Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

I ADORE this game. So much. I haven't finished it yet, I'm almost done with the last dungeon, but I know who I'm gonna marry, I already have 10 hearts with her and I've finished all the other requirements except fixing the problem with the Univir tribe, so I'm close enough to being done to write a review, I think.

Graphics: 10/10. At first it looked pretty bad (I'd been playing KH 358/2 Days before I started, it wasn't very good in comparison) but after a while it I got used to it and it's actually really good. Especially the portrait things. Or sprites, whatever they're called.

Characters: 10/10. I love them all. Well, except Collette... She annoys me so bad. But Raven is AMAZINGGG. I chose her to marry the second she was introduced. Evelyn's great, too, but sadly you can't marry her. Oh, and Micah or whatever you named him is really cute. I didn't love his Wooly form, but it's grown on me and I like it now. All of the marriage candidates have their own personalities and obsessions, and almost all of them are adorable.

Farming: 9/10. It's pretty good. Unlike the other games (I think, I didn't play RF1, I haven't bought RF2 yet, and RFF didn't have it), you can stack things while you're holding them. If you pick up one of something, you can pick up another one of the same thing without putting away the other one. It's pretty handy. The only bad thing about the farming is that when you harvest something, the tilled spot goes away and you have to re-till it. It's pretty annoying. I don't know if RF1 or 2 did that, but the Harvest Moons game I've played didn't and neither did RFF, so it bugged me.

Forging/Cooking/etc: 10/10. It takes quite a bit of your RP, but that's pretty minor. Fishing doesn't, though, which is really good. I can fish for the whole in-game day and it'll only take maybe half of my RP. Probably less. It's pretty time-consuming, though.

Story: 10/10. It's really, really interesting. Especially the events with Raven.

Buy/Rent: Definite buy.

I agree with both previous reviews on all aspects and they forced me to move this rental to the top of my GameQ. I enjoyed RF2 as well as HM: Grand Bazzaar so this title was easy to like. But they added some nice touches that put it better than expected. First I didn't have to use the touch screen at all if I didn't want to. Some games I want to use buttons only and this one makes it possible. Accessing the fridge or storage would be easier/quicker with a stylus, but at times I am lazy and enjoy not picking up and setting down the pen.
I live my life similar to the RF character, sleep only minimal keep myself busy. But I did find a trick in the game: go to sleep just before 6am and all is well (no cold or side issues). Also befriending monsters is easier than anticipated. I just start giving them all the junk I don't want and they usually befriend me with simple left over items I am carrying.
The new twists and easy to use system makes this game a good version 3. You will enjoy the human/monster transitions as well as the grab as you want story line. A great low keep it price is well worth the $25.