Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townis set to release in a couple of days and takesplayers back to the charming and relaxed community of Mineral Town. To the uninitiated,Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townis a remake of the 2003Harvest Moongame with the same subtitle, and while the remake introduces many changes and improvements, it could have borrowed some key features from another game in the same vein,Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
WhileStory of Seasons:Friends of Mineral TownandAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsshare some similarities, the focus of both games is vastly different. One mainly revolves around running a farm, while the other focuses on establishing a community on a deserted island. However, one important similarity between the two games is their focus on relaxed gameplay, which offers players a sanctuary to escape the harsh realities of life.
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Of course,Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townis already a good game, especially since it mostly remained faithful to the classicHarvest Moongame, which is one of the best in the franchise. However, there are some key features inAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsthatFriends of Mineral Townremake developer Marvelous should include in future updates, additions, DLCs, and more to offer players new experiences that were never included in the original game.
Mystery Island Tour
Despite being stuck on a deserted island,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsallows players to leave the island and embark on aMystery Island Tour. During these trips, players can gather resources that are not typically found in their villages, and meet characters that they can invite to live on their islands. This feature gives players a chance to explore other locations beyond their village, which balances out the game’s secluded island feel.
InStory of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, players can only explore the charming community of Mineral Town for the rest of the game. Of course, given that the game is open-ended, having to play on the same location forever could become repetitive, especially for those who are in it for the long run. Offering a chance to temporarily embark on a trip somewhere else could alleviate the feeling of isolation that some players ofFriends of Mineral Towncould feel after years of playing, whether in-game or in real life. Adding this option in an update could also allow Marvelous to open new storylines and mini-quests, such as visiting the player’s previous residence, seeing where Kai usually lives when he is not in Mineral Town, or finding former villagers such as Popuri’s dad, Mei’s mom, or Mana’s daughter.
Customize Village Look
Another key feature inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsthat should be included inStory of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townis toallow players to customize their villages. InFriends of Mineral Town, the village’s design will remain the same throughout the game. Maybe Marvelous can introduce side-quests that will task the player to lead a renovation project. Or maybe even expanding the town itself to allow more villagers to move in. Again, given that the game doesn’t end, adding a feature that will allow players to customize Mineral Town will definitely be a welcome inclusion, especially since it will add variety to the gameplay.
Another reason why village customization should be added inFriends of Mineral Townis that it will be a good incentive for players to keep playing the game. InAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, players spend countless hours crafting and unlocking items, moving building around, and terraforming,in hopes of making the island their own. Of course, given that Mineral Town is an already established village unlikeNew Horizons’deserted island, the village customization feature shouldn’t be as extensive.
Multiplayer
One lastAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsfeature that should be added as an update inFriends of Mineral Townis multiplayer functionality.This feature has become an essential part ofNew Horizons,given that it allows players to interact with one another and visit each other’s islands. Additionally, it also gave birth to an activeAnimal Crossing: New Horizonscommunity, where players trade items, villagers, and even turnip prices.
Adding a multiplayer option inStory of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Towncould also allow several players to work on a single farm. Of course, those who have played the first game would know too well that it is difficult to run a farm alone. Apart from growing crops, players are also tasked to raise animals and purchase supplies from the town, which can be overwhelming given the short amount of time players are given on a single day in-game.This feature also became popular inStardew Valley, which is another farming game that was inspired by earlyHarvest Moontitles.
In the end, given thatStory of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townhas already finished development, and is even out in certain territories, the possibility of having these features can only come from a post-launch DLC or update. Of course, if Marvelous really wantsFriends of Mineral Townto be a game that people will play for a long time, then it should continue to support the game with updates even after it is released. Historically, support forStory of Seasonsgames post-launch was only limited to additional characters, festivals, dialogues, and events. However, if Marvelous wantsStory of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townto compete with the likes ofAnimal CrossingandStardew Valley, then it would need to step up its game when it comes to post-launch support.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townis releasing on July 01, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch and PC.
