/f/ - Fandom Generals

My favorite entry is 4!

I struggle to choose a favorite cause I like all of them even if 5 was a little lackluster, there’s still stuff I enjoyed about it, but probably tides of destiny. I didn’t hate the lack of farming because I liked how the game felt like a typical jrpg. Also the festivals were peak in that game. I want the lucky lotto and masquerade to come back so bad.

As much as I wish GoA will be as fun as ToD, I have my doubts. The protagonists being unique give me hope. Also I hate the dlc stuff they’ve been putting in the games. Pretty pissed that Cuilang is dlc only.
>>4002
I love the dungeons and crafting in 4 so much. I was super autistic about making ultimate weapons and gear to go through the hardest level seed dungeons and the Sharance maze. I want a bunch of the mechanics of 4 mixed with the low rp cap so making rune factories can come back. It kinda irks me that the game is called rune factory but they haven’t had such a mechanic since the second game. Technically the third game still lets you make rune factories, but they are useless because of rp healing items galore.

>What’s your first/favorite game?
My first game was III, but my favorite is IV.
>Favorite character(s) or protagonist(s)?
Off the top of my head, my favorites across the series were Gaius, Rosalind, Sofia, Max, Arthur, Raven, Forte, Kiel, and Doug.
>Any ships?
I thought Gaius should've been an option for Micah in III, although I don't know if it's fair to say I ship it because there isn't much of a community, but a lot of their dialogue read as unintentionally flirty.
>How do you feel about the latest game coming out?
Sadly, I haven't gotten to play it due to a lack of time, money, and motivation. Even if I had the time, I'd probably replay IV for the third or fourth time because I love it so much. None of the bachelors in V really appealed to me, so playing it has not been a priority. I know there's another game coming out soon, but I haven't seen much information about it. I'll probably wait and see what consensus on it is before buying it.
>Any commentary on the fanbase or creators?
I've always been sad there's not much of an active fanbase for this series, particularly when it comes to the earlier titles. I remember trying to learn more about the lore after playing the earlier games, and I was so upset that there wasn't much discussion online. I also remember being so pissed back when the fourth game came out because most of the players liked Dylas the most, and I really couldn't stand his ass. I don't even remember why I hated him, as he wasn't horrible when I replayed it more recently kek.

On another note, I'm also bitter Max De Sainte-Coquille from the second game never got popular. He was so funny, and I remember obsessively stalking him when I played the second game. Maybe I couldn't make him and Kyle date, but I was DETERMINED to make them best friends to compensate for it.

>What’s your first/favorite game?
The first one I played was 2 but my favorite is 4

>Favorite character(s) or protagonist(s)?
Max in RF2 is really fun since he's the spoiled rich boy archetype. I also used to really like Arthur he's very genuinely sweet and megane.

>Any ships?
Oh how I wish I could have Lest and Arthur kiss.

>How do you feel about the latest game coming out?
Azuma looks interesting but I'm not sure if I'll pick it up right away. I think the Japanese inspired setting looks fresh compared to the other entries so I hope it's good.

>Any commentary on the fanbase or creators?
It's wild that this series has so many games and yet the fandom is so small. It's such an accessible series I don't get it.

>>4013
Fellow Max lover!

> I also remember being so pissed back when the fourth game came out because most of the players liked Dylas the most
He's cute nonna especially the blushing sprite.

>>4013
>Gaius should've been an option for Micah
He was definitely the most flirty guy in 3. Although I think all of the guys: Carlos, Zaid, Rusk, and Ondorus should've been an option. Zaid has especially funny dialogue with Micah because it really seems like Micah is so done with his shit.
>None of the bachelors in V
God I feel this so hard. They need to go back to the older art too. All the guys in 5 felt soulless compared to the older games.
>I really couldn't stand Dylas
He definitely grew on me. When I played 4 for the first time I ended up marrying him despite the fact that I was planning on marrying Doug. He just snuck up on me.
>I remember obsessively stalking him when I played the second game
Lol, I did the same thing with Jake. What a coincidence! I just wanted stinky onion elf boy to like Kyle.

