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Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon |
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 Not as much fun as other Harvest Moon games., December 17, 2008 |
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When I first heard about a 'fantasy' Harvest Moon game I was really excited, since I've been a long-time fan of the Harvest Moon series. And as I started playing Rune Factory I enjoyed myself ... but not as much as I enjoyed playing some of the other Harvest Moon games.
Sure, the graphics are way better - less cutesy, bright and colourful than, say, Harvest Moon DS, but still eye-catching and a pleasure to look at. The music's fine, and some of the typical activities of Harvest Moon games (sowing seeds, ploughing, watering, caring for animals etc) carry over well from previous Harvest Moon games. But all in all I felt the game was missing something. It just didn't have the appeal for me that Harvest Moon DS, or Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life had. The characters in Rune Factory were less likable and quirky than the characters you find in HM: AWL and DS, and I found myself struggling to select a girl for my character to marry (unfortunate, as marriage always plays an important role in HM games). Also, the main difference between HM games and Rune Factory was the addition of dungeon crawling, and frankly I found that whole side of the game boring and annoying. I didn't want to spend all day down in a dank cave, slashing away at monsters and using up all my carefully hoarded energy points. And since the monsters regenerate every time you leave a dungeon and re-enter it, the whole exercise felt pointless anyway. Summing up, I'd have to say this game is perfectly good, and has many enjoyable features, but it is probably not for everyone. I thought that, since I loved Harvest Moon, I'd love this game. That turned out not to be the case. What I loved about Harvest Moon (caring for animals, growing crops, building relationships with villagers) was still to be found in Rune Factory, but not to the same degree; the addition of monster slashing, which probably made this game for some players, was a disappointment to me. |
 A Good Take on HM, October 9, 2008 |
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The Great:
It's an entirely new spin on Harvest Moon, adding a RPG feel to the game. But don't worry, you can still farm and such, and have that be your sole profits (but you still have to capture the monsters in the caves). There is now a level system in addition to upgrading your weapons, so you can get good just by practicing, and then upgrade your weapons when you have the money. I love how monsters can work on your farm, so you can hire them to water and harvest crops for you, enabling you to focus more on mining, fishing, raising said monsters, exploring, et cetera. (It's really hard to go back to an old HM game after using this feature.) The Good: You can now raise what are basically, bees, giant chickens, sheep, and cows. In addition, there are animals that can come into dungeons with you and fight by doing damage or various status effects, while others can water and harvest crops. There are many more skills, and once you expand your house you can become somewhat self-sufficient, although mastering them will take a long time, so the game stays challenging. The marriage and friendship system is entirely reworked; instead of buying your friends with endless gifts, performing tasks for them and talking to them is what gets you more hearts. (EG, the witch girl, Melody, is happy if you go to her bathhouse every day, and the elven girl, Tabitha, falls in love with you if you care for your monsters well.) You can still give gifts if you wish, but it's no longer necessary. There are also many bonus scenes just for befriending people, so you don't just get videos for dating. The Town is quite large, and offers many characters with nice dialogue strings, as well as audio dialogue. The plot lines can be unlocked in some different ways for the minor ones, but generally you must expand your farm and clear caves to progress. You can grow crops out of season by planting them in caves, which have various climates. The music is gorgeous; fitting the game pretty perfectly. The Bad: You can only be a male, but there are many unique available bachelorettes. The monster AI seriously needs some work, especially for the captured monsters. Sometimes they seem to get stuck, and they have many graphical glitches on the larger ones where they will overlap each other and clip into one another. You can't grow trees, so you don't get a nice care-free crop. (But you can still buy apples and oranges at the shops.) The dialogue can be misleading; the translation needed a little work. For example, many people spent all this time thinking if you grew a normal crop for over 30 days, you would get a special crop. This is not the case; there are special crops available after you beat the game that grow for 30 days (so in a cave) and they sell for more. The sound can short in and out on certain parts; when it is raining, the sound will sometimes cut out for a few minutes out of one of the speakers or headphones (I have seen this happen on both the DS and DS Lite, with different games, so it is a programming error). The Ugly: As with the other games, not much ethnic diversity in the game, save for one self girl. Good or Bad, up for Debate: Still, you can only marry girls, but since this game doesn't have the option of being a female, you don't have to run two game accounts to unlock all the scenes. The Fantasy aspect is nice, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. |
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Role playing while building a farm, September 10, 2008 |
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If you enjoy classic, computer-based role playing, this is an excellent value. Picture a classic, role-playing hero set in a nature-centric farming community and you're in the right ballpark.
However, there are several key differences between Rune Factory and classic role playing games. First, your character does not have a profession. Instead, he has a set of skills. Each skill increases the more often you use it. Also, in addition to the classic hit points, you have Rune Points. As you perform any task, these decrease (however, eating food or picking up glowing "runes" increases them). When these are empty, you start using your hit points (except you cannot cast spells without Rune Points). As your character grows, he has a huge selection of skills---forging custom weapons/shields, creating custom amulets and the likes, cooking, swordsmanship, farming, logging, fishing, monster communication and creating potions. But, beyond the classic role playing, there is real farming to do. You can hoe the ground, plant and water seeds, then harvest the produce. There are 4 seasons---each has its own unique plants. This becomes the key to survival as you advance through the game, since the plants produce Rune Orbs which replenish your stamina. Also, you can befriend monsters in the caves (some provide eggs and milk, others act as battle companions). Beyond that, the game allows you to court one of several eligible single women and nurture friendships with the many townsfolk. So, for the price, the game offers an amazing amount of depth and value. |
 Pretty Awesome!, August 30, 2008 |
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I must say I wasn't sure if I was going to like this game when I first purchased it. The idea of a not so peaceful harvest moon seemed a bit more realistic so I decided to give it a shot. Once I started playing I found that I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the challenge of the caves and the ability to grow all types of crops year round in each cave. The animals on my farm are a bit creepy though...lol.
I never got very far into creating your own weapons and items. I plan on going back and trying to revisit the game before the sequel comes out. I couldn't give the game 5 stars; I still like the HM DS better, but this is very close. I look forward to the sequel. |
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review for Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon by: Tyler Cain, August 21, 2008 |
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I love all Harvest Moon games my favorite is "Friends of Mineral Town" but Natsume has outdone it`s self especially copared to some other Harvest Moon games. Again I love all of them but alot of them have typeo`s but having to translate it from 3 types of Japanese to English is very hard but I have found none so far in this game. Again this is a great game and very fun espescially adding the monsters and its really cool since they can halp you with your field and fight with you,(sort of like Pokemon) but I dont think its plagurism. Thanks for making yhis game Natsume 5 stars! |
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