| Rune Factory | |
|---|---|
 Rune Factory series logo used in the main series games. Spin-off titles use their own font and styling. | |
| Genre(s) | |
| Developer(s) | (2019-Present) |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Creator(s) | Yoshifumi Hashimoto |
| Artist(s) | Minako Iwasaki |
| Composer(s) | Tomoko Morita |
| Platform(s) | |
| First release | Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon August 24, 2006 |
| Latest release | Rune Factory 3 Special March 2, 2023 |
| Parent series | Story of Seasons |
Rune Factory[a] is a franchise of fantasy role-playing social simulation games created by Yoshifumi Hashimoto and primarily published by Marvelous.[b] The games are developed by Hashimoto's studio Hakama, taking over from Neverland after they ceased operations in 2013. The series began as a spin-off to Marvelous' flagship franchise Story of Seasons (formerly Harvest Moon).[c] The Story of Seasons references were subsequently dropped starting with the second installment, in order to become its own series. With the first game published in 2006, the property consists of five main-series games, two spin-off titles and numerous manga adaptations.
Rune Factory retains the farming and social simulation portions of the Story of Seasons games, but integrates it into a fantasy setting and introduces dungeon crawling elements into the core gameplay. The basic premise of most Rune Factory games is to play as a hero who has lost their memory, but must save the land from peril at the hands of an evil enemy, while uncovering their memories. The title of the series refers to the recurring game mechanic of "rune points" and runes that can be earned by completing a variety of tasks, such as growing crops, crafting items and leveling up skills.
As of May 2022, the Rune Factory series has shipped more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. Most individual entries have been positively received, the series as a whole has been lauded for its open-ended gameplay, world design and writing, and it has been favourably compared to the aforementioned Story of Seasons games.
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