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Need help deciding... (Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, etc.)

What should I play?

  • Replay Stardew Valley!

    Votes: 6 11.8%

  • Pick up Friends of Mineral Town!

    Votes: 12 23.5%

  • Dive into Rune Factory 4!

    Votes: 24 47.1%

  • Take a chance on Sakuna!

    Votes: 6 11.8%

  • Wait for Pioneers of Olive Town!

    Votes: 2 3.9%

  • Light of Hope is your only hope!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Something else?

    Votes: 1 2.0%
  • Total voters
    51
LossAversion

LossAversion

The Merchant of ERA
Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,664
Okay so, I really need a relaxing game to play right now but I'm having trouble deciding what to go with. I've got $50 to spend on the eShop.

Before anyone makes these recommendations, I have played Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest Builders, and My Time At Portia quite a bit! So the options that I am looking at are...

Stardew Valley -
I already own Stardew Valley. In fact, I loved it so much that I bought it on PS4 and Switch. I got really addicted to this game when I first played it but I never really made it past the first year of in-game time. I feel like there is a lot of game left for me to explore here but I would have to restart and I'm not sure if it would be as stimulating or relaxing the second time through, considering that I know the characters already.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town -
This one is on sale right now on the eShop and it looks very charming. I know that this is a remake of a classic that I never played but I also know that Stardew Valley was greatly inspired by this series. I'm worried that it would feel very "been there, done that" after putting so much time into Stardew Valley. I just have to wonder if Stardew is a better version of this game or if it has a charm of its own. The idea of a more focused and simplistic version of Stardew does have its appeal to me though.

Rune Factory 4 -
I own this game already but I haven't played too much of it. I like the setup but it does seem a little more focused on combat and town management than the other options so far. Maybe a bit less focused overall and doesn't offer the same laid back vibes. I didn't get the sense that you would be customizing your own house, room, character, etc. as much as you do in the other farm/sim games. I could be totally wrong though since I don't know much about the series. I own it so there'd be no harm in diving in now. I did like the characters from the little that I played.

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin -
I've had my eyes on this one since it was announced but I didn't actually see how well it was received. I don't even know how comparable it is to these other titles but I am curious to know what people thought of it. It's not on sale so it would be a bit more risky than Friends of Mineral Town. Also curious to know if the Switch version has any glaring issues.

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town -
I could hold off until this game is released in march because it looks fantastic. It seems to have a lot more going on than Friends of Mineral Town... even stuff like taking pictures of animals which reminded me of Pokemon Snap. Of course... I would have to wait until march and we don't know how this game is going to turn out.

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope -
Just kidding. I know that these newer Harvest Moon games are just a lesser version of the Story of Seasons games. Gotta say though, the visuals and music in the trailer for this game are quite off-putting.
 
Last edited:
ShyMel

ShyMel

Moderator
Oct 31, 2017
3,483
The player characters in Rune Factory are pretty set in stone, minus accessory changes and putting in a different name. The game does have a story beyond "restore the town" and certain things are locked behind plot progression. SoS:FoMT definitely has less systems than SV, but it is a remake of one of the beloved games in the series and more relaxing to me personally. SoS:PoOT will definitely be closer to the 3DS SoS games as customization was big in those games compared to the FoMT remake.
 
OP
OP
LossAversion

LossAversion

The Merchant of ERA
Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,664
ShyMel said:
The player characters in Rune Factory are pretty set in stone, minus accessory changes and putting in a different name. The game does have a story beyond "restore the town" and certain things are locked behind plot progression. SoS:FoMT definitely has less systems than SV, but it is a remake of one of the beloved games in the series and more relaxing to me personally. SoS:PoOT will definitely be closer to the 3DS SoS games as customization was big in those games compared to the FoMT remake.
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Hmm, thanks for the info. Maybe I'll dive into Rune Factory 4 now and see how Pioneers turns out!
 

Mudo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,115
Tennessee
Rune Factory 4
Or replay Stardew which will be getting the huge 1.5 update on consoles "soon".
You haven't seen close to everything if you only played 1 year and not yet new update!

Pioneers will be great
RF5 will be great

so either wait a bit or if you want something right now I suggest RF4 til the Stardew update is out on consoles
 
chrominance

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,596
I can only really comment on Rune Factory 4 and Sakuna (and haven't played a lot of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons/Stardew Valley so tough for me to make comparisons as well), but I think I can address some of your questions.

Rune Factory 4 is more about farming and combat, yes. Town management I don't think is as much of a thing; the townsfolk and their jobs are pretty static, though of course you'll run errands for people and whatnot. I don't recall a lot of customization of your home, but obviously you can set up your farm the way you want. Since you already own it, it's kind of a no-brainer to me; I didn't 100% complete it (apparently there's a thing after the second credits sequence or whatever that I never got to?) but I really enjoyed my time with the 3DS version, and I think you'll probably like it too.

Sakuna is very different from Rune Factory and the other farming sims mentioned above, in that there is essentially no town. You literally just have the farm and combat, and the two systems tie directly into each other: there's no traditional experience system because farming is how you level up your character, for example. This means you get one big stat boost every year, and how big that boost is is entirely dependent on how well you tended to your rice harvest that year. Conversely, combat gets you through the story, but it also provides valuable ingredients for fertilizer as well as food for your crew, which can be especially important in the early years when your harvests are small and just staying fed is difficult.

Sakuna's been pretty well received, and was surprisingly popular in Japan at launch (and I think elsewhere as well). The hype seems to have cooled a bit in the circles I travel in, but I've been playing it myself and it's still good 15 hours in. Regarding the Switch version, the only real issue it has is the farming sections are all 30fps in handheld, but you don't really need high framerates in the farming sections and the combat is 60fps so no worries there. I've had no problems with it personally and I think it's a great Switch game, though if you're a huge stickler for image quality then maybe consider PC/PS4 instead. It's not bad on Switch by any stretch, but if you look closely you will notice a difference.

Since you don't own it already, I'd probably wait for a sale or until you run out of cozy games to play, but you should pick it up at some point because I think it's a great game.
 
AlexFlame116

AlexFlame116

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 17, 2017
23,177
Utah
I am a huge fan of RF4 but due to Friends of Mineral Town being one of my favorite games of all time, I'm gonna have to go with SoS: Friends of Mineral Town. I love both games so much. Even though lots of people don't like the art style and name changes of the SoS version, I still love the game itself.
 
MP!

MP!

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,198
Las Vegas
LossAversion said:
How would you say that it compares to Stardew Valley, if you're played both?
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I love stardew
Stardew has more engaging interactions with townspeople and a wider variety of stuff to do but one thing I didn't like is the time never stops so you always feel pressured to be moving or do something and it's a bit more stressful I guess you could say
Friends of mineral town is based on the best harvest moon "back to nature" well it's based on a GBA version of the ps1 game anyway and as I said the formula it has was pretty much the peak of the series...
It is however a clean yet cutesey chibi kind of art style, and a bit less interesting relationship wise ... but I think the farming is top notch ... and this new version has added things like different types of cows, chickens, sheep and alpacas? It's a simpler game I thing which is a good thing in my eyes... both games are great
If you've already played stardew then it might be nice to play friends of mineral town it will scratch that itch just as well and provide a different experience for you
 
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