Rune Factory: Frontier – WII – Review

At last, the game I’ve been waiting for on the Wii,
only I didn’t know it. Rune Factory Frontier snuck up on me, but I was quick to
request it and my editor was very kind in letting me review it. And, it has been
well worth the hours I’ve stolen away from “real’ life to spend in the city of
Trampoli.

The Rune Factory games are an expansion on the long-running series, Harvest
Moon. So far, there have been two Rune Factory releases for the DS. Rune
Factory: Frontier is the first of the series to be designed for the Wii.
Although they are closely tied to the Harvest Moon universe, they are a unique
and separate series. They have each been marketed as a “Harvest Moon Fantasy”,
which is an apt description. The traditional farming simulation has been blended
with RPG elements such as dungeon crawling, skill leveling and magical
creatures.

Rune Factory: Frontier takes place in Trampoli.
Raguna is back and is looking for his friend from the first Rune Factory game, a
girl named Mist. He ends up in Trampoli, where, lo and behold, Mist is, too.
What a coincidence! Other characters from Rune Factory are also present, but
despite the familiar faces, Rune Factory is its own game. In this first outing
on the Wii, Rune Factory has surpassed previous Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing
releases for the Wii and has set a high standard for future virtual simulation
games.

As in all Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games, the main focus of the game is
farming. Raguna takes over a run-down farm which will require a tremendous
amount of work to turn into a prosperous business. Farming activities will
include such things as tilling the fields, cooking up tasty recipes and magical
concoctions, making items in the home forge, taking care of tamed monsters, and
monitoring Runeys, which are fairy-like creatures that enhance the productivity
of crop-producing lands.

Rune Factory incorporates RPG aspects, as well. Players will be able to increase
skills and acquire stronger tools, fight monsters, perform magic, and undertake
simple quests for the town’s inhabitants. Dungeon crawling or farming; choose
how to spend the day.

After Raguna arrives in town, he meets Stella, the Sister at the local church.
He also meets Mist, his old friend who has relocated to Trampoli. Stella will
give Raguna his first quest, which will enable him to begin meeting the
inhabitants of the town. He also comes away with a watering can and a hoe.

Logically, most of the beginning tools that Raguna will need should be acquired
by either carrying out quests successfully or by purchasing them at a store.
However, coming by these tools is very random. Town inhabitants will give Raguna
tools as the game progresses. There is no rhyme or reason as to who will give
what; items like the pet glove, hammer and axe are given to Raguna by people who
have no connection with the type of tools they are.

There are also no hints or direction given in how or when these tools will
appear. It’s a bit annoying to just have to wait and hope that the right
conversation, action or meeting will garner the hoped-for tool. Having Raguna
conduct quests to get these tools would make more sense.

Most everything else besides these first basic tools can be acquired by
purchase. Home additions such as a forge, barn or kitchen are paid services
offered by certain town’s people, and items like food, weapons, seeds and tools
can be bought at various stores. Many of these items become available at certain
times later in the game, so players will have to wait for them.

Because of these linear timetables on item and events, the game may seem slow at
times. But, Rune Factory is meant to be played over a long period of time. Even
in the beginning of the game, when Raguna only has a hoe and watering can, there
is a lot to do. Clearing the fields, watering and harvesting the crops, buying
seeds, talking up the females, exploring the dungeons and fighting monsters
takes up the bulk of every day. Time is accelerated, and players will be
hard-pressed to accomplish everything they need to do every day.

So, having more and more items and abilities become available over a long period
of time makes sense. As the game progresses, players will be able to tame and
use monsters for things like helping on the farm, and producing eggs and milk.
The magical Runeys that are floating around like fireflies are an integral part
of the game. When Raguna gains the Harvester tool, he will be able to catch and
transport the Runeys around to different locations. Runeys are needed to ensure
maximum crop production and general farm health.

There are four types of Runeys, and they each have attributes that dictate where
they need to be placed. Three types of the Runeys eat other Runeys, and they
grow at different speeds, so it is important as to how players place them.
Runeys can also be turned into Rune Crystals to be used for Miracle Events, and
for breeding monsters.
Besides tilling the fields at the old homestead, Raguna can gather various
plants from his home field or from the dungeons, fish, harvest fruit from
certain trees with his hammer, make seeds from his plants, cook up tasty recipes
and decorate his home. When he needs a break from life on the farm, he can grab
his sword and do some monster clearing in the dungeons. Fun treasures and other
items await in the dungeons, and ore can be gathered by smashing rocks. Players
can also grow crops in the fields located in the dungeons.

The dungeons are a cool aspect of Rune Factory, that’s for sure. The first ones
are located on Whale Island, a floating ship that is shaped like a whale. Once
Raguna gains access to the island, he can explore the dungeons that are located
underground inside the ship. Dungeons have lots of monsters, which can either be
tamed and transported to the barn for later use, or defeated, which will
increase Raguna’s skill points. I really appreciate the ease of battle in these
early fights, as I’m a farmer, not a fighter by nature. These first battles use
a basic attack move with the “A” button, but later battles can use more
specialized attacks, although even then they are not complicated combo attacks.

