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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: RPG Developer: Neverland Publisher: Xseed Games |
Though the Rune Factory series may have began as a spin off of the traditional Harvest Moon franchise, players will agree that the new
and the latest release, “Rune Factory: Frontier,” are very similar is design but with no serious Harvest Moon game in the last few years
players are now able to see a shift to the farming and adventure experience found in the Rune Factory series.
“Rune Factory: Frontier” is a great merging of a variety of elements from both the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series and it makes a
impressive game for it being the first Wii game for the franchise. Players kick off their adventure as Reguna, a young boy who took the
role the lead role in the previous Rune Factory titles for the Nintendo DS. Reguna arrives in a new town, it’s dying from a
socioeconomic standpoint, and it is up to the player to make it a bustling metropolis again.
“Rune Factory: Frontier” is still a Harvest Moon game, meaning players will be doing a lot of farming and animal management. For
those new to the game, the design may seem a bit odd, but Harvest Moon veterans will feel right at home. After gathering some tools
from town, players will hit the fields, plan their crops based on season, chop wood, gather food and supplies, cook, forge items, mix
medicines, level up skills, capture monsters as animals and further the world by giving back to the land. The game works in
accelerated times, with one second in real time representing roughly one minute in the game, making for 24 minute days. In order to
keep things from being a constant rush of tasks, players can work well into the night, gain their stamina by taking a bath and all time
freezes while players are indoors.
The game is also a merger of not only a farm and social simulation, but also a dungeon crawler. Raguna can level up in specific skills,
everything from watering cans to hoes and swords to spears. While the game is entirely open-ended when it comes to daily work, the
main story itself will require both farming and dungeon crawling, though it is based mainly on the battling, with five main dungeons,
bosses and a main story arch. There are specific instances where players will need to farm or build relationships in order to advance
the story, but the main road blocks will come in the dungeons of the game.
Players will find themselves wishing that each of the game’s main items, the key elements of the entire game, were a little more
streamlined. Finding the pet teaming glove requires a random meeting, as does getting the coveted fishing pole. When it comes to
buying weapons, seeds, armor and equipment, players are at the mercy of the game’s own time table, and until they are allowed to buy
something they will just wander around wondering why certain items aren’t available at a given time. When players were able to
purchase items fairly easily in the Harvest Moon games, “Rune Factory: Frontier” may feel a bit closed off at times throughout the game
play.
The overall experience of the game is great, and anyone looking for a mature RPG and dungeon crawling game on the Wii should
check this game out. The music is well done with a small sprinkling of voiceover in key situations. The in-game art is simply beautiful,
the free form economy and open world design is well executed, making for the best console Harvest Moon experience since the N64. It
would be wrong to say that this is the best game on the Wii so far, but it does hold its own and is certainly deserving of a top shelf spot
in stores.
Players will hope that “Rune Factory: Frontier” is the beginning of a big thing in the game’s series on Wii. The visuals of the game are
amazing and the world itself is well crafted and the design is as deep and addictive as the best titles in the Harvest Moon and Rune
Factory series. The designers could certainly be nicer to the players in the future by letting players know where to get the starting items
in the game and what exactly needed to be done to expand the story. However, the open world design of the game, “Rune Factory:
Frontier” dominates on the Wii. Everything from farming, fishing, forging, dungeon crawling, medicine making, mining and cooking
could be used as a key form of income and it all leads to a simple and fun dungeon crawling experience with a handful of locations and
bosses. Players will want to keep a guide handy for some of the odd moments in the game, but it should not discourage them from
picking this up. The game’s franchise has done well, and its console debut is one that fans should really enjoy. If a sequel is in the
future for this game, and many gamers will be hoping for one, hopefully it will implement many new features including real-time
weather, online cooperative play and more, and fixes some of the glitches found through the game, the Rune Factory franchise could be
considered one of the top games to make its way to the Nintendo Wii. “Rune Factory: Frontier” stands on its own as a great package
that offers gamers deep RPG game play that is sure to be enjoyed by any fan of the genre.
and the latest release, “Rune Factory: Frontier,” are very similar is design but with no serious Harvest Moon game in the last few years
players are now able to see a shift to the farming and adventure experience found in the Rune Factory series.
