The Rune Factory series has been a little rocky over the years. The original Rune Factory launched as a spin off to Harvest Moon (now known as Story of Seasons), and was just an okay first step into something new. Rune Factory 2 had a second half that left fans mixed, and Rune Factory Frontier was the first 3D entry and a direct sequel to the original. It sadly suffered from long loading times, and had a unique nature balancing mechanic that could make things difficult. Rune Factory 3 on the other hand was seen as a major step forward, with Rune Factory 4 initially being the final entry in the series. When the series came back with Rune Factory 5, which was also a full 3D title, the game showed a lot of promise but was held back by some clunky controls and design choices. It wasn't a horrible game by any means, but it wasn't the easiest to play either. Still the game proved that Rune Factory could become something greater, and now that has finally happened!
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the latest entry in the series, and is actually the third "side game" to be released for it. Between Rune Factory 3 and Rune Factory 4 was actually another title called Tides of Destiny, which I purposely left out above simply because of one reason. Unlike the other entries in the series, Tides of Destiny had a major focus on exploration, building relationships, combat, and story, and Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma follows in this game's footsteps more than anything else.
Although Guardians of Azuma features farming, this time around things are quite a bit different, with a robust almost "city building" like system, which not only streamlines how farming works, but it greatly speeds up the process and allows players to spend their time actually doing everything else. This is a game that lets you take care of your "daily tasks" almost instantly, so that you can spend the rest of the time focusing on exploring this new world, spending time with friends, and whatever else you decide you want to do. It is a very refreshing take on the series as a whole, and it may be not only one of the best Rune Factory games, but one of the best Story of Seasons games in general. (Unless you are only here for the farming that is.)
The game is currently exclusive to Nintendo platforms, with a PC version as well. While the game is playable and works fine on the original Nintendo Switch, it was also a Switch 2 launch title, and is quite a bit better of an experience on it. Thanks to the Switch 2's mouse control options and graphical upgrades, it puts the Switch 2 version on par with the PC release, and the simple fun of the game makes it more than worth checking out for owners of the new console. Of course simply saying this doesn't do the game justice however, as there is a lot going on here, and a lot to love.
This is what Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is, and if this type of game appeals to you, why you should really consider giving it a chance.
The Story:
The story of Guardians of Azuma opens with a choice of two protagonists. Whoever you choose at this moment will become the main character of the game, while the other will fill their own role within the story. In my chase I chose Subaru (who can be renamed), which then shifted over to the true opening scene.
In this opening we see our hero battling it out with the other protagonist while riding on the back of dragons. They both claim that the other is getting in their way, and after a brief clash our chosen character is seen falling from the sky. This is when the game then jumps ahead to roughly half a year, with our main character no longer remembering who they are.
During the time skip, our character has crashed through the roof of the town's local shrine, and is now living there peacefully with their new friend Iroha and their sister. Despite not remembering their past, they are welcomed into the town with open arms, and have become a key part of the community; or rather, one of the remaining members.
Apparently the town is dying, and villagers are moving out in waves. The tree that is central to the town's eternal spring hasn't bloomed in countless years, the land is drying up, and it is becoming nearly inhabitable. There are rumors that other seasonal based villages are having the same issues, as each town's guardian god has been inactive for who knows how long. So assuming there are "better places" out there to live, one by one the towns people pack up, and hit the open road.
After helping send off the latest people to leave, the main character goes to sleep for the night and has a weird dream. In this dream they are given a drum, and spoken to by the town's guardian god. She asks the main character to help save their land by reviving her, and tells them exactly where to go. Of course our hero initially thinks this is just a dream, but after waking up to find the drum sitting on the floor, they realize it was anything but.
It turns out our hero is what is known as an Earthmate, which has the power to revive the land, and both tame and purify monsters. (Which is actually a series staple.) Accepting their duty to revive the land, they set out on an adventure, and come face to face with their very own past. It doesn't take long for our hero to be joined by the very dragon they were riding in the intro, but in a brand new Wooly form (this world's version of a sheep). Together the two explore and revive the land, bring back the gods that once governed it, and meet countless friends along the way... Maybe even form a romance while they are at it? As a life simulation game it is up to you to decide what path in life they will take, with an overall main plot guiding you to the "conclusion."
