Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma

Steam Reviews

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• Recommended Posted June 5, 2025 on Steam I don't usually review games, but seeing some of the negative reviews made me want to state just a couple thoughts. For new players: this game is pretty high quality. The visuals, music, voice acting, and plot all feel good. The combat isn't complex but it is satisfying and the farming is much more simplified than the usual RF game. I think this game is a great entry for new players and imo feels more cohesive than the other RF games which sometimes feel like different systems are being piled on top of you. This game focuses more on townbuilding, story, and relationships. If you're looking specifically for in depth farming, crafting, or even combat (if youre expecting difficult or very complex combat), I would say to just be understanding of what you're getting into as while those aspects do exist in this game, they're definitely not the point and are absolutely more simplistic than games which have it as a big selling point. For old time RF fans: this may not be the game you're looking for. Does it still feel like RF? I would say so. But it does take out some systems and simplify others. This is a spinoff. It is NOT Rune Factory 6. They're trying a lot of new things and this one focuses more on the social system while farming is taking a backseat. If you play RF mainly for the farming, I'd maybe recommend looking elsewhere. I absolutely recommend this as a standalone game. It's very good at what it's trying to accomplish and I know I'll spend many hours playing. However, as a RF game specifically, I think it will let down people in some aspects as it is a spinoff and doesn't have all the usual systems and goals. (Edit) Steam Deck users: Steam deck runs very well! I've only been playing on it and having a blast. High settings it still runs okay with only occasional slow down. For maximum performance I recommend medium settings and turning off depth of field.
• Recommended Posted July 20, 2025 on Steam I love this game to bits but can see why some people may prefer older entries in the series. I'll give you a quick rundown for [b]likes and dislikes[/b] for any fan of previous games: [h3]You will probably like this RF if:[/h3] - you like the whimsical humour of the previous entries. Yep, thats still there! - are super indecisive about who to marry. This game lets you create multiple alternative timelines where your story progress (and honestly any progress) stays the same, while your affection levels for the candidates reset, letting you marry everyone on one savefile... And you can freely go back and forth between those timelines where you married different characters. Oh this should be a permament feature of the series!! - you wished the combat was more refined. I think its very smooth and being able to swap to a secondary weapon on the fly is a huge plus. Also you can freely change gear on your party NPCs, begone the era of avoiding gifting a weapon in older games. - you always wanted your children to inherit the looks of your spouse. In this one even the were-human character's offsprings can sport animal ears or horns. Cute!! - you like the funny appearances of some accessories of hats in previous entries or liked giving those to NPCs. In this game you can freely change the appearance of your or your party's headgear and pauldrons, without the need to re-gift them. - you like callbacks to previous games. There are some mentions of previous RF games, mostly RF5, but there were nods to RF4 for example that i really liked. - you liked monster taming in previous games. it has improved in this one in my opinion, now you get 3 attempts at taming a monster after defeating it, much better than running around throwing food at them while trying to not die in previous entries. - you liked the party interaction in previous games. In this one there is party banter and I really am floored by how many interaction combinations are there. Even for side characters like Takumi, he has own interactions too. - you always wanted to decorate your towns. Here you can't really decorate an entire village, but you get a very sizeable space to put decorations in regardless. At first its just one zone per village but with the village levels you end up with several zones that are as big as the non-customizable village part. - you wished fast travel was better. In this entry we can teleport at any moment from out map to any development zone or dragon statue we have visited before. I never realized how much i needed that heh - you like collecting and environmental puzzles. The puzzles in some dunegons are simple but fun, there is some variety in them. The fields have.. a lot of stuff to collect. And i mean a lot. It doesnt really feel like a chore, it reminds me more of finding random chests in BOTW. - you wished the world was bigger. Well... I have to say I was floored in that regard. I thought this game will be like, a village+field+dungeons with entrances on said field. But, nope. There is basically a mini dungeons on the way to an actual dungeon in most (if not all) cases. I really liked that. I have to say i speeded through some mini dungeons and definitely have to revisit them to do the environmental puzzles and overall admire the level design. You will spend quite a few hours exploring the fields too, i assure you. - you want to have a same-sex marriage. Yep its possible from the start, and the romance cutscenes are voiced by both protagonists, so its great. The way they implemented having kids for such couples was also creative and reminded me a bit of japanese