Rune Factory: Harvest Moon DS (Nintendo DS) Preview

The first thing to note about Rune Factory is that Marvelous Interactive is very confident about how it will perform in Japan already, mixing the elements of the Harvest Moon world with those of more traditional role-playing games. In fact, so assured of its success is Marvelous that it has put the game down for a 24th August launch, face-to-face with Square Enix's massive remake project, Final Fantasy III (also on DS). But clearly, as it should also be made aware, the company has definite reason to be in such high spirits, since the game is being touted as one of the best DS titles to date. In fact, where Final Fantasy III scored a hearty 34/40 in Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Rune Factory was there breathing down its neck with a commendable 33/40. The question remains, though, whether going toe-to-toe with the behemoth that is the Final Fantasy series is that wise. However, our focus is on the game's actual quality. So what exactly is it all about?

Well, rather than a turn-based effort like its Japanese competitor, FFIII, Rune Factory will have battles that take place in a real-time action environment, akin to the Zelda series or Mana games. But, not losing sight of its Harvest Moon heritage, there is a wealth of characters for you to meet and interact with. Developed by Neverland Company, there are the traditional farming aspects of the HM series thrown in alongside the battling and role-playing, so that older fans will not feel too alienated. But, to expand even further, Rune Factory will have online Wi-Fi capabilities to exchange messages with other friends, as well as sell items via a special shop. Okay, so it may not sound spectacular, but nothing else has been revealed for online so far and something is better than nothing!

The game is centred round a small amnesiac boy called Ragna who wakes up all confused in a little sleepy village. It turns out he can use magic called 'Arscode' (no jokes, please!) and decides (like you do when you cannot remember a thing, obviously...) to build his own farm on some spare land just on the outskirts of town (wow, if only life was that simple!). So, as with all other Harvest Moon games, you can play around doing your farming duties and looking after your home, raising crops (managing them with your stylus) and furnishing your abode in a very peaceful, sedate manner. You can even customise the entire floor-plan of the house! As for the animal aspect of the farm, the stylus comes in very handy for stroking them and caring for their needs. Just be sure to clean up before embarking on the communication side of the game, as well as the dating that is involved...

As with the Animal Crossing series, Harvest Moon has always been open-ended in that it seems like there is no real goal or ending to head towards. Now, though, you have set tasks to perform! As the adventure progresses, you head over fields and down into dark, dank dungeons, collecting various materials and pieces of equipment that can be used later on to create new weapons, items and even household furniture, or you can trade them in town and via the online connection with friends. When faced with an enemy, as mentioned earlier, you take a real-time stance, equipping the necessary skills, armour and weapons to despatch the bad guys as quickly as possible, with a little help from some touch-screen magic-casting. And once defeated, these evil creatures are tamed and can be dragged back to the farm and used as free labour if you so desire, which is simply ingenious and a welcome addition to the series as it celebrates its 10th anniversary!

In terms of the farm, you will be going about the usual Harvest Moon duties, watching over crops to ensure they do not die off...'reaping what you sow', if you will. As 'touched' upon earlier, livestock is also of great value, especially when it comes to activities such as the milking of cows in order to sell in town and earn your keep. But now there are extra aspects included, meaning that the old Harvest Moon gameplay does not grow too repetitive. For instance, milking cows is actually done manually via the stylus and sheep can be sheared by using the stylus as a razor! This brings a whole new level of interaction to the fore and with the high level of customisation related to your residence, there is definitely a heap of variety to be found in this very attractive-looking game.

Other than chatting with townsfolk and attending festivals in the heart of the town, sure enough there is the possibility to go fishing, and again it all seems to be touch-sensitive. Therefore, once you have your hard rod firmly grasped, you can manually slide it into the wet surface (*ahem*). Anyway, dangle away until you catch something (erm?) and then extract the rod gently, so as to avoid any unpleasant circumstances, such as your 'prize' slipping away...

Finishing off with a quick overview of the characters you will come across; there is Mist, a young girl you meet very early on in the game, as well as a host of supporting folk, like Nicol a boy who lives on the coast, Sarah, Nicol's mother, who works as a salesperson, Russel, the library curator who acts like the older brother to everyone or Sebastian, the bar manager and Ed, the village doctor. And then there is the wealth of 'heroines', or potential candidates for a life-partner for Ragna. Tabasa is a foreign graduate, Sharon is a generally mysterious person, Fill is a main contender due to being the mayor's daughter, the loner Melody who stays at home singing to herself, and Lapis, whose heart is very warm and works as a nurse. And there are plenty more...just check out the game's media folder here on Cubed