Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma Looks AMAZING! Everything we know so far!

[@MrPoppints]

I like it when the protagonist you don't choose is still part of the story~

[@Xxsorafan]

Yess!

[@guardianaelita3301]

I know not that many people liked Rune Factory 5 all that much, but I was super happy to see Hina wearing the Seed Ranger outfit~! I’m super hyped to see how this game turns out to be (definitely looking to play the female character) from the farming to how the characters interact with each other! 2025 is shaping up to be a really fun year video game wise!!

[@zencaia3064]

@@guardianaelita3301 me too! Im like baby Hina is all grown up and followed our footsteps into becoming a seed ranger 🥹💖

[@thewhisperingsylph8738]

A much better outcome, tbh. Iirc, in RF5 she said she wanted to work in Kumo's inn when she's older. Her childhood 'boyfriend' will miss her now that she's a Ranger unless he becomes one too. Can't wait to see what past characters will appear in RF6.

[@thotdonalds8853]

It’s such a nice touch, I love little details like that ❤️

[@bbmlk91]

Sameeeee!! I adored Hina so much in RF5 so it's amazing to see her grown up. Cannot wait to see how her character has developed!

[@Xxsorafan]

I do like most of the characters in 5 including Hina. But it’s just the open world was a bad choice.

[@juiceboxgeo]

i really thought 4 was gonna be the last game. and look how far weve come! 2 remasters, 1 new entry and now a spinoff!! so happy the rune factory series si thriving

[@Yusei255]

didn't really like Rune factory 5 myself

[@miunya]

All thanks to us players supporting them ! 🎉

[@juiceboxgeo]

@@Yusei255 havent finished it myself but i want to before azuma comes out

[@juiceboxgeo]

@@miunya yes ive been buying every collectors edition day 1!!

[@lysy3507]

Right?! So happy about all this! RF5 may not be perfect, but it made me cry for what its release meant to the series. Now this one looks to have improved a lot from RF5. Looking forward to this spinoff! The decade-long wait since RF4 is worth i!

[@zencaia3064]

When you showed rf5 briefly im like oh god those textured mounds 💀 this game is such a leap of graphics. I'm certainly never leaving the fall village if we ever get a choice to live somewhere. And about the character portraits, they're only important to me when the actual models are polygonal blobs. Since the models here are detailed then not having portraits is fine

[@anaiusoakuin5642]

I feel the same about the portraits. Not having them in Story of Seasons is miserable because I don’t really like the character models. They don’t do the character designs justice. I hope they’ll do better in future games. At least with Rune Factory, like you said, the models are detailed enough so they work fine to be the only representation for the characters. Even RF5 could have gotten away without the portraits. I’m glad they were there but they definitely didn’t NEED them.

[@Jeow_Kitty6810]

I like how the protaganists are in the same world and i wish other rune factory game would do more like this. As for the characters, i’m not sure about the 3d model characters. It still looks weird in my eyes at least. But i’m still looking forward with new rune factory game. (Sorry for my poor grammar)

[@ninototo1]

i think the only other game that does it is Tides of Destiny which is also a spin-off

[@cissilaxenos2612]

I really hope the guy with a mask will be romanceable, he looks so cool!! So excited for a new RF game

[@katrin428]

me too :3 I like the mysterious type love interests :) And I kinda wanna see how he looks without his mask ~

[@ninototo1]

Im not gonna romance a guy but I am curious about his face :D

[@SunnyLove01]

Been playing Rune Factory since the first one on the chunky DS, now almost 30 and still just as excited to see what the new titles have in store 🥹❤ hoping they add in the classic character portraits though, it gives them so much more personality imo 😢

[@ninototo1]

Pretty much the same story as me xD It's been so long since we started playing RF. I also love the portraits, they are gorgeous. But I think it's okay here since the models are really good

[@Vicker9192]

The female protagonist is so pretty I kinda wish she ends up being a marriage candidate. I love the design for the male protagonist too. They both look so cool! EDIT: Just got to the part in the video lol. I'm definitely getting this game now

[@JoshGamingGarden]

You can marry the protagonist!

[@Vicker9192]

@@JoshGamingGarden I should probably finish watching before commenting lol Thank you for covering this btw! I somehow always miss news about farming games.

