Rune Factory Frontier

Rune Factory: Frontier
Developer(s)	Neverland Co.
Publisher(s)	JP Marvelous Entertainment NA Xseed Games/Marvelous Entertainment USA EU Rising Star Games
Series	Rune Factory series
Platform(s)	Wii
Release date(s)	JP November 27, 2008 NA March 17, 2009 EU April 1, 2010
Genre(s)	Simulation, role-playing video game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: E10+ PEGI: 12

Rune Factory: Frontier is a simulation/role-playing video game developed by Neverland Co. and published by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan, Marvelous Entertainment USA and Xseed Games in North America, and Rising Star Games in Europe for the Wii video game console.

On July 11, 2008, Marvelous Entertainment USA and Xseed Games announced that they were both bringing Rune Factory: Frontier to North America, with a date of March 17, 2009. This is the first game in the Rune Factory series not to be brought to North America by Natsume.

Gameplay

The player can own a farm. There are 4 distinct seasons, 3 of which you can grow different types of crops. Examples include: Strawberries and turnips in the spring, tomatoes and pineapples in the summer, and yams in the fall. There are many other crops, and you can grow flowers, which can all be sold for gold (the game's currency.) Farming is only half of the game. The other half is dungeon crawling. There are four very different dungeons, three of which represent the four different seasons (the third dungeon represents both autumn and winter). In these dungeons, crops of that dungeon's seasonal affiliation can be grown. The fourth dungeon, Whale Island, is omni-seasonal, and all crops can be grown there at any time.

Another feature is the concept of Runey distribution. Runeys come in four different variations: water, rock, tree and grass. Runeys represent the ecosystem of Trampoli; when Runeys are in perfect harmony, the area that they occupy reaches a state of Prosperity, and crops in that area will grow much faster than normal. However, should even one area of Trampoli become devoid of Runeys, the ecosystem suffers, and crops grow much slower than normal. Runeys can be re-distributed from area to area using a tool called the Harvester. Every nine ripe crops in the field in front of the character's house also spawns one Runey daily.

Also standard to games related to Harvest Moon is the social system and marriage system. In Rune Factory: Frontier, there are a total of 13 marriageable women, as well as many other townspeople whom Raguna can socialize with. The social system involves speaking with the townspeople as well as giving them gifts, which may increase, decrease, or make their affection stay the same. As the player, you must find out what each townperson likes and dislikes and give them gifts accordingly. Additionally, you may gain affection by participating in and winning festival competitions, or doing something arbitrary that increases only a certain person's affection, such as simply maintaining your farm.

Plot

Frontier begins with Raguna searching for a missing girl, Mist, who has moved to a new town because someone is calling to her in her dreams. Raguna moves into the town as well, living in the house next to her with a field. Then Raguna finds out that the whale island in the sky is in danger of falling on the town. Somehow Mist and another girl named Iris's fates are tied with the whale's.

Development

The game was announced during an interview between Cubed³ and Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon, on June 6, 2007. A year later, the game was fully revealed on June 4, 2008 in the Japanese magazine Famitsu.

External links

• Official Rune Factory: Frontier website (English)
• Official Rune Factory: Frontier website (Japanese)
• Official Marvelous Entertainment Inc. website (Japanese)