Rune Factory : A Fantasy Harvest Moon

INFO

Developer : Neverland Co.

Publisher :

Marvelous Entertainment
Natsume
Rising Star Games
Daewon Media

Released :

Japan : August 24, 2006
USA : August 14, 2007
EUR : February 13, 2009
AUS : March 12, 2009
KOR : January 6, 2010

Platform : Nintendo DS

Ratings : E

Genre : Simulation, RPG

Modes : Single Player

Media : DS Cartridge

The story begins as you wander into the outskirts of Kardia Village, a small town on the eastern border of Adonea Continent in Norad Country. You can't go on anymore and pass out in front of a house.

When the woman who lives there checks on the body laying in front of her door, you regain consciousness and tell her you haven't eaten or had a drink in days. She goes inside her house and returns with a Hoe and Watering Can! The lady explains that the Hoe and Watering Can seem to suit you, and eventually gets the hint that you want some bread and water.

After you've eaten and realize you don't know how you got there or what your name is, the two of you pick Ragna to be your name for now. Since you don't seem to have any memory for the time being, Mist loans you the house and land that she's not using. Now that you have a farmland to live on you can start your adventure.

Features

Rune Factory takes the typical Harvest Moon features such as raising crops and marriage, and combines them into a fantasy atmosphere of magic and monsters. Instead of buying cows and chickens, you must befriend the Rune Factory monster versions in order to produce milk and eggs on your farm.

The game also has a set story line to follow. There isn't a time limit to unlocking events so you can rush through and beat the game in as little as a year, or take your time and finish the main story whenever you feel like it. Once you've solved the mystery surrounding Kardia Village's caves, the story ends but the game continues on indefinitely.

You also have a variety of weapons types to choose from for cave exploring, and can purchase magic spells for help. Each cave has a variety of monsters to battle against, with a boss monster at the end of the path. You must defeat the boss in order to unlock the next cave in succession.

Besides farming and livestock, you can craft your own weapons with the workshops attached to your farmhouse. You must craft your own high-end weapon if you expect to successfully defeat the later cave bosses. The game does connect to Nintendo's WiFi network using Friend Codes, where you can trade weapons, items, and pictures of your game to your friends. You also can text-chat with people in your Friends List, which is very much like the local area Pictochat system built into the DS console.