September2023
Review Rune Factory 3 Special (Switch) - The Same Great Farm Sim/RPG, Though 'Special' Is A Stretch
Another day of sun
Being a Rune Factory fan has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the past several years. After Rune Factory 4 launched in 2013, the games went on hiatus for nearly a decade, with the fate of the series itself being pretty up in the air for most of that wait. Against all odds, and after a change in development teams and rights...
February2020
Review Rune Factory 4 Special - The Definitive Version Of A Series Classic
"You're always welcome here"
The Harvest Moon series made quite a name for itself when it first released on the SNES in 1996, trading the typical combat-centric trappings of an RPG in favour of a much more laid-back and slower-paced focused on farming. Many sequels would follow in the coming years, and on the tenth anniversary, Marvelous produced an...
November2014
Review Lufia: The Legend Returns (3DS eShop / GBC)
The legend isn't feeling so good
Young Wain is the protector of his small village; it’s not a tough gig, with just the occasional blob-creature to slash on the outskirts, but things are about to change. As a spiritual force awakens inside him, the powerful Sinistrels re-emerge to release a threat of “unseen terror on the land”. His bloodline...
October2011
Review Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
Farm-assured prime cut
Thanks to Rising Star Games, gamers in Europe have finally caught up on the Rune Factory series — until Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny launches on Wii in North America next week, that is. Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon on DS is the third and so far final portable instalment in the Harvest Moon spin-off, and the...
October2010
Review Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals (DS)
A brilliant retelling of a classic RPG
When the original Lufia 2 was released on the Super Nintendo, it came rather late in the console's lifespan and with very little fanfare. Sadly, this meant that many gamers missed out on one of the true RPG gems to come out of the 16-bit era. Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals is a complete re-imagining of Lufia 2,...
April2010
Review Rune Factory: Frontier (Wii)
Everyone could use a good plough
If there’s one thing guaranteed to liven up a good hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, it’s a bit of farming. There’s many a Zelda game that could have been saved with a bit of ploughing, yet the combination has been mostly ignored by cultivators of digital goods, with only the snack-sized Rune Factory on DS...
April2009
Review Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Super Nintendo)
Lufia II might not be as recognizable as some of the bigger name Super Nintendo RPGs, but that doesn't mean it packs any less of a punch.
If it's one thing the Super Nintendo System had a lot of, it was RPGs. Some were good, some were bad, and some were outstanding. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals would fall into the latter category. Not only does...
March2009
Review Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
Use the hoe!
For years, Natsume’s Harvest Moon series has been repeating the same old formula – grow crops, brush cows, get married and live happily ever after. The first DS release was the snappy Harvest Moon DS, which lazily reused graphics from GBA’s Friends of Mineral Town (FoMT) and the town and characters from the Cube’s A Wonderful...
