12 Games Like Rune Factory
Our list of games like Rune Factory offers a large number of other role playing games that combine simulation and monster battles in unique ways in a single adventure.
Rune Factory started as a popular spin-off to the Harvest Moon series, combining the life simulation elements of the Harvest Moon franchise with fantasy, monsters and swords for an entirely new diverse adventure. With a number of subsequent releases the Rune Factory franchise is now its own separate entity with a large list of Nintendo exclusive titles. While gameplay has changed slightly between game additions the core gameplay of the Rune Factory franchise revolves around growing crops, improving your farmstead and exploring dungeons to battle with and against monsters.
In these dungeons players can defeat monsters or choose to tame them instead which allows them to produce products on your farm, help tend your planted crops or allow you to fight tougher monsters in the dungeons. In Rune Factory players can also spend their time mining for minerals, fishing and increasing their wealth in order to upgrade weapons, farm tools and their house. While gameplay is open ended there is a linear storyline embedded in each Rune Factory game for players to follow which also includes romance options.
The games like Rune Factory that you’ll find here offer other games where you’ll manage your life while also adventuring into dungeons for PC, iOS, Android and other popular console platforms.
Stardew Valley
Drawing inspiration from the Harvest Moon franchise Stardew Valley puts you at the centre of your own farming adventure. Using the well known as a foundation Stardew Valley takes the experience further than ever before with its own unique mechanics and superb game design which were refined throughout the games lengthy original development. Starting your adventure in the countryside players inherent a vast plot of land from their grandfather in the area known as Stardew Valley. At this stage char...[Read Review]
Atelier Annie: Alchemist of Sera Island
Atelier Annie: Alchemist of Sera Island is a Nintendo DS game that blends role playing elements, resource management and item crafting together to create a fun and interesting adventure that has similarities to the popular Harvest Moon franchise. Released in 2009 to the Japanese and North American markets separately this title will challenge players with 6 major quests during their 3 year adventure on the special Sera island. The game follows Annie who loves nothing more than dreaming about marr...[Read Review]
Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale
Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale explores an interesting blend of mechanics as you operate your own item shop and attempt to earn the maximum profit while haggling with your customers. On top of this core mechanic though Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale also encourages players to engage in dungeon crawling to obtain a steady flow of items to sell. Originally released in Japan Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale was translated and brought to Steam in 2010. In Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale you will play ...[Read Review]
River King: Mystic Valley
River King: Mystic Valley (Harvest Fishing in some European regions) takes farming simulation into the fishing simulation genre providing a great alternative especially for fans of fishing. The game is available on the Nintendo DS platform and was released in April 2008. In River King players discover that their sister is unable to wake up due to a mysterious power that has been slowly growing in the forest close to your home. Despite all your efforts she is still unable to wake, your only hope ...[Read Review]
Avalon Code
Avalon Code is a fantasy role playing title for the Nintendo DS platform that allows players to literally shape the world around them by altering the elemental code of everything around you. Playing as your choice of a female or male protagonist you’ll dive into a fantasy world of colourful graphics and innovative core gameplay across a directed storyline. Released in North America in 2009 after success from a 2008 release in the Japan video game market Avalon Code is a Nintendo DS exclusi...[Read Review]
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a popular life simulation game with city building aspects available for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is published by Nintendo and was released in late 2012 (Japan) with international releases in June of 2013. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf players take control of the mayor in a rural village. This is unlike previous games in the series where players assumed the role of a new villager in the town. This isn’t the only new feature to be added to the Animal Crossing series w...[Read Review]
Fantasy Life
Fantasy Life packs in a huge amount of customisation, cute graphics and a large open world for Nintendo 3DS players to explore with the game drawing inspiration from similar simulation role playing titles for this portable console. With a dozen different lives (classes) that each have their own activities and quests it’s easy to get lots of replay value from Fantasy Life as each life promises a unique experience that builds on similar adventures in this gaming sub genre. Set in the world of Reve...[Read Review]
Farm For Your Life
Farm For Your Life is an interesting indie experience that combines zombies, farming, tower defence and even running your own restaurant into a single game experience. All of these gameplay elements are wrapped together into a cute graphical package and an affordable price that encourages gamers of all backgrounds to step into the colourful world. Set in a game world where a heavy storm has struck your quiet town and in turn unleashed the living dead it’s up to you the player and the few survivo...[Read Review]
Shepherd’s Crossing 2
Shepherd’s Crossing 2 is farm simulation game available on the Nintendo DS that has many similarities to the popular Harvest Moon series and challenges players to efficiently develop their own farm. Released in 2010 for the Nintendo DS the game also serves as a sequel to the PlayStation 2 Shepherd’s Crossing title that was English released in 2008 (originally developed in 2003). At the heart of Shepherd’s Crossing 2 players will find a beautifully crafted anime themed graphic design that h...[Read Review]
World’s Dawn
Inspired by Harvest Moon and other farming based simulation titles, World’s Dawn offers up a colourful seaside village in need of player assistance in a social simulation game that will pull you in for over two dozen hours of gameplay as you revive the surrounding village areas. Funded out of a Kickstarter campaign World’s Dawn shows all the signs of a game that was meticulously created which comes through most notably in the writing and design of the townsfolk who all feel unique. T...[Read Review]
Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning
Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning is the second game in the franchise of farming and life simulation roleplaying titles to land for the Nintendo 3DS. Opting to introduce new customisation depth to the widely praised Harvest Moon franchise you’ll otherwise experience a similar but highly polished adventure to the previous titles. With these new upgrades its the same Harvest Moon as always but with enough new content that long term fans will enjoy their farming adventure. This time around pla...[Read Review]
Miramagia
Miramagia is a free to play game that combines farming simulation with a magical game world and role playing mechanics to create a unique blend. Originally available through your browser with Adobe Flash the adventure lives on with a downloadable Windows client. This unfortunately also saw the developer ceasing active development which limits players to the content that was available as at May 2020. While substantial in terms of content and promises hundreds of game hours with the content availa...[Read Review]
