The end of the review is totally what I always loved about Wonderful Life and why I got so frustrated by other reviews. Wonderful Life is about the “zen” experience of just farming, that was the goal of the game. It’s always been slow, it’s always been “tedious” if you wanted quick results, but it was perfect if you wanted to just chill on your farm and enjoy the town.

this game is a real goldilocks scenario: friends of mineral town was too simple, and pioneers of olive town was far too complicated, but a wonderful life is just the right amount of SoS. I've been playing since the JP release a few months ago, and it's been a dream. from the aesthetics to the gameplay marvelous really has hit it out of the park with a wonderful life.

Will there ever be a farming game review without mentioning stardew valley

I'm a little surprised by the criticism that it's "frustratingly obtuse" about things like watering crops, selling items, getting married, or making friends. It has tons of in-game, simple explanations that clearly outline those details.

I'm really loving the game. ♡ It's old and you can feel it, and in some of the pacing and deisgn decisions, you can really feel it. But it's a Farming/Life sim at its simplest, and it's a relaxing joy. I LOVE thst I can play it without having to balance a million resources and tasks and social needs in my head--it's an easy rhythm without a huge need to grow!!! expand!!!, but with an interesting-enough premise (raising a child through their ENTIRE adolescence) to make it worth the pleasant grind

A Wonderful Life was always my favorite Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons. Even compared to all of the other games. The other games were either too simplistic, or too complicated, or too "upgrade upgrade UPGRADE", or too "seriously, don't spend all day on the farm - it's BORING". And obviously, since it was my favorite of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons: I REALLY didn't enjoy Stardew Valley. A Wonderful Life was all about that slow farming life. Where you get a little work done, then walk around the town and talk to the people there, before going back to check on your farm/animals again or fish. Sometimes you cook, sometimes you'll just go into town to buy a meal. You can get into heavily upgrading things, but it won't decrease your workload too much - it'll just yield better priced products. You can be a vegetable farmer. You can be a fruit farmer. You can be a livestock farmer. You can specialize in milk products, or egg products. You can be a chef. You can be a fisherman. You can be all of these things, or some of these things. The point was to live out life how you wanted to - and just enjoy it. You're not here to achieve something great. You're here to enjoy life. This game, more than any other game, had me put down the controller and watch as time passed slowly by in that world. Admiring the sound of the trees and river, the soft-smiles of the neighbors that passed, just everything about it. A peaceful experience. The closest 2nd of peaceful experience for me was Tree of Tranquility - not as slow, but definitely not as fast as others. This game, for me, defined the farming genre. It was never about achievements or grand stories - it was about the simpler things in life. People, for the longest time, found that concept for a game ridiculous: they wanted to feel like they ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING... when in reality, games don't accomplish anything at all - they're just games. Even if you learned from it: unless you apply it and directly use it: games do not match life's experiences in any way, shape, or form - they are a game, a (hopefully) good thing to pass the extra times you've got. Because people didn't understand that idea back then, A Wonderful Life was always treated as the blacksheep of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series. But now? I think people are more willing to understand it. Hopefully more people try this out, so they can see TRULY HOW the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons separates itself from Stardew Valley and other farming games. EDIT: Oh, and if anyone's curious of how I see the Animal Crossing series... Animal Crossing Gamecube is still, hands down, the best one. Not for nostalgia's sake, but for balance. Animal Crossing shouldn't be about building up your neighborhood or your house (those are just fun perks), they should be ABOUT THE NEIGHBORS (you know... ANIMAL Crossing). As time went on, for some reason the neighbors started having less and less personality (and that's alarming, when you consider that no other AC game has beaten the Gamecube in the AMOUNT OF NEIGHBORS THAT CAN LIVE IN YOUR TOWN: Less personality with less neighbors???? It's an awful formula), while the games had more and more minigames and achievements to accomplish. But you weren't there to play minigames, you were there to live a life with silly and fun neighbors, whilst expressing your uniqueness through your house and clothes. When you talked with neighbors (or listened in on their conversations, or did chores for them, or joined events with them), THAT WAS THE GAME. When you customized yourself and your house? That was just playing house, to add flavor to the game. The balance of Animal Crossing games now (even New Leaf) is ALL off. You can't take things slow there, you always feel like you HAVE to accomplish something to make turning it on worthwhile...

I work on a dairy farm, milking and breeding cows and I get off and play this.😅

This game feels more like a meditation, which I’m all in for

I liked the slower pace of it and the more down to earth style of the game. The remake looks great but I didn't mind the more brown dirty kinda realistic art style of the original.

