I was so excited to see this game get announced since I used to love it as a teen, but this is not at all what I wanted. It's kind of a sanitized, soul-less version of the original with almost none of the charm. There's a few things that are much worse about this game, which you see pretty quickly. Besides the design and name changes to some of the characters for some reason, digging for treasures doesn't really give any satisfaction either, since you can see the treasures before you pick them up. Animals don't die, which some people might find better. I think that takes away any reason for me to really care about them unless I really need S-tier food. It just makes everything a little more boring, with no real urgency to do anything. The controls are awful, too, and I still have no idea how to see missions once you accept them.
There's some things that this game does better, like giving you ability to speed through text, control cameras in the field area where you plant crops and skip the intro where you meet everyone. That and you can save and load anywhere, which is nice.
It's not as god awful as I expected, but it's basically a dumbed-down child version of the original game, but for the same price as the original.

(Also, I want back my cow with her blue eyes and giant head! The dot eyes stare into your soul.)

i so badly want to rate this 5 stars, but the nostalgia factor isn't enough to overlook many aspects of the game that could have been improved in the remake but weren't.

awl was my first sos/hm game - i sunk countless hours into it as a kid. this remake is very faithful to the original, including the somewhat clunky controls and mechanics. for those coming into this as a new player, they will likely find these aspects lacking in comparison to newer titles in the series. dialogue, character dev, etc. are not as robust, and the set timeline may be jarring for those who prefer a somewhat endless playstyle. however, it is near impossible to "fail" this game unless you are actively trying. this makes for very relaxing playstyle with just enough motivation to carry out your chores. i wish the mechanics had been buffed, and while i can appreciate the new art style and music, i still like the originals better. however, i believe that these updates were appropriate to reflect the intentions of the remastering.

I'm unfortunately really disappointed in this game :(

I love farming sims, being a lifelong fan of the Rune Factory series and having hundreds of hours in Stardew Valley. I didn't go into this expecting Rune Factory, even though that's a Harvest Moon spinoff, because I know that those games are rather eccentric. They're also RPGs, and that adds an extra element. However, I did not expect it to be on the opposite side of the spectrum. As far as I can tell, these characters have no personality or story beyond surface level. I'm at half hearts with one of the bachelorettes, and I still know nothing about her. She never talks about herself. I didn't even know her preferred gifts until I looked up a guide online.

The same can be said for everyone else as well. They'll comment on the season, the weather, the town itself, but they barely talk about themselves or their relationships with the others. There's the occasional cutscene, but they're usually vague and uninformative. Anything they do say to show personality is archetypal, basically screaming "I'm the lazy character" or "I'm the brooding older brother". Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, but I don't know what I could do differently other than talking to them daily and giving them gifts.

I do like the gameplay. I think the realism of the crops and the animals is really fun! I like that you can train your dog tricks, and all of the animals are really cute. The town is pretty and has nice locations. The dig site is probably my favorite aspect of the game, and the things you get both act as gifts and a way to make money, which is a bonus! The only thing that frustrates me is the cooking mechanic since you have a fullness meter, but you can't cook anything until you get crops. I would have rated this game lower honestly if the game weren't fun to play. I do have a good time.

However, when I play this genre, I play it for the characters. I want to get to know the people in town, build relationships, and find a love interest that I like. When there isn't an overarching plot, the characters kind of make the game. In that aspect, this game is severely lacking. All of the love interests bore me, and in a game where you're expected to get married or else you get a game over, that is not good. I want to like them. I gave them gifts every day, I took one on a date, I spoke to them as much as I could, but they're just blank slates with a pretty face. It's immensely frustrating, especially for the price I paid.

It makes me sad because Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons is like the third piece of the holy trinity of farming sims! But it does not live up to the other two at all. It was clearly just made for people who played the original and want to see it made anew. I'm definitely going to be returning this one.