Rune Manufacturing unit has been in a bizarre spot over the previous couple of console generations. Regardless of surviving the collapse of its authentic developer, the eventual launch of Rune Manufacturing unit 5 was — to place it bluntly — a little bit of a catastrophe. Nonetheless, fairly than disappearing for an additional 10 years, Marvelous ended up revealing that not one however two extra video games had been on the way in which.
Whereas Rune Manufacturing unit: Guardians of Azuma won’t be a numbered title, it held all of the expectations of a mainline entry regardless. It wanted to repair up the problems with Rune Manufacturing unit 5 and produce the franchise into the trendy period. However whereas it definitely manages the latter with an enormous enhance in manufacturing values, Guardians of Azuma’s completely different tackle farming and combating fails to do both of those parts significantly properly.
Rune Manufacturing unit: Guardians of Azuma takes place a while after the occasions of 5 within the japanese lands of Azuma. Devastated by an occasion referred to as “The Celestial Collapse”, Azuma is slowly withering away. Enter the protagonist, certainly one of two playable amnesiacs who finds themselves attempting to revive the lands and regain their reminiscences alongside the way in which.
This results in the protagonist’s new lifetime of each adventuring and village constructing as they work to carry life again to every space. It undoubtedly tries to arrange a extra plot-heavy story, thanks partially to the addition of full voice appearing and far improved character fashions. In apply, although, the story typically takes a backseat to character occasions as a substitute.
You begin off with entry to Spring Village, rapidly changing into its chief and given free rein to start out constructing new amenities and decorations. With the ability to design sections of every village is the primary new gimmick in Guardians of Azuma, bettering them to each entice villagers again and improve your stats within the course of.
You’re solely in a position to construct inside particular zones, including in amenities like blacksmiths, farmland, or extra housing as new villagers transfer in. It’s all straightforward to know, with easy Village Missions guiding you in direction of particular objectives. Finishing missions allows you to degree up villages, granting entry to extra buildings, construct areas, and an elevated villager cap.
This easy system makes choosing up constructing a breeze, but in addition finally ends up being its downfall on the identical time. Village constructing by no means will increase in complexity as you proceed, and also you don’t must put a lot thought into the way you assemble each. In reality, Rune Manufacturing unit: Guardians of Azuma does a fairly horrible job of creating any of the village-specific stats truly matter.
Some buildings can improve the share bonuses for sure points like farming or mining, however this by no means feels impactful. Villagers additionally include an Output worth, although you haven’t any actual incentive to actively take note of this. No matter what I selected, it by no means appeared like my decisions modified a lot about how villages functioned each day.
I’m reminded a number of Dondoko Island in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the place you are not anticipated to strive that onerous in constructing issues up. Not less than in that sport, it was solely a facet mode, fairly than a key part of the primary gameplay loop.
By the tip of the story, I finished paying a lot consideration to any of the village constructing mechanics, exterior of cramming stat enhance decorations into one nook. Since construct area is kind of restricted in most villages — just one has a big space to work with — it’ll be arduous to essentially make a village that is distinct from what different gamers will find yourself creating anyway.
What makes this a difficulty is the truth that a number of Guardians of Azuma is in the reduction of when in comparison with mainline Rune Manufacturing unit entries. Farming is even much less vital, there are few facet actions, and the world remains to be stored comparatively small. I may perceive if this was executed to make method for an in-depth village-building system, however that’s simply not the case.
In regard to the small world, that is one thing that’s shared by all video games within the franchise. However in Guardians of Azuma, it nearly feels such as you had been supposed to have entry to bigger zones in some unspecified time in the future. You have got 4 principal zones, with smaller sky islands and linear dungeons. None are significantly large, and the whole lot is proven on the map, which kills the sensation of exploration.
On the very least, fight has seen some enhancements over Rune Manufacturing unit 5. Motion and combos are usually quicker, with timed dodges opening up enemies to counterattacks as you decelerate time. Weapon decisions aren’t that thrilling, and you may get by utilizing just about something, although the bow does not less than permit for manually aimed cost assaults.
As with earlier Rune Manufacturing unit video games, fight nonetheless stays straightforward total. Protecting your gear updated and putting decorations in every village is sufficient to maintain your stats updated. Degree grinding is nonexistent too — should you enter an space with enemies larger than your present degree, you acquire massively elevated XP. Conversely, you get barely any XP for enemies at or under your degree.
Adventuring exterior the villages remains to be enjoyable sufficient, I simply want that there was extra occurring in every space. As talked about earlier, there’s no actual sense of exploration because of the small areas and abundance of map markers. Outdoors of gathering wooden and stone, there’s typically not a lot of an incentive to retread previous floor both.
With village constructing missing substance and exploration being restricted, it is the character occasions that basically carry Rune Manufacturing unit: Guardians of Azuma. I loved attending to know the primary solid, chatting to them day by day whereas unlocking new friendship and romance occasions.
Like with the primary story, occasions are all absolutely voiced with each a superb English dub and what appeared like stable Japanese voice appearing (although I used the previous for many of my playthrough). Mixed with the extra expressive character fashions, that is the most effective occasions have ever been in Rune Manufacturing unit.
What’s unusual is that, regardless of having robust character occasions, the precise principal story is generally horrible. Issues aren’t so dangerous beginning out, as you get to go to every village and meet its inhabitants. However after that, the story turns into very sloppy and poorly paced, with a number of characters or plotlines launched and dropped at a second’s discover.
Like with some parts of exploration, there’s a sense that main components of the story needed to be lower in some unspecified time in the future. All of it culminates in a principal plot that simply finally ends up being rushed, regardless of nonetheless taking some time to finish.
I can also’t discuss in regards to the story and characters with out particularly highlighting that a number of characters have occasions locked behind day 1 DLC. With occasions being the spotlight of the sport, I can’t actually condone reducing a few of this from gamers who don’t need to pay extra at launch.
Rune Manufacturing unit: Guardians of Azuma Overview | Last Ideas
Sturdy character occasions and improved presentation aren’t sufficient to hold a weak story and cut-down content material. There’s nonetheless enjoyable available in the case of Rune Manufacturing unit: Guardians of Azuma’s characters, however right here’s hoping Rune Manufacturing unit 6 improves upon the whole lot else.
Rune Manufacturing unit: Guardians of Azuma was reviewed on PC with a duplicate supplied by the writer over the course of fifty hours of gameplay – all screenshots had been taken throughout the technique of assessment.