The Gameplay:
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma has multiple gameplay aspects that make up the game as a whole. As a spin off from Story of Seasons, the game does in fact feature farming and other life simulator elements, but there is also a huge focus on RPG gameplay, and an entire relationship and dating aspect that is unlike prior entries in the series. Although it uses past games as a starting point, Guardians of Azuma actually takes everything a lot further than before, and makes some major core changes that set it apart from what came before.
As mentioned before it does share more in common with Tides of Destiny, but what does that mean exactly, and just how is this one different? Well...
Farming and Town Management -
Before getting into the actual core gameplay, it is very important to note that farming has been completely revamped this time around.
Instead of having to get tools, upgrading them, walking over to till spaces on the ground, plant seeds, then water them; all of your tools are automatic and never need upgraded, and water is unlimited. Tilling the ground is actually handled by crafting "plots" and physically placing them where you want them, and everything else is done by walking up to said plot and pressing the main action button. A same build menu that lets you place plots is also what allows you to choose seeds to plant, and you can also freely place other objects as well.
Fences, decorations, waterways, hills, bridges, steps, entire buildings, etc; all of these objects can be crafted and placed nearly anywhere in your farm space, and each town contains multiple areas to make use of. These towns are also set in eternal seasons, so you can plant summer seeds in the summer village year around, and plants you forgot to water can be revived using the drum you received at the start of the game. So there is next to no worry when it comes to taking care of your farmland, and even harvesting crops tend to reward you with extra seeds to simply replant them. You have a never ending farm supply, and that keeps the money coming in at a steady pace.
Additionally, there are new control options for farming as well, and using them actually completely freezes time as well. As with past entries in the series, time is constantly counting on giving you limited time each day to take care of stuff. While Guardians of Azuma already gives you WAY more time than you typically see in games like this, the fact that you can pause time while farming is pretty crazy, but using this new control option in general is the best of all. What is it? Well, the easiest way to put it is... The Sims.
Opening the build menu now lets you see a complete overview of your farm area, and you can freely move your mouse arrow over whatever it is you want to plant, water, or even harvest. Simply holding the action button and moving over everything lets you harvest/water in one quick go, and you can then pull up your list of objects to choose seeds to replant. This is also how you can pick up and move buildings, place new paths, etc; it is a full city building type setup, and it makes managing your areas of land so much easier and faster. No more physically positioning your character, just highlight what you want to interact with and hit the button! Done. While the Nintendo Switch version requires the use of a standard controller, the Switch 2 and PC release allows for full mouse controls as well, which makes this process even faster.
In short, this completely streamlines farming in general, but it isn't the only way things are sped up. In fact, outside of planting seeds and placing objects where you want them, this process can be completely automated, and that is a major part of the gameplay as well.
As you revive the town, it will rank up, and more villagers will move in. These villagers have their own special skills and abilities, and you can assign them jobs based on their strengths and weaknesses. Ones that are bad at farming can be assigned to run stores you've placed, stronger villagers can be sent out to mine or chop wood (both are needed for crafting), and ones that are flat out bad can be kicked from the village. Each person will require payment for their services, but with a steady stream of income from farming and the shopkeepers, ideally this will even out. You may receive 10,000 gold in a single day, but your workers will take a 4,000 cut. Sure that is a decent chunk, but planting more and opening more shops will offset the difference even more.
This is what farming in Guardians of Azuma really turns into, with you focusing on everything else that matters instead. Yes, you can farm by hand if you really want to do things the old way, but that will cut into the rest of the game's content, which is simply massive.
Relationships and Dating -
After waking up each morning you have the option to spend time with other characters, and really get to know them. In past games (including in Story of Seasons) this meant talking to them and giving them a gift, and triggering mini scenes once a character liked you enough. None of these scenes are ever too crazy, but they've let you learn more about each character, and ultimately follow their life story. They've always helped the world feel more alive, while also not taking away too much of your own time to do things.
