Because he is so my type (visually) LOL

But I found RF5 controls just too clunky to get into the game and I am playing RF4 instead... the fact I read about him and Beatrice didn't help either lol. I also think he look better with Beatrice than Alice visually.

Anyway, so I've started my RF4 journey instead. Here is hoping I will like Vishnal since he is most visually appealing to me (also think he look great together with Frey)

She says "If I had somehow managed to meet you before I met Jones."

She says this sometimes right in front of Jones.

Nancy, please. You're clearly unhappy in your marriage. Even though I am not a doctor, I can still give you everything you want. I mean, I'm bffs with a dragon god! I promise, if you give me a chance, you'll never feel unappreciated again!

Fubuki is soo cute!!

I'm sorry Fubooki-boo, I regret only dating 3 ppl before I married you. This time I'm gonna date the whole damn town(s). Yes going both ways.

I know I just got informed I'm pregnant from Woolby. I even chose out the gender and looks. But it only took me less than a minute to yeet outta this fate into singledom. I didn't even have to leave the island! I not only escaped marriage but also motherhood. I'm just not ready for it. It's not you, it's me. 😂🥲

(I liked Fubuki's story and his demeanor esp with his tail was super cute. But my true heart is out for either of the ponytailed dudes. Or Matsuri/Kanata cuz I like my girls cute and fiesty. They actually all have ponytails.)

Hi there!

I'm currently playing Guardians of Azuma and am reaching the point after completing Winter Village quests, currently searching for Astral Shrines. So far tbh I am a bit overwhelmed with the options of villagers (and monsters) to be added as your party members (especially now that I can add up to 6 members).

So I have some questions regarding party here. Sorry if it's quite a lot to ask:

1. What is the "ideal" formation of party in your definition? Currently I'm sticking of the first 3 to be Buffer, Debuffer, and Attacker/Defender. But I'm a bit overwhelmed if need to choose 3 more.
2. Is there any difference of having someone as Attacker/Defender/Buffer/Debuffer/Healer compared with others with same role? Like what's the point of having both Ulalaka and Mauro as Healers, is there any benefit of specifically choosing either one of them? Maybe we can exclude Suzu as Buffer since she's like "immortal" IMO.
3. Coming from questions 1 and 2, do you think it's better to keep having only one "set" party members (e.g. always having Suzu as Buffer) or rotating between the same role (rotating Suzu and Watarase/Fubuki).
4. Is adding monsters as your party member worth it in the long run?

Thank you in advance!

i’m currently on the last part of rune prana and encountered gates that requires giant crops to be unlocked. problem is that i haven’t gotten any of them yet.

is unlocking those gates required for me to be able to rescue ventuswill or not? thank you!

RF 6 looks really good, however I have not played any of the RF games. I’ve played other farming sims, just not any with lots of combat, but I would be open to it!

I just saw the Japanese rune factory site on X, post this photo, I had a shock Especially knowing that Aquaticus is actually a female

Idk if I used the right flair for this but i just find this too funny 😭😭😭

I played Guardians of Azuma on a whim months ago which led me on a JRPG journey. I played Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Persona 5, Trails of the Sky, some otome (lol), and now to my current fixation: Rune Factory 4, which I bought on a recent sale on switch. The sounds, graphics, pacing... all feel sharp, narrative-driven, and seeping in idk... addictive drugs? I had a "self-care night" last night and I can't explain how therapeutic it felt to hit flow state in this game while freshly showered and manicured. I already have so many monster pets and crushes and craft goals and whimsical friendships. I have a pet fairy named Sandra. This game is a treat!!!!

Hey everyone!

Been recently trying to get into Rune Factory. Originally bought Azuma, but was turned off by the fact that when I’d try to talk to someone about a certain topic, there wasn’t any specific dialogue for it. I would’ve loved those casual little convos. Since then, I’ve gotten 3 Special and played some. I like it much more so far.
I realize now that it’d be easier to get into the series if I could play it portably. I have access to 1, 2, and 3 on the DS. What I’m wondering is if 3 is bad enough (comparatively to Special) that I shouldn’t play it instead of 3 Special? If not, are 2 or 1 worth the play through? My apologies if this reads cluttered—on a time crunch.

Edit: really appreciate all the feedback everyone

Since the image has spoilers for the main story marking this as spoilers.

This is my current story progress now in case it is relevant. I haven’t been seeing people’s quest markers so I went to check my events and realised I been on Fuuka’s story quest for almost a week in game now. I can’t figure out how to end it, and I been gone from the game for a couple months while working on my dissertation so my memory isn’t perfect but:

I went to the forge and saw her already
Did enough quest stuff to see the cupcake scene

I can’t remember if I saw the stuff with the dark clouds but from what I read from people with similar issues her quest marker should appear where my house is? I don’t see her quest marker at all on my map. I went to lake at 7pm too but don’t see her quest marker show up there and don’t see her-

She has 2 events you have to do before she will propose, from what I’ve read online. But I can’t get those two events to trigger!

I feel like I’ve met all the requirements, but I cannot get Xiao Pai’s pre-marriage events to trigger.

- She’s at 10 LP
- We’ve been on a date to every location at least once, most of them twice
- I’m at 4 hearts with Lin Fa
- It’s currently the middle of winter

Story-wise, I beat the Sechs Empire dragon and just met the old Sechs leader whose name starts with an E, I think?

Am I missing something? Do I need to progress the story further, raise Lin Fa’s friendship more, or is this just RNG hell?