I think the money system for the game was done really well... It makes you think harder about what you wanna spend on. I have 4 sheeps so I'm pretty much set on income even if I'm in year 2. The game isn't really entirely focused on upgrading everything so there was no rush to do so. I could focus on doing simple daily chores and experimenting with Vinnie.

I’m getting real sick and tired of these Classic farm games being compared to Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley has no where near the Heart that these games do and I hate that all farming sims are being compared to it like it’s the best farming game of all time. Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons are the reason Stardew Valley even exists. I don’t just want to farm I want to LIVE in the country and have A Wonderful Life. My favorite Harvest Moon is More Friends of Mineral Town. When I played that game I was in middle school and felt alone and just wanted to go back to my country life with my grandparents. So MFoMT helped me feel like I was living another life with friends and people who cared about me. I helped Cliff get a job and stay in town and eventually married him. I watched my other friends get married to and it felt so real to me that I thought the game was programmed specifically to make me feel loved. That feeling is what I think all of us who have played a Harvest Moon or Story of Season game is looking for in these remakes and new games. We want to feel connected to the games not just mindlessly farm and pump out money. We want connections with the characters and to live out a story.

people talk about stardew valley as if its the ending goal of the entire genre, but it isnt and it shouldnt be. when i play this remake i dont miss anything from more modern titles the only things i find myself missing are things they took out that were in the original (like the nerfs they did to animal care)

I’ve played this game on the PS2. But jus watching these farming games , it um it really puts me in the mood to do some farming on my own.

Does the remake include the auto-proposal that the Gamecube original had where if you didn't propose by the end of the year, the girl you had the highest match with would show up and propose to you?

I enjoyed it. We are just 4 short months away from black Friday. So if you want to play it. But that price point has you saying no. Then please just wait til November. I guarantee it will be on sale.

I bought the OG versions from a Blockbuster with my allowance and still have them. These games introduced me, my siblings and our cousin to the franchise/genre. We still played the OG versions up until a few years ago. When the official twitter account teased that a new remake may be in the works after FoMT we knew if AWL and we were so excited when they announced the remakes. These games hold such a special place in our hearts and playing the remake feels like being home. My notes from 20 years ago are still pretty accurate and I've been referencing them as I play through the remake. I play farming games for the chill vibes. I don't really care about combat or the like in these kinds of games. All in all I personally give this game a 9/10. Would be a 10/10 if not for Flora and Carter getting in the way in the dig site and how tedious it is to buy from Van/give gifts when ppl are busy.

thanks for the review! i will probably add this to my wishlist and wait for a sale. looks good but im not just dying for another farming game at the moment.

I knew alot people who had the GameCube version year's ago when the GameCube was out & praised it up as a really good harvest moon game. I myself personally never got a chance to play the original on gamecube but was alway's curious to try the game out. Can't wait to play the Nintendo Switch version~ 😁🤣👍✌️

It's a fantastic game and I love that it came back

3:40 my grandfather is gary and to hear this? Haha it was a shock

I wasn't sure if I wanted this game but after watching this review I now know for sure that I DO! Thanks 🥰 happy farming! 🌱

Used to rent this game at Block Buster back in the day. was so much fun! When I heard the remake was coming out I was a bit worried but honestly it tracks !!Still a favorite

Love the nostalgia glad they didn’t change too much from the original 😊

I actually really thought a huge problem with the original was the ridiculously broken economy that you could break by buying trees. So I'm glad they made things more expensive, it will rebalance it.

This game is great although I do miss the more... I guess somber art style of the original. But the new content makes it worth it.

Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life & Harvest Moon Magical Melody are still my favorite farming games ❤

Would be nice to not have every farming sim be compared to Stardew Valley tbh. Without HM Stardew wouldn't even exist. I like Sdv but the farming in that game is kind of basic and most people seem to care much more about which villager they're going to marry rather than any farming. They treat it more like a dating sim while in the HM games at least fans care about the farming aspect lol.

Sosawl is absolutely incredible. As a Long time harvest moon/story of seasons fan, this has to be one of my favorites. Some small aspects I don’t like but otherwise it’s perfect, I’d give it a 8 or 9 out of 10.

Omg!!!!!!! Theyve remade my favorite game of all time and made it better ???? Waiting for the catch. I dont have a switch though so we'll start there. Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💖

It’s an incredible remake

my only complaint about the game is they made mining more frustrating. You used to be able to at least get one thing every day. And you have less spots to dig in from the original. I've enjoyed everything else though.

