Rune Factory 5

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Rune Factory 5
Developer(s)Hakama
Publisher(s)Xseed Games
Producer(s)Yoshifumi Hashimoto
Artist(s)
Composer(s)Tomoko Morita
SeriesRune Factory
Platform(s)
ReleaseNintendo Switch
  • JP: May 20, 2021
  • NA: March 22, 2022
  • EU: March 25, 2022
Windows
  • WW: July 13, 2022
Genre(s)Role-playing, simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Rune Factory 5[a] is a role-playing simulation video game developed and published by Marvelous. The first entry in the Rune Factory series since 2012's Rune Factory 4, it was released for the Nintendo Switch in Japan in May 2021 and worldwide by Xseed Games in 2022, including a Windows port.

Plot[edit]

A hero (whose gender—male or female—and name—Ares or Alice by default—can be chosen by the player)[1] loses their memory and after saving a young girl named Hina from monsters, ends up joining SEED, a group of rangers operating in the small town of Rigbarth. The hero is encouraged to tend the land and complete tasks for the townspeople, as well as battle monsters in order to maintain the peace. They also meet Livia, SEED"s captain, and Scarlett, a SEED ranger. After helping to rescue Hina's mother, the hero helps Scarlett capture a thief named Oswald, but he escapes. After finding him again, they learn that he is partnered with a dragon, but it quickly turns on him. After Oswald willingly turns himself in, he gives them info in exchange for his freedom: SEED (revealed to have been founded after the destruction of the Sechs Empire) is doing more than protecting innocents as its warden Gideon, revealed to have been the one who freed him, has ulterior motives and that Oswald himself was a pawn. The hero resigns from SEED upon hearing this. Oswald later requests their help in rescuing a friend of his after SEED raided his hideout, revealed to be a girl named Ludmilla. Along the way, the hero encounters a girl who bears a grudge against them as she believes they killed her sister; she is also revealed to be the dragon from earlier. After rescuing Ludmilla, Oswald convinces her to stay in Rigbarth. Once the hero tells Livia about the dragon, Livia reveals that she herself is a dragon and that the dragon that they encountered is her younger sister Radea, who is being used by Gideon. While helping Livia regain her powers, the hero regains a part of their memory that reveals that they were part of unleashing Livia. After dealing with three rune disturbances, a black mist appears and begins draining the townsfolks of their memories and runes; this is revealed to be Radea's doing. The hero confronts and defeats Radea before they are rescued by Livia. Once back in Rigbarth, they explain the truth to Radea. In turn, she reveals that Gideon used her and Oswald to drain people of their free will by absorbing runes so he can control them; however, she does not know where his hideout is. The hero rejoins SEED and locates Oswald for help and he explains that Gideon's lair is in the sky, but powerful defenses prevent anyone from getting close. The hero request the help of a god named Lucas to create a portal to Gideon's lair after they help restore his powers. Radea accompanies them to get revenge on Gideon for tricking her, but they are overpowered and Gideon escapes with Radea. Livia believes that Gideon is being manipulated by an evil entity called the Fathomless Dread. Again requesting help from Lucas to locate Gideon, he opens a portal there, even after revealing that he isn't supposed to interfere in mortal affairs. Upon catching up to Gideon, he reveals the truth behind his plot: he wants to create world peace by controlling people's will after seeing the chaos that happened after the Sechs Empire collapsed. After defeating Gideon, Livia reveals that he is controlled by the Fathomless Dread so that he can unknowingly help free it from its prison and he breaks free from its control. It then takes control of Radea and triggers an explosion that rips open a hole leading to its prison, with Gideon sacrificing himself to save the others. Entering the Fathomless Dread's prison, they find Radea unconscious before proceeding to fight the Fathomless Dread. Although the hero manages to defeat it, the entity merges with them and intends to use their body to escape. Lucas contacts them through a portal and the townsfolks struggle to free them from the Fathomless Dread's control, eventually succeeding with Livia and Radea's help. With the Fathomless Dread destroyed for good, the group return home.

Gameplay[edit]

The female main character tills a field of radishes with a hoe.

As with previous games in the series, gameplay features the ability to farm and tame monsters. Players can also form social connections with the game's townsfolk, including ones with bachelors or bachelorettes leading to marriage.[1]

The game's crafting system allows players to create new equipment. Crafting items costs Rune Power, which is replenished each day, and the player character must consume "recipe bread" items to randomly gain recipes to craft new items.[2] The player can cook food with or without recipes, though cooking food without a recipe costs more Rune Power than if the player uses a recipe.[2]

Development[edit]

Following the success of Rune Factory 4, series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto commented that the development of a sequel was expected.[3] However, after Rune Factory developer Neverland Co. declared bankruptcy in 2013, the future of the series was left uncertain.[4] In 2014, Marvelous AQL stated that they had hired former Rune Factory developers, including Hashimoto, to develop Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven. Hashimoto left his executive officer role in 2018 and opened a new studio under Marvelous called Hakama, where he went to work on Rune Factory 4 Special and Rune Factory 5.[5][6]