>>4014
>I wish I could have Lest and Arthur kiss
Bro just could not stop flirting with my guy Lest. I mean they all flirted hard with Lest but Arthur just layed it on so thick. I wish there were more Arthur/Lest fics.

Also yeah I agree it sucks that this game has no online presence. And like >>4014
said, it's accessible so I don't see why it isn't more prevalent online. You'd think 4 would've garnered a fanbase like Awakening did for Fire Emblem, but it never hit as hard. And I see people talking about the games online, but none of the older ones, just 3, 4, 5, and GoA.

>>4015
>Zaid
Totally forgot about him, but he was another character I liked. He kind of felt like a precursor to Doug in a way. I remember seeing a theory that he and Doug were part of the same tribe because of their eye colors.
>They need to go back to the older art too. All the guys in 5 felt soulless compared to the older games.
I'm so glad someone said this because I was thinking the same thing. II is where the art peaked for me. I've always cited it as one of my most favorite art styles ever. Something also changed with the female characters. Their designs were so distinct in I and II especially. Bianca, Julia, Rosalind, and Melody are my favorite designs, but I can't place what makes the characters in V look so different. III and IV had character designs I didn't like as much as the older games, but they still felt like they fit into the world. Some of the designs in the newest game feel too cluttered or something?

>>3998
>What’s your first/favorite game?
Four. I never tried out the earlier games cause I wasn't interested in having to play as a guy with only female love interests.
>Favorite character(s) or protagonist(s)?
Leon in 4 and Ryker in 5.
>Any ships?
Off the top of my head my fujo radar didn't go off for anything but it probably has to do with how for games like these my brain focuses more on Player x NPC than NPC x NPC.
>How do you feel about the latest game coming out?
Like I said in the other thread the japanese setting really appeals to me. I'm also a sucker for kemonomimi so I'm already hyperfocused on Fubuki. In 5 I didn't go for the kemonomimi guy cause I'm not into older-looking guys.
>Any commentary on the fanbase or creators?
I've never really interacted with the community aside from following jhiendacnl on tumblr. Looks like there's been no activity since 2017 so wherever this person is I hope they're doing well.

>>4017
>precursor to Doug
Lol I never realized how similar they were until you said this. I knew about the silver eyes theory, but the similar personalities never clicked before.
>II is where the art peaked for me
Whoever they got to translate Iwasaki's concept art to portraits after the second game didn't do as good a job as the ones that did the portrait art in the first two games. And you're right, 5 felt cluttered with a lot of designs. The only ones that I felt fit within the Rune Factory world were Cecil, Martin, and Lucy. But their portrait art significantly downgraded them, especially Cecil. Also afaik Iwasaki didn't come back for Azuma which is probably why the characters look even less like Rune Factory characters imo.

>>4018
>I wasn't interested in having to play as a guy with only female love interests
Understandable. I imagine if 4 was my first game I'd not want to try the others. 4 is the best in the series as much as I like the other games. Tides of Destiny has 4 bachelors, but you can't play as the girl until you beat the game. You can still do a few events with three of the bachelors before then. And 2 has a second generation girl protagonist, but you can't marry because you're a child and your bachelors are children. One day I will figure out how to romhack ds games and make a romhack that allows you to romance the guys in 1.
>Fubuki
He was the only one I was interested in until Cuilang was revealed. I also don't like the older-looking guys and I hate that the fanbase on reddit praises them. I wanna go back to when bishounen was the oldest a bachelor-like guy could be.
>jhiendacnl
Oh shit they translated the Rune Factory 4 magazine manga. Thank you for mentioning this. I always wanted to read it.

BTW I completely forgot that this japanese wiki has a bunch of comments expressing their grievances with 5. I know there's a lot of complaints about the homosex, but I forget they had a version where the characters must've had lines specific to each protagonist like how 4 did (although the glitches in 4 caused some actual romance lines to slip through). But there's other complaints too like eventually they get into how the shops could've been better. I think they even speculate on drama within the development team. Just change the 1 in the url into a 2 or a 3 to get more recent complaints.
https:// wikiwiki . jp/rf5/愚痴・妄想/コメント1

Have the lifespans of dwarves, half-monsters, half-elves, univir, and Earthmates ever been established? I didn't get around to the fifth game, but I know Meg and Doug show up. I'd always kind of assumed dwarves, humans, univir, Earthmates, etc. didn't live for centuries, as the elf characters' angst about their lifespans felt like a very species-specific thing. I guess Doug's appearance in the new game throws a wrench in that idea. I know Cecilia shows up in the first and second games, so we can assume she ages more slowly than humans.

