This is NOT a post about Family Farm Seaside.
Post in progress... for a friend and any one else who wishes to explore a fabulous world and tale. It is the latest release in the Rune Factory series and was made for the Switch and new Switch 2. One can play it on the small handheld Switch Lite as well.
INTRODUCTION
Although this is my site for Family Farm Seaside, I wanted to give a quick guide here for any one interested in a splendid game that combines farming with combat and some of the most beautiful graphics in any virtual world. Also friendship and romance!
It may become my favourite game. I always loved Rune Factory but found the versions made for the Switch difficult in terms of navigation. This game is very user friendly and offers more helpful information within the game itself than others that preceded it.
PHILOSOPHY OF RUNE FACTORY
The entire Rune Factory series is founded upon two fundamental premises:
1. Friendship
2. Restoration of the Land
Both drive the narrative forward. Both are requirements in terms of Quests.
FRIENDSHIP
Friendship is advanced by daily or at least regular interactions with the characters. In older games, heart or friendship levels were raised by giving gifts the individual liked or loved. In this game, when you choose the option to interact further by choosing 'Hang Out', giving a gift is the first option but there always are three others.
If it is the individual's birthday, you obviously should choose to celebrate the occasion. Other options, however, can prove to be negative or positive. For example, for the swordsman Murasame, taking him to visit the Waterfall reminds him of a bad event from his past. For most others, however, it results in a pleasant bathing event and a bathing costume will be added to that character's wardrobe.
Even the negative options will give you insight into the character, and the effect will be added to his or her profile.
Note that, in the firat couple of days, you only option after bring introduced to a character is to 'Talk'. You must interact repeatedly with the little girl Suzu to unlock the gift-giving option as well as the interaction Menu that offers four choices.
As far as gifts are concerned, every one accept cherry blosdoms happily. Once you restore any cherry tree to life with your sacred drum dance, you can stand in front of it and press A to knock cherry blossoms and lumber from it. What you receive is random so it is a good idea to collect ad often as possible.
Friendship levels also determine the different interactive options you are given. Going to lunch together at Iroha's teahouse is a favourite with many, but it is a Level 3 option. If you try to invite the character before Level 3, you can raise friendship sonetimes but may actually meet with a curt refusal for your arrogance in assuming the bond you have is close enough. In other words, it is a bit of a gamble.
There are no time limits in this game. By talking to the individual as often as posdible and giving cherry blossoms when you unlock the option to give a gift, increase in friendship may be slow with some but it will be steady.
MOST FAVOURITE GIFTS
If cherry blossoms are a favourite gift, a little red heart will appear on the item in your inventory so you need not write everything down as I once did. I will include here a list of the Easiest Favourite Gifts for quick reference. Give that gift once and the heart icon will be added.
LIST OF EASIEST MOST FAVOURITE GIFTS
There is more than one item any character loves rather than merely likes but some are easier to obtain than others. Here are some of the easy gifts that will be displayed once given with a red heart icon:
Murasame: Onigari
At Level 4, he gives you Murasame's Pauldron Recipe.
Mauro: Cherry Blossoms
At Level 3, he gives you the Adventurer's Cap Recipe
Kurama: Sandwich, all types of Mochi
Cuilang: Iron
Fubuki: Grilled Salmon, all Meats
Ulalaka: Cherry Blossoms
Matsuri: Hibiscus Flower
Pilika: Honey
Iroha: Tri-colour Dango
She gives you the Maid Headband Recipe at Level 3
Suzu: Dango
Speaking to her will unlock the ability to interact four different ways
Zaza: Blade Shard
Sakaki: Pickled Turnips
GOLD PIN AND QUESTS
As far as the Story is concerned, the game is linear for the most part. Follow the Main Quest prompts and access the Map in the upper right corner of the screen by pressing the + button and then move your character towards the gold pin to make progress.
I lost valuable time initially by trying to move instantly towards the gold pin. It can be far more useful to use the round control on the right side of the Switch to be able to stand still but look in all directions before moving anywhere. My other mistake was not using the Map! The Map always appears in the upper right corner of the screen but when you actually open it, you can see all characters currently near you as well as many other helpful details including Dragon Save Points, Frogs, Wayside Shrines and important buildings. The current location of your character is displayed on the map by an arrow. Make certain you are turned in the right direction before you actually move towards the gold pin!
FORAGING
Even on the first day, wherever you see something glittering on the ground, press A to collect it. Whenever you see a wooden crate, press X to smash it and collect the contents. In Rune Factory, every item, from Weeds and Withered Grass to Diamonds, has its value and uses. There are many construction projects that require Weeds and most medicines require the coloured Grasses you find everywhere.
I therefore advise players neither to ship nor sell construction materials or basic ingredients. You will need vast quantities of Lumber and Material Stone.
