Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma

I love the variety of marriage candidates. I love the art and gameplay. I miss the old crafting system. It could be harder. Huge improvement overall. They also took our feedback.

I've barely played any of the previous games in this series. This game is awesome — it's everything I've always wanted from a JRPG. If money is tight, wait for a sale. 10 hours on my first session. It's addictive. The game also doesn't require your 100% attention. Watch a stream on your second monitor if you want.

Precious Protector Pretty Pilly-lilly-lika reporting for duty. Pretty Pilly Power. Pew-pew. So PEAK!

룬팩토리 시리즈 재밌게 했으면 이거 해도 됨. 근데 안해본 사람이면...내가 이런 류 게임이 취향에 맞나 잘 생각해보세요.

I use Linux. I love the game and don't regret buying it personally. It needs patches to stop the crashes. I'm running it on medium graphics settings with hardware that could handle ultra maxed out everything, just to be kind because I'm basically using Wine... At least that's what I think Proton runs on/with/through(?) But anyways, I personally love the game, but hope any negative reviews gather the attention of staff. After trying different versions of Proton, if the problem ceases to persist then I have no reason not to recommend the game to anyone, but as it stands it cannot use 9.4. whatever the latest v9 is... without it crashing every once in a while at random times. I'll just be running along and it will freeze or sometimes crash on a transition/loading screen... Still a wonderful game though and makes me want to try Rune Factory 3 Special, 4 Special, and 5 eventually... I love the Japanese theme of Guardians of Azuma though. It's quite beautiful and fun.

A solid entry to the Rune Factory IP which emphasizes exploration, combat, and town-building at the expense of its farming/cultivation aspect. Also, SOMEHOW, this game manages to lay claim to the title of "The weeb Rune Factory". The game's setting is heavily influenced by historical Japan, both in style and story. The player wears traditional Japanese clothing and uses Japanese-inspired versions of Run Factory weapon types (e.g., the "Short sword" is a katana, and magic staves are replaced by spell charms). Overall, this is a well-done departure from the usual anime-style late-Medieval Europe setting. Gameplay-wise, the exploration and combat are leagues beyond earlier editions of Rune Factory. While still simplistic in terms of controls, the Guardians of Azuma gives a broad variety of weapons and spells to mix and match in order to create a unique gameplay experience. This is further-improved by the player being able to bring along up to three party members, each of which focuses on different combat roles and can be leveled and geared to the player's taste. City-building, a new feature to the Rune Factory series, is easy to establish and expands as the player moves through the game's story. Certain buildings and decorations improve the player's stats, while others also bring in money, items, or allow the crafting of gear. Farming is rolled into this system, becoming less of a focus than earlier series entries. Garden plots are placed to grow crops, which can be assigned to townsfolk for cultivation (and later either sold or used to craft items by the player). The story is strong, but not truly the focus of the game. It does, however, give the player reason to explore the lush world the game provides. As the player progresses through the story, new spells are opened up which further expand the areas the player can build or explore. It's a fun and rather seemless gameplay loop. Romance, too, is in RF:GoA. You're probably going to romance Ulalaka or Fubuki if you're over the age of 18, with honorable mentions to Murasame and Kanata. The rest largely either look like children, act like children, or are a little too punchable to for an adult in their 30s to consider dating even in a video game. Overall, this is a solid adventuring action-RPG with a sprinkling of town-building, romance, and friendship-building. I'll give it a solid 8/10. Definitely worth it on a 20% off sale even if you aren't sold by the aesthetic or franchise loyalty.

Just finished watching the credits. This game is really good, but at the same time I'm not the type to look for things to criticize when I play games. It's not traditional RF4 gameplay, which is really good, but I don't think I'd enjoy it as much if the developers just used that same formula over and over. I like the experimentation. I think the character design was good, the graphics are pretty, and I enjoy the gameplay. That's really all there is to it. The Rune Factory series thrives on its unique and lovable characters, and here it definitely does not disappoint. Every character, not just the romanceable ones, offer something silly and whimsical to the experience that I often find I can't get anywhere else. Plus you get to see them interact with each other, not just you, and that is something that can be rare even for more character driven games like this one. There's plenty of content, I had a great time, and I will be playing again. I do have to mention that it sucks that two of the romances are locked behind dlc, but to be honest I got it on sale so it is what it is. Even if you don't like the idea of a 3D Rune Factory, it might be worth it to just give it a try and immerse yourself in the whimsy. And if you like it check out the wii Rune Factory games because those are pretty good too.

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