I like when miyamoto said "It's farmin time" and proceeded to farm all over the switch.

This was my favorute game back in ps2.. kinda wish they keep the art style from the old game though

Harvest Moon on PS and GBA is way more addictive. If anything comes close, some reskinned Story of Seasons (Doraemon ones) are closer to Harvest Moon. Only thing I remembered this video are the elves, budumm.....

I remember liking the original but I didn't like the ending and it left me wanting to play more, something that friends of mineral town fid gave me, with a better experience overall.

i had this on the ps2 ages ago and i barely played it cos it lagged so much. enjoying it so much right now. the slow pace is just right for me

I own both A Wonderful Life and Another Wonderful Life on Gamecube, trust me, your memories are probably wrong. The games were always really slow paced and even in other years the games were boring. I got to the second chapter in the originals and about a second year into it I found it too boring to go on. The remake is better in so many ways, but I do miss the old names of characters and Matthew's original look. They could have at least given him the greaser Elvis hair. Or let us choose "costumes" for the characters so they would more resemble their old counterparts. So like make Matthew look like Marlin, but keep other characters with their new looks? Like switching on and off what looks they have for each individual character. Also the chapters are shorter, which is both good and bad. Good that it doesn't drone on, but bad because I really actually miss the length. They could have made the game have a seedling mode like the other games where the length of the chapters could be like the original on normal mode, but seedling has shorter chapters and buildings cost less, etc. Everything is so ridiculously expensive that you kinda have to optimize your run to afford things. They could even have done a custom mode where you customize what you want in game, longer chapters, cheaper items, start with more money, stuff like that. At least they made Charlie's mini game easier, but since I know how to play Go now that I'm older it's a LOT like Go. I also adore the character customization options and the name changes on hybrid crops. Money isn't too much of an issue with hybrid crops, but since chapters are shorter you really have to optimize your run to buy everything because everything is super expensive now, which is why they should have left the chapter length if they were going to increase the prices so much. If there are ever mods to fix these types of changes I will happily buy the game again on PC just to mod.

I never did reach the end of this game on GCN, but I still came back to it every once in awhile. Yes, it can be boring and repetitive, but it's also very relaxing and cozy. The Playstation remake was horrible, but it looks like this is a fantastic version. It definitely takes a specific kind of player to enjoy this HM. If you're a fast-paced, boom boom boom player, this will not be a good game. However, if you're like me and enjoy slow-moving, satisfying life sims, this is awesome, despite me never beating it. I will be buying it. Thanks for the review!

❤ Gamecube memories ! Harvest Moon!

Slightly off-topic, but my cousin pitched a game that's basically a farming sim like this, but with a realistic art style and set in a nuclear post apocalypse. No combat, just a message of hope as you help rebuild your community. That is one farming sim I would actually be excited to play. 😅

I loved all the recent SoS games! I would GLADLY enjoy this game once I can find it physically! Is it on ps4? I like how simple and slow this game will be

The games only $10 on Amazon and some Walmarts right now. might as well give it a shot for that price since i loved the old Harvest Moon game

Wow, the graphics look more stable than on the PC version (the one that I have, and I have an Ally, is like 100x more powerful than a switch)

"The processing room which cost 30k could be bought in the first year if you were smart." Me and my 9-year-old self with a second controller ready to plug it into the third slot: "What is hard work?"

I remember I have both the PlayStation 2 and game cube version of this and now the switch

I just vvish the ending was different where you could played as the child.

I still have the original and a working GameCube. Heavily considering playing the two versions alongside each other. 🤔

I had a copy of Another Wonderful Life way back in the day that both me and my sister loved, but I don't remember getting very far (certainly not having a kid!) I gotta remember to pick this up, though it'll likely be on the backlog until I finish TotK.

i love this game. i played the orther harvest moon. i like harvest moon a wonderful life more then the orthers. theres just something about this game. to me its my favorite of all time. i was 17 years old when i played it on gamecube. i did not play releese date i played it in 2005. now im 35 years old and im enjoying the remake. im already at chapter 4. the remake could have did more better they could have done a lot more. im happy to play this game again on my nintendo switch. this will always be my favorite havrest moon forever.

6:36 I've Always Love Fishing Getting ✌️ See Tha Fish

I miss the old graphics, it looks like a DS/3DS game

Cant wait for the Story of Ages sequel

I remember I used to grind for Milk Processing Room by fishing everyday and making sashimi then sell it to Van

If a game is so obtuse that it doesn’t even feel fair without a guide, it’s not a good game.

