izigame.me

7.5/10 Good game.
First of all, thank you for releasing this game on PC, Bandai Namco. Now people are getting familiar with the Doraemon franchise, since Doraemon is not very well known in most western countries. The Doraemon TV show is not even available in my region. T_T

Now let's talk about the game. I love the artstyle and the soundtracks. They are beautiful. The story mode is also interesting. (It's also the first Story of Seasons game I've played).

However, there are also some problems that I have to mention.
It is one of the grindiest games I have ever played (I don't know if other Story of Seasons game are grindy too).
In the first four seasons (the first year) it is impossible to earn a lot of money in this game. Or more precisely: it is difficult to earn money, as most of the items in the various stores (with the exception of the farmer items) are too expensive.
If you can't afford an item and there is an event the next day or week and you haven't gotten that item by that time, you have to skip the event and make up for it a year later (in-game year).

Another problem (and this is my biggest problem) is that the cutscenes for the story mode didn't trigger properly. The game also didn't tell you how many hearts a certain villager needs to activate it. I have to watch a lot of YouTube videos and read up on various websites to know what the game wants me to do. You have to be in a certain place at a certain time and coming from the right direction to activate a cutscene in story mode. If not, you cannot unlock the cutscene.
There is no real to-do list or instructions on what to do to activate the next chapter for the story mode. There is the “What-if”-Box in the mayor's house, but it only tells you how many chapters there are for each section (main story mode (Big Tree), character stories (Nobita's friends, etc.), Doraemon's gadgets and so on).
That's why I have to give this game 7.5 out of 10, instead of 10/10.

Aside from my issues with this game, I am also thankful that you have released a sequel to this game (DORAEMON STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of the Great Kingdom).
I bought the Deluxe Edition, and right now I like the sequel more than this game. I will definitely write a review as soon as I finish the game.
According to the Steam review, fans say that the sequel is a better game than the first installment. If you've never played Doraemon Story of Seasons, you can skip it since the sequel has a whole new story and it's not necessary to understand the previous story.
Overall, and a question for Bandai Namco:
Overall, I'm thankful this game exists, besides the issues mentioned above.
I look forward to playing more of your older games, Bandai Namco. Please release your games on the GOG platform as well. I would be very grateful since licensed games don't last forever and it's hard to preserve games for the next generation.