
For those Harvest Moon players who pride themselves on knowing the natural 'Harvest Moon' order of things in terms of crops and seasons, Rune Factory 2 will offer a challenge: the old natural order has been reversed in many cases, and you must be ever-vigilant of your own expertise. Some crops like Pineapples continue to be grown in the expected season, but others have been moved to different growing seasons. Onion is a Spring Crop, for example and Eggplant is a Summer Crop. Potato is an Autumn Crop. The flowers appear to be true to form. Moondrop and Toyflower belong to Spring; Pinkcat is grown in Summer and Blue Charm is grown in Autumn. I would have to consult my old Rune Factory Guides to see how the Crops differ in Rune Factory 2. All of the amazing magical plants in the original Rune Factory, such as Emery Flower and Lamp Grass, are available in the sequel.
Carelessness in neglecting to 'read the label' with respect to seeds can be extremely expensive. There are many crops that require more than a full season to grow to maturity. You therefore must limit the crops grown in your own field to those that can be harvested before the season changes. It would be a terrible pity to spend 54000G on a bag of Emery Flower Seeds and then sow them in your field. As they take a full year to mature, you will be saddened to discover they have become nothing more than Withered Grass when Spring changes to Summer...
A clever player will save money in anticipation of the 'monthly sale' announcement. A 30% discount on a bag of seeds that costs 54000G represents considerable savings.
In other ways, however, farming in Rune Factory 2 appears worry-free compared to Island of Happiness. Watering and Sunlight no longer are variable. In fact, you neither can over-water a crop nor waste any water in your watering can. If a plot has been watered previously, your watering can will remain full if you attempt to water it a second time in the course of a day.
Monster help is a great boon both on the farm and in caves/dungeons, but a player should be aware of the fact that any work done by monsters will not serve to increase your character's levels. You need to continue to use your tools and weapons if you wish to increase your levels in this game. A balance needs to be made between the advantages of monster service and those accruing from your own experience.
Something that may require mention is the manner in which seeds and other items are sold at the Pumpkin General Store. Most items are sold in stacks of 9. If your character wishes to purchase a single item, he must separate the item from the stack before he moves it into his rucksack. If you believe that you have sufficient funds for a bag of seeds but find that you are unable to purchase it, you probably have forgotten to separate it from the stack of 9.