“Rune Factory: Frontier” is a great merging of a variety of elements from both the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series and it makes a
impressive game for it being the first Wii game for the franchise. Players kick off their adventure as Reguna, a young boy who took the
role the lead role in the previous Rune Factory titles for the Nintendo DS. Reguna arrives in a new town, it’s dying from a
socioeconomic standpoint, and it is up to the player to make it a bustling metropolis again.
“Rune Factory: Frontier” is still a Harvest Moon game, meaning players will be doing a lot of farming and animal management. For
those new to the game, the design may seem a bit odd, but Harvest Moon veterans will feel right at home. After gathering some tools
from town, players will hit the fields, plan their crops based on season, chop wood, gather food and supplies, cook, forge items, mix
medicines, level up skills, capture monsters as animals and further the world by giving back to the land. The game works in
accelerated times, with one second in real time representing roughly one minute in the game, making for 24 minute days. In order to
keep things from being a constant rush of tasks, players can work well into the night, gain their stamina by taking a bath and all time
freezes while players are indoors.
The game is also a merger of not only a farm and social simulation, but also a dungeon crawler. Raguna can level up in specific skills,
everything from watering cans to hoes and swords to spears. While the game is entirely open-ended when it comes to daily work, the
main story itself will require both farming and dungeon crawling, though it is based mainly on the battling, with five main dungeons,
bosses and a main story arch. There are specific instances where players will need to farm or build relationships in order to advance
the story, but the main road blocks will come in the dungeons of the game.
Players will find themselves wishing that each of the game’s main items, the key elements of the entire game, were a little more
streamlined. Finding the pet teaming glove requires a random meeting, as does getting the coveted fishing pole. When it comes to
buying weapons, seeds, armor and equipment, players are at the mercy of the game’s own time table, and until they are allowed to buy
something they will just wander around wondering why certain items aren’t available at a given time. When players were able to
purchase items fairly easily in the Harvest Moon games, “Rune Factory: Frontier” may feel a bit closed off at times throughout the game
play.
The overall experience of the game is great, and anyone looking for a mature RPG and dungeon crawling game on the Wii should
check this game out. The music is well done with a small sprinkling of voiceover in key situations. The in-game art is simply beautiful,
the free form economy and open world design is well executed, making for the best console Harvest Moon experience since the N64. It
would be wrong to say that this is the best game on the Wii so far, but it does hold its own and is certainly deserving of a top shelf spot
in stores.
Players will hope that “Rune Factory: Frontier” is the beginning of a big thing in the game’s series on Wii. The visuals of the game are
amazing and the world itself is well crafted and the design is as deep and addictive as the best titles in the Harvest Moon and Rune
Factory series. The designers could certainly be nicer to the players in the future by letting players know where to get the starting items
in the game and what exactly needed to be done to expand the story. However, the open world design of the game, “Rune Factory:
Frontier” dominates on the Wii. Everything from farming, fishing, forging, dungeon crawling, medicine making, mining and cooking
could be used as a key form of income and it all leads to a simple and fun dungeon crawling experience with a handful of locations and
bosses. Players will want to keep a guide handy for some of the odd moments in the game, but it should not discourage them from
picking this up. The game’s franchise has done well, and its console debut is one that fans should really enjoy. If a sequel is in the
future for this game, and many gamers will be hoping for one, hopefully it will implement many new features including real-time
weather, online cooperative play and more, and fixes some of the glitches found through the game, the Rune Factory franchise could be
considered one of the top games to make its way to the Nintendo Wii. “Rune Factory: Frontier” stands on its own as a great package
that offers gamers deep RPG game play that is sure to be enjoyed by any fan of the genre.
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