I'd always had different headcanons for most of the species we encounter throughout the series, but I think most of my ideas were refuted. Now I'm curious what the difference between elves and dwarves even IS, aside from dwarves being good at blacksmithing and having slightly smaller ears.

>>4054
I think they definitely retconned dwarves. I’m sure they would’ve used a male elf character for the cameo instead had there been one in 4. I don’t think they even needed to suggest that 5 is meant to be set way farther in the future from 4 (in the Japanese text that I’m pretty sure was patched out at some point). Maybe they just wanted a fresh start? Also I don’t think that much time actually passed between 1 and 2. Raguna left Kardia pretty soon after he arrived which for young Cecilia would probably have felt like it had been forever ago. Also Ethelberd is a normal human and still alive by 4. And I know it’s not really canon but a slightly older Candy meets Frey in the rune factory 4 manga which was approved by the creator. I know it’s just fanservice, but back then it seemed like Neverland was a stickler for keeping the timeline proper. Although I’m pretty sure it’s been established that half-elves definitely have a shorter lifespan than the full ones but longer than regular humans, I don’t think Cecilia is that old in 2. Also if half-elves had a significantly longer lifespan than humans and full-elves were even longer, I’m sure the potential half-Earthmates, half-elf children all the mc’s can have would’ve been mentioned at some point as a flavor text at least. Then again, maybe being an Earthmates cancels out elfyness seeing as Orland can be 1/4 elf and still gets the elf ears while Aria and Aaron never get a hint of elf if you marry Cecilia. But then Micah isn’t a confirmed Earthmate. There’s too much unconfirmed information to be conclusive.

And afaik there’s never been a connection between Elves and Dwarves, but I know Kuruna and Ondorus mentions the link between Elves and the Univir. It sucks that some of the original people working on the first games are no longer working on Rune Factory so we’ll probably get quite a bit of retconning from the next two games probably unintentional reconning due to things that are easily forgotten from the older games and interviews and other media.

>>4056
These are all great points. I think they definitely must've retconned parts of the first two games' lore.
>Also I don’t think that much time actually passed between 1 and 2.
It's been a long time since I played the first games, but I kind of assumed there was like a 20-30 year time difference, and once you factor in the extra years from Aaron/Aria growing up, I was thinking Cecilia had to be at least 40 by the end of RF2. Again, it's been a long time since I played it, so I'm probably misremembering details. It's probably also colored by my bias in assuming that all elves/half-elves age more slowly.
>a slightly older Candy meets Frey in the rune factory 4 manga
I did not know about this! I'd never read the manga, so that's very interesting. It probably hasn't been that much time, relatively speaking. I never assumed it had been, like, centuries between the first 4 games because of stuff like Ethelberd's reappearance, reoccurring characters, etc. I definitely assumed it had been a few decades, though.
>Then again, maybe being an Earthmates cancels out elfyness seeing as Orland can be 1/4 elf and still gets the elf ears while Aria and Aaron never get a hint of elf if you marry Cecilia. But then Micah isn’t a confirmed Earthmate.
I kind of assumed Micah wasn't an Earthmate, but instead, just a half-monster, which let him be good at the farming stuff. Even if he were 1/2 Earthmate, that would throw a wrench in the "cancels out the other species" theory, considering he still vhas the monster traits. I always thought it was weird they never mentioned if Micah was one, though. It's also strange because Raven is a half-monster and has elf/dwarf-ish ears, but Micah doesn't despite them basically being the same species. I know this is all super trivial and nitpicky on my part. The thing with Aria/Aaron and Orland really bothered me (doubly when we consider that Micah and Daria's or Lest and Meg's kids would be 1/2 elf and still don't look like it), but I personally just attribute the inconsistency with the kids to limited character portraits/in-game assets rather than a definitive statement on lore.
>And afaik there’s never been a connection between Elves and Dwarves
There isn't! I'm sorry if my post was unclear. I meant more, like, if dwarves and elves live for centuries, age at a similar rate, look pretty similar, and have pointy ears, then that kind of eliminates (in my mind) what makes them distinct from one another. I guess I was just complaining about how it makes the elves' situation feel a little less unique, as it makes dwarves feel more like blacksmith-flavored elves rather than their own thing. It made sense in my head when I wrote it.
>It sucks that some of the original people working on the first games are no longer working on Rune Factory so we’ll probably get quite a bit of retconning
This is very disappointing. I'm worried about the newer games losing even more of the "vibe" of older titles in the series.

