Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom
By Angelica Guarino,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Relationships and teamwork shine in delightful farming sim.
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What’s It About?
DORAEMON STORY OF SEASONS: FRIENDS OF THE GREAT KINGDOM blends the farming simulation genre with a brand new story and many new characters. After an experiment fueled by summer vacation boredom goes wrong, Nobita, a young Japanese boy, finds himself on a strange new planet. He's joined by a cast of friends, including Doraemon, Sneech, Big G, and Sue. When their spaceship crash lands, they meet Lumis, a young boy who lives on a run-down farm. Because the group is unable to return home on a broken-down ship, Lumis invites them to stay with him on the farm. As long as they can help out with farm work, they can stay as long as they need to. Grateful, Doraemon, Noby, and their friends agree. Soon after this, Doraemon returns to the crash site to find the ship has been taken. Two royal guards admit to taking the ship at the request of the Queen. A frustrated Doraemon and friends visit the Castle to learn more, only to discover that the Queen is actually Lumis' mother. Lumis' mother is skeptical of the Earthlings, refuses to return their ship, and threatens to arrest Doraemon. Lumis demands that the group be given a chance to prove their worth, so the Queen agrees ad allows them to go free. As a result, it's up to Lumis and the group to improve the farm and build up the town to convince the Queen to accept them and hopefully give the ship back so the group can return home.
Is It Any Good?
The success of this simulation game lies in its storytelling. Though many of the farming, mining, and animal husbandry mechanics match past Story of Seasons games completely, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom feels completely new. The basic goal is the same -- build up the town and relationships with townsfolk -- but the addition of detailed side storylines with all of the townsfolk really helps players feel more deeply invested in the stakes. Every storyline is realistic and fleshed out in a way that instantly makes tasks feel less like mindless chores and more like meaningful goals. Disagreements and ongoing problems persist throughout the entire game instead of being solved in one or two cutscenes. Disconnects can get worse before they get better, even if it takes characters a long time to get there. As a result, the resolution of issues feels earned instead of rushed.
Aside from the storytelling, there's a greater emphasis on teamwork than in past Story of Seasons games. One popular gripe with the franchise is that chores can take up the majority of the in-game days. In Friends of the Great Kingdom, players have the choice of asking their friends to help water crops, mine, fish, or tend to the animals. While getting the other character to follow Noby as intended has some hiccups, this is a major quality-of-life update that really helps players conserve stamina and increase the payoff of their work. Players can also invite others to help on the farm via Nintendo Online, which has the same effect and allows family members to play together. Overall, Friends of the Great Kingdom harnesses all the strengths of the Story of Seasons franchise while improving upon the storytelling and relationship mechanics. The result is that it's one of the best, if not the best, addition to the Story of Seasons franchise that the series has seen in quite a while.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the relationships between characters. In what ways do characters in Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom all come together to form a community?
How can practicing time management in games help with completing tasks in real life?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 5 , Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid ($49.99)
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Bandai Namco
- Release date: November 2, 2022
- Genre: Adventure
- Topics: Cooking and Baking , Adventures , Friendship , Horses and Farm Animals
- ESRB rating: E for Alcohol Reference, Mild Language. Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: January 27, 2023
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