Rune Factory 3

Nov 12, 2010 9:16 AM

Offline

Aug 2008

145

Alright, so after some sort of delay I finally got my copy of RF 3. A season into the game and I'm somewhat impressed. I was really surprised by the level of improvement in gameplay but there are still a number of elements that need to be worked on.

Review:

Graphics: 7/10
Is it just me but do most RF games look a little washed out? Art direction is great as always and my only gripe is the protag seems to get progressively younger and more feminine with each release. Same character models and it looks like they adjusted the sizes for some enemies, namely insects.

Music/Sound: 5/10
RFs for DS have never excelled in this category. A lot more voicework this time around, though. I was hoping the OP would be something else by Nakatsuka Takeshi a la RF Frontier. Your Voice would have been my choice.

Gameplay and Controls: 8/10

Takes some getting used to. Stylus control has improved but standard controls come off as a little loose. I'm guessing they geared the game to be more accommodating for the stylus. My other concern is there doesn't seem to be a quick solution to un-equipping a weapon/tool.

Farming is a little more complicated this time around. One bag of seeds counts for one plot tilled and repeated growing in an area actually depletes the quality of soil. There are several solutions around this, such as formula, but the cheapest option is using dried plants. Tilling your entire field isn't recommended.

Combat varies depending on the weapons you choose and there is a little more depth in the hack-n'-slash. You can juggle your enemies and mobs in hard mode will actually give you some trouble. Adding the option to invite villagers along and an active seed along with your monster makes short work of monster mobs. Fighting still mostly consists of floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. You'll find yourself trying to get in the first hit and doing your best to avoid attacks. Moving around in battle feels a lot more natural this time unlike the last two games. Since they had shields in the arsenal it would have been nice to give them some sort of function in battle.

You can't rush through requests now as they have limited the number you can do to one a day. However, you have the option of taking on one from your mailbox and bulletin board so it really translates to 2 requests a day.

This game makes more use of the top screen by including not only a map but icons for each character and places of interest. This makes tracking down a character outside of their residence a lot easier unless a bunch of them all happen to be in the same places. All you get there is a clusterfuck of icons. This makes the game sorta seem like there's stuff going on but still comes off as artificial.

Time no longer stops inside buildings, so it progresses a lot faster. But with improved farming controls and a little more generous RP usage one can still keep up. Keeping time is also not a strict as you can still visit villagers late into the night. This bothers me a bit because I find it a little inconsiderate :V but it doesn't affect your relationship with the villagers.

Relationship building is a lot easier now. For the most part you can do with giving flowers (with the exception of one strange bachelorette) and character specific gifts are a little more accessible. As standard fare, talking to villagers everyday is enough to build these points, but is a little more difficult because of time constraints and changing locations. They've done away with the friendship element for the bachelorette's so you're only building romance points for them.

Stat building feels a little overblown. I mean, walking skill? Sleeping skill? Great Scott. However, this translates into more options in terms of skill building, so no two people will be exactly alike if they develop different habits/patterns in playing this game. Skills also have additional perks, such as more walking will result in a faster player. As for combat stats, those are augmented through leveling up and getting equipment. Building skill with certain weapons unlocks new attacks at certain levels, adding some variety to combat.

Story: 5/10
I'm a little annoyed by the reuse of the amnesiac protagonist. I'm not sure what use the ability to transform into a wooly has but I am curious to find out how it works and ties into the protagonist's path. Still early into the story and I'm hoping for a few surprises.

Overall: 7/10 (not weighted score)
Was a little apprehensive about buying this game, but I was in the mood for another portable title. Being in its essence a harvest moon game, it also has some replay value. For the hardcore RF fan I highly recommend it. For somebody new to the series you can start with Frontier, RF II, or just jump on the bandwagon with this.

That being said, I'm still early in the game but I am liking what I see so far. Can't really comment on the multiplayer aspect since I don't know of anyone else near me who bought this game.

I'm excited to see what they have in store for Oceans and hoping for a 3DS title in the near future.

Nov 17, 2010 7:47 PM

lilycon

Offline

Feb 2009

5414

For somebody new to the series you can start with Frontier, RF II, or just jump on the bandwagon with this.

lol.

Although I can't say the same about RFF (since I don't own a Wii), RF3 improves on almost every aspect in comparison to RF2. The different pace of the two practically makes them two completely different games. It was such a pain in the ass even setting foot outside of town in RF2 simply because combat was so cripplingly slow. RF3's vastly improved battle system actually makes it a viable choice for ARPG fans, while also making it more distinguishable from HM games. Also, there's little need to progress through the games in sequential order since the plotlines have barely any relation with one another (although the best marriageable characters from the previous 2 games make a reappearance in RF3 ;p).

If you're going to start playing Rune Factory, play this one. I'm a Harvest Moon fag, but I was never a fan of RF. In fact, this is the last game I thought I would enjoy as much as I did. RF3 makes RF2 look like crap. If I didn't like Harvest Moon as much as I do, I would have given up all hope for Rune Factory after playing RF2. This game has better character design in general (with the exception of the trap of a protagonist), not-as-shitty voice acting (English VAs, at least), superior battle system, and improved gameplay speed as compared to its predecessors.

Great review, though. In fact, first one I've read that wasn't titled something like "10/10 GET THIS GAME NOW GAME OF THE YEAR." The only score I particularly disagree with is your Music/Sound score. The improved voice acting alone would be enough to convince me that this game deserves an above average score in that category. The BGM isn't bad either. I didn't particularly like the OP myself, but something tells me that an upbeat song wouldn't be as fitting to a Rune Factory game, even after seeing RFF's OP.

Nov 20, 2010 2:41 PM

TheWanderingEye

Offline

Aug 2008

145

I dunno, I'm probably one of the few that liked the generations thing in RFII. Though in retrospect, choosing the woman who would eventually squeeze you out from between her legs is kinds weird.

After sitting on the game a bit (read: playing it on the shitter), the music's actually grown on me. Maybe I should have divided up that category :V Still, nothing really stands out to me. Maybe the saving music. Voice acting is good as you said, and I'm surprised at some of the lines that managed to get voiced. As for the OP, I dunno, I think a lively beat suits RF. A colourful series deserves a catchy tune.

One thing I need to take back is the comment on farming. Is it just me, or is it a little more downplayed this time around? One can get by really easily with a few tilled plots and the other skills (ie. fishing, forging, crafting, cooking, etc.) to supplement.

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Rune Factory 3

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