#rf series

[rune-factory]

Happy #RFGoA Launch Day! 🐉 Before you return to Azuma, take a moment to enjoy this lovely illustration of our Earth Dancers by Minako Iwasaki. And don't forget to hydrate and stretch every now and then!

Original post on bsky

[darianias]

AroAce Options/Inclusivity In Games

(Idea/Concept/tangent)

It's pride month and while I amnewly hyperfixating on Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, my demisexual & demiromantic desire for strong platonic options instead of romance kinda came up again with a vengence.

⚠️ Very Mild and Brief/Vague Spoilers for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (who all is romanceable really and pretty small details) & Baldur's Gate 3 (mentions of an event in game that allows players to have a potentially spicy encounter with other characters) ⚠️

I WOULD KILL for games to have a platonic or romantic option ontop of same sex and/or gender romance for romanceable characters (+ other inclusive features.) Not like a Crobus situation in Stardew Valley, but a yes/no prompt when you get close enough to a character.

It'd be awesome in general as someone who is aroace spec or just be able to play games with the same level of bonding but a different type of it if nothing romantic sparks for me, unless its literally a game like FF7 where it's more of a shipping the character with Cloud type of thing than a "I am romancing this character" type of thing.

I think it'd also be nice for anyone who like just isn't interested in any romanceable characters in a game (in or wants to be closer to one & go thru their story more but isn't attracted them in THAT way.

Yes, youtube and the internet exists, but it still has some level of uncomfortable feeling to it still for me.

Like it could be as simple as having a version with the romantic bits, romantic context and romantic subtext and one that's just... without all of that.

Yes, I understand it would be more expensive, require more coding and more labor, but it'd be so worth it within any game with romanceable npcs and at least some modicum of plot/story and character development- especially when it doesnt fully finish up without romancing the character(s).

As a DnD fan/player, I CAN'T play Baldur's Gate 3 due to how vague/subtle the romance decisions are- or even how mean they can be! I felt like I was walking on eggshells to avoid an adult scene during the thiefling party. I alsp want to be able to care for, support and bond with the party without having to be mean, rude or break hearts just to avoid an unwanted romance. 💀

I want the inclusivity for all people who are within the asexual or aromantic specturms or even just those who love a good story or some good/fun character development.

Back to Guardians of Azuma, I am currently with the second? Major story arc and I am so attached to pretty much all of the characters! (I developed feelings for Subaru & Murasame so far.) I decided to romance Suburu this save and realized some closure for him was locked behind romancing him! Him/Kaguya depening on who you play as are major parts of the story and character development of the character you play as! There's NO reason why the one part when you start dating has to be fully romantic only.

This game like Rune Factory 4 (My first rf game) really hit it out of the ball park with the characters, lore, world building and bonds again. I am very attached to almost all of the romanceable npcs (one is a major part of the story arc I'm in and thus isnt available as a regular villager atm) and many of the non-romanceable characters too! I want to see the full extent of their character, backstories and development, I plan on getting them all to 6 hearts!

But I would KILL to get 10 platonic hearts with full events- just a romance free version. I'd love to have af least a romantic partner and one person who is a platonic partner/best friend. You don't need to have them both move in and live with you in these types of games. Maybe just limit that to one person. (And let the modders do the rest if people want that.)

I do love what little they do have tho in the platonic hang out interactions, I can gush for hours how nice and fulfilling it felt to take Matsuri to the caves for an adventure, Kanata to tell me "Whenever I'm with you, I can be myself," the maternal attachment I have to Hina because of her being a literal small child in RF5, having Kai talk to me about his concerns for his people, how much I want to bother Kurama like a younger sibling just bc he calls the player a pest and so much more. They feel like friends and/or family in the game, strumming up some nostalgic feelings even.

I know most series only added even a modicum of inclusivity for LGBTQ+ people in games very recently, but I can dream of a feature like this. 🥰😍

[marinewaltz]

can’t believe xseed pushed for gay marriage just so ares could marry lucas. they really did that for me. i owe them my life

(image description + comments under cut)

i know i was excited for murakumo gay sex but at the back of my mind i thought lucas might be a write-in of a bachelor, and oh BOY was i not fucking prepared for how much he’d make me laugh. he might be my favourite rune factory marriage candidate of all time which is a ridiculous achievement to have when i consider rf5 my least favourite rf game i’ve played LOL.... sorry murakumo, the godkin bastard has swept me off my feet.

also i wanted to revisit the watercolour-ish colouring i did a while ago - it’s fun to do but doesn’t always match the vibes of the art i make lol so like always, i’m just drawing what i feel like, when i feel like it.

[image description begins here]

illustration of an affectionate couple - ares, the male protagonist from rune factory 5, looking embarrassed as lucas is giving him a cheeky kiss on the cheek. his gloved hand rests on ares’ shoulder, who is slightly off-balance from surprise.

