Rune Factory 2 is a very interesting game; but, then again, Rune Factory is a very interesting (now) series. It doesn't really do anything that hasn't been seen since the 1990s, but instead derives its value from weaving together two types of gameplay: the self-driven farm simulation of Harvest Moon and the trappings of a story-driven action RPG. Rune Factory 2 ends up with a ton of content from this marriage, though it's fair to ask just how much is too much.
The first generation of Rune Factory 2 is actually quite limited in available activities, though it probably feels more constraining to me than it actually is due to the fact that I loved the original game and its freedom so much. That said, it throws in one delightful addition in the form of a job board. It is true that said board mostly tosses you fetch quests, but each comes with its own dialogue, which made me find myself relating to the dozen-odd characters that run around the town of Alvarna on their daily business more and more. It was a very nice way to make up for the limited slate of available activities in that first generation, which ended up feeling more than a little like a tutorial in the end, but not worse for it.
Moving to the second generation entailed investments of money and resources of a certain level, so I set those events in motion, by marrying one of the local girls, and waited. The wait held a bit of a shock, for a Harvest Moon neophyte like myself: the girl I'd chosen, who I'd rather grown to like over the course of the in-game courtship, suddenly became a Stepford wife waiting by the bed daily with no other purpose than to produce a child.
I plugged away as the prescribed time ticked by until I was able to shift into the next generation, and freedom... but left feeling somewhat scarred. I couldn't help but think that I'd have been left with a much more positive overall impression of the game had it simply cut at the point of matrimony instead of subjecting me to waking up and hearing a hollow sentence from my robot-wife every morning for game-weeks on end.
Once I cleared this unsettling interlude, though, I was full bore into the real meat of the game. Blessed with new abilities and a myriad new activities ranging from new areas to explore, bosses to fight, and crafting to do, it felt a lot more like the old game again, except better. It was like going home again and finding that it's been fully renovated to boot.
Rune Factory 2 is definitely a more competent outing when it comes to combat than its predecessor, for example, something I could see in the first generation but really have come to adore in the second. Enemies are more aggressive and some really require quick thinking and maneuvering to defeat rather than just bashing your sword into their face. All your weapons are useful this time, making it worth your time to choose which is appropriate for which enemy and finding the satisfaction of defeating them most efficiently.
The sheer amount of content derives not so much from huge landmasses or thick checklists as it does what it takes for you to surmount the challenges you're given. Unlike some games, where you'll see the entire landmass of a given area once, Rune Factory 2 will show you bit by bit, revealing a little each time as you grow strong enough and meet the requirements to take each new piece on. It should be eventually boring, but I found myself pursuing each new area of growth vigorously. I do have to accept that I have no chance of ever 100%'ing this game unless I eschew all others, but it's fun to work at it anyway.
I do have to mention—and this isn't really something I normally bother with, honestly, but I feel like I should this time—there are some technical issues with the game, though. Maybe it's made more prevalent by the freedom the game offers you in pursuing so many different activities, but there's an uncomfortable number of bugs in this game.
For example, there are a number of occasions when slowdown hits—most notably in town with too many people on screen or in the barn where you keep your monster companions. Though it seemed I was less unlucky than others on this front, there are also occasional crashes; thankfully, I never lost progress due to them. Some text bugs made me step back and go "what?" on more than one occasion. I fear that the game may have left testing just a little too early.
On balance, Rune Factory 2 ends up a solid improvement over the original in nearly every area. Greatly improved combat, more and deeper activities, and good story through the use of the job board all contribute to justifying the time I spent looking forward to this game. It seems there has really been a winning formula hit upon here, and I think that with just a few more touches as far as fixing bugs and working on pacing, it could easily sit up there with some of the best games I've played. In any event, if the notion of mixing Harvest Moon with swords appeals to you, you should definitely be looking at this game.
The first generation of Rune Factory 2 is actually quite limited in available activities, though it probably feels more constraining to me than it actually is due to the fact that I loved the original game and its freedom so much. That said, it throws in one delightful addition in the form of a job board. It is true that said board mostly tosses you fetch quests, but each comes with its own dialogue, which made me find myself relating to the dozen-odd characters that run around the town of Alvarna on their daily business more and more. It was a very nice way to make up for the limited slate of available activities in that first generation, which ended up feeling more than a little like a tutorial in the end, but not worse for it.
I plugged away as the prescribed time ticked by until I was able to shift into the next generation, and freedom... but left feeling somewhat scarred. I couldn't help but think that I'd have been left with a much more positive overall impression of the game had it simply cut at the point of matrimony instead of subjecting me to waking up and hearing a hollow sentence from my robot-wife every morning for game-weeks on end.
Once I cleared this unsettling interlude, though, I was full bore into the real meat of the game. Blessed with new abilities and a myriad new activities ranging from new areas to explore, bosses to fight, and crafting to do, it felt a lot more like the old game again, except better. It was like going home again and finding that it's been fully renovated to boot.
Rune Factory 2 is definitely a more competent outing when it comes to combat than its predecessor, for example, something I could see in the first generation but really have come to adore in the second. Enemies are more aggressive and some really require quick thinking and maneuvering to defeat rather than just bashing your sword into their face. All your weapons are useful this time, making it worth your time to choose which is appropriate for which enemy and finding the satisfaction of defeating them most efficiently.
The sheer amount of content derives not so much from huge landmasses or thick checklists as it does what it takes for you to surmount the challenges you're given. Unlike some games, where you'll see the entire landmass of a given area once, Rune Factory 2 will show you bit by bit, revealing a little each time as you grow strong enough and meet the requirements to take each new piece on. It should be eventually boring, but I found myself pursuing each new area of growth vigorously. I do have to accept that I have no chance of ever 100%'ing this game unless I eschew all others, but it's fun to work at it anyway.
For example, there are a number of occasions when slowdown hits—most notably in town with too many people on screen or in the barn where you keep your monster companions. Though it seemed I was less unlucky than others on this front, there are also occasional crashes; thankfully, I never lost progress due to them. Some text bugs made me step back and go "what?" on more than one occasion. I fear that the game may have left testing just a little too early.
On balance, Rune Factory 2 ends up a solid improvement over the original in nearly every area. Greatly improved combat, more and deeper activities, and good story through the use of the job board all contribute to justifying the time I spent looking forward to this game. It seems there has really been a winning formula hit upon here, and I think that with just a few more touches as far as fixing bugs and working on pacing, it could easily sit up there with some of the best games I've played. In any event, if the notion of mixing Harvest Moon with swords appeals to you, you should definitely be looking at this game.