*The following preview’s brought to you by Terranigma Freak*
The original Rune Factory on the DS took Harvest Moon and glued it together with Action RPG elements to create a game that is different, yet similar at the same time. After a year or so, we get another sequel from Neverland — the game maker, not Michael Jackson’s ranch — with new features, and some refinements. Barring the language barrier, I am once again ready to plow the fields with my cheap hoe.
Upon starting the game, you’re treated with another well executed anime FMV. Unfortunately, watching the FMV also made me want to punch Mana in the freakin’ face. I swear, within seconds you’ll want to kill this stupid mary-sue-loli-bitch with extreme prejudice. The song ending seems kind of abrupt, and that struck me as kind of odd, but since I really don’t understand the language — other than reading a few kanjis — the song could have very well ended naturally without me knowing.
From what I understand, you’re a traveler named Kyle, who wanders into another village doing god knows what. After a series of events, you end up living in a house near town with some farmland. And thus you begin your daily toil in the fields hoping to strike rich, and get some booty. Although I wish Mana would just leave me alone!
This time around, the dungeons themselves are accessible from the get go. No need to perform other tasks to unlock them. You’ll have a choice of 4 different themed dungeons to visit in any order you like. I haven’t really spotted anything that makes the exploration and combat portions any different, but I did notice the enemies seem to be more aggressive compared to the first. More active combat is a welcomed addition in my book.
What’s a Harvest Moon game without wooing and marrying the ladies? Sadly, you’ll soon begin the question whether the company, Neverland, is in fact in some way related to Michael Jackson‘s Neverland when you see the wife selection. Dammit, you’re going to have a hard time convincing me any of these girls are over 10 years of age (the same can be said about Kyle). Alicia’s a different matter, though. She’s got a huge rack, dresses like a whore, and can change the weather. Sounds like the perfect wife to me. Alicia will likely be popular for those not into little 8 year old girls. Who knows, maybe when we get the game in English, you’ll finally get to know them better textually, and fall in love with their personality instead… you sickos.
The farming’s pretty much by the book Harvest Moon stuff here. Grow your crops, care for your animals, capture monster slaves to work for you, and laugh all the way to the bank. What’s new is that you have a brand new goal in this game: to build a school. The school will serve as a place to educate you and your wife on what you can do in the bedroom once you both hit puberty. Trust me, you’ll need that knowledge since the game also offers a second generation to play as –which I have not experienced, yet.
I found that this new village’s layout feels more organic than the first. In fact, the entire world feels better than the original game. When you meet someone for the first time, they’re introduced with a little cut scene to better develop them, but since I can’t read what they’re saying, I really didn’t get much out of it.
All in all, this game seems to deliver a bit more polished experience from what I’ve played. I haven’t gotten to the second generation yet, but I don’t think it’ll play any differently from the first. Since they have this feature, I’m sure it’s bound to contain new twists to keep you playing. If you enjoyed the first game, I think it’s safe to say you’ll like this just as much.
The style of writing is quite familiar . Did you write guest posts for other bloggers?
I didn’t write this one. It’s written by a friend of mine.