story of seasons a wonderful life marriage candidates

#STORY OF SEASONS A WONDERFUL LIFE MARRIAGE CANDIDATES SERIES#

Taking place over just shy of a dozen “chapters” in a person’s life, it starts when they themselves make the big move to escape the city.

#STORY OF SEASONS A WONDERFUL LIFE MARRIAGE CANDIDATES SERIES#

It is this romanticisation that forms the core of where Story of Seasons (and Harvest Moon) come from.Ī Wonderful Life leans heavily into this even by the series standards. These people are then romanticised to a significant extent by that same Japanese mainstream society, with variety shows and documentaries constantly profiling those people that escape the city to find some beaten-up old house in some dying town to restore.

Japanese culture meanwhile is immensely high-intensity, high-pressure and performance-based beyond what those in most other places in the world field, and so for a sizable number of people, there’s a moment where they “snap” and realise that they just need to get out and break as far from mainstream society as possible. It can feel like it’s hard to get back to nature from those centres, but the desire to get out goes beyond just that. Tokyo, Osaka, and to a lesser extent the next tier of cities – Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe, and Kyoto – are more than just massive concrete jungles of bustling energy. For an amazing alternative, consider the recent Doraemon one. Related reading: There are several Story of Seasons titles available on Switch. This remake has done that masterpiece fine justice.

If this is true (and I believe there is something real to it), then Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is arguably the strongest execution of the idea. Once, many years ago, I read an argument that the enduring popularity of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons in its homeland in Japan has to do with a very real desire for a “sea change” or “tree change” among Japanese urban populations.

Story of seasons a wonderful life marriage candidates