New Releases

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma – A Harmonious Blend of Tradition and Innovation

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, the 8th fantasy Action-RPG life-sim, arrives with anime graphics. A 'Celestial Collapse' devastates Azuma. Play as Subaru/Kaguya to restore Azuma, revive gods, and rebuild villages. Features robust combat, Sacred Treasures, and 12+ romanceable characters.

Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma

Return to the popular franchise: Rune Factory, a fantasy farm/life simulation game series, returns with the latest entry, Rune Factory 5. Since its debut way back since 2006, Rune factory had been feeding series fanatics their craving that keep the fans stick with continuity of the second chapter. This will be 8th released game of series. No, it is not a main series game but an offshoot which is indeed the 3rd game of it (so far).

The game Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma editions the gameplay that is iconic with real world stimulations, bringing the best and most loved mechanics of prior titles to loyal fans. The game also features animation-style graphics rendering, which is also another attracting point for anime fans and has become the linchpin of its popularit.

Story and Setting

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Story and Setting

GameplayIt is a game that tells an adventurous and fantastic story: on the earth, the peaceful beings are once again facing terrible destruction. Every year, the Celestials' descendants return as monsters in a event called "Celestial Collapse". This catastrophic crash blasted the shattered remnants of the planet in all directions through high heaven and it's ruins sunk beneath the depths.

This "Celestial Collapse" cut off the power of runes. Making matters worse, the gods of the nature disappeared in mystery, and the order itself went into chaos. Mountains began to erode, fields dried up, buildings and roads collapsed, trees fell over, rivers found new paths causing floods and the colors of life began to disappear. The Earth itself was devastated and fear, a terrible hopelessness tumbled down its back from all the earthlings who believed they would not even achieve a peaceful death to escape this.

The story opens with the player (Subaru or Kaguya) awakening in a dragon shrine in Spring Village from the white and black dragon dream. They discover that six months ago they crash-landed there and are told to clean the shrine by Iroha, the owner. They then encounter the village chief, Sakaki, and Suzu (Iroha's sister) after performing a dance. Azuma, Sakaki explains, has been a mess since the Celestial Collapse 50 years ago that drained the world of runes and prevented them from blossoming into the sacred tree. The desert is a barren valleyvillage and population are degenerating through exhaustion of the land.

The player is visited by a vision of Ulalaka, who identifies the player as an Earth Dancer and hands them a magical drum. They wake up to a winged pet Mokoshiro (dubbed Woolby), who is an offspring of the dragon god Mihoshi Habaki, and the player's companion. Their dream is interrupted by the black dragon, which attacks a village and creates plants that absorb life energy (Blight) across its surrounding area. Hina (an archaeologist) and Mauro (a tomb robber) show up in an airship, combat the dragon and send it running after learning from the player that to shoot its horns. Sakaki orders the sacred tree to be destroyed, but the player revives it with drumming, and Ulalaka is freed. She asks them for help in repairing the village, and Woolby rewards her by lending them a Terra Tiller to do farm work as well, which restores Ulalaka's powers. Sakaki appoints the player as the village chief.

The player then assists in locating two missing villagers, Takumi (a carpenter) and Kihachi (a blacksmith), who have both been turned into monsters by Blight. They are then defeated and the other restored by Murasame. Takumi assists in the construction of buildings for the village and a forge is constructed by and for Kihachi. Throughout the game, players get requests to build weapons, go on dates or decorate town and enhance scenery. They also fix the dragon shrine and bridge. They encounter an eggplant lover named Yoichi. When the shrine is constructed, Woolby shows his real self... the white dragon in the dream. Ulalaka then tells the player to visit the three other seasonal towns to rescue the other gods and resurrect Azuma. A flashback shows Azuma being devastated by a meteorite-like object prior to the Celestial Collapse.

In Summer Village, villagers also ask the player's help to capturing Woolby. They encounter Kusatsu (innkeeper), Tsubame (merchant), and Hisui (fortune teller). They discover that Matsuri, a summer god and swordmaster, has gone missing in the wake of the volcano becoming dormant and no longer producing hot springs. Matsuri shows the player character in a dream, saying that she had to retrieve her stolen sword from the shrine. Upon defeating the Spectral Warrior: Thief, they retrieve the broken sword and have Kihachi repair it. After returning the sword to the shrine, the player dances to resurrect Matsuri and make the volcano erupt. Fed up with the villagers and Woolby, Matsuri helps the player fight off attacking monsters. With the village restored and himself as the new chief, the player opens up the hot springs.

In Autumn Village the player meets Kotaro, a shape-shifting tanuki and Yachiyo, a tanuki girl. They hear all about Kurama, the god of autumn, and the Mikoshi Melee festival. A mysterious man Cuiliang, tells a brief history of Mihoshi Habaki. The player will be visited in a dream by Kurama, who tells them to halt the Mikoshi Melee and presents them with a Sacred Fan. The player has to get Kurama's lost mikoshi back from a thief-in-cahoots Kotaro, again per Kurama. At the festival, the player dances to coax Kurama back to life but instead they release a Great Storm Tengu, who is Kurama in disguise. With them defeated, Kurama then returns wind to the village and the player assumes their role as a new chief of the town while also coming to learn about monster taming.

Winter Village is frozen over. Along the way, the player encounters Pilika (a hunter) and Zaza (a dwarf blacksmith). Pilika confuses Woolby and Kamurosaki, a deity in the form of the shapeshifter she tracks. They hear from Waterase, a fisher, of a wolf that did not bite him. The player dreams of the winter god, who presents him with a Sacred Parasol and requests to be slain. The player discovers the wolf is actually Fubuki, a winter god transformed by the Blight and he wants to be released. After the wolf is vanquished, the player prevents her from killing it and manages to restore Fubuki back to his human form. The player is asked by Fubuki to return water back to the land and melt the ice. The player is now the new chief.

The player is told by Ulalaka to break down these walls around the Celestial Collapse area by activating the gods' seasonal shrines in sky doing a ceremonial dance. They confront the black dragon (and other main character from their dream) after breaking through the first barrier and they also run away. At a conference with the four gods, the player hears about Earth Dancers, meeting the black dragon and that there are two additional gods. Murasame overhears and is confronted by Matsuri, who loses, which leads to the gods to request the player's assistance in helping them regain their full powers through various activities and side quests.

Innovative Gameplay Mechanics

Sacred Treasures:
The sacred treasures are multi use tools that are handed to the hero by the gods while traveling running in key points on his/her journey or can be earned as rewards. They can be found after some events (like victory in combat challenge, exploration or farm win). Every sacred treasure gives unique elemental abilities to the hero whenever they are collected and enables the player to open new combat dances and divine powers. Among them are: – The Sacred Parasol, which let you glide, water crops and summon down lightning – The Sacred Drums to make your crops grow faster or heal your allies
Combat System: Various functions have been added, including pinpoint target attacks that are triggered when focused on an enemy and a gauge that causes a powerful trait release attack once filled. A dodge at the right moment triggers Bullet Time, slowing foes for counterattacks.
Village Restoration: Players restore life to and manage farms, villages, castles, and in some cases entire towns by mastering both traditional farming as well as new elements such as villagers who live in the village that can help grow crops or renovate.

Characters

Players revitalize and run farms, villages, castles, and even towns by mastering the challenges of traditional farming as well as new areas thanks to local villagers who have plenty of options for growing crops and other resources they need all around them.