[@superbuneary8819]

Fr the protagonists looks so cool. No offense to RF5 but 2 blonde barbie and Ken look alike in police uniform wasn't really my thing. Although Alice looks pretty cute in her normal attire. In RF4 Frey was the easy pick than Lest. Now in Azuma idk who to pick lmao. But at least you can marry them off with each other. They nailed this game already.

[@Xxsorafan]

Yep it’s like oceans! Two protagonists that co exist and can marry each other ❤️

[@cutejustice]

I am SO excited for this! It looks gorgeous ✨

[@JoshGamingGarden]

I can't wait!!

[@mikayamada8276]

I literally SCREAMED when I saw this on the direct. I can’t waaaaait!!!!

[@ahmuadparks9248]

Sammeee

[@SirUmnei]

This is what RF5 should've been (quality wise). Night and frickin' day! Love to be excited for RF again after the disaster 5 was in several of it's aspects.

[@JoshGamingGarden]

You can tell they put a lot more time and money into this one!

[@superbuneary8819]

Seems like RF5 was a trial or a leap into their already mastered formula of RF4. Like they wanted to experiment and also it's been so long since they touched the rune factory series since 4 so they're not quite on their zone yet. But now they finally got the grasp of it again. I'm so happy you can have the protagonists co existing with each other now and I hope rune factory 6 would be like that too.

[@EvaHoshizora]

@@superbuneary8819 being fair, they just got saved from bankrupcy by the fans, so RF5 was more of a love letter than a real proper game and they knew it, but they can't control the game's pricing (it was on Nintendo as the publisher), but it got promotion bound for almost 6 months when it arrived on PC as an apology. I wish more people realized that =< RF5 was a love letter to us, a thank you for us believing in them.

[@ImVividz]

@@superbuneary8819 true for rf5 it feel like experinment for 3D version.

[@ninototo1]

Well 5 was right after their bankruptcy so I imagine these were chaotic times

[@xxcamelia]

I was SO impressed by the trailer. The graphics look very beautiful, and since it was a spin off I was afraid we wouldn't be able to romance anyone! Also for this game I don't mind the lack of 2D portraits even tho I prefer games with them, the characters are detailed enough, I just hope they will make them expressive

[@ninototo1]

Right? Looks amazing. And yeah even with spin offs, there is always romance and farming, like in Frontier and ToD.

[@CL-lx2pm]

I'm mostly just hoping the teams take their time on these games going forward. RF5 was very clearly unfinished. Hell, I don't remember if Lucas even had a bed in his house. I just really hope they adjust to the 3d shift and *properly* finish the game before releasing. Rune Factory 1-4 had such beautiful environments and it would be nice to see a return to that quality.

[@Asunnixe]

I can't wait for the collectors edition even though it's expensive but the plush and folding fan is going to be so cute I bet!! I worry about the performance issues since RF5 had so much lag constantly so hopefully all turns out well. The umbrella watering looks so fun and decorating a town is a first so I'm looking forward to that too 😮

[@JoshGamingGarden]

It is expensive, but it has a lot of stuff in it! I'm so excited for the fan! 😆 Yes, hopefully it runs well!

[@RaDappa]

i’m so excited for this!! the town rebuilding mechanics remind me of dark cloud. looks like it’s a big step up from 5 in terms of performance too. rune factory is my favorite farming series so i hope this game does well!

[@Lunicia]

Yaaay, just this morning I thought it would be great, if Josh would analyze all the available Infos

[@Laf631]

This really looks like they heard the complaints about RF5 and massively improved everything. Really hoping it's not just a pretty trailer!

[@andiaam9703]

I'm so happy about this! I tried playing rf5 but I can't get into it, so I go back to 3 and 4. But this one.. wow! Can't wait for the release!

[@tsuciya]

the 3d model looks really great! to be honest for me i more like 2d character portait but from the trailer and screenshot, the 3d model look more expressive than the RF5 the world it seem not empty anymore so this series we can expect better than RF5, cant wait for this to release ❤

[@danielle_z]

This game looks incredible 😍 Spring can’t come fast enough!

[@RoyalRadiantJade]

Awww Hina 😭😭 always love character growth. I’m definitely going to try it out… as soon as I finish RF5…

[@bluefox2844]

Awwww Hina grew up to be a SEED ranger ❤😭❤ my heart just got slapped in the face by what feels like wholesomeness. Soo cuteeeee she's all growd up

[@aqualiley]

I was a out to turn off the direct since it was almost done anyway but I'm so glad I stuck around to see this game announced 😍 It looks AMAZING!