Well with this game now giving so much time to do things, the relationship system has been greatly expanded, and surprisingly time gets frozen for a lot of these activities as well!
Now when talking to other characters, players are given the option to simply talk to them, ask them for side requests (more on this later), or ask them to hang out with you. This option will open a variety of options, all with different outcomes, and with different amounts of time they will take up. Inviting someone out to eat might unlock additional dialogue scenes with them, while inviting them to the beach will unlock their swimsuits. Different characters like to do different things, and picking the right options will add more relationship points. As this relationship level develops, more options become unlocked, and even more romantic ones become available. While asking someone to go take a nap with you might not be appropriate at level 1, at level 7 they are most likely going to say yes, and this obviously is going to be a lot more intimate than just hanging out in the woods. This effectively allows you to build relationships how you want to, while in past games it was typically non-romantic up until the final events (which would usually give you a choice).
Characters that become closer to you can also join your party when exploring outside the towns, and other bonuses and perks will become unlocked at key levels. This means it becomes important to level all characters as much as possible, as having more friends will help you in the long run. Hitting set levels will also unlock new bond story events, which are full blown stories that teach you more about the characters and world in general. These are fully voice acted, and are a major step up from what we've typically seen in the past. They are multiple part events that also often cross over with other characters, and lead you into surprising directions. Of course the smaller standard dialogue scenes still exist as well (again, some are triggered by picking specific hang out spots), but these bond events happen right along side them as well. It ultimately makes the characters feel even more alive this time around, and that is putting aside their roles in the main story also.
Overall, the relationship system is much more fleshed out in general, and something you can spend countless hours on alone. There are many characters in Guardians of Azuma, and seeing all of their events and stories is a significant time sink; exactly what one would want from a life simulator.
RPG Gameplay -
Once we have tended to the farms, built our towns, and hung out with our friends, the final gameplay element is none other than the RPG side of things, and this too is quite the step up.
Similar to Tides of Destiny, the game is fully 3D, with a heavy focus on combat, large areas to explore, and a world map to go along with it. While Tides of Destiny had you exploring the ocean to find dungeons and mini islands, Guardians of Azuma takes to the sky to fill it with mini floating islands and secrets to discover, and key town regions to land in. Each region then has a massive semi-open world outside of town to explore, with tons to discover, and dungeons to make your way through.
Combat is action based with multiple weapon classes to pick from, but there are also the special tools given to you by the gods that can be used for both combat and to solve "puzzles." Dead trees can be revived, corrupted areas can be purified, and hidden areas can be opened by using tools given to you later in the game. Areas are packed full of not only resources to gather, but also monsters to fight (which also drop items), treasure chests to open, and frog statues that teach you new recipes, so returning to them often and exploring does become key. Thankfully the map itself shows you any chest or recipe you missed, and there are countless fast travel points to unlock across the entire world. And the best thing of all? Fast travel is instant, and does not take any time out of the day to do so.
The moment you receive new tools to open up new areas, you can simply warp back to the closest travel point, head into the new location, gather up the missing items, and move onto the next one all within a matter of in game minutes. The world is massive, but the slowly moving time clock always gives you more than enough time to be where you need to, and fast travel just frees that time up even more. Even villages have fast travel points next to key locations, so you technically do not have to walk anywhere if you don't want to. It's the outside fields where it really shines though, and traveling to specific harvest points or monsters helps a lot.
As for the monsters themselves, there is a decent mix of them across each map, and nearly all of them can either be killed or tamed. Tamed monsters are brought back as farm animals that provide resources, while "killed" monsters are actually just warped back to wherever they came from. Of course you, and your party, gain EXP for actually taking them down, so fighting them is key to becoming stronger overall. How the EXP is handled is a bit different from other games however, and it is even different from the rest of the Rune Factory series itself.
