History VideoGame / StoryOfSeasonsAWonderfulLife

''Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life'' is the next installment in the ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'' series, and an EnhancedRemake of ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife'' and its derivatives, by Marvelous Entertainment and translated by Creator/XSEEDGames.

* LimitedWardrobe: Even as the years pass and many of the characters age including yourself, they'll be wearing the same thing they did when you arrived. There's some slight changes in colors, and Lumina has a full change in Chapter 2 as do the kids when they grow up, but there's little variety beyond that. Cecilia will still have the same shirt, skirt, and apron she did when she was a young twenty-something as she does when she's an older sixty-something.

** You can flirt with everyone in the village, see all their heart events, and then marry someone ''else'' entirely regardless. (You can even coldly turn them down if they come to propose to you, resulting in a NonStandardGameOver.) Lumina will cry at your proposal announcement, Molly will remain single forever, Cecilia will become cynical, and Nami will leave the valley entirely (but come back later). You can even (during the first year) invite someone to the Fireworks Show or Starlight Concert as your date, and then turn them down once they arrive to attend on your own, bringing them out for nothing and leaving them awkwardly standing there behind you.
** You can be ''very'' nasty to everyone in the valley including the romantic interests: ignoring them, giving them bad or rude answers to their questions (even making a ruckus in the forest when NatureLover Cecilia asks you to be quiet to observe nature with her) and lower affection with anyone by showing them failed dishes. You can even sleep through the entire first year and not bond with anyone there (which makes Rock or Cecilia your default marriage options, and you have to pick one or it's (again) NonStandardGameOver).
** The three bachelorettes from the original games--Molly, Cecilia, and Nami--all still have an extra nine-heart event that, if answered to correctly, automatically has the two of you going steady and locking you out of seeing any other heart events for anyone else. You can turn them down in the event if you want to keep flirting about town. And even if you accept, you still have to formally propose to them with the Blue Feather--which means you can instead [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential propose to a different candidate entirely]], breaking their heart and causing their family/friends to [[WhatTheHellPlayer chew you out]]. Molly, Cecilia, and Nami have alternate Blue Feather scenes if you propose to them while already dating one of the other two to acknowledge the cheating. And since the remakes has EveryoneIsBi, you can also do this with a ''bachelor'', leading to situations like cheating on [[AFamilyAffair Nami with Rock]] or cheating on [[TwoTimingWithTheBestie Cecilia with Matthew]]. However, the game isn't programmed to acknowledge this as a betrayal--meaning Nami still appears in Rock's marriage announcement to congratulate you two, Tei and Lou have nothing to say about you two-timing both of the kids in their household, and Matthew accepts the Blue Feather like usual when logically he ought to chew you out for betraying Ceci with ''him''. Instead, the girls still act like you're "engaged" to them until Chapter 2 rolls around.

* YouDontLookLikeYou: While the redesigns for the characters are overall minimal, Matthew and Gordy had more drastic looking design changes. Matthew nixed his pompadour for a messier hairdo while Gordy--now one of the bachelors--now has a full head of hair instead of a mohawk and is much less of a ScaryBlackMan.

* AdaptationalJobChange: Rather than running a pub/bar as in the original version, Gavin and Muffy now run a café called the Bluebird Café, where meals can be purchased that restore stamina and alleviate hunger.

The player character, living in the city and aimless in life, receives a letter from, Takakura, their father's best friend, offering them a chance to come to Forgotten Valley (formerly Forget-Me-Not Valley) and inherit their dad's old farm with the goal of making it prosper. The player's also encouraged--''[[ButThouMust strongly]]''--to settle down, marry, and start a family of their own, with a choice among eight different romantic interests--four guys and four girls.

* AllThereInTheManual: The US manual is written like a guide from Takakura to the player having moved there. It mentions some small character traits not specified in game--like all the marriage candidates being near the player's age or that Romana is a prankster. It also informs the player that if they don't give out their Blue Feather or accept a proposal from someone at the end of the first year, then Takakura will reckon this means [[NonStandardGameOver you've decided to leave the farm and go back to the city]]--which may be news to people who never played the original or played other games in the series where there wasn't such a tight deadline for marrying.
* AlternativeCalendar: The calendar is simplified like before, with four seasons of ten days each. As with the original game, this is taken even further in the Japanese version with the seasons being called Parrot, Pepper, Amber, and Indigo instead of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Gustafa’s seasonal outdoors dialogue contains nods to the alternative season names.

** Rock calls Tei and Lou exclusively by their first names in Japanese. He also calls Lou “ma” occasionally in his English dialogue, but still only calls Tei by his name. He gets a bit defensive about this habit of his in response to the farmer’s reaction.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/392757b8e23269876cc17d1379079e0ba5fcc8481cdebdf9_jpg1.png]]

** This version adds the Heaven mode--now called Beyond--that the original didn't have, allowing a save file to be played indefinitely. All the children will remain adults, and any other adults return to their Chapter 2 appearances. [[spoiler:Nina remains dead.]]
* LimitedWardrobe: Even as the years pass and many of the characters age including yourself, they'll be wearing the same thing they did when you arrived. There's some slight changes in colors, and Lumina has a full change in Chapter @ as do the kids when they grow up, but there's little variety beyond that. Cecelia will still have the same shirt, skirt, and apron she did when she was a young twenty-something as she does when she's an older sixty-something.

