HMOtaku > Games > Rune Factory

Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon

Developer: Neverland
Distributor: Natsume/Marvelous/Rising Star
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Role-Playing (RPG), Simulation
Perspective: 3rd-Person Perspective
ESRB Rating: [E] for Everyone (ages 6+)

Release Dates:
August 24, 2006 (Japan)
August 14, 2007 (United States)
February 28, 2009 (Europe)

Other Information: This is an RPG spin-off of the traditional Harvest Moon series, which means, yes, weapons, leveling up, and dungeons. They didn't do a bad job of it, though; while you need to complete the dungeons to technically finish the game (as in any RPG), Rune Factory is a flexble game where there's plenty of room to specialize in either fighting or farming. If you don't mind dungeon monsters prowling around a Harvest Moon game, you might want to try this out.

Introduction:
The game starts out as you, Raguna (although you can rename him), awaken in an unfamiliar village with complete amnesia---no memory of who you are or how you ended up there. You meet a young woman, Mist, who helps you out and gives you a farm to build a better life for yourself. Grow crops, raise animals, and get married as in any other Harvest Moon game---but also build skills, magic, and conquer dungeons to save your village and uncover your own forgotten past.