Remember these before you start hoeing
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life has finally arrived on modern platforms, and I am so excited for anyone about to experience this game for the first time. This is my favorite game in the Story of Seasons franchise. In my 9.0/10 review, I called it a “…remarkable experience…” that “takes the classic farming formula and gives it a purpose beyond just seeing how many S-ranked tomatoes you can grow.” I love this game, and I hope you will too. But if this is your first time playing A Wonderful Life, I’ve collected this short list of tips to help you get started with your new life on the farm.
1. Befriend this guy as soon as possible
It’s important to befriend all the townspeople in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life because their friendship will benefit you and your farm. But besides the person you intend to marry, the first person you should befriend is Daryl.
Go to the dig site, and if you find any fossils or old coins, give them to Daryl until your friendship grows to the point where he’ll start giving you stuff. It’s worth it, trust me.
2. Just keep digging
The archaeological site in A Wonderful Life is quite different from the various caves you mine in other Story of Seasons games. It hardly takes any energy—if it takes any at all—and everything you do at the site is at the behest of Carter. You’re there to look for stone slabs, but anything beyond that you can keep for yourself. The dig site starts small and grows as time goes by. What’s important to remember is that when you’re digging at the site, don’t just dig once.
Digging in the same spot two or three times might bring up an object you’d have missed if you only dug once. You’ll know there is an object in the ground to collect whenever you see a part or even specks of an item in the dig spot. Keep digging until you fully remove it, then go ahead and dig one or two more times. Who knows, there could be another valuable item down there. I suggest digging in each spot at least twice, even if it already looks like it’s been dug up when you arrive at the dig site.
3. Remember to check the bulletin board twice a season
One of the new additions found in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is the bulletin board. This is where the townsfolk will post requests for you to fulfill. Most requests must be filled within the current season.
As you advance further into the game, you’ll get requests with different time limits. The rewards you get for completing these requests aren’t exceptional at first, but they get better as time marches on. New requests will populate the board on the first of each season and on the sixth.
4. Visit the sprites daily for recipes
Cooking is a staple of the Story of Seasons franchise, and it’s no different in The Forgotten Valley. You can get recipes from other people in town, but if you want to fill your collection quickly, visit the sprites at the tree at the end of the forest every day. Eat the mushroom outside the treehouse to shrink like Alice, then talk to one of them for a free recipe.
Some days you won’t get anything, but in your first year, you should always make it a point to stop here every day.
5. All those old guides still work
Back before every gaming site was publishing guides, players could reliably visit a small selection of websites where guides were written up by passionate fans of whatever game they were playing. The Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series is no exception, as you can find highly detailed guides for just about every game in the franchise.
That includes the original A Wonderful Life. And because this is a faithful remaster, all those old guides you can find online from 20 years ago still work today. Not everything will still be relevant as the Story of Seasons version of the game simplifies some of the farming elements, but if you want to make sure you woo the right bride or groom, those guides will help you get the job done.
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