As I write this, I've just learned that Neverland, producers of this game, have filed for bankruptcy.
And that's sad.
I think it's fair to say I've enjoyed the more balanced RPG bent of the Rune Factory
series more than I have any of the more recent Harvest Moon titles, which were ostensibly
about farming but had all manner of land development or part-time jobs kinda cluttering up the
works.
Rune Factory IV, on the other hand, acknowledges the fact that you'll likely have plenty of
plates spinning at once, but does a good job of detailing just what needs done when.
Part of it is a series of requests delivered by a sentient message box.
Part of it is the progression of a main plot.
Part of it is having a decent level of control yourself.
So you're minding your own business, riding an
airship, about to deliver some package to some god because RPG, and then WHAM.
You get assaulted, and while you succeed in fighting them off, you take a nasty blow to
the back of the head, drop your parcel overboard, develop amnesia, sharply increase your special
defense by two stages, oh yeah and then you get knocked overboard yourself, where you
just happen to land on a dragon god.
Is it the same one you had business with earlier?
Who knows!
All you know is that she thinks you're some kind of prince-slash-princess, and you don't
know enough to tell her no.
So begins your life of royalty, and being made to work in the garden right out back
of the dragon's chamber, and then the actual prince shows up but wants no part of the gardening
so he designates you the "acting" royalty and gives you a bevy of options with which
to invigorate the local economy and/or improve your facilities.
Much like Harvest Moon, you can break down stray logs and rocks for building materials,
then turn those into monster stables, larger storage facilities, cooking equipment, compounding
equipment...
makes me wanna stop down and play some Agricola just thinking about it.
But it's not all farming: Part of it's getting to know the townsfolk, bestowing upon them
home-cooked delicacies like pickled turnips because you pickled an entire crop of turnips
and can't eat 'em all.
Part of it is recruiting folks to join you in the action-RPG dungeon-crawly bits, either
because you need a helping hand or because you kinda just want to spend some time with
them alone.
Nudge, nudge.
There's plenty of time for flirting, too, as most other tasks can be completed fairly
quickly, and the game even remembers certain achievements if you later take up a similar
request.
It might not be the most polished game I've ever played, but it's certainly intuitive,
right down to having your entire inventory available right from the L-button.
The presentation's tough to criticize.
I mean, you can roll your eyes at what would seem to be rather pandering pan-ups of each
character as they're introduced, but it's kinda interesting that pretty much everyone
gets one of those, making for equal-opportunity eye candy.
The soundtrack and effects have a distinctly retro feel, just blippy enough to feel nostalgic
without seeming cheap.
Also, what other game can you think of that includes a massive collection of fanart included
in-game, complete with commentary from the cast?
I could go on and on, but that dragon's making eyes at me and that's kinda strange and I
should probably back away now.