* PatchworkKids: For the first time, the child you have doesn't look purely like your spouse (or have a generic child look that every kid gets regardless of parents). While the child will always have [[UncannyFamilyResemblance the spouse's hair and eye color]], the player having the darkest skin tone means the child will be some shade of tan--and if the father is Gordy, the child will take on a darker skin tone like his. It's theorized that the skin tone options for the children vary according to the player character's.

* CallingParentsByTheirName: Your child will do this if you are a nonbinary player--rather than appending Mama or Papa to your name, your child will just call you by your name alone.

** The visuals and character design had been changed to match the new style that changed over the years, done by long-time artist Igusa Matsuyama. This includes more details on everything from character clothing to the valley's environment. For example, Molly's red dress now has a subtle pattern close to the hem and subtle lace at the neckline, her shrug gathers at the wrists, and there are little bows on her heels at the ankle strap. It also helps make it clear that Lumina is not wearing a sailor-style top, but instead a shawl over a sweater top.

* BalanceBuff: Certain products like crops and wool now sell for much more than what they were worth in the [=GameCube=]or [=PS2=] version, allowing the player to make more money sooner. Buying fertilizer from Vesta is also much cheaper--only 20 gold as opposed to the high 120 it was before.

* PromotedToLoveInterest: Cody, who was previously a regular villager, is now a bachelor. This was first confirmed with a snippet of him with the player and their son at the beach, who shares his father's features. His toddler daughter can also be seen in the Bokumono website. Marrying and having a child with him will give them a tan skin tone at minimal--and a dark one like his if the player ''also'' has the darkest skin tone available.

** Mr. Potson (a creature living in a pot in the Nature sprite's house) who offered the option of a child's gender in ''Another Wonderful Life'' now gives a record once bothered long enough-- the title theme from ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS''. His dialogue also mentions the Harvest King from that game.

** Rock/Lumina's first rival heart event together has Rock approach Lumina out of concern that her mansion is haunted, saying he heard the voice of a woman's creepy laughter coming from the direction of the Villa grounds late at night. (Lumina, positively incensed, accuses him of lying.) ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', which takes place 100 years after the [=GameCube=] version, states the Witch Princess is living in the shed next to the mansion and has lived in the Valley for centuries. And there's smoke coming out of the chimney stack...

* TheSimpleLifeIsSimple: Your player comes out to the farm and immediately knows how to grow crops and raise and care for cows without any training other than Takakura's notes on what to do. It might be justified as their father was a farmer (as opposed to grandfather) and they may have grown up on the farm, but still.

* ShoutOut: A few to other installments in the series as well as other media.
** The butterflies hovering around Pui are named [[VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature Pete and Claire]].
** The recipe for curry mentions that kids and [[VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS phantom thieves]] love it.
** You can use the Blessed Fishing Rod to retrieve a golden axe in the spring, a nod to how you acquire the golden axe in the [[VideoGame/HarvestMoon1 first Harvest Moon]].
** The boxes in Vesta's storage shed are labeled with the towns of [[VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsFriendsOfMineralTown Mineral Town]] and [[VideoGame/HarvestMoon64 Flowerbud Villages]].
** The blessed fishing rod can also pull up a sword which will exclaim [[VideoGame/EldenRing "You don't have the right. O' you don’t have the right!"]] You can display it in your house.

** One of the drama shows has Detective Chance who's constantly chasing down the criminal [[Franchise/LupinIII Coupon III]]--Coupon even tries to get away in his Couponmobile Mark III during one episode.

** Rock/Lumina's first rival heart event together has Rock approach Lumina out of concern that her mansion is haunted, saying he heard the voice of a woman's creepy laughter coming from the direction of the Villa grounds late at night. (Lumina, positively incensed, accuses him of lying.) ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', which takes place 100 years after the [=GameCube=] version, states the Witch Princess is living in the shed next to the mansion and has lived in the Valley for centuries And there's smoke coming out of the chimneystack...

* FantasticFruitsAndVegetables: You can crossbreed plants with Vinnie's help to make new hybrid plants, such as the Banapple, Greach, Berrytoma, and Melomelo. You can then cross these a third time against each other to make other fruits and vegetables, some of which are realistic and others which are not--and all of which are [[HelloInsertNameHere named by the player]]. You can also cross the crop seeds with the Trick Blue plant to make blue variations that sell for more, Happy Lamps to grow in any season, Sagesoil to grow in any quality soil, and Upseeds to boost the seeds to S Level.
* FireworksOfLove: Alluded to at the summer fireworks show in the first year. As long as you've at least seen their introduction, you can invite any marriage candidate to view the fireworks with you regardless of affection and give you the opportunity for you to compliment them afterwards for a slight boost in affection. Subverted with Nami and Gordy; Nami will get upset if you compliment her instead of the fireworks and complain that you weren't even ''looking'' at them, while Gordy will just awkwardly acknowledge it-- their affection still increases like the rest of the candidates, though.

