Story of Seasons Grand Bazaar Interview - Talking Remastering a DS Classic with Hikaru Nakano
As revealed in last week's Nintendo Direct presentation, Story of Seasons is coming back for a new entry as the reimagined Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar for Nintendo Switch and PC on August 27, 2025. We had a chance to sit down and chat with the game’s manager, Hikaru Nakano, and chat about all the new things farm sim fans can expect, and why now was the best time to do what is effectively a remake of a classic DS entry.
For more reading, we also have a hands-on preview for the game.
RPG Site: How did you approach this new game in the Story of Seasons series, and what makes it different from the previous titles?
Hikaru Nakano: This title is one that was originally based on an older Story of Seasons title, but it has been completely revamped and remade. We made everything from the ground up, so it feels all new - everything from graphics to the gameplay, all of the event scenes, those have been made much more grand and voiced now, which is a series first.
All of those aspects, combined from a visual and aesthetic presentation to the gameplay, we’re trying to make the experience for the player feel good. And we think that compared to all of the other games in the series, this one feels the smoothest and most pleasant yet.
We wanted to look at the Story of Seasons IP as a whole, and this time we thought, ‘How does a farmer make money?’ ‘How do they create their goods and put them on the market?’ So that’s something we wanted to feature very prominently in this as well
Hikaru Nakano: This title is one that was originally based on an older Story of Seasons title, but it has been completely revamped and remade. We made everything from the ground up, so it feels all new - everything from graphics to the gameplay, all of the event scenes, those have been made much more grand and voiced now, which is a series first.
All of those aspects, combined from a visual and aesthetic presentation to the gameplay, we’re trying to make the experience for the player feel good. And we think that compared to all of the other games in the series, this one feels the smoothest and most pleasant yet.
We wanted to look at the Story of Seasons IP as a whole, and this time we thought, ‘How does a farmer make money?’ ‘How do they create their goods and put them on the market?’ So that’s something we wanted to feature very prominently in this as well
RPG Site: How has the challenge been when expanding onto platforms like PC and Nintendo Switch? Is there any sense that it feels overwhelming, especially when you consider all of the elements coming together, like the farming, the bazaar, and customization?
Hikaru Nakano: In the past, many of the titles have been on handheld devices, and they have evolved over time. Now, of course, the games are fully 3D, and there are other improvements as well. So starting off, graphically it’s great in a way that we can really express the world. For example, we have dynamic sounds, there are dynamic cutscenes, and we do our best to express them beautifully so the players can have an immersive and pleasant experience.
In the past, we were working in a much simpler era, like a 2D game, and we could add ten items to the game relatively easily. Now, if you want to add ten items, you have to think about how you’re going to express the graphics for them and put them into more complicated game systems as well.
One way to look at it is that there is a good cost to everything that you put into the game, it all becomes more complicated.
Hikaru Nakano: In the past, many of the titles have been on handheld devices, and they have evolved over time. Now, of course, the games are fully 3D, and there are other improvements as well. So starting off, graphically it’s great in a way that we can really express the world. For example, we have dynamic sounds, there are dynamic cutscenes, and we do our best to express them beautifully so the players can have an immersive and pleasant experience.
In the past, we were working in a much simpler era, like a 2D game, and we could add ten items to the game relatively easily. Now, if you want to add ten items, you have to think about how you’re going to express the graphics for them and put them into more complicated game systems as well.
One way to look at it is that there is a good cost to everything that you put into the game, it all becomes more complicated.
RPG Site: These days, life sims and farming sims are everywhere. How does Story of Seasons set itself apart, and what do you feel is the most attractive aspect of this new version?
Hikaru Nakano: You’re absolutely right that there are so many farming games out there these days. There are some games that focus a lot on customization, like how Minecraft works, or some are more focused on a narrative story, or RPG adventure elements.
In that kind of environment, the way we want to set Story of Seasons apart is the core farming life and being able to express that experience as the player. It’s not just about having a field, but you’re raising animals and communicating with them, and the core gameplay has you get your milk and eggs and whatnot, and then you sell that. It’s how you live your life as a farmer and coincide with nature and animals as well.
Hikaru Nakano: You’re absolutely right that there are so many farming games out there these days. There are some games that focus a lot on customization, like how Minecraft works, or some are more focused on a narrative story, or RPG adventure elements.
In that kind of environment, the way we want to set Story of Seasons apart is the core farming life and being able to express that experience as the player. It’s not just about having a field, but you’re raising animals and communicating with them, and the core gameplay has you get your milk and eggs and whatnot, and then you sell that. It’s how you live your life as a farmer and coincide with nature and animals as well.
RPG Site: In the demo, I noticed there are a lot of options in the character creator - you can select anything you want, and it’s not binary. Tell me a little bit about the freedom of customization in the character creation system.
Hikaru Nakano: We started thinking more about this in the modern era of consoles like Nintendo Switch. The way we think about that is that the avatar is the extension of the player. We want them to be able to see themselves in their avatar. And we want the experience of playing the game, as it’s like your own story, to be as smooth as possible.
In order to achieve that goal, we want the player to have the freedom to express themselves through their avatar, on their own farm. And also, we do get advice, we solicit advice from our overseas partners, too, so that we can make sure we are able to provide that freedom of expression to the different kinds of players all over the world.
Hikaru Nakano: We started thinking more about this in the modern era of consoles like Nintendo Switch. The way we think about that is that the avatar is the extension of the player. We want them to be able to see themselves in their avatar. And we want the experience of playing the game, as it’s like your own story, to be as smooth as possible.
In order to achieve that goal, we want the player to have the freedom to express themselves through their avatar, on their own farm. And also, we do get advice, we solicit advice from our overseas partners, too, so that we can make sure we are able to provide that freedom of expression to the different kinds of players all over the world.
RPG Site: With that expression in mind and then going into the daily life aspects, is there an overall goal in Story of Seasons? How much focus is put on the story here?
Hikaru Nakano: In broad terms, as a farmer, your daily objective is to produce high-quality products like eggs, milk, and vegetables, and then you sell those at the bazaar to make money. That’s the simplest way to look at it, but taking it a step further, we want the player to think about what they want to sell.
If they’re interested in making lots of money, or how to get higher quality products to sell more - the player is able to express themselves in their own play style with the decisions they make about what kind of farmer they want to be and sell at the bazaar.
Taking a step back from all of that, the simple objective is to make lots of money as a farmer in this game. But it’s really not just that, speaking in terms of play style and such. We really want the player to find what they enjoy about farmer life. If you go through the steps of bringing goods to the bazaar and selling them, you’ll prosper, the town will prosper, and the people will be happy as well. You can do that in whichever way you want.
Hikaru Nakano: In broad terms, as a farmer, your daily objective is to produce high-quality products like eggs, milk, and vegetables, and then you sell those at the bazaar to make money. That’s the simplest way to look at it, but taking it a step further, we want the player to think about what they want to sell.
If they’re interested in making lots of money, or how to get higher quality products to sell more - the player is able to express themselves in their own play style with the decisions they make about what kind of farmer they want to be and sell at the bazaar.
Taking a step back from all of that, the simple objective is to make lots of money as a farmer in this game. But it’s really not just that, speaking in terms of play style and such. We really want the player to find what they enjoy about farmer life. If you go through the steps of bringing goods to the bazaar and selling them, you’ll prosper, the town will prosper, and the people will be happy as well. You can do that in whichever way you want.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is set to release on August 27 for Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam).