Best Stardew Route?

[craniumgirl]

I'm a beginner Stardew Valley player, so I don't know much about the plot and routes of the game. I know about the Jojamart route and do-it-yourself route. Which one is better?

[Siberian Shaman]

Depends, they get you roughly the same stuff but in different ways. I would say first time play through go with community center. If you want to try the jojo mart later that would be good. Or if you what a slightly faster green house then go jojo mart.

[Queen Droxxanna]

i have always preferred the Community center route, don't like the Joja guys attitude.
And you get more in game rewards from the community center route.

[lizardmang]

It's generally recommended to do the Community Center route first because it incentivizes you to explore more of what the game has to offer. The Joja route just requires you to pay money to unlock everything, which gives you a little more freedom to play however you want.

Both routes unlock the same things for the most part, but there are a few (mostly inconsequential) differences - nothing really worth worrying about on a first playthrough, imo. If you want to know the specifics, I'll list them below.

Community Center:
- minor rewards for completing each bundle
- trophy (decorative)
- general store will be open on Wednesdays
- villagers will occasionally spend time at the completed Community Center (doesn't really do anything except make it a little more time-consuming to find people sometimes)
- Movie Theater replaces JojaMart

Joja:
- soda machine (gives 1 free Joja Cola per day)
- Auto-Petters can be purchased at JojaMart (they can otherwise be obtained as a rare late-game drop in the Mines)
- Movie Theater replaces the Joja Warehouse (which initially replaces the Community Center)

[airgid-sionnach]

If I remember correctly, Community center gives extra friendship hearts that Joja doesn't offer. Maybe wrong on that, but eh. I'd recommend doing Community Center first, since it takes longer and feels like you have to work for it.

Whichever route is mainly comedic, but it does effect some dialog and 100%.