Natural 2nd playthrough question about Joja. (No Spoilers, just convo please)

[Mcwhalen]

This is my second playthrough. I progressed really far the first time, but I lost my save file. I completed the community center, and married, etc. I even got the max rating from my Grandpa. But, I didn't fully complete that story...
That's about as much as I can recall.

TL:DR. Not min/max run, but, just playing the town's story, and curious about the pros/cons that come with a JoJa cola playthrough. Is it going to be somewhat of a either/or. Or am I missing out on content and hurting myself in the long run?

Thanks, for keeping any comments aimed in a storyline perspective instead of a min/max etc. (I'm enjoying knowing I've missed out on calendar events etc, but I dont want to restart, so I'm going along with it this time)

 

[Jack Of Shades]

As far as story, most will say no to Joja, and I wont say why due to spoilers you mentioned you didn't want. But basically joja is for the min/max route in a way. Honestly, you could argue both have their pros and cons. It's hard to delve into without getting into detail.

 

[Magically Clueless]

The content you miss out on the Joja run honestly isn't a lot, all the essentials are there. You actually get more out of the Community Center route, but as for unlocking everything, Joja route is about the same. People say the Joja route is easier but its trade-off is that it's a bit more boring

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Joja Route can be done much faster than Community Bundle run, but only if you have the money to shell out. Joja routes really depend on tons of cash, which generally means strats like a bunch of fishing for specific fish. It's more of a monoculture style play, focusing exclusively on money means not bothering with low-profit crops and focusing on high profitability crops.

You do miss out on a few useful trinkets. The glow ring and magnet ring are both available from the community bundles in case you get poor luck with drops in the mines, for example. But the faster Greenhouse can absolutely be worth it if you get an early Ancient Fruit seed to start iterating faster.

 

[Mcwhalen]

Thank you guys. Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Summer year 1 has just begun, and fishing has really boomed for some quick cash. I've got quite a lot of sprinklers, and my field is structured the way it's been suggested and also to my liking. (Scarecrow coverage, grids, etc)
Now that I'm planting new crops, I was curious about Joja prices being adjusted at all...

Mainly this is just a rhetorical question, but, before I wiki the details, I'm remembering the scene when the Joja manager offers 50% off in pierre's store.
Is that a real thing for the player? Or just a cutscene? Lol, either way, what a bold move. Haha, poor guy.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Thank you guys. Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Summer year 1 has just begun, and fishing has really boomed for some quick cash. I've got quite a lot of sprinklers, and my field is structured the way it's been suggested and also to my liking. (Scarecrow coverage, grids, etc)
Now that I'm planting new crops, I was curious about Joja prices being adjusted at all...

Mainly this is just a rhetorical question, but, before I wiki the details, I'm remembering the scene when the Joja manager offers 50% off in pierre's store.
Is that a real thing for the player? Or just a cutscene? Lol, either way, what a bold move. Haha, poor guy.

Thanks for the responses.

Joja uses a rather sleezy but commonly used tactic by other real-life corporations called the 'false sale'. Basically, Joja prices are higher than Pierre's. However, if you pay for a membership, you get a 'discount' which brings the prices down to Pierre's. So you have to pay for the privilege of paying normal price for goods. And your 'discount' just amounts to paying normal price instead of the artificially inflated price they normally charge.

But no, the 50% coupon offered in the cutscene is not actually redeemable by the player. If you notice, in the cutscene the player never approaches Morris to receive one. it is there purely to show the shady tactics Morris will use to try to undercut Pierre, and a reflection of shady corporate tactics used in real life.

 

[Mcwhalen]

Ah, thank you! I totally have a more immersive experience from this post.
The feels! Lol