Nintendo 3DS Run Factory

As I write this, I've just learned that Never land, producers of this game, have filed for bankruptcy. And that's sad. I think it's fair to say I've enjoyed the more balanced RPG bent of the Rune Factory series more than I have any of the more recent Harvest Moon titles, which were ostensibly about farming but had all manner of land development or part-time jobs kind of cluttering up the works.

Rune Factory IV, on the other hand, acknowledges the fact that you'll likely have plenty of plates spinning at once, but does a good job of detailing just what needs done when. Part of it is a series of requests delivered by a sentient message box. Part of it is the progression of a main plot. Part of it is having a decent level of control you.

So you're minding your own business, riding an airship, about to deliver some package twosome god because RPG, and then WHAM. You get assaulted, and while you succeed in fighting them off, you take a nasty blow to the back of the head, drop your parcel overboard, develop amnesia, sharply increase your special defense by two stages, oh yeah and then you get knocked overboard yourself, where you just happen to land on a dragon god. Is it the same one you had business with earlier? Who knows!

All you know is that she thinks you're some kind of prince-slash-princess, and you don't know enough to tell her no. So begins your life of royalty, and being made to work in the garden right out back of the dragon’s chamber, and then the actual prince shows up but wants no part of the gardening so he designates you the "acting" royalty and gives you a bevy of options with which to invigorate the local economy and/or improve your facilities.

Much like Harvest Moon, you can break down stray logs and rocks for building materials, then turn those into monster stables, larger storage facilities, cooking equipment, compounding equipment... makes me want to stop down and play some Agricola just thinking about it. But it's not all farming: Part of it's getting to know the townsfolk, bestowing upon them home-cooked delicacies like pickled turnips because you pickled an entire crop of turnips and can't eat 'me all. Part of it is recruiting folks to join you in the action-RPG dungeon-crawly bits, either because you need a helping hand or because you kind of just want to spend some time with them alone. Nudge, nudge.

There's plenty of time for flirting, too, as most other tasks can be completed fairly quickly, and the game even remembers certain achievements if you later take up a similar request. It might not be the most polished game I've ever played, but it's certainly intuitive, right down to having your entire inventory available right from the L-button.

The presentation's tough to criticize. I mean, you can roll your eyes at what would seem to be rather pandering pan-ups of each character as they're introduced, but it's kind of interesting that pretty much everyone gets one of those, making for equal-opportunity eye candy. The soundtrack and effects have a distinctly retro feel, just lippy enough to feel nostalgic without seeming cheap. Also, what other game can you think of that includes a massive collection of fan art included in-game, complete with commentary from the cast? I could go on anon, but that dragon's making eyes at me and that's kind of strange and I should probably back away now. (3DS Emulator )