>>4067
I know it came out at some point that the developers gave the characters in 5 ages and Fuuka was 14. I wouldn’t be surprised if that logic was there from the beginning of the games. Like in 2 especially, even the first generation bachelorettes are awfully young, not just by looks but personality. Julia and Yue give off the oldest vibes, while the rest make me think they are still very new adults (Alicia and Rosalind) or even adolescent (Mana and Dorothy) even their rivals match with Ray and Max acting more mature than Jake and Barrett who both act like angsty teenagers. Mana’s a special case. But I genuinely think she’s meant to be super young seeing as Douglas acts like you’re cradle robbing and it’d be weird to act that way if both Kyle and Mana were 18+ imo. Also Dorothy is definitely young and acts even younger than Amber from 4. This all combined with the Fuuka is 14 data mined stuff makes me believe that the characters in 2 are actually meant to look young to reflect their age and not just for chibi style. With that said I think the time between the end of 1 and start of 4 is about 20 years. Ethelberd looks about 40 in 1 and he’s still pretty spry in 4 but clearly older so 60 would track. I feel like 70 would be too old for him to be kicking around that much unless he’s younger than 40 in 1. Which isn’t impossible but that’s a rough 30s if that’s the case.
>just a half-monster
Also I forget Micah is a half-monster. But you’re right, he’s got normal human ears and if Earthmate canceled out halfness, he’d probably not be one anyway. Still annoys me that the halfness wasn’t addressed in 2 or 4 which had ample time to address it seeing as you only have 1 kid in those and it could be a simple flavor text about half(?)-Earthmate children.
>I'm sorry if my post was unclear.
Oh no I meant it more like the developers are connecting them by making dwarves a different flavor of elves.

I was absolutely devastated to learn that Iwasaki, the character designer, didn’t work on GoA. I hope she returns for 6, but I have my doubts. I’m really hoping they’ll at least do more cameo characters in 6 from the older games like Tabatha, Minerva, or Mei returning. Or even the forgotten Marco.

Late but happy Guardians of Azuma release day! I haven't been able to buy it myself yet but what are your thoughts so far??

>What’s your first/favorite game?
Rune factory 4 was my first and favorite so far I've only played 4 (3ds and special) and 5. From the few videos I've watched on youtube (wanna experience most of it myself) I like the vibes of RF2 and ToD.

>Favorite character(s) or protagonist(s)?
RF4: I love the whole cast but if I had to choose a few, F: Dolce, Margaret M: Kiel, Doug, Dylas
RF5: I had trouble liking the cast but I did enjoy Beatrice, Scarlet, Ryker, and Reinhard

>Any ships?
Dylas and Doug, Arthur and Lest, Doug and Lest, Arthur and Kiel.
I kinda liked how Ares and Cecil look together but RF5 is so fucking dry and devoid of anything interesting that I have trouble liking it more than a thought.

>How do you feel about the latest game coming out?
I'm excited for GoA and RF6. I'm just a bit upset, disappointed, and annoyed at the RF Devs for making Hina a marriage candidate to appeal to pedomoids again. The JP has a somewhat suggestive poster with Hina and I feel really uncomfortable about it. I'm also surprised that none of the english fans are complaining about it? (From what I've seen) I guess that they don't know how bad Cecilia was back then.

