Who out there grew up when Doraemon was first created? Well, don’t feel bad if you didn’t. This little blue cat robot—who has powers similar to Felix the Cat—originally came out in 1969 and has withstood time to still be well known in the Japanese world. Despite being so ancient, you can’t wander too far in Japan without seeing Doraemon snacks, plushies, games, and tons of other little trinkets with this cute guy’s face. Surprisingly though, the west wouldn’t ever feel the blue cat’s presence until Doraemon's Story of Seasons was released in 2020. Now two years later, Noby and his friends are back with Doraemon in yet another Harvest Moon-like game in the form of Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom, the second entry in the Story of Seasons game starring this cute anime mascot. We here at Honey’s Anime have played quite a few Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons titles—including the last Doaemon title—but is Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom worth rushing to the nearby game store to nab or are you better off forgetting all about this magical robot cat? We find out in our review of Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom for the PS5!

Perhaps you were one of the anime fans who never got into the world of Doraemon and witnessed the powers this blue machine is capable of. Don’t worry, we’ll bring you up to speed and discuss the main premise of Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom while we are at it! Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom focuses on the young Noby and his crew of friends who have become fed up with their parent’s constant nagging during their summer break. With the help of Doraemon, Noby’s ally in adventure and randomness, the squad heads up into space via a rocket the blue cat found in his pocket and ends up traveling through dimensions. Unfortunately, the crew hits some weird turbulence and lands unexpectedly in a strange world. After assisting a local they meet, the gang ends up living on a farm and now are tasked with taking care of said farm to help out their new friend and find a way back home.

Doraemon has always been about adventure and crazy mishaps from his gadgets and Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom doesn’t deviate from that theme. Now as a farmer, you have to plow the fields, plant crops, and raise cattle to earn money and try to make the small place grow in size and prestige. In comparison to titles like Stardew Valley or Rune Factory, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is really all about farming and that will either make you love it or make you want to just go watch the anime. Still, before you do that, keep reading as we now talk about what is expected of a new farm owner.

Like all other Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons titles, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is pretty self-explanatory. You are tasked with becoming a farmer and that is kind of it in Doraemon's Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom. You won’t be battling tons of monsters in scary dungeons or dealing with trying to avoid death while exploring. Noby might run out of stamina and “pass out” if you do too much but even this feels relaxing and not scary. Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is a very relaxed farming simulator and we love just spending hours tilling the fields and trying to make the farm look amazing! Equally, when we aren’t tending the farm, we can talk with various characters new and old to the Doraemon universe and see how their lives are going and try to really become even closer friends with them!

Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is visually the nicest farming title we’ve ever seen or played without a doubt. Walking around the town and exploring various landscapes is a real treat as the lighting feels realistic and anime-like. We could spend hours in some locations just taking in every detail that Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom captures from the anime! There will never be a point you’ll feel like Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom looks, meh, as this game is jam-packed with levels of detail we don’t see in other games like it!

Here is the only issue we can find while playing Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom, the extreme simplicity of it all. Recently, Harvestella was released and we absolutely loved the mix between action, farming, and story-based gameplay. There was a nice amount to do and to see in the world of Harvestella which made every gaming session just that much more enjoyable. Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom clearly perfected the farming gameplay, quite a bit better than Harvestella, but that is all this game really is…farming and minimal exploration. Basically, if you want to turn your brain off and just relax then Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is perfect but if you want a bit more to do like you can see in Harvestella or Stardew Valley, you might find Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom to be a bit too simple.