I remember when the original Harvest Moon game came out for the Super Nintendo. I remember my mom telling me that I probably wouldn’t like it. Man, was she wrong. I wanted a cow because of that game. It was a fun game that went back to basics, allowing players to discover the joy of [virtual] gardening. It was several years later that I got my hands on the Game Cube version: Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. As refined as it was, I just did not find it to be fun. I constantly felt like I was fighting the clock and was being forced into a predefined path. The original Harvest Moon just let you farm; if you didn’t feel like it, you didn’t have to interact with anyone but the shopkeepers. The latest spin-off of those games is Rune Factory: Frontier for the Wii. And I love it.
Rune Factory: Frontier follows the path of amnesiac Raguna (actually, you can name him whatever you like). He was nursed back to health by the ditzy yet exceedingly intuitive young woman Mist. And she disappeared one day, so Raguna went to search for her. Eventually, he finds her in a nearby town that has a floating island shaped like a whale. Why was she there? She had this feeling that someone (or something) was in dire need of help, so she had traveled to that town to find him and give some aid. It is with this in mind that she forces Raguna to move into the farm next door and help figure out what’s happening. Welcome to the sleepy frontier, friends.
It’s actually not a bad plot, and you’ll get bits and pieces of it as you play. There are more than a dozen characters in the game, and each has their own preferences. You’ll get to know them all provided you take the time to get absorbed into their world. As such, you may recognize some of the archetypes that inspired the characters. However, the developers took the high road and pushed the characters forward; none of them feel like padding to extend the game. Yet, I have two issues with the plot. First, the game tends to tell you what’s going on. So instead of watching Rosetta freaking out about turnips you place in your selling bin, you’ll see water drops come off her portrait. The second issue I have is that there are some spelling errors (such as “leave” instead of “leaf”). Letters are not perfectly lined up for some items, and one word is still in Japanese. It is not game-breaking, but it is highly odd to see those errors when the game has received so much attention and polish by the developers.
Gameplay isn’t just simple farming. Raguna has hit points and Rune Points (RP). For every action Raguna makes, a predetermined amount of RP is used. Think of it as a modern take of stamina from the Harvest Moon games. Once that RP is completely drained, HP is used up. Once Raguna runs out of HP, he faints and wakes up at 10 a.m. the following day. This, of course, sets off his entire day (and mine as well) as he’ll comment that Annette, the mail carrier, hasn’t come for the day (even though she probably stopped by at 7 a.m.) whenever you check his mailbox.
Plus, you are not forced into doing any one thing. You can grow your own food, you can cook the food and sell it for a profit (or use them as medicine as you travel through the dungeons), create weapons and armor and farming equipment using a forge, humor your inner alchemist by creating healing agents, explore the local dungeons (by far, the game’s biggest pull), befriend monsters, talk to the local residents, clean up your fields by destroying rocks and splitting wood, and heck, you can even fish.
Furthermore, each of these skills play off the others. By mastering the forge, you can create higher-quality equipment. This potent equipment can make your life easier as it allows you to farm more easily, cause greater damage to monsters AND uses up less RP than lower-quality equipment. By farming in the dungeons, full-grown vegetables release orbs that recover RP. They will keep releasing orbs each day provided you do not gather the vegetables. This allows you to delve further into the dungeon. By exploring, you can find stronger materials, equipment and various ingredients for use, which allows you to create more potent items. By mastering each skill, especially lab and forging skills, you can force an item to be more potent than it would ordinarily be. See how circular it is? One aspect doesn’t hinder the other. In fact, you’re encouraged to mix and match Raguna’s skills to fit your playing style. I love it because it constantly rewards you with something. It’s that proverbial carrot on stick that keeps you playing.
The controls are perfect for Rune Factory: Frontier. There are no strange motions to perform or memorize; all you have to do to swing that axe or hoe or sword is to shake the Wii-mote. Or if that doesn’t feel right, you can just push the A button — or C button on the nunchuk. Movement is used with the analogue stick on the nunchuk, and the Z button will straighten Raguna out. (Plus, it’ll allow him to moonwalk and side-step.) In my crazed world, it’s really solid. However, if none of this feels right, you can plug in the classic controller into the Wii-mote. My only complaint is that I can’t use my old Game Cube controller. Is it really too much to ask? Especially when it knows that it is going for solid classic gameplay?
The game is beautiful to look at. Places are bright and colorful. Characters and places are full of charm. For example, the library has books scattered all over the place. The church has this serene feel with its grand organ. The town square feels like an old coliseum and, oddly enough, like a great place to have a picnic. Monsters are also unique and move with great grace. Sure, for several hours you will be looking at the same groups over and over again, but they are awesome to watch. The only problem with the engine is that load times might be a little long for some people. But, it is gorgeous to look at, so it’s worth the wait.
The sound also is really solid. It has this serene, farming-zen feel. As Raguna wanders around the farm and village, you’ll hear the same peaceful piano melody (along with other instruments) over and over again. The sounds of hoes, sickles, watering cans, swords, spears and magic wands can all be heard. There is the upbeat dungeon music that helps keep the tension tight. And there is the well-done voice acting that occasionally occurs during conversations. There may not be a lot there, but it does its job well. The only problem I have with the audio is that sometimes the sound won’t be completely heard through the Wii-mote. So instead of hearing the full effect of the watering can, it will be cut short.
Overall, Rune Factory: Frontier is a fun game. No matter what my complaints are, it never ceases to absorb any free time I can dedicate to it. That’s because the gameplay is constantly rewarding you. There is always the promise of something a bit stronger or interesting around the corner. The game doesn’t force you to do anything that does not appeal to you. So if you don’t want Raguna to date, you don’t have to. If you want to be a diverse farming master, you can. In fact, the game encourages you to be diverse because the skills blend into each other. But nothing is stopping you from specializing as much as you can into a few skills.
I only hesitate slightly in recommending this game. For a full $50 admission fee, things should be a bit smoother than they are. But, as I have noted throughout this review, it is a ton of fun. If you have any doubts about Rune Factory: Frontier, go rent it. If you are a bit like me and need something to help you unwind after a long hard day, this is the game to play. Its zen-like feel is what really makes it so much fun, and I think it’s the most polished farming game to date.