>Any commentary on the fanbase or creators?
As a post stated earlier, I'm tired of (mostly EN) fans pushing bara and older males instead of bishounen. Especially since guys still get bishojo's and lolishit.
Ever since I was young I hated how lots of media portrayed younger women getting with men way older than them. I have never been able to grow out of that hatred. I feel like those types of 'fans' are just trying to pretend and be morally correct over fiction and to 'justify' their like over fictional men. I swear people like this never think of younger girls who play and become uncomfortable liking characters who might be around their age.

I hate how the devs keep trying to get incel money, they keep using female vtubers to advertise their game. RF has become a comfort series to me I see a lot of moids shit on it bc it has a big female playerbase and it's a farming game. I want to keep it like that and gatekeep it.

>>4369
> I haven't been able to buy it myself yet but what are your thoughts so far??
I haven't been able to buy it (and frankly, I don't yet have the time to play it), but I'm waiting for reviews because none of the guys really caught my eye. What are you (and everyone else reading the thread) most looking forward to seeing in this game?
> I like the vibes of RF2
RF2 is a fun game with some really interesting elements! It kind of aged poorly in some aspects, but I hope you'll get to experience it one day! I really love the art style and character design of the older games.
>I hate how the devs keep trying to get incel money, they keep using female vtubers to advertise their game.
I haven't kept up with that sort of thing very much, but that's crazy to me, considering how many scrotes seem to dislike the series. It seems like poor marketing, as I doubt it'll inspire much interest in the series. I'm probably wrong, though.

>>4390
>What are you (and everyone else reading the thread) most looking forward to seeing in this game?
I'm really interested in the eastern aspect the most. We've always gotten characters from the east in past games, and now I'm excited to see the part of the world they're from. The plot seems more interesting from the trailers. It's also interesting because it's a side game, similar to ToD. It's cool that we get to see both MC's existing together. Also, the aspect that farming is supposedly different from the mainline games. (I haven't watched much explaining it bc I like to stay mostly blind for the games I play.)

>none of the guys really caught my eye.
Yeah, the designs are a bit lackluster and missing something again, especially since most of the characters have similar hair colors (white, brown, black, and blonde). Somehow, I still like them more compared to rf5, though. I actually think the male characters are way better designed than the female characters in both rf5 and GoA.
(I'm mainly interested in Cuilang and Ulalaka). I'm sad that they're starting to change artists, but after remembering that the main Tales artist passed away, I think we have to start accepting the new artist.

If they don't remaster or remake rf2 soon they're missing out on easy money. I wish they'd add other character marriages and kids in new games.

>I haven't kept up with that sort of thing
I only noticed because I was scrolling down twt and saw them retweeting mainly girl vtubers who were sponsored. I mean, good for them, especially since a few seem to actually like the series, but they seem ignorant of their fan space. They do have female fans but the majority are males.
>It seems like poor marketing, as I doubt it'll inspire much interest in the series. I'm probably wrong, though.
Sadly, I think it might be working slightly. I see a few posts sexualizing the new little girl character from moids and them asking if she's romanceable. (Similar to child Hina.)
It sucks because there are male vtubers who actually like the series they could be trying to get more female fans but nope only pedomoids who always shit on this type of game.

So I was waiting for my Earth Dancer Edition copy of Guardians of Azuma to come in (it was delayed due to tariffs in the US) before posting here and it finally came in! So in this one you're playing an Earth Dancer, which seems like the Eastern version of Earthmates. Also the love system is very different. There's a whole bond level thing and learning about their liked topics and whatnot from what I can tell (very early in the game). You also choose your difficulty at the start when you choose your character. Subaru is very hot. And of course Watarase (fish guy) and The Hound (spoiler character) aren't marriageable but uggo buff dude is (no offense to any nona interested in him).

I can't stand the English voices on a few of the characters, namely Hina and Woolby, so I guess Japanese voices it is like I did for 3 Special and 5. 4 dub was so good, how do they struggle to make another good dub? Also looking at the concept art, your child does inherit animal ears if you marry Fubuki, Pilika, or Hina. Picrel is Cuilang without his hat. I'm definitely going after him.