I've never played a farming sim before, the closest I've come is Animal Crossing. I been pretty bored with the same action and fighters and I saw a streamer play this and it looked.....iteresting, kinda relaxing in a way. I think I'll check it out, but if you guys have tips please don't hesitate.

I don't like that they don't have character portraits when they talk. I love to see good artwork, and facial expressions that change. 3d models are not that attractive for me to look at. :))

My wife just started this game last night ❤

In the original I remember I made all my money with trees. Fruit trees and seed maker lol

Is this a re-upload? I swear I watched this video days ago

If the money is really an issue, I bet they also got rid of the cheats from the GameCube version. Plug a controller into the 3rd position, hit start, problem solved, lol. I may have been a bit too impatient with this game when I was younger.

It looks like Wii quality shovel ware. What's with all that pop-in?

I'm glad to know that the game is just slow because I thought I was just bad at the game or missing something at first since I was so used to story of seasons pioneers of olive town. That game was way faster and way easier to make money in so I thought this game would be the same but it turns out I was completely wrong.

Banana + peach become.... *sweating Panana, ahh of course Panana *nervous laugh

Only thing that has forever makes me cry with these games the clock goes too fast 😆 slow it down! Prices are a bit much too😊

Agreed! 7/10 for sure!!! I give this video a 100/10 😍

This is bringing back so many memories.

imo the vibe did change too much

Its a really nice remake that should tide you over until Coral Island hits 1.0. Coral Island when finished should dethrone Trio of Towns as the best farm sim game and im looking forward to it.

FYI…. My wife who plays all these kinda games said that this game was boring and she has thought about going back and playing the previous one instead

After loving to death the N64 game back in the day, I bought A wonderful life day one on the Gamecube, I found it dull and obtuse, it took me out of the series. An od choice to remake.

Eh tbh I feel most of the people who love this game are the same people who miss "the good old days" the game is honestly simple and boring the romance is dull and quiet goofy. While I understand it's a remake it's really just a re-release they did next to nothing to improve the game not even a little. There isn't much to do and the story line is missing. The forced marriage after first year is annoying, rushed, and unfulfilling, and you already start off with everything you need no real reason to grind except for the "upgraded buildings/makers" and animals. After the first year I put it down the beginning of year 2 plays like the perfect ending to the game so I thought it fitting to stop there. I have zero hope that this gets any more interesting the town also has no shops and it would not have killed any feeling to add more then just overalls in different ugly colors and patterns that you can dress your character in. Funny how people are excited for the non restrictive marriage, but we glance over the zero dress options...it's not very inclusive. It has so much potential but it just doesn't hit the mark.

I love the original but it looks like they smoothed out the edges too much and it's soulless trash now.

Can i marry the cow

Ugh its not topdown...

they had to change the names for legal reasons it wasnt a creative choice....

Of course it is

Nintendolife getting filtered by a farming game for not being the casual indie clone.

I don't like it they force you to get married in a year I can't wait to play harvest moon winds of arthros

"Non-binary Farmer".... LMAO

AWL is a boring game. It was boring even back then in the Gamecube times. I played it. Back then the only thing it had going for it was the graphics. Other than that Back To Nature was always the superior game.

If Rune Factory 5 wasn't so bad, this Story of Seasons would have a match for it. But even so, there is still Animal Crossing on Switch as a more complete and premium option even though it is a different genre game.

Omg! I loved this as a kid… I played this religiously after school…🥹I miss games like this.

Most changes sounds bad, tbh…

ew they/them localization I'm instantly out

Nothing about this says that it's a game for me, but I do respect it.

The cow doesn't look cute enough this time. Series ruined. 😆

feels weird bringing woke politics into a game like this. think i'll pass

Wow I always wanted to play a game as a non binary farmer with they/them pronouns.

WTF, "non binary characters" (and pronouns) now even story of seasons have been infected by the woke disease. Hard pass.

They /them in a single player game lol lol Lol

Real life farming is TOUGH. Trust me. Plants die. Droughts come. Critters kill. Farming games are just too easy compared to real life farming. LOL

I’m so happy that the game is inclusive

Same channel that gave 7/10 on Everybody 1-2 Switch. LMAO

1:10 hard pass on this remake for "modern audiences" 🤮

Woke game guys, please consider that before buying

Not sure how I feel about none binary options.

This game is decent… but it’s not Stardew Valley!

What exactly was the point of remaking it when it still looks like a Gamecube game lol

Story of Seasons art looks AI generated af…

2:27 "...working on your dead dad's farm" 🥲