Monsters that are captured and tamed can be placed in the barn for future use.
If befriended, they can help with farming tasks. They can also accompany Raguna
on adventures and fight in the dungeons, and produce milk and eggs. They can be
bred, too. Monsters in the barn must be fed fodder every day. This fodder can
either be purchased or grown.

Rune Factory looks beautiful on the Wii, and all the characters are drawn very
attractively. They are elaborately dressed, and move well. The buildings are
also highly detailed and full of things to see. However, there is not very much
interaction available with the furniture in the homes. This is disappointing, as
it would have been fun to be able to manipulate things like lamps, chairs and
doors. The plants and other vegetation are pretty, and effects like waves in the
water and raindrops are fairly realistic. The colors are muted and soft, with a
watercolor paint appearance.

The music seems to be of a few set styles depending on the location. One style
that sticks in my mind is a type of German touristy-style music, the kind that
is played at German festivals in America and sounds like Polka music. The music
is all good, but could feature more variety of themes.

The menus and correlating control buttons for equipping tools and other items
for immediate or later use seem awkward to me. I don’t want to have to stop,
bring up the menu, choose a weapon, place it in the active menu, and then
conduct a fight. I want to be able to hit one button to change my equipped item
at that moment. If only I ran the circus….Players can also check out all their
inventory and stats with the menus, reading information on everything from how
Raguna is scoring in the love department to what tools and other items are in
inventory, and what Raguna’s skill levels are.

Players can use the WiiMote and Nunchuk, or the Classic Controller, for most
actions. Fishing, farming, fighting, these can be done with buttons, or with
motion controls. However, the motion controls aren’t very elaborate, as players
will just be waving the remote around. I’ve played with the WiiMote and Nunchuk,
but haven’t tried the Classic Controller yet, although we have several. I
believe I may like it better for the menu option button choices, so I need to
try it.

Rune Factory is a laid back style of game, and is similar to previous Harvest
Moon and River King titles, and even Animal Crossing and My Sims Kingdom
(although not as cute as these last two.) Animal Crossing for the Wii was a bit
of a letdown, as it didn’t offer anything new really from the GameCube version
of Animal Crossing, besides improved graphics. Harvest Moon Tree of Tranquility
for the Wii was also nothing to get excited about. My Sims Kingdom was very
good, but narrower in scope than Rune Factory.

Rune Factory is an excellent game, and even if all of these before-mentioned
titles were great, would definitely be a contender for the best “virtual world”
type of simulation game on the Wii. As it stands, with no real competition on
the Wii, Rune Factory is the simulation game to have on the Wii. There is just
so much to do! While the world itself is small, there are lots and lots of
choices in what activities to do at any given moment. The RPG elements of
leveling up really add to the overall enjoyment, too.

The production value is high, and almost everything is perfectly designed. There
are a few negative aspects, such as the fixed camera that only allows Raguna to
run in certain directions (I kept getting him stuck in bushes), the small size
of the game world, and the menu controls, but these are negligible. Harvest Moon
fans should eschew Tree of Tranquility, and also Animal Crossing if they already
own the first one, and instead acquire Rune Factory. They will not be
disappointed.

Gameplay: 9
Playing Rune Factory is guaranteed to steal time. It is one of those “just one
more job before I go to bed” games that really suck away the hours. I thoroughly
enjoyed Animal Crossing when it was released for the GameCube, and spent many
hours with it. I have the same feeling about Rune Factory. It’s hard to say why
farming is so fun when it’s not real, but it is.

Graphics: 9
This game is beautiful. It reminds me of a water color painting, with the muted
tones and elaborate, old-fashioned costumes of the people.

Sound: 8
The music and sound effects are good, but there could be more variety in the
theme songs.

Difficulty: Medium
This game is not difficult, but it does not have much direction in what players
need to do to acquire needed items.

Concept: 8
This type of game has been seen many times before, but the execution is
excellent.

Overall: 9
This is one of the best games I’ve played on the Wii since we’ve gotten it.
Admittedly, though, my taste runs more to these types of virtual simulation
games, rather than shooters or platform style games. I absolutely loved Animal
Crossing on the GameCube, and enjoyed My Sims Kingdom for the Wii. There’s not a
whole lot of fast-paced action going on in Rune Factory, but the sheer amount of
things to do in this virtual world of Trampoli is enormous. Anyone who enjoys
these types of simulations will most assuredly want to play Rune Factory:
Frontier, especially if they were disappointed in Harvest Moon. It doesn’t have
the broad appeal of Zelda, Mario, or the Prince, but for the more narrow crowd
who enjoys fishing, farming and light dungeon crawling, this game is a must.