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Rune Factory | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Simulation game Role-playing video game Action role-playing game |
Developer(s) | Neverland Co., Ltd. |
Publisher(s) | Marvelous Entertainment, Natsume, Rising Star Games, Xseed Games |
Artist(s) | Minako Iwasaki |
Platform(s) | Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Wii, PlayStation 3 |
First release | Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon August 24, 2006 |
Latest release | Rune Factory 4 July 19, 2012 |
Rune Factory (ルーンファクトリーRūn Fakutorī) is a role-playingsimulationvideo game series developed by Neverland Co., Ltd. for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Wii and the PlayStation 3 video game consoles, and a spin-off of the Harvest Moon video game series. It is described by Yoshifumi Hashimoto, producer of the Harvest Moon series, as 'Harvest Moon where you wield a sword.'[1]
Common gameplay elements[edit]
The gameplay of the Rune Factory series is similar to that of Harvest Moon. For every one real-world second, one in-game minute passes. The player can grow crops, using upgradeable farm equipment. However, the Harvest Moon game mechanic of purchasing animals has been replaced by defeating and befriending monsters in dungeons. If a monster is tamed, it can help the player in battle, produce goods, or help to tend the crops. The game's combat is in the action role-playing game style.
Like most Harvest Moon games, the player is given a limited amount of stamina, in the form of 'Rune Points', or 'RP'. Rune Points get depleted as the player performs tasks at the farm or fights using a weapon or magic. The player is given hit points as well. The player can attack with no RP by sacrificing HP. The player can replenish RP by using Runes created by fully-grown crops or potions, while HP can be restored using medicine or healing spells. The town bathhouse restores both HP and RP. If the player runs out of HP while working on their farm, they will collapse and be rescued; however, in Rune Factory and Rune Factory 2, dying outside the town causes game over. In all other games, the player will not die while fighting in the caves or ruins.
Crops can be planted in different areas to sell for gold; other activities include mining for metal and minerals, fishing, or collecting food such as milk and eggs from befriended monsters. The player can then spend money and material to buy a variety of upgrades for their house, weapons, and tools.
In addition to their open-ended gameplay, the games possess a linear storyline, which can be furthered by exploring dungeons and defeating certain monsters. Just like in the Harvest Moon series, the main character's relationship with the other villagers increase by talking to them or performing actions that please them, like giving items they like as presents for example. Some of them can even be married if their relationship improves enough. Some games of the series require the protagonist to get married as part of the storyline.
Games[edit]
Title | Platform | Release date | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | North America | Europe | Australia | ||
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | NDS | August 24, 2006 | August 14, 2007 | February 13, 2009 | March 12, 2009 |
Rune Factory 2 | NDS | January 3, 2008 | November 18, 2008 | October 8, 2010 | November 18, 2010 |
Rune Factory Frontier | Wii | November 27, 2008 | March 17, 2009 | April 1, 2010 | N/A |
Rune Factory 3 | NDS | October 22, 2009 | November 9, 2010 | September 30, 2011 | N/A |
Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny | PS3 and Wii | February 24, 2011 | October 7, 2011 | May 25, 2012 | June 13, 2012 |
Rune Factory 4 | 3DS | July 19, 2012 | October 1, 2013[2] | December 11, 2014 | December 11, 2014 |
Rune Factory 4 Special | Switch | July 25, 2019[3] | 2019[4] | 2019 | 2019 |
Rune Factory 5 | Switch | 2020[5] | 2020 | 2020 | 2020 |
Development[edit]
According to Marvelous's managing director and Harvest Moon's creator, Yasuhiro Wada, Rune Factory 2 does not borrow the Harvest Moon name for the Japanese release. This was done in order to grow Rune Factory as an independent series and Marvelous will continue to do this with all future installments including Rune Factory Frontier.[6] Despite this, Natsume applied the subtitle A Fantasy Harvest Moon to Rune Factory 2 and Rune Factory 3.[7][8]
Rune Factory Frontier was announced during an interview between Cubed3 and Yasuhiro Wada on June 6, 2007, and was fully revealed on June 4, 2008 in the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu. On July 11, 2008, Marvelous Entertainment USA and Xseed Games announced that they were both bringing Rune Factory Frontier to North America.[9]Rune Factory Frontier released in the NA region on March 17, 2009.