In past games everything you did leveled up and provided a stat boost. Walk so many steps? Your walking leveled up. Jumped up and down? You are now level 2 in jumping. Went to sleep a bunch? Congrats, you are now a level 97 sleep expert. While this system is semi still in place here, you are instead rewarded with daily life EXP, and EXP for whatever tool you used, or action you performed. Using your sword a lot will give you sword EXP, and building a lot of stuff in town will give you building EXP. These points can then be spent on individual skill trees which provide bonus stats, and unlock new abilities to use. General EXP can be spent on any tree you want, but there are specific skills that require general EXP as well; so it is up to you if you want to save it, or use it somewhere else. These skill trees are the main way you increase your stats, but they also go hand in hand with building... Which also ties back into the farming aspect of the game.
Although one might think building towns is just for looks, the reality is everything provides stat boosts, and that boost is applied for each town it is placed in. For example, a simple decoration could add +5 health for being placed, but you can go place it in each village to gain more. This means you always want to craft duplicates of each building or object, and deck out the entire world in it. Some of these bonuses also increase your crops and business sales numbers, so they are especially helpful when it comes to making money.
Since each weapon type has their own skill tree to go through, the game rewards players who make use of everything, and it also offers those who enjoy grinding something to spend time on. It isn't required to finish the game, but anyone who likes big numbers will find a lot to love here. There is a hard mode that makes grinding a bit more necessary, and there is an easy mode that also lessens the RPG requirements as well, so the game is balanced for all playstyles. Full on cozy, full on hardcore, or the middle ground; it is up to you to decide.
Side Quests and Events -
A bit of a mixture of both the daily life and RPG aspects of the game, but the game offers a wide range of side quests and events to partake in. Events are the game's festivals and holidays, and become opened up once specific town requirements are met. They give you something extra to do along with all the villager stories and other side events the game offers, but they only happen at specific times. Side Quests on the other hand can be given to you by villagers, or by taking them at the quest board. These offer rewards such as resources, items, or money, and often ask you to kill specific enemies or find items. There are also others that ask you to complete specific tasks, like finding a hidden hot spring, and many can be completed prior to actually taking the quest.
The rewards from these jobs are very helpful, and often give you a boost with little work required. You are already out exploring the world and doing these things anyway, so taking the quests is always a good idea.
Crafting -
The final main element is none other than the crafting system. This time around crafting is done at shops, but still requires resources and recipes to do so. The hidden Frog Statues across the world reward you with the recipes, but you need to gather the required items and talk to the specific shop to actually make them. Crafting includes cooking, making new weapons, new accessories, armor, and even new buildings and decorations for your farm areas. Nearly everything you obtain requires crafting, with the exception being a handful of items that can be directly purchased. On the weapon and armor side of things, crafted items are stronger, and you can spend additional items to upgrade them as well. This also becomes important when you want to become stronger, especially considering crafted items can be given to your party members as well.
Like with other elements, crafting has been greatly streamlined, and gathering the resources themselves are pretty easy. Not to mention, many of the side quests will give you a lot of them as well.
All of these elements come together to offer one giant package, which also allows each player to focus on different aspects of the game. While the main story does force specific tasks to advance, eventually the game reaches a point where you are free to do as you wish, and you can play the game however you like. Farming, RPG, romance; the options are all there.
Should you play it?
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is an impressive step up from the previously released Rune Factory 5. The streamlined farming and city building system, mixed with the greatly enhanced social elements and RPG aspects, makes this one of the best entries in the series to date. Those who are here for farming may be let down by this faster simplified system, but the rest of the game more than makes up for it!
It has a great cast of characters, an interesting story, fun action gameplay, and more than enough stats to level for those who are addicted to big numbers. An easy mode allows cozy gamers to avoid grinding, while the hard mode provides a decent challenge for those who want more. The fast travel system makes exploring the large world easy, and the city building aspect becomes very addicting one more options are available. It can take a good 10 hours to unlock all of the core features, but once you do, it is a large playground that allows you to pursue your fantasy life dreams.
I strongly recommend Guardians of Azuma to both long time fans and newcomers alike. It is a solid launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2, but is just as fun on the Switch and PC.
VERDICT: Recommended
Post a Comment