Most of your travel time will involve gathering items, socializing and attending town events, otherwise you’ll be working on the farm. The only real control issue is the lack of diagonal movement, which causes some inconvenient movement (especially if you’re in a hurry), but the up/down/sideways movement is great for planting. Players even have a selectable square so you don’t access the wrong area. Your produce can also be upgraded to higher crop levels to earn more funds.
The valuable caves (access them by getting a pass from the Mayor) have the various monsters while offering ideal, year round farming options stemming from a wide variety of seasonal seeds. The simple fighting system (press B and repeat) matches the format, but you can’t switch weapons during battles.
The multiplayer mode (on Wi-Fi and local networks) can be accessed from the shell on the shore area, east of your homestead and requires each player to own his or her own copy of the game. Players can easily trade items, upgraded materials, and exchange screenshots (take screenshots at any time by hitting the L and select buttons together).
Mini games including cooking tasks, special social events and competitions. The graphics have a great natural texture and players can discern different areas from signs above the doors. Inexperienced players to the series might have a larger learning curve. Some characters offer advice through dialogue, but players don’t has much access to any tutorials, etc. when they need help. The graphics and sound work well, but immense game play rules the roost here. All the multitasking can produce some information overload, but, in the end, it's all about doing what you want and doing it at your own pace. Look for the upcoming Wii game and the scheduled Nintendo DS sequel.
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB.
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