Rune Factory: Guardians Of Azuma's Best Feature Breaks An 18-Year Tradition

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the next installment in the Rune Factory series from Natsume, but it's hard to tell that from just looking at it. The series started as a Harvest Moon game with elements of a fantasy RPG, even carrying the title "A Fantasy Harvest Moon" for the first two games. Over the next few games, the franchise evolved into a fully fledged standalone series of games that merged the farm management aspect of the farming simulator genre with the monster hunting, crafting, and world-building of an RPG.

Though the series has evolved over the years, one thing has remained the same: the setting. Sure, all the games took place in different areas, but all the locations were firmly rooted in the Western fantasy world. For the first time in the series' 18-year run, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is bringing the series away from the West and into a fantasy land based on Japan.

Rune Factory Games Traditionally Feature Western-Fantasy Settings

All The Previous Games Took Place In One Kingdom

Rune Factory 1 through 5all took place in one location, the Kingdom of Norad. There's no official map of the kingdom, but each game reveals more information about it through its story and locations. There's even one location in Rune Factory 4 that allows players to look through binoculars and see the surrounding cities where the events of previous games took place. Some fans have even created their own maps based on information from the games, like this one from Dreamarche on Reddit.

Despite the anime style of the characters, the Kingdom of Norad is firmly rooted in Western fantasy. This is reflected in everything from the landscapes and locations to the monsters. Even the Native Dragons, an important element of the first four Rune Factory titles, are based on Western dragon designs.

The series hasn't fully departed from the West, though. The 2023 Marvelous Game Showcase named Guardians of Azuma as a spin-off title and revealed that a Rune Factory 6 is also in development. RF6 will undoubtedly continue building the lore of the Kingdom of Norad, while GoA allows the series to test the waters with a brand-new location.

Guardians of Azuma could be explained as the Pokémon Legends: Arceus of the Rune Factory series or a similar spin-off dynamic, as it's still a Rune Factory game but it isn't part of the main story. This isn't the first time that RF deviated from its main story, but every spin-off in the past has been set in the same kingdom. Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the first title in the series that will take place in an entirely new area.

Guardians Of Azuma Is The First Rune Factory To Use A Japanese Setting

The Game Is Very Different Visually From Previous Titles

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma departs from the Kingdom of Norad and heads for the Eastern land of Azuma. From the first moments of the original reveal trailer shared on the Nintendo of America YouTube channel, it's clear that the game is not rooted in the same influences as its predecessors. One of the first things that players see in the trailer is an Eastern-style dragon. The clothing and even the hairstyle of the character riding the dragon also look to be inspired by Japanese tradition, sporting a long ponytail and crisp red, white, and black colors adorning the outfit.

For the first time, the trailer announces, the series will "enter the eastern land of Azuma." This trailer, along with a longer gameplay and features video, also shared by Nintendo of America on YouTube, make it clear that Azuma is nothing like Norad. The Japanese cultural influences are prominent in the video footage, from the architecture and clothing styles to the environment and nature. Characters sleep on mats over tatami flooring, the landscape is full of blossoming sakura trees, and Torii gates stand tall.

Even the colors used in the visuals are very different from previous Rune Factory titles. Where the previous games used mostly browns and dull hues, Guardians of Azuma strongly features vibrant reds and blacks, as well as saturated pinks, yellows, and greens. It's hard to imagine, even, that the upcoming game takes place in the same world as Rune Factory 1-5, with its starkly different clothing and raging wars. The land of Azuma offers a respite from the tumultuous nature of the previous games, even while dealing with its own world-threatening perils.

How Rune Factory: Guardians Of Azuma's Setting Changes The Game

The Setting Influences The Story And Gameplay

The locations featured in the previous Rune Factory games were all beautiful, but they were simply the backdrops to the events happening around them. They served as obstacles to overcome, prominent features for areas, and general eye candy as players went about continuing the story. The location in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, on the other hand, looks like it will play a much more prominent role in the game.

Instead of background props, the setting in Guardians of Azuma is as much a character as any of the people revealed in the trailers. Vibrant and full of personality, it seems to play an important role in both marking the game's new location and the gameplay itself. Besides the Japanese-inspired architecture, fashion, and scenery, the "Eastern" influence extends down to the gameplay and themes depicted in the game. The fighting style, for example, features red and black brushstroke attack symbols reminiscent of the traditional ukiyo-e Japanese painting style, and one of the characters fights as a traditional Japanese fan dancer.

The location is a living, breathing part of the story, with visuals and culture intertwining with storytelling and gameplay.

The very idea of "Earth Dancers" performing dances to restore nature, which is the setup for this game's story, has its roots in Japanese culture as well. It's clear that the setting of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azumais more than just a pretty background. The location is a living, breathing part of the story, with visuals and culture intertwining with storytelling and gameplay. Moving away from the Western-inspired Kingdom of Norad allows Guardians of Azuma to try something entirely new and different and create a world inspired by a whole different culture.

Source: Dreamarche/Reddit, Nintendo of America/YouTube (1, 2)