folklore. - you wanted more party members. You can have 6 party members in this one with 3 being active at a time. You can cycle through them freely though on the fly. [h3]You will probably not like this RF or be bugged by some elements if:[/h3] - you focused on crafting and doing all the fun crafting combos for weapons (im looking at you, the staff i made in RF4 that could make turnips rain from the sky), this is not really a thing here - you liked to snoop around villagers' homes or get their bed dialogues, those got axed, you don't really go inside buildings much in this game (it only bugged me at the start though) - you like your party members follow you everywhere. Sadly in this one your party will only follow you outside of the villages, which is bit sad as i liked to drag them to bathhouses in previous titles - you like the traditional way of farming. In this game the npcs do most of the farmwork for you HOWEVER with the release of July patch, you can now turn that option off, being able to fully solo farm on your fields. So its a minus turned into a plus? still worth mentioning imo. - you liked the variety of dialogues in RF4. Here sadly the dialogue variety isnt too big... Characters do react to story moments happening... weirdly even the farming npcs have reactions to the story. Still, wish there was more. - you like variety in outfits. Sadly the free basic game only has the basic attire, a yukata, a swimsuit, and a wedding attire. For some reason i've also received the RF4 outfit despite not owning a deluxe edition, maybe it's because I've owned RF4 on my steam account? Anyway if you want more you have to check nexus mods (there are a few, some for hair colour too!) or get the DLCs - you dislike management in games. Here you have to do a bit of that in order to make profits from your NPC villagers farming or trading. However I didnt really pay attention to it after the first season, as by then i just kept adding more fields and shops and it was alright from that point onward. - you liked the party interactions in previous games (yep im writing about it in both sections). Sadly in this game the party NPCs don't comment on happenings in story dungeons like in previous games (for example taking Forte to haunted mansion in RF4 can cause her to teleport out of it in an act of panic since she is scared of ghosts). I wish we had that here. - you liked sitting in a dungeon 24/7. You will automatically faint by 5am, which is eh, not great, but then again several important plot moments are tied to character's dreams, so i can see why they did it... Good news is that you can teleport anywhere at any point so, at least its less annoying when you can quickly teleport home, sleep, and then back to the dungeon checkpoint. At least there is no financial penalty for fainting. - you like seeing the seasons change. Nope, not a thing, seasons are tied to the area, sadly. At least you can live in any of the 4 villages but, its not the same of course. I wonder how would the winter village look in spring, for example. Since every village has its own climate, each of the seasons could look quite different there. Maybe winter would be very mellow in summer village and harsh in winter village... Well sad its such a missed opportunity All in all, its a fun game, I'm super annoyed it wasn't advertised more. I feel the passion devs put into this game, i hope it sells well...
• Recommended Posted June 9, 2025 on Steam If you want the quick and dirty, Guardians of Azuma is a good Rune Factory game with an incredibly good base-building gameplay loop held back from being awesome by several cracks in the story and Digital Deluxe DLC package. In more detail: Guardians of Azuma is a spin-off of the mainline Rune Factory games, akin to something like Tides of Destiny which has its own cult following within the already small cult following Rune Factory has. It takes place after Rune Factory 5, and has some lore ties to that game, but it's not completely necessary to enjoy the story. Instead of being primarily focused on farm management, it is instead a side activity that can be automated away with proper village management, which is the main gameplay loop. Skills have also been completely reworked. What's new: [list] [*] You can craft more than just furniture, including entire buildings and shops to place in the four season themed villages. These items contribute to your stat total, and while you can get by without them, the game becomes much more difficult without them. Multiple in one village do not increase stack stat bonuses, but one across different villages do. [*] You can request to hang out with a character, exchanging some in game time for a possible boost to bond EXP, shortening the time it take to farm bond levels. Certain actions are disliked by certain characters, and will reduce Bond EXP depending on the level of the action or if the character isn't at a high enough bond level to use that action. Certain actions also cause new cutscenes if preformed at the right level and time of day, and a skill tree is dedicated to unlocking new actions. [*] Generic NPC villagers can help preform tasks, such as mining, logging, fishing, maintaining shops, and farming. Each come with special skills that give them boosts or banes, or allow them to maintain certain kinds of shops. A farm can run completely fine without any player input. [*] Bosses have stun bars, which need to be filled up in order to deal significant damage to them. Charge attacks deal the most damage to the bar, and Ultimate attacks allow you to immediately chain into one once unlocked. [*] A successful dodge causes you to enter a slowdown stage, where stun gauge damage is boosted and Spirit Gauge gain is boosted, allowing you to quickly down and then burst a boss. [/list] What has changed is: [list] [*] Weapon, Sacred Weapons and Crafting life skills now use a skill tree system. You gain EXP by using each, and unlock nodes using their specific EXP points or General EXP Points. [*] Fishing, walking, cooking, farming, gathering, and other life skills not represented by the skill tree system now earn General EXP Points, so doing them isn't completely pointless. [*] Because these lifeskills were removed/changed, unlocking new recipes is tied to specific collectables and chests. [*] Crafting does not use RP, only Gold. [*] Woodcutting axes, fishing rods, and mining hammers are now a key item, and the recipes for their upgrades are locked behind village levels. [*] Only Sacred Weapons use RP, and their functions are similar to that of farming tools, such as the fire sword being able to cut crops to get back a potentially higher level like the Scythe. [*] Weapon arts don't exist, being completely replaced by Sacred Weapon special attacks. [*] Seasonal changes only progress the calendar, and don't change any of the villages. Seeds now have a preferred village to be planted in rather than a preferred season. It makes sense given the lore of the game, and the older RF titles had small plots within the permanent season areas in order to let you plant anything at any time regardless. [/list] I expected to be turned off by the changes to gameplay between this and the main games like RF4 and 5, but it was actually quite pleasant. A lot of the time I would have spent farming was instead spent basically city planning, determining what buildings and decor I needed to build to both improve my stats and improve village output, grabbing the necessary Lumber and Stone needed to build them. Needing gold instead of RP was a bit irksome, but that was because my usual strat of chugging Hot Milk for RP as I blitzed through crafting to power-level life skills or farm gold from shipping endgame equipment wasn't available anymore. The new hangouts are an incredible addition to the relationships in this game and they should 100% continue doing it, just with the addition of some more dialogue that triggers when you preform them and not a brief, silent cutscene (P.S. You get character swimsuits by inviting them to the river or beach!). Whoever did the models did an incredible job as well as they are very expressive and detailed, and I wouldn't mind them replacing the hand drawn portraits (though please don't fire artists for this, I love the old RF artstyle too). The combat is also pretty good with the ability to switch between two weapons, although RF5's combat wasn't great since you could trivialize everything with Fists, picking and throwing mobs into rooms like mini-nukes while having incredible single-target DPS arts for bosses so it's good just by comparison. Now, I want to talk about the story. It's got the potential to be good, but is significantly held back by: [list] [*] Two bosses that appear out of nowhere, with little explanation as to why, and the disputes are very quickly resolved. One of them is literally the first time you meet a certain romancable character, whereupon after defeating them they join your cast then disappear from the story immediately after. It feels like they were added as bosses just to hit a quota. [*] The above is a more general issue with the writers seemingly just forgetting story threads in-between arcs. Something will be brought up that seems relevant but then never gets addressed ever again. [spoiler] A good example is Subaru/Kaguya being your MC's betrothed before they went on their separate journeys. This should be a significant factor when you choose to save them but it literally never comes up in the story and pre-bond level 7 quests make hardly any mention of it.[/spoiler] [*] Romanceable characters that aren't the seasonal gods or Hina/Mauro have zero story presence. They feel like afterthoughts, which is a shame since older titles did try to make most of their characters relevant. [*] Town events are GONE. Really not too happy with this one since it adds a lot of characterization for the cast and helps flesh out ones that didn't get much attention within the main story. Certain pairs of characters will have special dialogue between each other when out in the field, which helps a little, but again the lion's share is taken up by the gods and Hina/Mauro. [*] [spoiler] You can permanently kill off your MC's gender opposite (Subaru/Kaguya) by refusing to sacrifice anything to revive them. In story, this is played and set up as though it were a major decision that would have negative ramifications for the story going forward if you did make the pact, but there are literally no consequences for doing so. All that happens is a few minor dialogue changes and the Mikoshi Habaki Heart fight allowing you to fight with Subaru/Kaguya and Clarice, instead of just Clarice. There is no change other than locking yourself out of a possible romance partner if you do kill them. Just a major missed opportunity overall.[/spoiler] [/list] The Deluxe DLC package is required to unlock Pilika and Cuilang's bond stories and marry them. If you do not have the package, they remain in-game but without the DLC content. I would understand if these were characters added in some sort of additional story add-on, but them being included in the base game for characters that already have some story involvement feels like a bad omen, especially since we know Rune Factory 6 is in the works. It's sort of like that on-disk DLC controversy back in the 2010s, if you can remember that.
• Recommended Posted June 6, 2025 on Steam I've played almost every mainline Rune Factory and spinoff title, but after 5 (which I thought was...[i]okay[/i]), I really wasn't sure what to expect from Guardians of Azuma. But I'm very, very pleasantly surprised so far! I have a terrible tendency to pick up a million cozy games in Early Access and then vow to actually play them once they have a little more time in the oven--usually 3-5 years later--so it's really nice to have a game that's actually complete, polished and [i]fun[/i] from the start. The traditional Japanese fantasy setting and themes are new for a Rune Factory game, but I was invested immediately in bringing back the various seasonal gods (who all happen to be hot and single) and reviving the land. I know opinions are mixed on the new art style, but I think everything looks beautiful! Exploration is fun, environments are detailed, and characters are expressive, even if there are no portraits. I'm enjoying the music a lot, too. Farming is definitely simplified compared to past games (or streamlined, as I'd describe it), which may be a drawback for long-time RF fans. But as someone who plays RF games more for the social aspect, I'm more than happy with all the ways we're given to boost affection with love interests and townsfolk. Every day, you can choose a little activity to do with each person, which they can love, like, or even hate. (Sorry about the waterfall, Murasame...) I really like all the characters so far and can't wait to meet the rest. After spending hours upon hours wrangling all 800 tools in previous RF games, I also appreciate being able to interact with fields, trees, mining nodes, etc. and having my character perform the appropriate action without having to whip out a watering can or an axe. It makes doing your daily chores and collecting materials a breeze! But you can also make your villagers handle that instead (or alongside you). The light village management aspect of GoA is much more fun than I expected. It's really nice being able to assign villagers to tend crops, harvest trees or stone, or manage shops; it doesn't mean that you can't do the farming or mining/logging yourself, but at least you always have backup. You'll either rescue new villagers as part of the story or come across them during exploration. And then there's the combat! It feels fluid and snappy, and as always, I love being able to add love interests and townsfolk to the party and have them fight at my side. Each character has their own combat specialty, like defender, attacker or healer. There's actually some fun party banter depending on who you have with you, too. All in all, I'd highly recommend this game for anyone on the fence about getting into Rune Factory for the first time or RF fans open to a new spin on the series.
