The previously teased new Rune Factory game, Project Dragon finally has an official name and release window, thanks to a Nintendo Partner Direct today. It's now called Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, and it's coming out in spring of next year.
Guardians of Azuma takes place in, well, Azuma, a land that underwent something called the "Celestial Collapse" some time ago. Since that time, the four seasons have yet to return to the land. You play as a hero who awakens with no memories and is greeted by Woolby, a creature with a connection to the dragon god. As an earth dancer, your job is to restore nature to Azuma and bring back the missing runes.
It's Rune Factory, so you'll spend a lot of time sprucing up a farm and various other locations, all while bringing back the seasons and the gods that govern them. You'll rebuild villages inspired by traditional Japan, and unlock various new and returning festivals. We got glimpses of what may be marriageable townsfolk and the marriage ceremony itself, too. And as usual, there are two possible protagonists, a man and a woman, but you can befriend or romance any eligible bachelor regardless of gender.
Unlike the numbered Rune Factory games, Guardians of Azuma seems to have far, far more of a combat-focus and the trailer showcases a number of action sequences and plots revolving around the conflict between two sides, and two dragons. It looks like we even get to ride one of them.
There's a lot to appreciate in the Guardians of Azuma trailer, and it certainly looks like an upgrade from Rune Factory 5, especially in the combat department. I gave Rune Factory 5 a 6/10 in my review, saying it had "much of the mechanical depth that made its predecessor so enjoyable, but none of the improvements one would expect from a leap to a new, more powerful platform."
Hopefully Guardians of Azuma turns out to be an improvement in more than just appearance when it launches in the spring. You can find everything else announced during the Nintendo Direct right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
