Thoughts/experiences with Harvest Moon/Rune Factory series on DS/3DS?

ck76

ck76

CAGiversary!
Think this is right place. I was wanting a RPG fix of some sort on the go and noticed Natsume was still going strong on the DS with the Harvest Moon series and had developed Rune Factory as a sort of spin off as well.

So, question. Should I start at particular one? Is one of either series the defining one? I mean, if I could only buy one, which would it be? Also, should I wait for 3DS versions at this point (I am planning on getting a 3DS, the XL one, this holiday) since I am jumping in late?

Any help is appreciated and of course, if you know a place to get them cheap for this CAG, many thanks folks.
 
So have you never actually played a HM game before? Well, if you want a series defining game, I'd recommend the original on the SNES (probably Virtual Console as well) or Friends of Mineral Town on the GBA. Those are generally considered the best "traditional" HM games. These days they all have some sort of gimmick, like multiple towns, a bazaar system, or an achievement system. I can't recommend you a specific DS entry as I haven't played any, but I can tell you which to avoid:

Harvest Moon DS -- Tons of bugs, but they were all fixed for the girl version.
Tale of Two Towns 3D -- Buggy port of the DS version.
Island of Happiness -- Has terrible touch controls so just get Sunshine Islands which is basically an improved version with traditional controls.

As for the RF series... Well, out of the portable entries I've only played RF3, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and many consider it the best in the series (I personally prefer Tides of Destiny on PS3/Wii). RF1 is a solid game as well I hear, but RF2 has massive amounts of slowdown and a terrible localization.

Honestly, these games are all so similar that you can't really go wrong with any of them unless there's technical issues holding them back. I personally recommend going to Fogu.com, the definitive HM resource, and reading up on each of these games and figuring out which one appeals to you most.
 
I can't speak for the recent Harvest Moons, but Rune Factory is one of my favorite series right now. There is a tiny bit of continuity between them since they all take place in the same world, but you can start with any one.

My favorite of the bunch is Rune Factory 3, which has the best cast (even the main heroine; I usually find her a touch pushy and annoying in other RFs, but not in 3) and a well put-together story.

Rune Factory 4 is coming out for the 3DS in Japan this summer, but a US release hasn't been announced yet, AFAIK.
 
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After you play Rune Factory, you may have a hard time enjoying traditional Harvest Moon games. Rune Factory takes the best elements of HM, but adds in dungeon-crawling. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Rune Factory when I played it.
 
^ I've played both but I think I enjoy the normal Harvest Moons better, that said, I have most of them on DS/3DS and have enjoyed each one, they all usually have something unique about them and other then recurring characters in some of them it doesn't really matter which one you play first. Harvest Moon DS is probably the worst out of the bunch though.
 
[quote name='Axersia']So have you never actually played a HM game before? Well, if you want a series defining game, I'd recommend the original on the SNES (probably Virtual Console as well) or Friends of Mineral Town on the GBA. Those are generally considered the best "traditional" HM games. These days they all have some sort of gimmick, like multiple towns, a bazaar system, or an achievement system. I can't recommend you a specific DS entry as I haven't played any, but I can tell you which to avoid:

Harvest Moon DS -- Tons of bugs, but they were all fixed for the girl version.
Tale of Two Towns 3D -- Buggy port of the DS version.
Island of Happiness -- Has terrible touch controls so just get Sunshine Islands which is basically an improved version with traditional controls.

As for the RF series... Well, out of the portable entries I've only played RF3, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and many consider it the best in the series (I personally prefer Tides of Destiny on PS3/Wii). RF1 is a solid game as well I hear, but RF2 has massive amounts of slowdown and a terrible localization.

Honestly, these games are all so similar that you can't really go wrong with any of them unless there's technical issues holding them back. I personally recommend going to Fogu.com, the definitive HM resource, and reading up on each of these games and figuring out which one appeals to you most.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I should have clarified.
I have played Harvest Moon on SNES, N64 and NGC. I have never played it on a handheld.
I have never played the Rune Factory series, but it looked really appealing to me. I am a big JRPG fan (I have games such as Golden Sun, Dragon Quest, etc. on my DS).

Great response! Very helpful and thought out. Thank you sir.
 
[quote name='blueshinra']I can't speak for the recent Harvest Moons, but Rune Factory is one of my favorite series right now. There is a tiny bit of continuity between them since they all take place in the same world, but you can start with any one.

My favorite of the bunch is Rune Factory 3, which has the best cast (even the main heroine; I usually find her a touch pushy and annoying in other RFs, but not in 3) and a well put-together story.

Rune Factory 4 is coming out for the 3DS in Japan this summer, but a US release hasn't been announced yet, AFAIK.[/QUOTE]

Another great response.

Given budget I am thinking go ahead with Rune Factory 3 at this point from feedback within the thread. This has all been very helpful.
 
[quote name='MoCiWe']^ I've played both but I think I enjoy the normal Harvest Moons better, that said, I have most of them on DS/3DS and have enjoyed each one, they all usually have something unique about them and other then recurring characters in some of them it doesn't really matter which one you play first. Harvest Moon DS is probably the worst out of the bunch though.[/QUOTE]

So, if you compared Grande Bazaar and Tale of Two Towns, which would you pick?
 
[quote name='ck76']So, if you compared Grande Bazaar and Tale of Two Towns, which would you pick?[/QUOTE]

Hmmmm, I enjoyed both of them. The Grand Bazaar doesn't have the mining feature which is usually one of my favorite features but it has the Bazaar which I find really fun. For Two Towns, I have the 3DS version which is more buggy then the DS and it also does freeze now and then, so the DS version is more stable. Grand Bazaar also does have a lot more time where you'll have nothing to do, so I'd say that Tales of Two Towns is better if you want a more traditional game but if you want to try a main series game that's a little different then try Grand Bazaar, but some of the shortcomings of it may bug you.
 
Heh, I understand sometimes it is not black and white with one being superior. I think I will try Two Towns on the DS and see how that one goes. Thank you for all your help.
 
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