised into satisfying loops that won’t immediately feel like a grind, while the bazaar itself has become a weekly event in its own right worth talking about.

The only legitimate objection is pacing. Uncovering that much, that fast, could mean there’s less to find in years to come. Still, it already looks like this remake with add more to do, unlock and provide seasonals edge over its predecessor making A New Beginning one of the funnest offerings in the series yet.

Full release coming August 27, 2025.

Check out the official trailer: