izigame.me

To be honest I am enjoying the game, but not as a Rune Factory game. While I realize that this is not a core entry in the series the amount of over simplification of all the aspects scares me for the future of Rune Factory since they use these titles to test new ideas.
TLDR: its not what I want from an RF game and that's why I can't recommend it. If this was completely separate and had no impact on the future of RF I would probably like it more.
Don't go into it expecting an RF game because it doesn't feel like it.
Here is a breakdown of what I like and dislike both big and small:
Dislikes:
1. The complex crafting/cooking/farming is actually one of my favorite things about Rune Factory and if they were to dumb it down in the main series I would probably never play again. It had so many aspects it was hard to keep up with but the best part is even if you don't take advantage of all the tricks it is still fully playable. The overall ability to pick and choose which things you want to spend your time on is a great aspect that is lacking in this entry since everything got dumbed down.
2. A much smaller thing but important to me is the lack of 2D portraits and animation. The 3D models just aren't expressive enough and look soulless at times. Especially with the animations reused between characters during little interaction scenes. The 2D "movies" certain events always got me excited since my first RF game. I looked forward to unlocking them.
3. Not as much a comparison for this one But for Azuma thus far (on my way to Autumn so I know I'm not far in) the story seems lack luster. The translation error (6 months instead of 2 weeks) threw me off like crazy when starting out, and the whole begining feels even more cut and past than in other entrys(I know there is only so much you can do with amnesiac MCs but it didn't even feel like they tried. Woolby being an annoying mascot character makes me wish I could throw him out the window. The comedy with him feels forced and hard to listen to, and outside of him a lot of the interactions have felt over acted or sometime out of place. Not all of it is bad. Sometimes I've gotten into the story beat that I'm on but its been enough that its notable.
4. The removal of indoor spaces. This really takes away from the world for me. I hated when Pokémon did it and Rune Factory did it even worse. It makes the world feel underdeveloped and unemersive. The Inn in the Summer area is nice and expanding on that for all buildings maybe with auto open doors could be a compromise if they are just trying to reduce loading screens, but also maybe it was them trying to make the game run on the switch when even 5 couldn't.
Now for Likes:
1. I Do like the new bonding system. My only gripe being gift giving being locked into it but I can work with that. It is fun to see how they react to the different prompts though the reused animations could use some work as its all pretty cut and paste between characters. I Like seeing how my actions directly impact their bond (though maybe make it skip able or something that happens at the top of the screen while still letting me move on. It's a bit slow paced to happen every time but this is more of a nit pick than a complaint)
2. The combat is solid. I like the controls for the most part and its got a bit more nuance to it than older entries. No real notes here
3. I like riding Mokoshiro through the sky. It feels nice and is a fun way to explore. Not sure yet how this impacts the size of the overworld but so far i am not seeing issues. I know this isn't really something that can carry over to future titles so much but I do enjoy it
Neutral-ish:
1. The city building is fun and I like being able to choose the layout but I feel like this is also part of why we didn't get indoors and also why the main characters lost their Jobs. I loved how each character had a career path and a life to them. But also this does have the perks that the stores always stay open now with no randomly missing shop keeps. Over all I still prefer the detailed shops and the actual character running them rather than the randos but I do see perks to this. (Maybe give them Rando part timers in the future to cover the stores)
2. Again, not far in the story yet but, like 5 everything feels very fast paced. I could be wrong but I get the feeling I will finish the game before going through all of spring or summer just like I did in 5. I know 4 had major issues with random triggering events but honestly even just creating pauses in the story that it won't progress past a certain point before a certain date (within reason) I feel would be better than finishing it so fast. It just makes it feel badly paced. But also this type of issue is hard to balance so this is a small enough gripe that I put it in neutral.
So there, my very long explanation of my thoughts of the game. Hope someone finds it useful.