Across the long history of Doraemon, there have been so many motivational poster-worthy quotes that if you throw a stone at Google you’ll hit a million websites such as this one, and the game keeps that tone. It’s a little concerning that so much children’s entertainment now is straying too far on the entertainment side of things, but Doraemon is a reminder of when kids television was fundamentally philosophical, challenging kids to develop an empathetic and emotional core while also remaining both light and entertaining. The other side of Doraemon is that it is educational in tone. As a game developer, you’d be missing the mark not to make this as nostalgic as possible. There is an entire museum dedicated to capturing the whimsical, wholesome charm of the group of kids and blue robot cat that make up this anime. Almost any Japanese person playing this game grew up with the character. If you’ve been playing Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons for long enough, this is going to come across as nostalgic, and that’s perhaps the perfect way to describe how most people view Doraemon itself. There is one exception, in one area where the camera shifts to a behind-the-back showcase of the beauty of grain fields, but otherwise this title feels more like a Harvest Moon from the N64 than the newest release in the venerable series. Meanwhile, Doraemon (for the most part) pulls right back to an isometric perspective, achieving a diorama or even zen garden-like quality to the pastoral country village that the game depicts. The more recent Story of Seasons and series cousin, Rune Factory, titles opt to zoom the camera right in to give you a far more intimate look at the world around you. What I love about Doraemon Story of Seasons is that it goes old-school with its “life simulation” experience. Related reading: Check out our review of the first Doraemon: Story of Seasons here. I can’t conceptualise a time I wouldn’t be up for more of that. On the other hand, it’s a Doraemon game where you can befriend alpacas. The basic game is the same, but while the first comes across as an inspired effort to bring two of the most wholesome Japanese properties together, now we already know it works, so the spark of sheer inventiveness to combine the is no longer there. Doraemon’s second crossover outing with the Story of Seasons/Harvest Moon formula isn’t as impressive as the first.
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