• Recommended Posted June 19, 2025 on Steam 8.8/10 - I so badly want to give it a 9 because this is one of the most enjoyable Rune Factory games I have every played (I have been here since the release of the first Rune Factory game and have played every game since), but a series of small gripes that piled up during the late-game hold me back. PROS: -Game is gorgeous! I often feel sad about the lack of 2d portraits in these types of games, but I actually didn't notice it at all in this game! The 3D models are very expressive and nice to look at. The world is pleasantly populated between the NPCs, villagers, and townsfolk, without being overwhelming. -SO MUCH QUALITY OF LIFE like seriously. Warping is convenient, building is convenient, the map shows you right where all of the characters are. Almost everything you need is right at your fingertips at all times, and even if it's not, it's just one quick teleport away. The game has built-in records for monsters that includes what region they're in, what they drop, and lots of other useful info. -frogs :) -Collectibles are not ridiculously hidden, and give frequent rewards that help them not to feel like a slog. Normally I hate collectibles, but I felt these were incorporated into the world very well and were very satisfying to complete. I didn't need any guides to finish them, either. -The characters are very diverse in personality and SO lovable. I can't say TOO much without giving spoilers, but I really enjoyed the bond quests of even characters I didn't think I would like! The interaction between characters is also MWAH *chef's kiss*. The characters' personal stories have a nice mix of light-hearted banter and more serious moments, that help to give the characters more depth without breaking the overall cheerful vibes of the game. -I enjoyed the majority of the story! Though it wasn't especially moving or hard-hitting, it was engaging and the characters are so well done that it's a pleasure to watch them interact every time. HOWEVER... See cons for my one complaint about the main story :( -Exploration is fun without being overwhelming. Maps vary from pretty big (outside towns) to small, dungeon-like areas. There's no need to check every nook and crevice, but there's still some fun environmental puzzles like "how do I reach that!?" that take advantage of the various mechanics in the game. -I love checklists! Yes! Tell me about how I completed 15 requests and check it off the list!!! Half-jokes aside, I do like to have nice clear-cut goals and requirements for progression. Events are logged, main story quests are logged, and your villages' progression... yeah, that's logged too! You can choose not to look at it if you don't want to, but it's there if you lost track of something. -Building is really fun! It's much easier to use than house furnishing in previous games, and honestly looks pretty good too. Making little themed areas feels cute and satisfying~ Min-max type players might hate it though, as important stats such as max RP are affected by your buildings/decorations. -Each weapon and sacred treasure feels very different to use. The combat isn't deep, but it's smooth! NEUTRALS: -this is entirely dependent on how you play the game, but I... have done very little farming in my farming rpg!? The villagers handle just about everything for me. This is really nice in that it allows me to skip the daily chores and focus on exploring, talking to people, etc. but as the game progressed I found myself missing that daily routine. In post-game, I have made the active choice to remove all villagers from the farming role so that I can get that feeling back, and it's been really nice! I also choose to water and plant my crops directly, rather than through the much faster and impersonal overhead view, but I really enjoy how this system allows for so much flexibility in play style. -I find the music in most areas not very memorable. However, the music isn't bad, and in some areas I did quite like the music! In many ways, it's just pleasantly unobtrusive, which might be perfect for some people. -accessing post-game is locked behind a function ( [spoiler] having a kid [/spoiler] ) not all players may wish to engage with. Although this will not be a problem for the vast majority of players, I think it is worth noting. -contests are something that you schedule, rather than fixed events. It's... an interesting idea, at least, and certainly makes it more convenient for the player. However, it trivializes them as "contests," because there is no impetus not to wait to hold the contest until you can guarantee a win. On the one hand, it takes out the stress that contests could cause... on the other hand, it almost feels like "what's the point." CONS: -I have a few gripes with the main story, particularly the ending feels quite rushed, and unfortunately I feel some of the characters fall into the same pitfall that Rune Factory 5 had - not enough development of the characters and issues at stake, leading to an underwhelming conclusion. The setting, as well, sometimes leaves something to be desired - many of the bad things in the world are glossed over or swept under the rug in order to maintain the game's cheery atmosphere, but I wish they would have acknowledged and explored more of it. -Managing villagers is a bit of a chore, as it's one area of the game that lacks some QoL. Moving villagers between towns requires an empty space (no way to swap villagers), and villagers cannot be sorted or filtered by job/trait/anything. -There is so many recipes that I spend a lot of time scrolling through lists trying to find something, even with the recipe lists broken down by type. Some kind of search or filter function would have been really nice, but overall it's a minor complaint that's just symptomatic of how much stuff there is lol -I played on normal, and the combat was pretty much trivialized by the sacred treasures. Even bosses melted once I became more liberal with using spirit dances. Although I'm not looking for a challenge, I do wish that the regular weapons didn't feel so useless outside of killing low level mobs. -Seasons don't matter. The calendar is really just a formality in order to have birthdays and festivals. There is no "neutral zone" where the seasons changing affects crops or changes how things look. Each area is fixed to the season of its god, and what season you're in on the calendar changes nothing. -no polearm/spear weapon, which was my favorite in previous RF games :( -can't date Yachiyo... Or Kusatsu... guys do you think they know I love Rune Factory?
• Recommended Posted June 5, 2025 on Steam Day 1 PC release is enough for me. Don't have to suffer through the absolute performance nightmare that was rune factory 5 on switch