[@solo6965]

Josh must have woolby cosplay wearing when the game released

[@Ninja40K]

I agree with Josh that managing multiple farms is overwhelming. Harvestella excelled in farming, particularly with its seamless watering system. So many farming games have a dragon theme this year, and I am excited about the new SOS games.

[@lapniappe]

I guess i'll be the one person defending Rune Factory 5. lol i just love that game. just from everything that I heard. RF5 development had a lot of struggles and those struggles show up in the final work. but ever since Marvelous took over, and the company was now stable, I don't think it was ever in doubt that future titles would be more polished. and I'm glad GoA is showing that hope was not unfounded. Because of the struggles that the company had - it's why i give RF5 a lot more rope in the performance issues and the design quality. (and I personally - not taking anything away from people who do struggle with it - never really had a BIG problem with it. again I have about 5 saves and 500 hrs in it and I know i'll play it over and over again). with that said. I am really excited for this. it' will be different so i know that will be a little worrisome for some people but i always say just have an open mind and just enjoy the game for what it is! :) Thanks Josh for the breakdown. :)

[@EvaHoshizora]

More people need to remember they just saved from Bankrupcy by the fans, they didn't expect 4 to save them, much less for Nintendo to give them funding to remake the old games. We saved them, Nintendo listened to us and gave them another chance. RF5 is their love letter to us, the fans. Had we not saved them, there wouldn't be a 5 in the first place, much less the Specials.

[@melisa6355]

RF5 had it's shortcomings but I still enjoyed it for what it was. I was really happy to finally get any new RF, flaws and all. This, however, looks amazing! I hope it will work on the Steam Deck.

[@ninototo1]

​@@EvaHoshizoraThis makes me kinda emotional

[@EvaHoshizora]

@@ninototo1 yeah, I emotional too =>

[@Leafie1205]

Yesss I'm so excited for this game!! The ranching is one of my favorite parts of the series, so I was sad to see that it was likely not included, however there are plenty of other great aspects that draw me to this game. The improved graphics being one! Also the different setting is so exciting - we finally get to see more parts of the Rune Factory world! I am one of those people who love the character portraits haha, but as long as the models look good (which they do) I can live with it. For me, I really love the added detail the portraits give. Something about the 2D drawing can portray their expressions in a way that is difficult for 3D models. I'm also just a fan of 2D art in general so that may tie into it for me. But again the 3D models look good, and though I prefer the addition of portraits, I will still enjoy it. I love woolby. And love the appearance of Hina who grew up and became a SEED ranger! All in all so excited for this game ✨

[@Jackson-e6b]

Thank you for covering Josh. I would have missed that because I rarely watch the Direct. I started RF with Tides of Destiny and since the it always felt strange to play the Main Line Titles for me some way. Azuma may just check all the boxes this time. This looks great so far.

[@DiabolicCrusher]

Love the oriental aesthetic and it looks stunning, really looking forward to it. The manually building villages is a great idea honestly, but then again i'll just place everything close for convenience instead of building actual huge village if that's an option. Hina looks pretty cool too, wonder what they're gonna do with her story and if she'll say anything about RF5 protag or no.

[@SelfieMasters]

Thanks for compiling all the information available! Definitely missed out on all these details! Personally, I think the game doesn’t need the portraits since the character models look good and seem to be well animated. Felt this way for RF5 too during its cutscenes but I’m curious to see what people think about it.

[@sairi_a]

I've never played a Rune Factory game, but I might pick this one up

[@aster.cotton]

I'm much more excited for it now with this new trailer than I was with the old one. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun and significantly improved from RF5. I desperately want to hear more about RF6 though but I'm guessing that game is nowhere near ready since they haven't showed anything for it.

[@acedemi5229]

I like that the male PC character does not look like a child. That was something I didn't like about Rune Factory 5-The male MC looked like he was all of 12 years old. And yes, please, to a grid for decorating!!

[@TheRoRo56]

Agreed!

[@jahipalmer8782]

I am very, very interested. I'm just excited to play more Rune Factory.

