One of the issues I have found with the games I've been playing lately is a lack of variety. For some games this was only a minor complaint. For others, this was enough to keep me from investing more time than was necessary for me to properly review them. Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny does not suffer from this. Not at all. Playing this game, I was surprised at all the different things you can do, and while none of the mechanics at play here are deep enough to work on their own, together they make for a lengthy, varied, and enjoyable experience. 

Although the story isn't the focal point here, there is still enough of a plot in Tides of Destiny to keep it from feeling goalless. The stars of this game are Aden and Sonya, two best friends living on a rather peaceful isle called Fenith Island. Everything's hunky-dory when suddenly a strange light appears and swallows them whole. When the two wake up, they find themselves on an alternate version of their island. And if that wasn't problematic enough, Sonya has somehow gotten her soul stuck inside Aden's body (freaky stuff, eh?). Luckily, the folks of this alternate Fenith are a nice lot, and though they are initially surprised by our heroes' predicament, they welcome Aden and Sonya and give them a house to stay in.

Though somewhat small, there is quite a bit to do to pass the time on Fenith Island. For starters, looking around, discovering interesting nooks and crannies, and getting to know the people living there. The inhabitants, as well as new characters that appear as time passes, are all rather likeable (even if they fall into a few anime stereotypes), which is good, because you will be spending a lot of time with them. From conversing, buying food, and other things to fulfilling requests (which range from delivering things to discovering new islands - more on that later), there will be hardly a day in the game when you won't need to interact with someone for some reason or other.

But that's okay, since a lot of the fun to be had in Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny has to do with hanging out with the Fenith locals. As time goes on, you get to learn more and more about each of them, their likes and dislikes, and, if you so choose, you can even give them stuff, furthering your relationship with them. Besides just chilling with the island-folk, you can also participate in various festivals that occur through the game-year, buy additions for your house, and create several things like food, accessories, and weapons.

If you did a double-take just now, I can assure you that, yes, I did say weapons.  "But Rune Factory sounds so tame and cutesy..." - you're probably tempted to say. "Why would you need weapons?" Well, the answer to that lies beyond Fenith Island. Early on in Tides of Destiny, you come into possession of a giant golem that our heroes name Ymir. Using Ymir, you can traverse across the ocean, fight giant monsters in Godzilla-style duels to the death, and discover new islands to explore (funny thing: most of these islands are initially underwater and have to be pulled out of the sea by Ymir. Weird, right?). These islands are a far cry from Fenith. Instead of friendly island folk eager to welcome you, you'll be met with monsters of various shapes and sizes eager to bring your health gauge down to nil.

Luckily, you'll have those weapons I mentioned, to give those monsters the sound thrashing they deserve. Or, if you'd rather be all "Give peace a chance" about it, you can try and tame monsters instead. Succeed at this and the monsters you tame can fight alongside you (you can only have up to three at one time, however). As if that wasn't enough to keep you occupied, every now and then you will come across tower-like shrines, which serve as the game's dungeons and even come with challenging bosses at the end.

If you are aware that this game is a spin-off of Natsume's Harvest Moon series, then you might be expecting to do a lot of farming. However, while there is farming to be done in Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, it's not as pivotal as you may expect. Farming is done on particular islands spread throughout the sea.  Once on these islands (which you can access at any time through portals inside Ymir), you use a magic staff in select spots to cause a seed to appear. After the seeds were planted, you can assign monsters that have been tamed to take care of them, with different plants and crops growing depending on which monsters were taking care of them. In short, most of the work is surprisingly automatic.

When all was said and done, I found little to complain about in Tides of Destiny. While the several elements that make up this game are far from complex, the variety kept me from getting too upset about it. However, there was one thing that got on my nerves more than once: the RP Gauge. Whenever I used  a weapon, a tool, or even tried to craft something, the gauge dropped a little, and once the gauge was empty, all actions started to drain away my health. I found this particularly annoying, because it limits the time you can fight on islands and in shrines, forcing me to wait until the next day before I could leap back into the fray.

Still, I said it more than once and I'll say it one last time: there is plenty of variety to be found in Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny. From engaging in trivial conversation with the folk of Fenith Island and learning more about them, to exploring the high seas and taking on hordes of monsters (and then some), there is a diversity that has been lacking in the last few games I have played. In short, if you're looking for a game based simply on the variety of things you can do, I'd suggest giving this one a try.

GameDynamo's Score for Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny (Wii)

	Score	Description
Graphics	77	While not the best in terms of a purely graphical standpoint, the design and style are charming enough to make up for that, unless you're not a fan of bright and cheery anime aesthetics.
Sound	78	The various themes in this game range from lighthearted to action-packed, but they work well for their respective scenarios. The voice acting is good and on par with a well-dubbed anime.
Gameplay	82	The various elements in this game come together to form an enjoyable whole. You won't be longing for something to do at any point in this game.
Play Value	86	With the game letting you go about as you please, expect this game to last you awhile.
Final Score	86	Did I mention that this game has a lot to do in it and it's fun?

[View Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny images / screenshots +]
[Watch Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny videos / trailers +]
[View more Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny articles (news, previews, reviews) +]
[View Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny cheats / guides +]

Stories from around the web