The game was announced in February 2019 and was planned to be released in 2020 before being delayed.[7] It was released in Japan on May 20, 2021, in North America on March 22, 2022, and in Europe three days later.[8][9] A Windows version was released on July 13, 2022.[10]

Localization[edit]

Xseed Games, who handled the game's localization, worked closely with the game's developers, providing feedback on how overseas players would likely respond to the game. Xseed was asked by the developers to help create a design document for a same-sex marriage feature in the game, which is an unusual amount of involvement in the game's development for a localization company.[11] The same-sex marriage feature was available in the global releases at launch, and added to the Japanese version later.[12]

Reception[edit]

Rune Factory 5 received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[13][14] It was praised for its combat system, gameplay, and characters,[27][28][21][22] but criticized for its graphics and a lack of innovation to the series' formula.[2][29] The Switch version was also criticized for its technical performance.[29][30]

Sales[edit]

In Japan, the Nintendo Switch version of Rune Factory 5 debuted with 102,853 physical copies sold, making it the bestselling retail game during its first week of release.[31] Total worldwide shipments and digital sales surpassed 500,000 copies as of March 2022.[32]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Japanese: ルーンファクトリー5, Hepburn: Rūn Fakutorī 5

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "The Stage is Set for a New Adventure; Marvelous Europe to launch Rune Factory 5 in 2021". Marvelous Europe. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Valentine, Rebekah (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 Review". IGN. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Rune Factory 4 Sales Cross 150,000 In Japan". Siliconera. September 28, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  4. ^ Engen, Josh (November 30, 2013). "Rune Factory Developer Declares Bankruptcy". The Escapist. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "Story of Seasons producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto opens new studio Hakama under Marvelous". Gematsu. July 24, 2018.
  6. ^ HAKAMAさん。 [@hkm_info] (February 25, 2020). "The day has finally arrived… We're so glad to share this with our fans! Thanks for waiting. #RuneFactory4 Special! Now available! Love you guys! Yoshifumi Hashimoto & Minako Iwasaki HAKAMA Inc" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Gilliam, Ryan (February 13, 2019). "Rune Factory 5 in the works as Rune Factory 4 heads to Switch". Polygon. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "Rune Factory 5 launches May 20, 2021 in Japan; new details, trailer, and screenshots". Gematsu. October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Romano, Sal (September 23, 2021). "Rune Factory 5 launches March 22, 2022 in North America, March 25 in Europe". Gematsu. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "Rune Factory 5 is coming to PC on July 13". Destructoid. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Lada, Jenni (April 4, 2022). "Interview: Localizing Rune Factory 5's Characters". Siliconera. Gamurs. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Hashimoto, Kazuma (November 15, 2021). "Rune Factory 5 Update Patch Adds Same-Sex Marriage to Japanese Version". Siliconera. Gamurs. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Rune Factory 5 for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Rune Factory for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  15. ^ Andriessen, CJ (March 22, 2022). "Review: Rune Factory 5". Destructoid. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  16. ^ Wallace, Kimberley (April 1, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 Review". Game Informer. GameStop Corp. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  17. ^ Faulkner, Jason (July 11, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 PC Review: 'Blows away the Switch release'". GameRevolution. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  18. ^ Swalley, Kirstin (March 22, 2022). "Review: Rune Factory 5". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  19. ^ Escribano, Javier (March 22, 2022). "Análisis Rune Factory 5 en Nintendo Switch, un paraíso poco acogedor" [Rune Factory 5 Review on Nintendo Switch, an unwelcoming paradise]. HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Axel Springer SE. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  20. ^ Morell, Miguel Olmedo (March 24, 2022). "Rune Factory 5, Análisis. La vida tranquila en el campo" [Rune Factory 5 Review. The quiet life in the country]. MeriStation (in Spanish). Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Vogel, Mitch (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  22. ^ a b de Freitas, Alex (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  23. ^ Masem, Matt (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 Review". RPGamer. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  24. ^ Fakhoori, Niki (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5". RPGFan. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  25. ^ Dellafrana, Danilo (March 28, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 – Recensione" [Rune Factory 5 – Review]. The Games Machine (in German). Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  26. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (March 28, 2022). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Rune Factory 5' and 'Dark Deity', Plus Today's Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  27. ^ Bamsey, Ryan Thomas (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 Review - Comfortable And Familiar". TheGamer. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  28. ^ Billington, Mary (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 Review". Video Chums. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  29. ^ a b Vogel, Mitch (February 7, 2022). "Hands On: Rune Factory 5 Feels Comfortable And Familiar, But Is That Enough?". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  30. ^ Blereau, Eleanore (March 22, 2022). "Rune Factory 5 Review". WellPlayed. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  31. ^ Romano, Sal (May 27, 2021). "Famitsu Sales: 5/17/21 – 5/23/21". Gematsu. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  32. ^ "Rune Factory 5 shipments and digital sales top 500,000". Gematsu. May 12, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

External links[edit]

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