Harvest Moon Forever: Rune Factory Preview

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Rune Factory Preview

I received Rune Factory this afternoon and have begun to keep a game journal in preparation for the General Guide.

Natsume actually has made games like this in the past, but nothing that fully combined the farming life of traditional Harvest Moon games and the combat of traditional RPGs. Legend of the River King involved fishing as well as fighting monsters but it did not have the farming life so central to Harvest Moon. Now we can farm and fight as warriors! Moreover, we can raise monsters as 'friends'.

In the Shipping List, I have found most of the traditional seasonal Harvest Moon crops as well as some very intriguing new items.

I can't wait to fully explore this new Harvest Moon game! At the start of the game, the only weapons are a basic Hoe and Watering Can, but that soon will change.

As a little preview, I am including one section of the Shipping List:

Aqua Ring
Amethyst Ring
Emerald Ring
Sapphire Ring
Diamond Ring
Ruby Ring
Happy Ring
Cursed Ring
Fire Ring
Wind Ring
Earth Ring
Silver Ring
Gold Ring
Platinum Ring
Critical Ring
Silent Ring
Parasite Ring
Poison Ring
Magic Ring
Cheap Bracelet
Bronze Bracelet
Silver Bracelet
Gold Bracelet
Platinum Bracelet
Aqua Broach
Amethyst Broach
Emerald Broach
Sapphire Broach
Diamond Broach
Ruby Broach
Pendant
Heart Pendant
Star Pendant
Sun Pendant
Gale Pendant
Tear Pendant
Earth Pendant
Silver Hairpin
Gold Hairpin
Amulet
Earring
Fancy Hat
Charm
Leather Belt
Lucky Strike
Talisman
Champ Belt
Leather Gloves
Field Gloves
Pin
Pierced Earring
Bandana
Feathered Cap
Brand Glasses
Fireproof Hood
Evil Charm
Magic Earring
Ring Shield
Rosary
Courage Badge
Feather Boots
Heavy Boots
Leather Boots
Knight Boots
Hero Certificate
Knowledge Certificate
Handknit Hat
Handknit Scarf
Fluffy Scarf
Art of Attack
Art of Defence
Art of Magic

Unlike some Harvest Moon games, there are no question marks to denote items one has not obtained. All items are given at the start of the game. There is a Crops/Wild Item list, a Jewelry List, a Recipe List, a Potions List, a Fishing List and one other list that has Monster Items from Feed to Furs and Fangs, Gems and other unusual objects. What fun this is going to be!

Farming, friendship and love are as vital in Rune Factory as they are in any other Harvest Moon game. It is a kinder sort of RPG in that monsters do not die but are rehabilitated into their original Forest habitat. You can tame monsters and befriend them...

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For all Harvest Moon fans and players

As Freyashawk, I have written about 150 guides for games, most of which have been guides for Harvest Moon games. These are published on IGN. IGN has given me the title of 'Mistress of Harvest Moon' and I strive daily to earn the right to maintain that title. Although there is a link page on IGN that lists all the guides published there, they are not organised by game, but rather given in alphabetical order. I therefore created this page in order to provide links to the guides I have created for each Harvest Moon game. If you access the General Guide for any game, links should be included to all other guides for that game in a section at the end. I will try to add links to ALL guides as time permits, but until I do, you always can refer to my user page at IGN for the complete list.

I wrote the Official Strategy Guide for Tree of Tranquility for BradyGames as well.
Harvest Moon Forever!

How to Use my Guides

I write three different basic types of game guides. I usually write a General Guide for every game, which is fairly comprehensive and deals with all aspects of the game. It may or may not be in the form of a Walkthrough, dealing with game aspects as they occur. My Innocent Life General Guide is an example of a General Guide that is organised as a Walkthrough.

After writing a General Comprehensive Guide, I often write a Calendar Guide giving birthday and festival dates, with additional information that may be helpful, such as favourite gifts for each individual. For all Harvest Moon games, I usually write a number of 'mini-guides', such as Events Guides for each year of gameplay, or Recipe Guides that give all recipes one can make. Fishing, Mining, Shipping or Item Value Guides are other mini-guides that can be very useful when playing Harvest Moon. Character Guides give detailed information about every character in any specific game. My Courtship and Marriage Guide is devoted to all aspects of Courtship and Marriage, including schedules of Heart Events, Rival Heart Events and the likes and dislikes of every Eligible Girl and/or Bachelor.

Although this site is devoted to Harvest Moon, I have included links to game guides for other games. I created a separate link section for Animal Crossing Wild World as well, because I wrote more than one guide for that game.

N.B. All my game guides are published by IGN. This webpage has been created simply to allow players to find links to all my guides more easily.

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Some one stole one of my guides and tried to publish it on Gamefaqs under his/her name. The guide has been removed and the poster has been banned. I now have a contact in the Legal Department at CNet. I spend many months sometimes writing a guide. They are available for the private use of any individual without cost, but they are not available for theft!
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Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town

You will notice that I wrote far more guides for More Friends of Mineral Town than I did for the original 'Friends of Mineral Town'. At some point, I would like to publish more specific Events Guides for Friends of Mineral Town, but players should be aware of the fact that ALL Calendar Events Guides for MFoMT can be used when playing the original FoMT. The Events are the same in most cases in both games. If, therefore, you are playing FoMT and you wish to know the events that can be experienced in the third year of gameplay, refer to the 'Third Year Calendar Events Guide' for 'More Friends of Mineral Town'.