Rune Factory 5 was said to be expected at 'some point in time', according to series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto.[10] In November 2013, Neverland Co. filed for bankruptcy, leaving the future of the series in question at the time.[11] However, in February 2014 it was revealed that the Rune Factory development team had been hired by Marvelous AQL, and that they were developing the Nintendo 3DS simulation role-playing video game Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven.In February 2019, during the 13.02.19 Nintendo Direct, Rune Factory 5 was once again confirmed to be in development by Hakama, a new studio founded by Hashimoto.[12]
Media[edit]
Rune Factory 2 has had multiple manga series to help promote the game, in such magazines as Dengeki Nintendo DS, Monthly Wings, Dragon Age, and Dengeki Maoh. If players pre-ordered the game in Japan, they would receive a free CD with three mini-dramas as well as an 18-page art book. Sometime after the release of the game in Japan, a CD with all the background music, three mini-dramas, and the two theme songs was released with a novel based on the game following sometime after. The American pre-order bonus was a plush Chipp, a monster in the series similar in appearance to a squirrel, that was included in the box when ordered from participating websites.[7][13]
![Rune Rune](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123711171/412063500.jpg)
Reception[edit]
Game | GameRankings | Metacritic |
---|---|---|
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | 79% [14] | 78% [15] |
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | 81% [16] | 77% [17] |
Rune Factory Frontier | 82% [18] | 79% [19] |
Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | 79% [20] | 77% [21] |
Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny | 55% (PS3) [22] 78% (Wii) [23] | 55% (PS3) [24] |
Rune Factory 4 | 79% [25] | 78% [26] |
The Rune Factory series has been well received.
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon received an 8.4 rating from IGN's Mark Bozon. Bozon commented that the art style was 'amazing', and that it was 'the Harvest Moon you've been waiting for'.[27] 91/100 from Gamebrink, 7.0/10 from Nintendo Power, and 4/5 from X-Play.
IGN rated Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon at 8.4/10, commenting on its similarity to the original,[28] and Game Rankings has given it an aggregated score of 80.58%.[16]
References[edit]
- ^'Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'. IGN. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- ^'Rune Factory 4 Gets Official Release date' Game Informer. Retrieved 9-13-2013
- ^'『ルーンファクトリー4スペシャル』| Nintendo Switch™'. ルーンファクトリー4 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ^' Polygon. Retrieved 9-19-2019
- ^'『ルーンファクトリー5』| Nintendo Switch'. 『ルーンファクトリー5』| Nintendo Switch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-02-14.
- ^'C3 Interview with Yasuhiro Wada'. Cubed3. 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ ab'Natsume's Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for DS Goes Gold'. IGN. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^Anthony Gallegos (December 6, 2010). 'Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon Review'. IGN. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^'Marvelous Entertainment USA and XSEED Games join forces to announce E3 lineup'. July 11, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^Isshan (2012-09-28). 'Rune Factory 4 Sales Cross 150,000 in Japan'. Siliconera. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^Engen (2013-11-30). 'Rune Factory Developer Declares Bankruptcy'. Escapist Magazine. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
- ^'Nintendo Direct 2.13.2019'. 2019-02-13.