[[folder:I to S]]

** The Mountain Pass. In previous versions of the game, this path was used to link up with ''Friends of Mineral Town'' (via the GBA link cable) for some exclusive bonuses. In this version, it's basically an in-game time killer; go up the path and your character will travel to another town off screen, spending six hours of the day out of the valley.

** In the original game, Griffin owned a bar, and you were able to buy drinks that were explicitly alcoholic, with Muffy calling them “cocktails” and townsfolk inside the bar acting drunk while there even with [[FrothyMugsOfWater the cocktail names themselves using nondescript language like "MooMoo Milk"]] and the drinking contest at the Inn being based on milk complete with DrunkenGlow. Here, Griffin--renamed Gavin--instead runs a café that offers coffee, tea, and sodas, and there is no drinking contest. It still has a bar feel; some of the visitors [[DrunkOnMilk still sound drunk]], and the cafe is open late into the night.

* AlternativeCalendar: The calendar is simplified like before, with four seasons of ten days each.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Your character, after years of maintaining the farm, passes away in their sleep unexpectedly after your child is an adult. Characters you have close friendship with meet in the Café to mourn you and lament your passing together, including Takakura on his own. He informs you (and your father) how your child took on their career--which, if pushed, means farming or ranching in your footsteps. In a meta sense, the games then continues in Beyond--so the save file isn't just over, allowing you to spend time with everyone again.]]

* If characters older than you are at [[spoiler:the memorial service for you at the Bluebird Café, they'll mention how they [[LampshadeHanging didn't expect you to die before they did]] and how you were so young.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Your character, after years of maintaining the farm, passes away in their sleep unexpectedly after your child is an adult. The other characters including ones older than you, lament your passing together, including Takakura. He informs you (and your father) how your child took on their career--which, if pushed, means farming or ranching in your footsteps. In a meta sense, the games then continues in Beyond--so the save file isn't just over, allowing you to spend time with everyone again.]]

* ShowWithinAShow: The television has four different channels: A weather channel, a fortune telling channel, a farming tips news channel (the only channel with set hours, as it goes off the air at about 10 p.m.), and a variety channel that rotates through various shows such as {{Infomercial}}s, a music show, various drama shows, fishing tips, and an exploration show.

* FramingDevice: As with the Wonderful Life games prior, there are many transitional scenes between chapters rather than each skipping right to the next, with Takakura [[TalkingToTheDead talking to your father]] about the past several years.

** This version adds the Heaven mode--now called Beyond--that the original didn't have, allowing a save file to be played indefinitely. All the children remain adults, and any other adults return to their Chapter 2 appearances. [[spoiler:Nina remains dead.]]

* FantasticFruitsAndVegetables: You can crossbreed plants with Vinnie's help to make new hybrid plants, such as the Banapple, Greach, Berrytoma, and Melomelo. You can then cross these a third time against each other to make other fruits and vegetables, some of which are realistic and others which are not--and all of which are [[HelloInsertNameHere named by the player]]. You can also cross the seeds with the Trick Blue plant to make blue variations that sell for more, Happy Lamps to grow in any season, and Upseeds to boost the seeds to S Level.

* GlowingFlora: The large plants in the forest and mushrooms in the Nature Sprites' home all give off a glow. [[LampshadeHanging Your character comments on the ones in the Sprites' house]], asking how they even do that.

* HelloInsertNameHere: The player character has no default name in-game and can be named anything. ("Shion" and "Maya" are the default names for promotional data.) They also name the farm, all animals on the farm, and later their child.

* ThroughHisStomach: Practically every character has something edible they prefer highly as a gift. Gary likes fish, Gustafa likes milk, Darryl ''really'' likes fish, and Matthew only likes crops or meals and can't be wooed with flowers. While most people in the valley (outside of romantic options) just offer simple gifts such as records, you have to get high friendship with five characters to unlock the option of getting the Blessed Tools, and befriending Daryl can get him to gift you the Seed Maker for free--saving you a whopping 30K in gold.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: In the original game, Griffin owned a bar, and you were able to buy drinks that were explicitly alcoholic, with Muffy calling them “cocktails” and townsfolk inside the bar acting drunk while there even with [[FrothyMugsOfWater the cocktail names themselves using nondescript language like "MooMoo Milk"]] and the drinking contest at the Inn being based on milk complete with DrunkenGlow. Here, Griffin--renamed Gavin--instead runs a café that offers coffee, tea, and sodas, and there is no drinking contest. It still has a bar feel; some of the visitors [[DrunkOnMilk still sound drunk]], and the cafe is open late into the night.