Rune Factory has been a beloved game series for many years. Rune Factory 5 is the latest addition to the game series and while it has been receiving praise from long-time fans, it's also been receiving some backlash due to performance issues.
Rune Factory 5: The Best Crops To Grow In Winter
Starting with the Japanese release of Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon in 2006 for the Nintendo DS, it soon struck a chord with many players. Rune Factory is the perfect game for fans of farming simulators and Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) with its combination of tending to crops followed by a day fighting and taming monsters.
10 What We Love: The Relaxing Atmosphere
One of the main focal points of Rune Factory games is that they're perfect to play when winding down for the day, and Rune Factory 5 is no exception. Throughout the players' day in Rigbarth they're accompanied by gorgeous music while they farm to their heart's content and interact with their neighbors.
The beauty of a farming simulator is the option to do whatever the player pleases during their time in the game, and this is what is so relaxing about a game like Rune Factory 5. However, make sure that you keep an eye on your Rune Points (RP) and the in-game time. Nothing is pressuring the player to beat the next boss, they can progress at their own pace taking part in side quests and raising their friendship levels with the non-playable characters (NPCs).
9 What We Don't Love: The Frame Rate Issue
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While the game has its strong points when it comes to gameplay, unfortunately, it can let the player down with its frequent frame rate drops. While some can ignore this issue, others can not. It can be an incredibly distracting and immersion-breaking feature when a game consistently drops frames.
While it's not exactly a dampener when the player is tending to their crops, it's best to not have extreme frame drops when they're in one of the dungeons or taking part in a boss fight. When exiting buildings in Rigbarth, the frame rate tends to drop as the Nintendo Switch tries to load in the outdoor areas.
8 What We Love: The Characters
It's no secret that the characters in the Rune Factory series are one of the main factors that keep bringing fans back for more. The characters in Rune Factory 4 are an incredibly popular cast amongst players and many of them were popular marriage options. In Rune Factory 5 players get to meet characters with a range of personalities such as:
- Ryker - The carpenter's apprentice who can be incredibly lazy at times.
- Martin - The blacksmith's apprentice who is stern and work-driven.
- Lucy - The stereotypical tsundere character that gamers will find in many JRPGs
Rune Factory 5: All Bachelors and Bachelorettes
With a wide cast of characters, players are bound to find a favorite, maybe even one that they'd like to marry. Rune Factory still features the option to marry the player's NPC of choice and now allows players' to marry an NPC of the same gender unlike its predecessor Rune Factory 4.
7 What We Don't Love: Object Pop-Ins
Many players' have reported characters, objects, and textures popping in while playing the game. In some cases, crops can take a few seconds to load when they go to check on them. While this doesn't happen every time they tend to their crops, it can be frustrating having to wait for them to appear on their screen.
While the Nintendo Switch is no stranger to games that feature pop-ins, Rune Factory 5 sometimes struggles to immediately load in textures at some points. It has also been noticed with NPCs suddenly appearing on the screen when walking through Rigbarth.
6 What We Love: The Battle System
Rune factory 5 is similar to the prior entry in the series when it comes to fighting. Unlike some JRPGs, Rune Factory 4 and Rune Factory 5 chose to go with active time battles. Players' can dive into a dungeon with a trusty sword from True Strike Smithy and fight their way through monsters until they reach the boss.
Like most role-playing games (RPGs) work, players' may also have some Recovery Potion in their bag, crafted from Medicinal Herbs and Green Grass that they gathered the day before. Players' can even bring along a character from SEED to accompany them in their battle.
5 What We Don't Love: Characters That Glitch
If frame drops aren't immersion-breaking enough for players', then maybe the faces of characters glitching for a moment will. Players' have reported instances where an NPCs face will start to glitch mid-conversation. While it isn't exactly a game-breaker, it can stray into uncanny valley territory.
The walking animations for some NPCs that traverse Rigbarth during the day also seem to have a style of walk that can only be described as strange. Their legs sometimes end up behaving like jelly as they walk past the player on their way around the town. One character, in particular, seems to have an issue with her tail. When walking around the town Misasagi's tail likes to twitch, and not in a cute way.
4 What We Love: Monster Taming
When traversing through the dungeons in Rune Factory 5 players' will come across a variety of monsters, such as Woolys and Buffamoos. All of the monsters found in the game can be tamed and kept in their Monster Barn. The player is given a brush through one of the many side quests available to help with the taming process, as well as feeding the animals food or plants that they have gathered.
Some monsters that players' have tamed will drop items every day, making it a useful feature for gathering crafting materials. However, you must obtain a crafting exam license before you can use these materials. Once they've reached a high enough friendship level with a monster, they can instruct them to take part in their farm chores.
3 What We Don't Love: Graphical Struggles
While many games with a lower-end style of graphics can be charming, some players aren't too fond of it; this is the case with Rune Factory 5. The graphics displayed in the latest game of the series has received a mixed bag of reviews from the fans.
It's important to note that this is a Switch game so it isn't going to have the same graphical abilities as the latest PlayStation 5. However, with Rune Factory 5 being the first in the series to update to 3D graphics, players expected something a little bit more substantial.
2 What We Love: The Quest Board
In Rune Factory 5 players' will find the quest board outside the Rigbarth Outpost (Silo), making it incredibly handy for when they start a new in-game day. The quest board consists of various side-quests that their neighbors in Rigbarth have asked them to do. A plethora of side quests is a much-loved part of relaxing life sim games within the genre.
These quests then reward the player with items, and in the early stages of the game, they even teach them about some of the game's mechanics. These side-quests alongside the main story, and all of the other fun activities in Rune Factory 5, make for a game full of content.
1 What We Don't Love: Repetitive Dialogue
With a game like Rune Factory 5 players want to be able to get the most out of the characters. Having a wide range of conversational dialogues is an important part of an RPG when connecting to characters on a deeper level. Unfortunately, Rune Factory 5 does suffer from some repetition when it comes to interacting with NPCs. This isn't great when it comes to the part of the game where you can date and marry your favorite NPS, similarly to the dating system in Rune Factory 4.
When talking to a character the player has the option to chat with them, this in turn increases their friendship level. However, the dialogue doesn't seem to change after they've spoken to them once already that day.
Rune Factory 5 is now available on Nintendo Switch.