Rune Factory Frontier

Rune Factory's the latest franchise form the creator of Harvest Moon (OK... second latest. Little King's Story is the latest). The series began on DS, where it spawned two titles. It came as a bit of a shock when the Wii version was announced. However, there was a bit of worry as to how it would turn out - most third parties were pretty happy with farting out a half-assed product, and calling it a day (Activision, I'm lookin' at you). Anyway, it's out and it's quite lovely. :3

Graphics:

In a single sentence, this game is gorgeous. The world is so colorful and full of life, with gorgeous classical architecture dotting the green carpet of the forested realm. There are a ton of little things that really bring the world to life, like woodland sprites flitting about, and the distinct "lived-in" feel of the local homes.

The character models are arguably the weakest element of the visuals. With chunky polygons, and a lower level of detail than the environments, the characters themselves seem a little lacking.

Animated cutscenes punctuate key events through the game. These scenes are particularly lovely, even though most of them (so far) are under 40 seconds long. Still,.I can't wait to see more!

Sound:

The game's biggest asset is its voice acting. There isn't much, but the voices XSeed chose are very close to the voices Natsume used in the first two titles.

Music so far has a distinctly lazy, relaxed sound to it. Lots of strings and lower-range instruments really help to set the mood. In a move that makes me (personally) happy, XSeed kept the original JPop intro, which is out of character for the rest of the game, but definitely fun to listen to.

The sound effects are what one would expect - clanks, clashes, and thuds sound as they should.

Controls:

The game offers a choice between motion controls, or a far more practical classic controller setup. Personally, I'm using the latter. The game plays similar to HM in that regard -> A = talk/use, B = pick up/store, Y = map, - = item menu, + = general menu.

It's simple, and it works.

Gameplay:

Much like the other games in the series, Frontier alternates between a Harvest Moon-styled life sim, and half Zelda-inspired adventure. I haven't had much experience with the latter half, but I have to admit that the former plays pretty well. It's much closer to the old Harvest Moon games in format (seeds cover 9 squares, time stops indoors), so I've gotta admit that I like it.

Plot:

Set shortly after the first Rune Factory, the intrepid hero Raguna (or whatever you name him) sets out after the girl who helped him begin life anew after he was stricken with amnesia. She left suddenly in the night, and he could only follow. He meets up with the girl in Trampoli village, a small town miles from their former home. It is here that their new life, and their new journey begins for Rune Factory Frontier.

SO far, I'm enjoying Rune Factory. Since writing this piece, I've gone on to put in a number of additional hours, as I sink into the simple worries: "Will this person like me?" "Oh crud! I have to get my crops out before 5!" and so on. I Highly recommend this one for people looking for something out of the ordinary and fans of Harvest Moon alike.