WorthPlaying writes: "Natsume's Harvest Moon games, for all their similarities, tend to do a lot of things differently. Some are focused on interpersonal relationships, some on farming, some on marriage, and some on collecting items. The biggest change of all, however, came from Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon, which changed the formula by combining Harvest Moon's traditional farming gameplay with the sword-and-magic action RPG inspired by games like Zelda. It seemed like an odd combination, but the end result was extremely solid. Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon is the sequel to the first game, and while it doesn't change much, it brings more of the same fun gameplay that Harvest Moon fans have come to expect."
Given that it is a spin-off of Harvest Moon, it isn’t surprising that romance is a part of Rune Factory. But what may catch someone off guard is how much the games offer. These titles offer lots of people they can spend time with, some of them showing how many different kinds of species live in this fantasy world. They are people who are capable at performing certain jobs and surviving against monsters. Their storylines also can be quite engaging and fun. Essentially, they can go above and beyond.
Independent leading UK publisher Rising Star Games have today created the world’s first virtual ‘twinning’, as their Harvest Moon videogame series has been twinned with Surrey Docks Farm in London. Most twinnings usually take place between similar major cities from different parts of the world. This is the first case of a real-world place twinning with a virtual reality environment.
RPGamer: "Overall, this is a rather nice game, which I recommend to anyone who likes Harvest Moon games, who would like Harvest Moon games if not for the fact that the gameplay gets repetitive after a while, or who liked a few Harvest Moon games but became annoyed with how they all seem to be remakes of each other."
