The Harvest Moon series has been
around for 10 years now, having gotten its start on the Super Nintendo. Since
then, installments of the series have appeared on most systems, console and
handheld, and, well, the formula hasn’t changed a whole lot; aside from improved
graphics and some minor additions and subtractions, the Harvest Moons of today
play an awful lot like that first one on SNES. For the series’ 10th anniversary,
though, creators Marvelous Interactive decided it was time to try something
different with everyone’s favorite farming simulator. To that end, they gave us
Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon for PSP a few months ago, which
received mixed, but generally positive, reviews. Now they’ve given us Rune
Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for DS, which might be the best Harvest Moon
yet.
Players take control of Raguna, a
young amnesiac found near the border of the small town of Kardia. There he meets
a young girl named Mist, who allows him to stay in an abandoned house on her
farm in exchange for working the farm. While staying at Mist’s farm, Raguna
begins to make friends with Kardia’s townspeople; he also explores the town’s
myriad caverns, fighting monsters and finding treasure. The storyline contains
elements of standard RPG stories and traditional Harvest Moon stories, but
manages to stay fresh and interesting, mostly due to the characters’ deep
personalities you slowly discover throughout the course of the game.
Players will find an assortment of
tasks to devote their time to, and the freedom to do so at their own pace; as
each different activity can yield plenty of gameplay and advancement of the
storyline, it’s possible for any two players to approach the game very
differently. Raguna can farm, explore caves and fight, capture and raise
monsters, fish, and pursue friendship and romance with the town’s citizens. Each
of these activities is deep and intricate, with plenty of room for
experimentation and advancement. So many choices of how to spend your time might
seem overwhelming to some players, but the game never forces you to choose one
path, so there’s plenty of time to try your hand at whatever you like. A
streamlined interface makes interacting with the game world relatively painless,
and a comprehensive menu system tracks the player’s progress is every
conceivable way. Simple additions to the game, like an optional box that
indicates what tile you can currently interact with, go a long way to improving
the core gameplay.
Eschewing the traditional chibi-style
animation seen in virtually every Harvest Moon title to date, Rune Factory’s
world resembles a watercolor painting: bright, colorful, and beautiful. There
are graphical details everywhere you look, leading to an intricate world that
feels real. Characters are represented by 3D models, which appear natural in the
pre-rendered world they inhabit, and by gorgeous 2D artwork during dialogue. The
music is similarly fresh and beautiful; it, as much as anything else,
contributes to the feeling of exploring a beautiful fantasy world’s natural
outdoors.
Rune Factory’s not perfect. There
are times when the game becomes repetitive, and some aspects of gameplay
(specifically, harvesting and selling your crops) have been handled in a more
streamlined, less arduous fashion in previous Harvest Moons. Even with these
minor flaws, though, this is still the cream of the Harvest Moon’s proverbial
crop, with improvements to virtually every (other) series gameplay element, and
depth and fun added to aspects that were simply tedious in prior Harvest Moon
titles.
This game could have been released
as a simple dungeon-crawl with no farming elements whatsoever, and still would
have been a fresh, fun RPG and one of the best on the DS. With the traditional
Harvest Moon gameplay layered on top of the great RPG elements, however, it
elevates it to one of the best games on the system. Like any Harvest Moon title,
Rune Factory won’t appeal to everyone. That said, anyone who can enjoy planting
and harvesting as well as monster-slaying and dungeon exploring will find Rune
Factory to be the definitive Harvest Moon adventure, as well as a deserving
addition to any DS owner’s library.
Review Scoring Details for Rune Factory – A Fantasy Harvest Moon |
Gameplay: 8.9
With few exceptions, Rune Factory
presents the most fun, least tedious farming to be found in the series. Beyond
that, cavern exploring, monster fighting, monster raising, fishing, and
townspeople interaction all contain incredible depth, making for one of the most
content-packed DS titles of all time. There’s easily three or four games-worth
of gameplay packed into this one title, and it all fits within one adventure.
Graphics: 8.7
Beautiful environments resemble a watercolor painting come to life. Character
models are a little low on detail, but are small enough that it doesn’t really
matter. Fans of seasonal changes will be very happy, as every season has its own
distinct, gorgeous look.
Sound: 8.6
The music is simple and beautiful, enforcing the feeling of exploring a
nature-based world. Sound effects are minimal, but subtly add to the immersion.
Difficulty: Medium
There are some difficult fights, especially later on, but the game is forgiving
and the difficulty is ramped well enough that I can’t imagine it bothering
anyone.
Concept: 8.9
Harvest Moon as a series has always had a clever concept and is a nice
counterpoint to most modern violent games. Ironically, the addition of enemies
and combat to the series actually improve it, and remove some of the
“kiddy-game” stigma the series is known for.
Multiplayer: 7.8
The multiplayer here is minimal, relegated to simple trading of items. This is
fine, though; as a deep single-player experience, no multiplayer is needed.
Overall: 8.9
Rune Factory is composed of many well-designed elements; the game is great
because it takes these disparate elements and weaves them together into a
single, cohesive quest. This game earns a spot next to Advance Wars DS and
Castlevania: DoS as an essential title in the library of anyone who enjoys
top-notch single-player experiences on DS.