[@lilymoncat]

Meanwhile I'm going 'show me my bachelors, show me the men!' during the romance part.

[@ninototo1]

the men are pretty hot

[@katiethefandomgirl4412]

Honestly I think that the characters being so animated will make up for the lack of 2D portraits. Unlike Pioneers of Olive Town where the characters weren't that animated and thus because of the lack of 2D portraits it's hard to tell what they're feeling, Guardians of Azuma's characters are much more animated in cutscenes, therefore we can have a better idea on what they're feeling and thus the lackof 2D portraits is fine here in my opinion

[@katelynsewell3928]

RF Guardians of Azuma made my entire day! I’m very excited for it! 🤩

[@superbuneary8819]

Freaking finally both protagonists can co exist and marry each other. I always wanted that to be the case with past rune factory games so theres no question on whos canon. Im hoping rune factory 6 lets it be that way too. Makes it so much more fun.

[@Numanuma282]

Though I am very excited for this, I am worried that Ranching has been removed. I hope it is still included because raising and taming monsters was one of the best parts of the OG games and kind of set it apart from the other farming sims.

[@maiasim1560]

I've never played Rune Factory , but this looks amazing. May just have to start.

[@ninototo1]

It's a really fun combination of farm sim and action rpg. I recommend starting with 3 special (though it only has a male protag) or 4.

[@MrRocsy]

Not having portraits is kind of a letdown honestly, but i'll still play because its rune factory. Rune Factory Oceans did not have portraits and i still loved that game.

[@alz397]

I didn’t even notice, that kinda sucks. Cause I normally would rather look at their portraits

[@RyukagiRen]

seeing Hina grow up make me wonder how is our previous MC doing now, does Lest and Frey still alive like dat. I hope they released it in Steam in the same time with Switch, if not we prob gonna wait fer 6 months at least

[@ninototo1]

I wonder how long Earth Mates can live ? Maybe they are like elves. It would be cool to see them again.

[@RyukagiRen]

@@ninototo1 if I remember, they live longer than normal human

[@mayamellissa]

Looks good. Once again you did a great video. LOOK AT OUR BABY HINA! T^T They grow up so fast.

[@KoKoaKate]

I like what I see! I hope it lives up to expectation because I'm hyped now!

[@CrobatmanIamthenight]

I didn't even realise that's Hina, that's wild

[@enamellightYT]

I can't wait for this game, hopefully, Aus will get the collector's edition, it's a definitely pre-order for me.

[@Shaoife]

Thank you for clairfying that Azuma isn't Rune Factory 6. I wasn't sure if it was or wasnt, haha.

[@HannahFoll]

I’m sooo excited for this game! I’ve been a fan of the series since 2013! 🎉 I hope that it will be playable on the Switch 2 (or whatever it’s going to be called)

[@ripedevilfruit]

it looks so good im excited to play! Thanks for covering info :D

[@TinyCatSpoons]

Thank you for your comprehensive overview as well as the insightful breakdowns of the extra content like the screenshots from the Japanese website!

[@XpopxrocksX]

Thanks for the videos. You’re my favorite channel for games like this.

[@Icyangel10]

I'm probably not buying the collector's box this time around but I'm kind of interested to see what happens so might buy it at a later point after seeing some more stuff

[@dragonforce2582]

Yea!!! Rune Factory is back🔥

[@ahmuadparks9248]

I hope the one with the Sakura flower on her head is available for romance. She looks so lovely.

[@Avalinara]

Oh shoot! This looks amazing! I loved RF5 despite its flaws and I’m excited to see them improve on what they build with that. And Hina being around is so exciting.

[@xanth7202]

I really love that it looks like they are going to carry on where Oceans left of! I really love that game! With 5 being in 3d I ended up really missing the ability to jump😅

[@Luninareph]

I'm so excited for this game!!!

[@chelseabighetty4722]

Thanks so much for this video! I learned so much! You got me even more hyped!!

[@ZerotrojanWars]

Thanks for this update!