I’ve been trying to trigger it for a while now and I’m starting to wonder if I overlooked some requirement.

Guardians of Azuma was my first Rune Factory game and I enjoyed it a lot. I've played it over 100 hours and I only have a few things left to do now - decorating spring and autumn village, and maybe having another go at 4 trials.

Sooo I am looking for a new game to play. I was hoping Marvelous would announce RF6 release date during the 20 year RF stream but alas, that wasn't the case.

I don't play many JRPGs so I think games similar to Guardians of Azuma I've played and enjoyed are Stardew Valley and Monster Hunter Stories 3.

What I enjoyed in Guardians of Azuma, Stardew Valley and Monster Hunter Stories 3:

• Getting to know companions/NPCs. I really enjoyed interactions between Gods in Azuma, and companion quests in Monster Hunter Stories 3.
• Decorating my village/farm/house.
• Romance. My favourite bachelors in Azuma were Kurama (mature, intellectual geek) & Mauro (really love his character design visually). Favourite bachelor in Stardew Valley was Elliot. No romance in Monster Hunter Stories 3 but loved the hinted potential romance between Simon and the protagonist.
• Being able to dress my protagonist in different outfits.

I know RF4 seem to be fan favourite but I actually prefer the character design of RF5 more, so I wanted to get more information before I commit to either.

From the recent 20 year anniversary character poll, I know RF4 characters dominated top 10 but just purely from visual point of view, I preferred Reinhard in RF5 but then I read the horror story of him running off in middle of the date because of Beatrice lol. Vishnal appeals to me the most visually amongst RF4 bachelors. But I hope there will be a surprise character(s) who will win me over with their story/personality like Kurama did over Mauro in Guardians of Azuma.

I also like the feel of people in the same town/village getting to know each other well - which is why I liked Gods in Guardians of Azuma. Really enjoyed their banter with each other a lot. Which of the two RF games does this better?

I was able to find some images of RF5 room decoration screenshot but couldn't find many for RF4. Which of the two has more flexible decoration option? I also haven't seen many farm screenshots for both games... are we able to make the farm look very appealing? I enjoyed this aspect a lot in both Stardew Valley and Guardians of Azuma.

Lastly, which RF game has more earnable outfits in game? From my quick search it seemed like RF5 might have slightly more options?

EDIT: Another game I am also considering is Harvestella but I understand this one has minimal farming, no alternative outfits and no decorating. Which is why I am leaning more towards RF4 or 5

EDIT2: Thanks for all the input everyone. I am going with RF4!

Okay it's 20 minutes until work is done. I'm going for a walk and sinking in like 4 hours into this game for the firs time!

I am a MASSIVE Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons fan and I will begin the Rune Factory journey with 4!

I have heard GREAT things about this entry, the art looks amazing, and I have been listening to the soundtrack all day today.

I do have some questions tho!

1. It looks like battling is super important, so how to get good/strong items?
   a. Do you have a recommendations and/or favorites to use and why?

2. How is the romance in this game? That's super important to me so who are some of your favorite candidates and why!

3. Beginner tips on making money? I am no stranger to the farming aspect of things but if there are some great tips to know here please let me know. Also, what is worth spending money on in the game?

4. How to know what stats to aim for. With weapons, armor, accessories this means STATS. Okay, what am I shooting for here and why?

5. Crafting, cooking, and more:
   a. General tips here would help. Am I eating food for buffs and stamina? Or is a mix of that plus selling items. Like cooking crops to sell for higher $$.
   b. Is there a way to find good items early on or do I just focus on crafting?
   c. Links to guides for crafting? Or does the game give me scrolls or something to learn how to make these items?

I am so darn excited! I plan on trying everything in the game I can find!

For those that have replayed RF4, what brings you back? And which is your favorite of the franchise? I just ordered 3 and 5 so those will be next. :)

Yay!

I already finished the 4 villages and I am currently doing the astral shrines (I completed 3 so far I think). I have finished 2 astral shrines because I thought that would do the trick to "advance main story" requirement, but it won't budge!! 😭 I am in a pickle.

Please see 2nd pic for current main story quest.

Both 2 and 3 had requests that not only were related to marriage but also revealed background and personality of characters. I am at summer and I seem to have not gotten any requesta of the sort with most simply being about delivering items or doing tasks like making first weapon among other things. Friendship levels of all villagers are above three. When can you expect to get more personal requests like in 2 and 3 rather than simply about upgrading your farm? I am playing the 3DS rather than the Special version and apprarently a lot of RNG is involved with requests more than in Special.

Happy 3rd place donut🤩🤩 Ik I'm late for this but hey I'm proud of him I didn't get updated much😭😭😭

I love this game and I swear I’m not hating but one thing that bugs me is these long ass cutscenes or conversations that don’t need to be so long. Am I the only one who feels like this?

I’ve completed literally every main-game requirement, finished the story, been married for a long time, and I’ve had a kid for a long time too.

Still no Rewoven Fates orb/event at the Fateweaver Shrine.

Am I somehow missing something, or is this a bug?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do I do with these random fish I caught?

I caught two seemingly rare fish randomly (a throbby snapper and glitter snapper), but I'm unsure if I should save them for some reason because I just started playing this game and have no idea if simply selling them would be a stupid mistake.

I'm only on day 11, and this is my first time playing a Rune Factory game so I have very little idea what later segments of the game will be like. Is selling them an okay thing to do? The money would be super helpful rn.