Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (Nintendo DS)

I am nearing the end of the story in Rune Factory and I must say that I have really enjoyed this game. I enjoy games that let you create your own little place (in this case a farm) and gradually improve it. However I do tend to get bored of them after a while as once you've got the good stuff there isn't much else to do. This is not the case with Rune Factory as there are lots of different activities to do: such as cooking, forging and fishing. However the best distraction from farming is to go and explore the nearby caves and fight the monsters inside. You can also befriend the monsters and get them to work on your farm which frees up your time for more adventuring and crafting. Be wary that there is a cave that can only be accessed in winter: I did not know this and ended up not being able to progress in the story until I had played a whole in-game year! Not only was this rather dull but my character ended up over levelled and therefore the bosses in the later caves haven't proved much of a challenge (taking the fun out of it a little).I would definitely recommend this game even to those who may be put off by the farm simulation part as there is enough of and RPG type adventure to it to keep you entertained (even my boyfriend, who found harvest moon really dull, has really enjoyed Rune Factory)

I have been a huge fan of Nintendo and Harvest Moon for many years and this game is without a doubt the best yet! The 2-D environments look beautiful in their hand-drawn, vibrant style, the manga characters are amazingly individual and the plot-line is addictive, rivetting and always surprising.The core element of the game is the traditional farming aspect of every other harvest moon game. The monsters-and-dungeons aspect is a great twist and adds more excitement to the game.The variety of crops and the conditions to grow them in is wonderful and catching monsters for your farm is much more enjoyable than just ordinary farm animals. You can also upgrade your house and add more features, enabling you to cook, craft, forge and make your own medicine. Other skills include fishing and mining. You can also purchase magic books to cast spells in dungeons. A new feature of the game is 'rune points'. As you fight or use magic or test out any skills, you will decrease in your 'rune points'. This is basically your stamina and once it is all gone you begin to decrease in health. This adds a subtle but positive challenge.The relationship aspect in Rune Factory is much more improved than previous games. There are now eleven marriage candidates!There are also a wide variety of shops and places to visit in the town such as the library, a bath house and an inn. Other features such as a small beach and a park add something special.I can't tell you everything about the game - there is so much to it! All I can say to you is it is one of the, if not the best game I have played on the Nintendo DS. If you, your kid or a friend loves manga or just an awesome DS game - buy it. It will be a purchase you will not regret.

Good, the graphics are excellent, the storyline also excellent but the fighting is difficult.

My first harvest moon game, so don't know how it compares to the others. However, while I appreciated that there would be some virtual farming to be done, I have to say for me personally there is just too much of it. I am fed up with looking after stupid virtual fields, and really want the story to move on now.I also don't like the fact that the monsters come back even after you have cleared a cave completely. You leave it for 5 minutes, you come back in, *all* the monsters are back. Since your fields are in the caves (don't ask...), that means that you have to battle through all the monsters again if you want to look after one of your fields. The monsters on the other hand are fairly stupid, always behave the same, so there is no challenge in battling through the cave again, it's just tedious.Still had some fun exploring the world, but there are much better games out there...

Rune Factory 2 is not easy on the beginner, it takes some time before you start to make money simply because you have no clue what you are supposed to be doing. Once you get going though it is good fun, with lots to do - farming, taming monsters, completing quests, winning holiday contests, etc. I've been playing for about 15 hours so far and have only just reached the Summer season, there is loads more to do and I look forward to improving my farm and monster collection. Recommended.

I am a fan of Harvest Moon games. Admittely some people don't like HM or similar games. However I find that this is very like a HM game - you spend the first 'part' of the game (I don't know how long as I haven't got past it yet) trying to make money. The way you interact with the game is more intuitive that the HM game (admittely I am used to HM Island of Happiness that is over-reliant on touch-screen interaction).The similarity to HM games is such that if you like HM games you will like this even though it is different. In Rune Factory, you are expected to do more like fight monsters as a consequence farming is simplified (for e.g. crops don't automatically wither after so many days when they 'fruit'). Like HM games you find that although you are a farmer it is best / most profitable not to farm. Likewise you find yourself having to schedule your time so that you don't focus too much on a particular aspect (like fighting).In this I find it enjoyable as this lack of focus on an aspect of the game makes it less boring. For example I play(ed) pokemon which focusses upon you beating the 'badies' and becoming the champ. This focus means that when you have done this then you feel like you've finished and don't want to continue. Whereas this game keeps you from such a focus so that you can keep on playing for as long as you like (just like a HM game). No doubt I will still be playing this game in months/years to come even though I would have done 'everything' (I can still farm/fight/etc!).