[@Emerald-kun]

Graphics and art direction are definitely an improvement compared to previous RFs, so I'm excited for this spin-off. We've come a long way from Nintendo DS. Haha

[@momob4276]

I'm super hyped for this game. I would be ok with instead of a ranching mechanic instead resource gathering from monsters you fight in the over world. And instead of ranching the trade off is having a very robust custom village building mechanic. Only because there are SOooo many farming games with ranching and other than Slime Rancher most don't do anything new or interesting with ranching imo so I'm fine if ranching was traded out with an equally engaging system. Also some insight about portraits from a game dev. I'm not surprised they are no longer doing portraits. Portraits were common years ago because 3d graphics were not great and having a nice portrait gave a better idea of what the character looked like and often looked better than the 3d character. However now that 3d graphics look amazing there really is no need to include 2d portraits and including them would just unnecessarily drive up the game budget.

[@Idlemage]

A new rune factory! Nice been waiting for ages

[@GutMuncherZero]

Oooh - this looks so good!

[@barpoe]

Ooh! I've never played a Rune Factory spinoff! Looking forward to this :D

[@o0Sazie0o]

Honestly, I hope the same sex romance isn't as annoying as it was in rune factory 5. I didn't want to go into those cutscenes by force, and I got really annoyed that I couldn't say no or skip/ignore them. They basically triggered whenever you were near the spots on the map, plus I couldn't be honest and tell them no not interested in them, so I'm hoping they at least give better options to avoid npcs you don't want to romance. Maybe give us like a "I just want to be friends." or something to end the random romance cutscenes from popping up.

[@zillo1600]

Same. some characters I just wanted to be good friends with and learn more about them but I didn't want to evolve this relationship into romance. Felt like I had my own harem.

[@eggegg8181]

I’m definitely getting this one!

[@aster4jaden]

The farming and building the towns are what I look forward to most, this Game look fantastic!

[@Bakuuren]

I'm not a fan of the character designs, but the gameplay does look interesting. Plus the enviroments look 10x better. Also, Woolby. I like the design. I'm not expecting it to be exactly like the mainline RF games, and combat seems to be a bigger focus along with restoration of the villages. That is fine. That Earth Dancer Edition oof...I will think about it.

[@phoenixastra4429]

Okay I'm actually really am excited for this!!!

[@kuraihikari5785]

The graphics are definitely improved, although the artstyle feels more … ‘generic’, for lack of a better term. If it didn’t have the Rune Factory name I would think I was looking at Genshin impact or something. 5 is no competition graphically and possibly gameplay and performance too, but I hope this new one still feels like Rune Factory.

[@kermitwithamustache3885]

My only experience with the Rune Factory series was Tides of Destiny on the PS3, i remember it having a really fun battle system Guardians of Azume seems to be the first game to have a fully fleshed out hack n slash combat since that game, so i'm really interested in checking that one out once it releases

[@Kodamare]

Didnt watch the nintendo direct, so all my info is just from stuff before today and this video. Overall, I was hyped and still am so for this but with a lot of points that Josh brought up, I am curious and wary of certain things. 1. I like the 3d models, Ulalaka seems to have a bountiful harvest every spring it seems, jokes aside, I will miss the sprite nostalgia, but I think mashing them together especially with cutscenes being overlaid by sprites, I think would be a bit jarring. From RF4 and RF5, it seemed a bit weird in some scenes looking at the game and then it being overlaid for story and cutscenes stuff but no idea how to really improve on that so I am open to a newer style without the sprites to see how it goes. 2. If it is following a Tides of Destiny route, and going with partitioned maps instead of open world, I think this will be vastly better for gameplay for Switch players since the latest open world games of Pokemon SV and the last RF5 felt so janky with being open world, thankfully ToTK was a little less noticeable and much more stream lined at least imo. I do hope that they dont make the mistake they made in ToD, because iirc, the main reason why i stopped halfway into ToD was because there were no % based items, so where your health is going well over the 1,000s and you have to cook baseline food to heal, your inventory either gets really clogged or youre really strapped for ingredients and mana for healing.

[@RurijoDeijiRikorisu]

You had me at Woolby. I'm in.

[@Redge.]

This looks significantly more polished than RF5. Hoping for stable performance and/or multiple console ports. Come on, Marvelous, bring modern Rune Factory to PS5 and Xbox!

[@kazuyakanbara1395]

Can't wait!

[@EvaHoshizora]

So! Make sure everyone knows! Guardians of Azuma and RF6 are technically two sides of the same story, just different sides of the world. I DO hope we get a DLC or even a third game to tie the two together if both games are good and fun, but that is just me being a fan of the entire series since I was lil wee baby~!

