Harvest Moon Forever: The Incredible Potential in Rune Factory

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The Incredible Potential in Rune Factory

I'm going to take a quick break from the Harvest Moon game I am playing at the moment to write briefly about Rune Factory as I have been receiving quite a few emails from players who have asked about the game.

Quite frankly, it is one of my very favourite games, inside or outside the Harvest Moon series. I studied sabre fencing and collect edged weapons in 'real life' and to be able to play a game in the Harvest Moon series that allowed me to forge and use my own weapons afterwards was the ultimate fantasy fulfillment for me. Furthermore, as some one who loves jewelry and designed some custom pieces at one time, it was very exciting to be able to make accessories at my forge in Rune Factory.

Rune Factory has incredibly beautiful graphics. The characters are some of the most attractive I ever have encountered in terms of their 'portraits'. The plot is compelling and you actually have the opportunity to become the 'saviour' of your country... but ultimately, it all works within the framework of the wonderful Harvest Moon philosophy: it is Nature who comes to your aid! When you defeat monsters in the mines, you do not slay them. Instead, you send them back to their original pure natural state, one that is not hostile. In essence, your sword frees them.

If you wish, you can tame the monsters and keep them on your farm instead of releasing them back to their original world. There are varieties of monsters who give you eggs, milk and wool. Other varieties can be ridden. I really loved being able to ride a monster who looked and acted like a wolf.

My General Guide as well as my Bestiary and Caves Guide gives detailed information about all the monsters and their precise location as well as the method by which each cave is unlocked.

My General Guide deals with all aspects of the game, including courtship, but as usual, I wrote little specialised mini-guides as well. Links to all my guides can be found on the right side of this page...

In the general excitement about Cute (which I share completely), it is good to remember that there are OTHER magnificent Harvest Moon games out there, and Rune Factory is one that was made for the DS, my own platform of choice.

N.B. The DS platform appears to allow games from any part of the world. Players in Europe CAN purchase the U.S. Natsume version of any Harvest Moon game and play it successfully. I am adding this note because Rune Factory has not been yet released in any European edition...

5 comments:

Jadis said...: I remember Rune Factory. It was very hard to beat, trust me, as I kept freaking out in the caves, so what I ended up with was that I went around farming, buying weapons, forging weapons, cooking and everything else, while my brother took care of the fighting - and we beat the game together.

I myself was very impressed by the graphics in the game, and went "Wow" when I watched the opening scene. I watched and rewatched it everytime. I wish there would be a Rune Factory for Girls though - I'd marry either Ivan, Russel or Camus. Pity there isn't one.; April 1, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Freyashawk said...: Kalypsocry, your wish is granted! Natsume is planning to produce an English version of Rune Factory II, a female version of Rune Factory ... probably not for another year though.; April 1, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Freyashawk said...: Rune Factory is not hard to beat if you remember that it is a traditional RPG in many ways as well as being Harvest Moon. The secret is to increase the levels of your character by making him fight the same monsters again and again and again... By the time I went to a new cave, my character could defeat even the boss monster without any difficulty whatsoever.

Another key is to equip ALL the best defensive accessories and armour. This prevents your character from damage in battle.

Third key: grow crops in EVERY cave and do NOT harvest them. That way, you have a daily source of Runes to replenish your RP and you will be able to heal yourself and restore all energy with a simple spell...; April 1, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi Freyashawk, just thought I'd add a quick note to say it IS true that the DS is region free so games from all regions can be played no matter where you bought your system. Seeing as how I'm a UK Moon fan this is excellent news, as they don't tend to like releasing girl versions of the games in Europe!

Becky; April 3, 2008 at 9:28 AM
Freyashawk said...: Yes, I have purchased both European and U.S. releases myself on occasion and found this always to be the case... and of course, there are Japanese games that every one can play in the West...; April 3, 2008 at 7:46 PM

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.

Copyright Infringement Warning

It is really sad to discover that there are individuals who are willing to steal my guides and to attempt to publish them under their names. Fortunately, there are many players who recognise my guides when they see them anywhere on the internet and who are willing to alert me when some one tries to steal my material. I want to thank all those players for their help in these cases.

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'.