Nintendo Wii Reviews

Breath life into the land. View larger.

Dungeon crawl for baddies. View larger.

Make game changing decisions. View larger.

The Story
Our hero enters the frontier, where no one dares enter, to cultivate the unforgiving soil. As time passes, his lonely town of one becomes a town of two, three…until it grows into a town to behold. The town is not the only thing to behold. Among the newcomers are beautiful ladies who have moved to the town to start a new life. Which one will be our hero’s lucky lady? However, our hero is soon faced with a problem. Creatures of the frontier, many of them hostile towards humans, pose a great threat to the safety of his townsfolk. To find a way to live in peaceful coexistence or perhaps destroy them along with the danger they bring – the decision is up to our hero.

Gameplay
As with previous related games, Rune Factory: Frontier features a myriad of Life Sim activities like farming, raising livestock, building relationships with NPCs, etc., as well as role-playing elements like dungeon crawling and item collection and leveling, but in structuring gameplay it goes to great lengths to incorporate an open-ended structure that allows players to choose the type of game they wish to experience at all points in the game. This means that although at the beginning of the game players will find themselves presented with the familiar opportunity of starting a farm, selling their crops at market and by doing so improving the overall prosperity and size of their town, they are not necessarily tied to the land. Although farming is an excellent way to finance adventuring, the rich RPG elements of the game can be pursued at any time. These elements present themselves mostly in the form of battling monsters and bosses that have found their way into the land, but seem to be coming from the mysterious ‘Whale Island,’ which floats in the sky above your town. Players can either battle the monsters or make friends with them, raising them as a kind of livestock. As with everything in Rune Factory: Frontier, the choice is yours. Whether it’s growing crops, expanding the town, fighting (or befriending) monsters or even falling in love, the experience is unique to each player.

Key Game Features:

• Lifelike Interactions – NPCs will come and go based on the player’s actions. Want to get along with your neighbor? Want to give fellow townsfolk something they might hate? Go ahead, but they may get upset and leave the town. Be nice to attract more newcomers.
• Natural Ecosystem – Breathe life into the barren wilderness by cultivating it and planting crops. Small creatures (spirits) will gather first, triggering a food chain to later attract larger and rarer creatures. You are responsible for bringing more fertility to the land.
• Floating Island to Explore – There is an island that floats in the skies. When you see it, you must quickly find a way to get on it as new discoveries await.
• Intuitive Wii Controls – Use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to do everything. Plow the land, shake hands with townsfolk to strengthen relationships, or even wave it around when you’re on a date with a girl. (Also compatible with the Classic Controller.)
• Open-ended Play Structure – Whether you prefer Life Sim gaming, Action RPG action or a mix of both, Rune Factory: Frontier lets you game as you want, when you want.
• Console Debut – Frontier is the console debut of the popular Rune Factory series.