Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale (Nintendo 3DS) Review

What is the result of mixing traditional JRPG elements with the farming simulation style of the Harvest Moon series? The answer is: Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale, which combines the RPG gameplay of the original PopoloCrois, and the farming mechanics of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise. The result, however, could have been better.

The story starts off with the birthday of the young hero Pietro, however, and despite the celebration, not everything is peaceful here. A new danger in the form of black beasts has come, consuming the energy of the country, and only the brave prince might save them. The story is, in other words, as bland as it can be and adds very little to the experience.

Luckily, the RPG elements compensate for the lack of a decent story. It uses a grid/turn-based combat system which feels highly fluid, and keeps the battles different due to terrain. It makes fighting and grinding feel a little more entertaining than what is usually the case with the genre, which is a great bonus as there is some heavy grinding required on the higher difficulty settings.

The big focus on this game, though, is the Harvest Moon-esque farming simulation. This part is done pretty well. The protagonist Pietro is given the opportunity to harvest his own vegetables, mine minerals, and even befriend some pretty girls on his quest to save not only his own home world, but other black beast infested worlds as well. While it is pleasant to see these elements implemented, however, they just create an urge to actually play a Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons title stronger, rather than satisfying that hunger.

The main problem with Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale is that it tries to be two things, but does that in a meeting half-way style. This means that both the farming simulation parts, as well as the role-playing ones feel weak compared to the rest in the genre, leaving JRPG fans with a hunger for something meatier, and farming simulator fans with a hunger for a more focused farming game. This results in something pretty that leaves everyone wishing for more.