- ^'Amazon offers Rune Factory 2 squirrel preorder'. News. Gamertell. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
- ^'Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^'Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ ab'Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^'Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^'Rune Factory Frontier'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^'Rune Factory Frontier'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^'Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^'Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^'Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^'Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^'Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^'Rune Factory 4'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^'Rune Factory 4'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^Bozon (August 17, 2007). 'Rune Factory Review'. IGN. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
- ^'Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon Review'. IGN. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
External links[edit]
Games Like Rune Factory 3
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Rune Factory |
- Official website‹See Tfd›(in Japanese)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rune_Factory&oldid=892192814'
2017-09-20Rune Factory 4 is the latest installment (which came out 4 years ago) from the main Rune Factory game franchise. In this game, you can play as whoever you like, be it governing as a prince or a princess, a daring adventurer or a simple farmer. Cultivate the land and fill it with a wide variety of crops, go fishing, or fight monsters in the game's many trapped dungeons. Like the previous games, you can recruit local townsfolk and even befriended wild monsters to help you with your farm or even to join your adventuring team so you'll have some extra help when you're fighting hostile monsters. You can even fall in love, get married and have a virtual child of your own! With whole new adventures, storylines and characters, Rune Factory is designed to appeal to beginners and veterans of the game alike.1Rune Factory: FrontierRune Factory: Frontier sends you to the frontier town of Trampoli where you are expected to set up your very own virtual farm. 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Ever Oasis – 3DS
Games Like Fantasy Life
What really makes Fantasy Life such a fun little game is the mix of RPG-style combat and everyday life aspects. While there’s plenty of time you can spend going out adventuring, you can spend just as much time talking to villagers and customizing your house. Ever Oasis strike very much the same balance, although its customization aspects are a bit different from Fantasy Life.
Ever Oasis casts you as a young seedling, who with the help of a water spirit named Esna creates the last oasis in the world, the only place safe from a malevolent place known as Chaos. Building up your oasis and expanding it is the crux of the game, and there are some light town-building elements that come into play. Other seedlings will come to your oasis and settle down, or you can find them out in the world, and some of these characters will even open up new Bloom Booths – shops for you to buy items and gain resources. You can take requests from NPCs to upgrade Bloom Booths, mostly by foraging for materials in caves and dungeons out in the world.
Outside of building your oasis, Ever Oasis sports a real-time action combat system that lets you build a party. It’s fairly simple combat, but still has enough complexity and depth to make it engaging, much like Fantasy Life. Ever Oasis may not have the same absolute freedom as Fantasy Life, but if you’re looking for another title that creates a blend of action-RPG and sim, then look no further than Ever Oasis.
Stardew Valley – PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PS Vita
![Games like rune factory and harvest moon Games like rune factory and harvest moon](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123711171/242773566.jpg)
Games Like Fantasy Life
Stardew Valley is one of the best simulation games we’ve ever gotten, even against the likes of Harvest Moon, which it is clearly inspired by. The game does contain elements of combat and dungeon exploring, but Stardew Valley really is about simulating your life as a farmer, and adjusting to life in Pelican Town.
In Stardew Valley your grandfather wills you a small plot of land, and after you create your character, you leave your city office job behind to till the land. You’ll need to clear out all the weeds first, and then set about constructing your dream farm home. As your farm grows, you’ll need to tend to the crops and livestock you put in, while increasing the size and scope. Apart from your own farm, you can explore Pelican Town, getting to know its diverse cast of residents, and even find romance if you so choose. Just outside of town there’s a procedurally generated network of caves you can dive into to gather resources and valuable items, although the caves are infested with creatures you’ll need to battle so be sure to go in prepared.
Stardew Valley is a charming little game that lets you play things out at your own pace, however you want to. The game uses a day-night and calendar system to play out each day, and at the end of your third year you’ll be evaluated on your performance. Other than that, there are no guidelines or restrictions to how you need to play, so it really is up to you. Also, if you happen to pick up the game on PC, the multiplayer update is coming in August 2018, providing a brand new way to play.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Pocket Camp – 3DS, Mobile
Games Like Fantasy Life
If the sim aspects of Fantasy Life are what appeal to you the most then boy do you need to play Animal Crossing, as it serves as the inspiration for a lot of what Fantasy Life does. Like with previous Animal Crossing games, New Leaf drops you right into the middle of a town of anthropomorphic animals as the new neighbor. After dealing with Tom Nook, in the renovation of your new house, you’ll incur a massive debt you need to pay off. Besides the debt, Animal Crossing gives you the freedom to do whatever you want. You can go fishing, collect bugs, search for rare fossils, buy new clothes, decorate your house, hang out with your neighbors, and much more.