>>4369
>a bit upset, disappointed, and annoyed at the RF Devs for making Hina a marriage candidate to appeal to pedomoids again
Same. But I can't imagine Hina being popular, at least in the English fandom, when her English voice sounds so grating so there's a plus at least. I honestly wouldn't have been mad if they chose to age up Julian instead, but that's my double standards talking. I just don't like how they pander to moids more than women and girls.

>>4424
>I'm sad that they're starting to change artists, but after remembering that the main Tales artist passed away, I think we have to start accepting the new artist.
Minako Iwasaki isn't dead though and she did draw fanart for the series recently. I have no clue why they didn't get her to design the characters this time around.
>few posts sexualizing the new little girl character
They literally get their pick of the crop and they choose a younger-looking version of Iroha. Gross.

Finished the main game and married Fubuki to Subaru (duh). All in all I had a good time! It's no RF4 and I don't know if we will ever see an entry come close to it, but it's definitely an improvement from RF5. Characters were charming, gameplay was smooth, I enjoyed the town building (even though I get brain farts when it comes to decoration and villager optimization), and honestly I like the dumbing down of the farming. It also surprised me how much I liked some of the bachelorettes/female NPCs. Typically I do (Forte in RF4 was my girl) but I was scared with recent events that this game would lean too goonerish so it was a nice surprise when I found myself liking characters like Ulalaka and Suzu. Though I do agree with others that I don't like the inclusion of Hina as a bachelorette. Also appreciated that Subaru had homo moments with some of the bachelors outside of dating them too.

One thing I didn't like at all was the arranged marriage subplot between Subaru and Kaguya. I'm glad we had the choice to kill her off. Maybe I'm being petty but reveals like that should be kept in bond events, especially when it was such a throw away line/scene. And I'm no stranger to pushed romance candidates, I played since RF1, I was there for Mist and what came after.

From the boys from first impressions I thought my favorites would be Kurama, Ikuraga and Kai. But now my top three are definitely Fubuki, Cuilang, and Kurama and Kai fighting for third (and they should fuck too). Ikuraga was a huge disappointment, I agree with a lot of players when they describe him as more DLC like than Cuilang. Without going too into it he felt sorta shoehorned in. I'll go through his romance bonds and see if I change my mind, but I am not impressed with him so far.

I've heard the post game romance is lacking, so I think I'll focus on viewing all the romantic bond events before dipping too far into it.

I hope more nonas here give the game a try. If you have a good Windows PC remember you can sail the seven seas. It's out there and very easy to install and get going. Then get it if you really enjoyed it and have the spare cash!


>>4458
>And of course Watarase (fish guy) and The Hound (spoiler character) aren't marriageable but uggo buff dude is (no offense to any nona interested in him).
I LOVED Watarase, I would have taken him over Murasame too. Murasame suffered from his 2D art not translating well to 3D. He's one of the few characters I genuinely found kinda ugly ingame kek. Hound makes sense story wise why he isn't one, but I guess you can argue that they could have bent the rules.

>>4467
Murasame was one of my first choices, but I love the cursed swordsman archtype. Most of the models in the game are sub-par, I find he especially looks bulky in the wrong way and his saturated colors don't work in-game. I kind of feel the same about Kurama so I grabbed a mod that balanced out most of the palettes.

It's a shame, the art for the game looks really nice and so do the designs.

>>4467
>I hope more nonas here give the game a try.
As someone who played the first four games and neither 5 nor Guardians, would you recommend this one or the fifth game? I know you said it's an improvement over 5 (I promise I read your whole post aside from the spoilers kek), but I don't like massive changes to a formula I already know. I enjoyed the farming a lot in previous games, and I really liked the diversity in skills that you could level up, so I'm a little torn on whether I'd like this if the farming has been dumbed down. I also don't like how vtuber-esque many of the girls look. I do love building a town, though, and the bachelors in Guardians look slightly more appealing than in 5 although nobody has mentioned the one who looks most appealing to me, positively or negatively, so I'm guessing he may not be especially interesting as a character kek. I might not try either and just stick with the happy memories I've made with other titles, but I was just curious about the farming element, and whether that means I'd enjoy the 5th game more.
>>4458
>So in this one you're playing an Earth Dancer, which seems like the Eastern version of Earthmates.
Is there any interesting lore as to whether they're a different thing entirely? Or is it the same thing, just a different word for it?

