Almost a year after its release on Nintendo Switch consoles and Steam, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma was also released for the PS5. This prompted MeinMMO editor Jasmin to finally catch up on the title, as she is a huge fan of farming simulations. However, she did not expect such a drastic twist in a life simulation.
The Rune Factory series is one of my all-time favorite games in the world. It combines several genres that I really enjoy:
- On one hand, it’s about tending the fields every day and harvesting. So it’s partly a farming simulation.
- I can find my true love among 16 different candidates, go on dates, and even have children. The game has everything that a good dating simulation needs.
- You play as a pre-made character who gets stronger over time and collects experience points. It’s also an RPG.
- Finally, it’s worth mentioning that it is simultaneously an action game. After all, there are real-time battles that require a bit of skill.
So, anyone looking for the perfect mix of flirting, farming, and fighting will find it well served with Rune Factory. For me, the game stands out against other titles like Story of Seasons, which can get a bit monotonous over time without a strong story.
The latest installment, Guardians of Azuma, came just in time. Since I am still struggling with whether to buy a Switch 2, have trust issues regarding the Switch’s performance, and wanted to own the game physically at the same time, I waited for a PS5 version. This was released at the beginning of the year.
I actually expected that the hardest decision for me would be whether to marry the lavish Ulalaka or the god of Oni Kai. However, in the end, I had to decide the fate of a character, for whose life I had to sacrifice quite a bit.
The hardest decision in my gaming life
During the main quests of Rune Factory, you reach a point where you must make a great sacrifice. You have the chance to keep a character alive who – without giving too much away – is particularly important to you.
You can choose from three options:
- You can reduce all relationship statuses with the characters you have built up until then.
- Alternatively, you can sacrifice your skill levels and thus become weaker in combat.
- Finally, you can choose to sacrifice your wealth and surrender all the money you have at that time.
As a final option, you can choose not to make any of the mentioned sacrifices. However, this has the consequence that the character dies and no longer appears in the game.
The decision is particularly nasty because it takes place in the last third of the game. By then, you have spent a lot of in-game time leveling up your skills and strengthening relationships with the characters. Wealth also increases as you progress in the game, as you generate more and more income sources.
At that point, I had already spent at least 20 hours in the game and found it a pity to sacrifice one of those things. But it was also not an option to let the character die. I simply couldn’t bring myself to do that.
I thought for a long time and decided on the lesser evil. Since I wasn’t carrying much money at the time because I had done a big shopping spree the day before, I chose to sacrifice all my money.
The next day, I started with 0 money but was able to generate some budget again through my buildings and a few sales. And the next day, I was greeted with a smile by a character who had survived the death.
Decisions without sacrifices in other games
I was surprised to experience such a serious decision in a JRPG-farming-sim mix that is not particularly known for its groundbreaking story.
I usually know such dilemmas more from Telltale titles, which specifically aim for serious decisions, or other story-driven RPGs like Life is Strange or Mass Effect.
Even in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, there’s a moment like that. During the quest The Bloody Baron
, you can decide whether to kill the creature in Whispering Hill or free it.
Depending on your decision, there are consequences; however, I have never experienced that you have to sacrifice your own gameplay progress to achieve something. This realization hit me so hard in that moment that I say it was truly my hardest decision in my gaming life.
Rune Factory does a lot right for me, especially because of the genre mix. However, there are also relaxing farming sims that I can simply enjoy in the evening. One such game was Fae Farm: The magical Fae Farm does many things better than other farming simulators, but love is lacking
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