In most Rune Factory games, you should ship one of each item to complete your 'collection'.
There are achievements as well that are based onnthe total number of any specific item, especially crops, that are shipped. Early in the game, you may wish to hold back some of the crops you harvest for use in cooking.
RECIPES AND COOKING
Recipes are obtained in a few different ways. Primarily, you will obtain most of your recipes when you stand in front of any Frog Statue or Wayside Shrine and perform the Dance of Bonds. Less often, a new Recipe may be given when you reach a certain Friendship Level with a character.
Note that completing quests early in the game unlock important new shopping options as well as new locations and Sacred Treasures.
Note also that when you receive the Fire Sword in a dream, you immediately can return to the Spring Region to clear a large blight with your Fire Dance to reach the Wayside Shrine area
With a Dragon Save and a Wayside Shrine that gives you the Exorcism Earring Recipe. Every blight is associated with an Element and you need the right elemental force to clear it.
When you receive the Sacred Fan, you can clear the Blight in the Spring Village that opens a second and larger development area.
SAVE POINTS AND DANCE OF BONDS
All Save Points are in the form of Dragon Statues. There is one in every Dragon Shrine and one at the entrance to a new area on the Map. A dragon statue must be activated by performing the Dance of aBonds before you can use it as a Save Point.
Activating every Dragon Statue you encpinter becomes even more bital after you have the power to warp from one location to another. A Dragon Statue always exists as a Warp Point on the map. If it is not activated, you cannot retirn to it using your warp power.
Energy is denoted by HP and RP. HP is ordinary energy and RP is the sort of energy required to heal or perform other sacred actions. Sleep restores both. Go to sleep by midnight, however, or you will lose energy at an alarming speed. None of this is that evident until you begin to fight 'monsters'.
Eating also restores energy and every irem you can eat has unique values in terms of energy.
VILLAGE LEVEL
The basis of the plot is the desolation of the lands caused by the loss of its runes. When crops and trees die, villagers abandon their homes to move elsewhere. One of your tasks is to increase the Level of each Village. Planting Crops and shipping them, constructing buildings and decorations and placing those all encourage the return of the villagers. Go to the Goddess to receive an official increase in the Level of the village.
You also need to build shops and hire experts to run them.
QUESTS
This game has such helpful menu options that it basically is not necessary to create a step by step quest guide. Be that as it may, however, understanding where a quest fits in the general scheme of things sometimes helps determine which task to complete first.
Rescue Takumi the Carpenter. He has become a boss monster at the Abandoned Shrine.
The next rescue is the Blacksmoth. You will be given a recipe to build a smithy. He was transformed into an ordinary monster so easy to defeat.
After you see the request, place a total of 5 buildings in the Development area.
Go see Takumi and he will fix the broken bridge and you will offer to go to the Guardian Shrine for special lumber. You now have unlocked the ability to add three characters to your party.
After crossing the repaired bridge, you will see some trees that need to be restored. There you can rescue a villager by talking to him.
You will be asked to investigate broken homes that are abandoned. You need to perform this act and trigger a little eveny before you can go to Sakuraya Construction to find a new option in the menu: Repair Broken Buildings and then: Repair the Dragon Shrine. This will not occur either until you have defeated the truly horrible Tree at the Guardian Shrine to collect a piece of Guardian Timber, one of the materials needed for the repair.
STRATEGY TIPS:
In esrlt Spring, when money is tight and you need to earn enough to pay your villager employees and support their needs, it is helpful sometimes to ask the Blacksmith and Carpenter to make items and then sell them back to the maker immediately. You do need the materials required, but it will give you sufficient profit to make the item again and have a bit of cash left afterwards.
EASY MISTAKES TO MAKE
First, it is best to activate a quest before you perform any new action. Murasame's abirthday is on 4 Spring. If you have unlocked the option to celebrate birthdays, you still ought to wait for the Quest to appear on the board, go to the board and accept it BEFORE you interact with Murasame on that day. Every one will tell you it is his borthday. I found him at once and chose the celwbration option. It was only afterwsrds that I saw the Quest on the board. I had to wait for Tsubame's birthday to complete it.
This brings up another easy mistake to make. When any Quest appears on the board, you actually need to accept it and make certain the box is ticked before you perform the action or it will not count towards completion of that Quest.
Another mistake I made was to think I could do better where a Quest asked me to place a General Store and Teahouse in the Simmer Village. Instead of of building and placing those specific items in one of the rather small Development areas, I thought I could open existing abandoned shops on the High Street instead. The quest remained incomplete. Completion of this Quest is the key to progressing to the Autumn Village, so that was delayed.
No mistakes really prevent anything ultimately. There are no time limits, so you can make an error and simply learn from it.
