Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny

 Wii
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 13
  3. Negative: 2 out of 13
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  1. Chancedeath
    Oct 8, 2011
    8
    Like all Harvest moon games/Run Factory games, its a love it or hate it. If you like the other games, you will most likely like this game. The farming is different in this game though. You can made a sapling but you can't water it to make it grow, you have to get monsters to do the work for you. It is some of the most fun i have had with a HM/RF game in a while. The story is also pretty good.
  2. Apotts
    Jun 28, 2012
    8
    I put off buying this game, because I had read mixed reviews of the game, but when I found it on sale for $18 I had to give it a spin. I am really happy that I did. Oh and I should point out that I am a long time fan of Harvest Moon, and although I have bought Rune Factory games in the past I have never found one that I actually enjoyed until now.

    First of all the bad because a few    I put off buying this game, because I had read mixed reviews of the game, but when I found it on sale for $18 I had to give it a spin. I am really happy that I did. Oh and I should point out that I am a long time fan of Harvest Moon, and although I have bought Rune Factory games in the past I have never found one that I actually enjoyed until now.

    First of all the bad because a few things bothered me about the game, but none of these things are bad enough to keep me from being totally addicted to the game: 1) A number of things take more button pushes then they really should, for example when you have a tool/weapon equipped you need to bring up the quick equip screen and press A to unequip it. This gets old after awhile. 2) Lack of a decent tutorial, in the beginning I ended up needing to check Gamefaqs just to figure out the most basic things. 3) The unfair % of bacheloretts vs bachelors. If you are going to add romance for both sexes please be fair about it. Plus having to play half the game as a guy, before switching seems a bit much.

    Now the things I like. 1) The battle system is simple but very fun. I never liked it in earlier Rune Factory games, but I like it a lot in this one. I am particularly fond of the sparklers weapon, because how can you beat using two giant fireworks as a weapon? 2) Crafting tools/items and cooking are a lot of fun and their are so many expansions to buy and items and recipes to collect. Plus unlike some of the HM games I have played, when you fail at a recipe you know why you failed. 3) The characters are mostly great. I think there will always be some characters that get on your nerves when it comes to HM/RF series, but I like almost everyone this time around. Kelsey and James are my favorites though. 4) Farming is simplified, and that can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you like. Myself I am finding this simpler way of growing crops very refreshing. No more need to water things daily or they die!! Woo Hoo!

    5) Loving my giant golem, and using him to uncover new islands is great fun.

    6) I could go on an on about this game, but let's just say I highly recommend it.    … Expand
  3. Egork
    Mar 5, 2014
    3
    In this installment of Rune Factory Nintendo lowered the age of their market and really dropped the ball in possible appeal for adults. The main appeal of using the Wii over other platforms is the ease of holding the devices. If you've had nerve damage or a stroke, gaming can be a form of physical therapy and having some story / adventure helps one to pursue the effort and rewire thoseIn this installment of Rune Factory Nintendo lowered the age of their market and really dropped the ball in possible appeal for adults. The main appeal of using the Wii over other platforms is the ease of holding the devices. If you've had nerve damage or a stroke, gaming can be a form of physical therapy and having some story / adventure helps one to pursue the effort and rewire those nerves. In Tides of Destiny they reduced the story to about a 10 year old mindset and added all sorts of special attacks that require nerve function not present in someone using the device in the manner that they originally marketed it, namely to get the whole family involved. If they had that nerve function they would be using a different gaming platform of which there are many. They added all manner of lights and whistles that are simply confusing to anyone over about 30, and certainly over 50. They totally destroyed the crafting system in that getting in the green zone to improve an item is now random instead of actually aiming at and hitting the green zone as in Rune Factory Frontier.

    The aging gamer is an ignored market that the Wii claimed to want to fill, yet where are the adult adventure games?    … Expand
  4. xXRedZeroXx
    Apr 25, 2017
    10
    I don't know why this game is too hated. Actually it has a great story, great characters, the battles are addictive and you have tons of things to do in the game. I spend around 200+ hours in the game and I would like to play it again. The game changes the way you farm and mine for ore but that actually doesn't make it bad, just different from the other games. It even has one of the bestI don't know why this game is too hated. Actually it has a great story, great characters, the battles are addictive and you have tons of things to do in the game. I spend around 200+ hours in the game and I would like to play it again. The game changes the way you farm and mine for ore but that actually doesn't make it bad, just different from the other games. It even has one of the best final boss from the series.… Expand
  5. Z88_DysonSphere
    May 19, 2022
    8
    Definitely a fun experience for the Wii, which I sank may hours into as a kid. It combines may gameplay elements really well, such as combat, crafting, farming, and slice of life, meaning if you are a fan of Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, this game might be up your alley.

    There are times when I found the crafting to be imbalanced, since a lot of recipes were locked behind your    Definitely a fun experience for the Wii, which I sank may hours into as a kid. It combines may gameplay elements really well, such as combat, crafting, farming, and slice of life, meaning if you are a fan of Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, this game might be up your alley.

    There are times when I found the crafting to be imbalanced, since a lot of recipes were locked behind your character's level in that specific branch (cooking, woodworking, smithing, etc.). This meant that to unlock many of the later tier recipes, you'd have to do an inordinate amount of crafting, just to level up that stat. It wasn't too difficult for cooking, since you regularly cook healing items. But for woodworking and accessory crafting? Since these are things you only do occasionally, it was a lot more difficult to up your level.

    All in all though, I had a blast with this game, and there was a lot of depth to it that really can't be said about many other Wii games. I'd even consider this in my top 10 Wii games as well, if I had to make a list.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. NintendoWorldReport
    Nov 15, 2011
    75
    The villager interaction, combat, and farming are all serviceable, but none of the singular aspects of the game are spectacular. Series faithful will no doubt dig this game, though they might be put off by the farming simplification.
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  2. Nintendo Power
    Oct 6, 2011
    80
    Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny is good-looking and vibrant, with interesting characters, a compelling plot, and voice acting that's pretty solid. [Oct 2011, p.86]