[@Oggre]

I love this game already❤

[@berfoul]

Do you think it is much more detailed because of the arrival of the new Nintendo Switch 2? As a fan who has played the entire series, I'm so happy to see the progress they're making on it.

[@katrin428]

Maybe I should give rf5 or rf4 special another go~ Did not have this rf title on my radar so I'm kinda interested in it. I like that we can have a bow as a weapon, but what i'm more interested in is how the bachelor and bachelorettes look >.< Maybe we're even able to date the gods ? Maybe there is a possibility that we get a bachelor quiz on the games website like for rf 5 :)

[@grandheroking]

yay i am so hyped!! rune factory has been a favorite of mine since i was a kid!!

[@daaaaanzzz]

Time to marry the other protag. As it should have been as always.

[@christopherbenac3776]

I am looking forward to seeing Hina’s Roll in the story as well as old Save bonuses from rune Factory 3,4 and 5 What kind of stuff will be unlocked? Also, will we see Julian be mentioned by name? Even though I only have 3 and 5 on my switch

[@RaisinBug]

I'm excited for this game, but I'm also certain that this game will give me motion sickness 😭 Already felt nauseous with RF5, so I expect this to be the same. I really miss their old RF style 😢

[@JoshGamingGarden]

Oh no 😭 Hopefully they have enough camera settings or something to make it work for those sensitive to motion sickness.

[@superbuneary8819]

Yesss! Bring the 2d environments back. Idk why they felt like they needed to change or catch up with modern 3d gaming when they already mastered their formula in rune factory 4, it was their most perfect game. It looked better too. But hey better to have more rune factory games than not. Im just so glad their doing rune factory games again.

[@nirvash241]

I love the spin off on wii they were pretty short but honestly has better mechanics than main game so I can't wait for this one

[@grandpamarky1265]

Im so excited for this game!!! I might get it on steam instead of switch cuz i got a steam deck 🤔

[@sapphirII]

I'm still unsure because of RF5, but there's no doubt I will pick up the game. Soil stat not appearing isn't something I mind, but I'm also not convinced it won't be in the game, as you needed an item to see it. Also, you said every RF games(for MC having amnesia) but it wasn't the case with Tides of Destiny.😜

[@corner7181]

The only thing I was worried about was if it would have same sex marriage and I'm so relieved it does. I know 5 was the first to have it but I was just kinda worried since 5 isn’t very popular maybe they wouldn't keep it or something Idk. Definitely looking forward to this one even more.

[@Snowi...]

we eating good!

[@abdulearrington6572]

i looooooove rune factory lets gooo!!!

[@elemomnialpha]

11:49 uhh, they announced it was a Switch game when then announced it initially at a Nintendo direct before we even had the Project Dragon name

[@JoshGamingGarden]

Which direct was it? The first trailer was revealed during the Marvelous Game Showcase 2023, the second trailer was in the Marvelous Game Showcase 2024. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure it's the first time this game is in a Nintendo Direct.

[@boethia7367]

Rune Factory?! RUNE FACTORYYYYYY!!!!

[@litneyloxan]

Cant wait! They've been working hard over at Marvelous and xseed it seems!

[@Milady_M]

I noticed it said something about regaining your memory. I hope it doesn't have a heart wrenching scene like in Rune Factory 2 as a result of said gained memories. It looks really good though and I can't wait to play it

[@ElliedoGaming]

Ive never played the runefactory games, but this game looks great!

[@cissilaxenos2612]

Honestly I really like RF5 graphics, I wish GoA graphics had more texture and volume, not sure if I described it correctly haha

[@ShadowWolfRising]

So they threw in Dark Cloud Town Building. 'Looks at the Romance Options.' And Romance Options that don't look like children.

[@KirieHimuro100]

I am looking forward to this

[@josie_the_valkyrie]

The art style looks so much better than RF5. RF5 was so bright and colourful that it gave me retinal damage…

[@ArrowSlayer]

Very excited for this

[@Lord_Frieza]

I like RF5 the only thing i didn't like was how bad the game run on Switch and Texture. If they ever do a remake with everything better and fixed for every console then i would buy it again but for PS5 this time. I wouldn't trust it again on Nintendo Switch, I'm not making that mistake again 😅.