Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny

Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny known as Rune Factory: Oceans in Japan, is the next installment of the Rune Factory series created by Neverland Co. and Marvelous Entertainment. The game was released on PS3 and Wii. It was created as a side series of the popular Harvest Moon, whose various versions allowed players to taste the life of the farmer. Unlike Harvest Moon, the action of all Rune Facotry titles takes place in a fantasy world, and instead of watching over the players' garden patches, we participate in adventures, fight with creatures or create new items.

Plot

The game is a continuation of Rune Factory Frontier released on Wii meaning that we will meet several well-known characters in supporting roles. The main characters of the Times of Destiny are Adel and Sonia, two friends who lead a peaceful life on the island of Fenith. Unfortunately, as a result of a terrible curse to which fell upon them, they lose their home and wake up in a completely alien world. Strangely enough, Sonia's soul is trapped in Adel's body. Traveling across the ocean on the back of the giant golem Ymir, they will slowly discover the secrets of the land, find their way back to their former home and regain Sonia's body. During their adventures, they will meet many fantastical creatures and people who will help them in this difficult mission.

Mechanics

The creators made sure that during the game, we do not run out of tasks and new challenges. As in other Rune Factory games, apart from the possibility of growing a garden and breeding animals, we can take care of blacksmithing, or creating new objects or working as a craftsman. In the city, we can buy a house, which we can decorate according to our own needs and taste, do shopping, use the public bathhouse to regain lost health points, visit the inn or the local church. In each of these places, as well as in many others, we will meet people who will give us a number of different tasks to perform, requiring us to demonstrate different skills. At some point in the game, Sonia will regain her body and we will choose whether we want to continue as Adel or finally take on the role of his friend. This choice is directly related to the possibility of marrying the main characters. Both Adel and Sonia can choose from among potential candidates for a future wife/husband. Each of them has its own history and related tasks, by solving his/her problems we become closer to them and develop our knowledge.

Experiencing the adventures in the city, romance or cultivating the land are only a part of what awaits us. Traveling on the sea, on the back of Ymir the giant, which was born of a seed planted by the characters, we will visit about 30 different islands. Some of them are hidden because they have been absorbed by the sea, but with the help of Ymir's strength, we can lift them from the sea bottom. On these islands, we will find dangerous creatures, undergrounds, treasures as well as new species of farm animals and plants, which we will plant in our garden.

The fights take place in real time. We control our hero directly by performing various combos, evasions or jumps. Some of the creatures with which we fight can be caught, then enslaved and used as faithful allies in subsequent battles. Interestingly, Ymir can also stand up for us. From time to time, while crossing the ocean, we come across huge sea monsters. They can only be defeated by our giant friend, to whom we will give appropriate instructions.

Technical aspects

The graphics in Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny are colorful and stylish and will surely appeal to those who like typical Japanese RPG titles. Unfortunately, it had to be subject to some limitations as Tides of Destiny was released on both Wii and PlayStation 3, so it can't match the most beautiful titles released on Sony's console. Despite the supported HD resolution, the game doesn't offer complicated light effects or a huge number of polygons used on the models of characters or surroundings. Fans of the genre, however, should not be bothered by this.

Last updated on 14 July 2011