Spring will be full of adventure for fans of the popular Japanese farming simulator Story of Seasons, as they welcome the newest title to the series for the Nintendo Switch. Pioneers of Olive Town is the first original title for Marvelous since Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns in 2016. While the developers released Story of Seasons: Doreamon in 2019, and Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town as a reboot this past summer for the Nintendo Switch, the developers have shown no intention of adding a new original story to the series until now, leaving fans of the game excited for new content.
Marvelous has spent some time learning what the Switch is capable of with its last two titles. Because of this, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town won't be so much an experimental game as an expansion on what players have seen from Doreamon and Friends of Mineral Town. By easing into the Switch's capabilities with these prior titles, the developers have already started testing what could work and what might not be as well liked by fans, as they pull away from the limitations of older platforms.
While Story of Seasons has had a rocky time with popularity since it's re-branding from Harvest Moon, the series stood in the spotlight again with the reboot of the extremely popular Friends of Mineral Town. The developers made some revolutionary choices by including same sex marriage between the character and love interests, as well as updating many originally clunky mechanics. Hopefully fans will see these improvements and many other more modern features in the release of Pioneers of Olive Town.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town's Release Date
Another change that will have fans excited centers on release dates. Story of Seasons has a long-standing history of releasing their entries first in Japan, and then later in other regions. This release date difference can sometimes be as long as a year, making it hard to avoid spoilers when content starts going up online. However, the release dates for Pioneers of Olive Town will only be a month apart, with Japan releasing on February 25th 2021, and then to other locations on March 23rd 2021. By shortening the wait time, players around the world will be able to unite in their love for the game at roughly the same time.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town's Story
From what is shown on Nintendo's official website, the story of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town centers around a character embarking on a dream to go live on the frontier in a town their grandfather helped establish. Like with prior Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon games, the narrative focuses heavily on reviving the land and restoring a dilapidated farmstead inherited by the character.
The spin on Pioneers of Olive Town however, appears to be a new focus on exploration and discovery both in the town and on the players new farm. Players can see a bigger space to set up than previous games, with farming plots that are very similar to Friends of Mineral Town in layout.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town's Gameplay Changes
Already, there are mechanics being shown in the Pioneers of Olive Town trailer that haven't been available to players in past games. The character is scene wielding an axe that can cut down many trees at once, instead of slowly hacking at a single tree. This alludes to a more efficient tool upgrade system that is specifically tailored to the new exploration style of gameplay.
Players also see the return of livestock buildings, and a feature fans have hoped for for generations: crop sprinklers. These are seen set up in the massive field, helping players to more effectively water their crops, and use their daily time for other tasks. It also appears that this game will introduce a more rewarding foraging system, as seen when in the trailer as the character finds wild crops on their farmstead. With all the new features, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is sure to break ground for farming games on the Switch this upcoming year.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town will be available for the Nintendo Switch March 23rd, 2021
Source: Nintendo