>>4471
>As someone who played the first four games and neither 5 nor Guardians, would you recommend this one or the fifth game?
I'm actually a big RF5 apologist and while I would choose GOA over it, I think in your case you might enjoy RF5 more? It's definitely a downgrade from RF4 but the gameplay is similar. RF5's main issue was the map "emptiness" and all the technical issues, which I've heard the latter was improved with the Steam release. It had potential to be a great entry (maybe not as great as RF4), but it needed more time in the oven. Meanwhile GOA feels more complete, but it is still a spinoff so it deviates from the numbered entries.

>I enjoyed the farming a lot in previous games, and I really liked the diversity in skills that you could level up, so I'm a little torn on whether I'd like this if the farming has been dumbed down
You might not like that part of GOA then, like I said they REALLY dumbed down the farming. It takes seconds to tend your fields especially with the special tools (sacred treasures) they give you, and you also have the option to delegate your villagers to do it for you. (Although I find myself not letting them do so, they fuck up my plans kek.) Things like soil level, compost, field health, and weather mechanics like typhoons are gone. You rarely have to buy seeds, as you get them passively as you farm. There are no seasons, each village is its own season, kind of like the dungeons in the previous games. Really I could go on and on about the changes, all you need to know is that there is a significant difference and it's generally less involved.

Meanwhile stats are largely based on village development/decorating (ie. put down this flower pot and you'll get +10 int) and skill leveling is reduced to a basic RPG skills branch system, where you use EXP to unlock nodes that give you skill/stats/interaction upgrades. You can get the EXP at the end of the day by spamming whatever action corresponds to that skill. So for example if you want to raise one of your sacred treasures you'll spam it. There are also far less skills and most of them don't use RP.

>although nobody has mentioned the one who looks most appealing to me, positively or negatively, so I'm guessing he may not be especially interesting as a character kek.
Hmmm is it Mauro? He's cute, just not my type! I think he gets unnecessary hate from people who didn't try to dive into his bond events.

>I might not try either and just stick with the happy memories I've made with other titles
That's fair! I know I probably didn't sell you on GOA with all I've said, but I wanted to be clear that it's very much a spin off. And with RF5 while I do like it I'm not blind to the fact that it's a downgrade from RF4.

>>4471
>Or is it the same thing, just a different word for it?
I spoke a little too soon. I had only read the little booklet that comes with the game. Subaru/Kaguya is an Earthmate, but they have the title of Earth Dancer. Not sure if there’s a specific reason for the title or not yet though.

>Mauro
He’s super cute. I have him in the Marvelous Swimsuit which is a skimpier version of their normal swimsuits. I think he’s probably a little unpopular because of the random foreign words he uses. Although in Japanese the words sound more natural imo. Like instead of “bellissimo” he says “bravo.” I think he gets overshadowed too because he’s like the only non-Eastern guy in a game series that’s usually focused on fantasy west. He’s the de Sainte-Coquille rep though so I’m a little shocked at him seemingly being the least popular de Sainte-Coquille rep.

>>4481
>Hmmm is it Mauro?
Yes. It is Mauro. I like the de Sainte-Coquille family a lot, and I also really, REALLY like blondes kek. I also read where he is the Rune Factory equivalent to Italian, which is also a massive appeal point for me. I'm glad to hear he's not awful from both you and >>4482, though! I was worried he was extremely unlikable or something.
>I probably didn't sell you on GOA with all I've said
I appreciate the effort you put into your explanation regardless! I might eventually give it a shot, and although the farming is disappointing, the town element might make up for it. I've been playing a lot of Dragon Quest Builders 2 recently, and I really love building and decorating a village, so Guardians may similarly scratch that itch. I do love Rune Factory's setting and style, and I'm glad the series is getting a continuation, even if it's not in the form I necessarily wanted.