[image description ends here]

[bearpeachart]

✧⁺It’s finally done (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ! ✧⁺ I sized down the chibis a bit for this sample (•ᴗ•)

 I’m really happy with this set and thank you all for being so patient ( ´•̥̥̥ ω •̥̥̥` )

I’ll officially be doing RF3 next 🌿 ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

[rune-factory]

Thank you for all of the love and support for #RFGoA this year! ❤️ Now to wrap up a wonderful year of #RF, here's a cozy new illustration of Woolby and our Earth Dancers! 🍊

Original post on bsky

[rune-factory]

We hope this warm summertime #RuneFactory : Guardians of Azuma illustration brightens your day! ☀️ Whenever you're out and about, remember to stay cool and hydrated like Woolby! 🏖️

Original post on bsky

[rune-factory]

#RuneFactory : Guardians of Azuma has surpassed 500K sales worldwide! To celebrate the milestone, we've released a #GuardiansofAzuma LINE Sticker set that you can get today! store.line.me/stickershop/... Thank you to all our fans for your continued support!

Original post on bsky

[darianias]

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Eng Vs Japanese Voices (Update 1 posted)

My roommate and I have well beaten the games in English (I married Subaru and had 2 kids, am now playing an altered fate with Murasame and 1 kid so far meanwhile she married Kurama and Kai thus far with 2 kids each and decided to restart the game for Subaru,) and my roommate started a new game with the japanese voices so I figured I'd post my reactions thus far to the voices.

I'm usually a whatever voice acting is "better" type person or more recently, what casting feels like- as often I feel like talented voices get hired but now its more so giving them ill fitting roles or direction they're given. (For this reason for example I can't stand the English dub for Demon Slayer, I'd rather watch it in Japanese or even Spanish first.... great VAs as well but casting could have been much better imo.) However, in games I usually roll with the english first at least as not all games even have that option and frankly, I often just want to dive in and forget that it is an option.

She MIGHT switch to playing in English if Kurama, Kai, Murasame or Subaru's voices bother her, but I'm still willing to run around and test the voices just to talk about them if I find anything notable.

Woolby:

Most of the chaarcters so far notably fit the same vibes butttt she just started so here are my/our notes.

We knew about this thanks to tiktok but so far one of the most different. Woolby in English sounds like an adult but the type of character you dont take seriously all the time, affectionately calling him a dweeb, the wooly jokes feel fitting because of that, meanwhile woolby in Japanese sounds like a child, kind of like Happy from Fairy Tail in vibes as well. So I see how the joke still lands and how it had to be different in english as japanese woolby fits stereotypical japanese mascot character vibes.

Mauro:

Holy hell is the Japanese so much better for him, but that could just be a "us thing" in the english the version of the game, he is very noticably part of the Sainte-Coquille family- in all of the RF games I've played characters of that family could be... "a lot" at times but they were always to the side enough to not be a problem and have us feel comfortable around them... Mauro, on the other hand, can be... frankly, overstimulating due to him playing a larger role. That could just be due to everything being almost fully voiced or just be because he overstimulates our particular type of neurodivergent.... but still, it's a lot. In Japanese he defintely feels eccentric enough to make sense but god... is the japanese voice so much more tolerable, might be able to actually befriend him and get to know him in Japanese. Like in english I wanted to like him, he seems like a character I normally would enjoy overall too, a weird lil guy, a blorbo at the very least.

(We have both played RF4 and RF5 and a teensy bit of Tides of Destiny and she has also played RF 3 so we're both decently aquainted with this family but it has not been a problem until now)

Ulalaka

Not a horrible difference, she sounds a bit quieter maybe a bit younger as well, but defintely still fits the "Big Sis" vibe of the dieties (or at least well within why I can see Fubuki calling her that)

Kaguya

It's a bit of an adjustment at first, she's a bit quieter in Japanese and at first she sounds at least a bit less confident? Of a character? Which makes sense from a character just recivering from amnesia and a large fall, but overall I like both voices still, it's just something a bit more noticable)

Subaru

So she decided to change the voices after the intial cutscene and even that isnt much to go off of. I will say I do love his english voice, so I'm very curious about the Japanese.

Murasame

More noticably different than characters I didn't include in this but defs still very fitting. His japanese voice feels more mysterious than we feel he is, but again he's still very mysterious at first so very fitting lol. Both english and japanese feel great for him, so far I have a slight preference for english but she only just unlocked him in japanese so it's probably more of an adjustment thing.

Sakaki

Voices both fit, english he sounds like the badass former warrior and chief who was forced to retire, meanwhile retiring sounds more befitting in Japanese as he feels even older and wiser.

Will add updates to this post once we get more voices in!