Impressions: Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon

Rune Factory for the Nintendo DS is developer Marvelous Interactive’s latest offering in their long line of Harvest Moon games. This one, subtitled “A Fantasy Harvest Moon”, is exactly what it sounds like: a farm simulation that incorporates fantasy elements to make for a highly enjoyable role-playing experience … provided you’re into that kind of thing.

Rune Factory is far from your standard DS “training” game. If you’re new to the variety of software available on the DS, be sure to note that this is a game which requires time, patience and lots of dedication. It isn’t a casual game, and neither is it one that spells out what you need to do every step of the way. If you plan on picking up Rune Factory, be prepared to thoroughly read the game manual to get your bearings.

That isn’t to say the game can’t be played in short bursts. It’s still a portable title, and the game allows you to save at any point you like, provided you can make it back to your farm in one piece.

For those of you who have played the Harvest Moon games before, there’s absolutely no need for introductions. You’ll be right at home with Rune Factory, and might even find this to be the best game in the series to date.

That’s because Rune Factory has a lot more to do than most Harvest Moon titles before it. The farming, combat elements, dating-sim aspect and excellent presentation make this a must-buy for anyone who has enjoyed its predecessors.

Gameplay:

Rune Factory begins like your run-of-the-mill JRPG, with your main character arriving hungry and exhausted at the town of Kardia. With no memory of your name or who you are, you collapse outside the house of a farmhand by the name of Mist. Soon enough, Mist takes you in (for whatever reason), provides you with a place to stay, and requests that you help her run her farm in return.

Following this, the game’s focus turns to running your farm and making money. Money can be made by planting crops, fishing, mining for materials, and shipping goods at the end of the day. Each of these activities looks simple enough at first, but you soon discover there’s an enormous layer of intricacies beneath each one. Like every Harvest Moon game before it, Rune Factory allows you to plant different vegetables in different seasons, and depending on how well you care for them, the quality of seeds you use, and the amount of money you invest in your farming, you will either end up with money coming out your ears or find yourself having a tough time making ends meet.

Just to give newcomers an example of the game’s farming mechanics, any piece of land must be ploughed before you can farm on it. Once it is ploughed, you have the option of planting seeds in it, following which; you’ll find yourself having to water them every single day (except on rainy days). Depending on the quality of seeds you used (something that the game allows you to improve over time), the amount of money you make from selling the resulting will vary. You can then, even proceed to cook a variety of dishes with the crops you have grown.

During this time, you also have the option of fishing, mining in caves, rummaging through fields that haven’t been ploughed for salvageable items, cutting wood and gathering material to expand your house and furthering your relations with the townsfolk.

Speaking of whom, the people of Kardia are extremely lively and varied. Natsume has done an excellent job of bringing the town to life, with buildings that range from libraries to bathhouses to pubs to blacksmith shops and inns. Really, the amount of detail and care put into making the Rune Factory world seem real shows. Every building in the game is accessible, and serves a purpose in one form or another. Whether you want to increase your knowledge at the library, buy groceries from the local shops, replenish your health at the bathhouse, or simply visit friends at their homes, you’ll find yourself with a ton to do any given point in time.

As stated before, the game also incorporates dating-sim elements, which enable you to further your relations with the townsfolk. While you can only increase your level of “friendship” with the male characters in the game, you have the option of increasing your “love” level with the women, which eventually governs which of the cute ladies in town you end up marrying. While it may sound like a tacked-on feature, marriage has always been a big part of the Harvest Moon games and this time around is no different. The feature adds yet another layer of activities to keep you busy with throughout the game.

Of course, the major addition this time around is that of combat. As stated before, you play the role of an amnesiac boy in Rune Factory, and while it isn’t quite clear who he is, you’ll find yourself starting to put two and two together soon enough. The fantasy elements in Rune Factory add significantly not only to the plot of the game, but also compliment its farming elements in an excellent manner.

The game allows you to adopt and breed monsters, which you can then train to help out with your daily chores at your farm. Different types of monsters can perform different activities, and soon enough, you’ll find yourself needing to take advantage of this feature to make your day-to-day farming activities more manageable, in order to free up time to explore the game’s lands.

Of course, exploration is by no means easy … or safe for that matter. The game consists of multiple caves, each one filled with monsters and items. In order to defeat them, you need to be at a level capable of taking them on. While you could just swing your sword around and mixing it up with your enemies up, close and personal, there are several more efficient (and fun) ways to do the same. This is where magic comes in.

The town library allows you to read various books on magic as they are made available and learn different skills that make your monster-hunting a more enjoyable and satisfying experience. Progressing through these caves is the only way to further the game’s plot and figure out what your role is amidst the monster invasion, so you’ll definitely find yourself making preparations to do so in your spare time.

Presentation:

Rune Factory’s presentation is the one aspect of the game that really helps it stand out. Gone are the “kiddy” designs of past Harvest Moon games. Rune Factory sports an awesome anime-inspired look that features well-drawn background art, and polygonal models that help bring the game’s world to life. This is probably one of the better examples of 3D done right on the DS, as the ingame models aren’t too big, and thus, extremely aliased like those of Final Fantasy III. The game does a good job of blending 3D art, hand-drawn sprites and textures to make for an extremely refreshing look.

Another aspect of the game’s presentation that really stands out is the inclusion of voice-acting. While not every line in the game is spoken, characters do greet you verbally, and certain other lines are spoken out loud as well. Once again, this goes a long way toward bringing the game’s characters to life. While not every game benefits from voice-acting, Rune Factory is one that has definitely managed to take advantage of it.

Overall, Rune Factory is an excellent purchase for fans of the Harvest Moon games. It’s portable, it’s engrossing, looks great and offers plenty more to do. On the other hand, if you’re new to the world of Harvest Moon, or even more “traditional” games on the DS, consider picking this one up just so you can see for yourself the amazing amount variety and fun it has to offer.

While the game is clearly not for everyone, just about anybody who has the patience and is willing to invest the time in it will not be disappointed.