NeoCracker

Harvest Moon may have been a well know series, but it's one most gamers have shied away from, finding the very concept of a farming simulator to be a waste of time.

So when Rune Factory first came out, a spin off of the Harvest Moon franchise, it flew under most gamers radars entirely, yet still managed to gain it's own little solid and growing fan base, spreading out from it's DS roots and landing on the Nintendo Wii with Rune Factory Frontier.

The series latest installment, Rune Factory 3, I would argue to be the funnest one to date. It features a wide cast of interesting characters, personal favorites of mine being Karina, Sophia, and Pia.

The main draw of the characters and world in Rune Factory 3 is just how delightfully bizarre it can get, all while you're main character is basically the pillar of reason in the world (Pia being the polar opposite pillar of WTF.)

The game actually encourages you to rotate fields as well, which to anyone who doesn't play these games will likely wonder just why this is cool, and any one who does play them will go 'well that's pretty rad'.

One of the key adjustments to the game play this time around is the ability to gain the assistance of townsfolk in the dungeon. Once they like you enough, you can begin bringing them in with you where they will gain levels just as you do, and you can change their weapon and accessory so they will become a more useful ally.

On top of it the voice acting is pretty solid. It may not be amazing, but considering it's a rather niche' game, it's something to be mentioned.

The weak part here is the games actual plot. It's really not that interesting by the end. They do a fairly good job and building you up to the payoff, but the payoff itself is lackluster. The growth of the individual relationships with the people in town is far more rewarding then completing the story.

The actual dungeon crawling elements are just as solid as they have ever been, and actually feel a bit smother then before. Nothing major has changed, but it does manage to alter just enough to keep fresh.

On a whole, this is a solid game, and worth checking out for any fan of the series, or just for anyone wanting to try a different type of game.