New Leaf gives you the position of mayor in the town, adding more variety and options as to how you want to customize everything. You can use Public Works and Ordinances to install new things in your town like lampposts or fountains, and even have your fellow townspeople do things like plant more flowers. The series is known for its quirkiness, and talking to the other animals can be great fun. Once you get to know them a little better, they might even give you some presents in the form of new clothes or decorations.
Pocket Camp on the other hand, takes the core formula of Animal Crossing and simplifies the experience a little bit to fit on mobile. This time you’re building your very own campsite, collecting decorations and inviting characters to stay over. You still have a ton of freedom over what you want to do and how you want to do it, but it’s easier to play Pocket Camp in small bursts.
The similarities between Animal Crossing and Fantasy Life are pretty obvious, and it’s easy to lose yourself for hours, if not days, on end in the world of Animal Crossing.
Rune Factory 4 – 3DS
Games Like Fantasy Life
The Rune Factory series is actually an offshoot of Harvest Moon, with a similar type experience but a much larger focus on fantasy aspects. It was actually described by Yoshifumi Hashimoto, producer of the Harvest Moon series, as “Harvest Moon where you wield a sword.”
In Rune Factory 4 you play as a young man or woman who develops amnesia and is accidentally mistaken for royalty, after they fall from their airship into the town of Selfia. The actual Prince of Selifa, Arthur, is more than happy to let you take over his duties, and now it becomes your job to attract tourists, get to know the villagers, and work to expand the town.
Planting and tending crops is still an integral part of Rune Factory 4, as is exploring dungeons, and finding your bride or groom to be. Unlike Harvest Moon you actually don’t have livestock in Rune Factory games, but instead can defeat and befriend monsters while exploring dungeons. Chess pieces images. These monsters can then help you in dungeons, or help tend your crops. Combat is done in a real-time action role-playing style, and crafting is the main form of progression for your character, instead of a traditional leveling system.
The Rune Factory games are probably the most similar you can get to Fantasy Life without actually being Fantasy Life. It may not have the job system of the latter, but there are a ton of similarities regardless.
Disney Magical World – 3DS
Games Like Fantasy Life
Disney Magical World essentially borrows ideas from the likes of Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and Animal Crossing, and adds in a few unique elements and that Disney magic to make it something different. You can play as a previously made Mii or a new in-game character, living out life in the city of Castleton and interacting with a ton of different Disney characters.
One of the main features of Magical World is running your very own cafe, which is your main source of income. You’ll need to personally make all the food and drinks served at the cafe, and you can even decorate the location and change its style to match what you want. Outside of the cafe there are other activities to engage in like Harvest Moon-style gardening, card collecting, fishing, and crafting apparel. There’s also a dungeon system that lets you dive in and collect materials to craft weapons and armor, battle enemies, and complete quests that are given to you by Disney characters.
Magical World rewards you with stickers for completing its myriad activities, which works as a leveling up system of sorts. Having more stickers means you can enter new areas and do more things, and it’ll help you progress. There are four main plotlines that’ll take you to four different Disney worlds; Cinderella, Wonderland, the Hundred Acre Wood, and Agrabah.
Just from the description, you can probably see the similarities between Disney Magical World and Fantasy Life, but the game serves as a sort of mish-mash of ideas between different games. Somehow, this combination of ideas and mechanics works really well, and despite the overtly cutesy art style, Disney Magical World can be a great experience.