Any tips for Rune Factory 1?

Queen Sars · Post Posted: Dec 28, 2014 11:06 pm

Hey all, one of the first threads I ever started on here I asked if it was worth going back to RF1 and RF3 (since I'm odd and got 2 and 4). Well, I got both of them for Christmas and have started on RF1. It's a lot of fun! I expected the clunkiness because of its age so it doesn't really bother me too much.

Does anyone have any tips and tricks for RF1? I had one heck of a time trying to get a fishing rod (thank you Sabrina) but I still don't have a hammer. I read up that if you clear the second dungeon the blacksmith, Leo?, gives you one. I haven't even started the first dungeon!

If it means anything I'm on Spring 6 (or 7, I think it's 6) and have just been harvesting my radishes and fishing to get more money. Whenever I plant a new batch of radishes I till more soil (so then I can gain the pass from the Mayor to the first dungeon faster). I've given Emmett (the bar keeper) a wine I found in the cellar of Jasper's manor and he's the only one that likes me so far. I visited Mist and found the bottle in her house but I haven't given it to Edward to fill yet.

I try talking to everyone in town everyday, if I can find them, and it hints to little subplots (which I think is neat!) but I have no clue on how to keep going with them

Spoiler:

Anyways, yeah! Any type of tips for this game you guys can give me is much appreciated. I really like it so far and would love to play it more effectively!

SerpentTailedAngel · Post Posted: Dec 29, 2014 12:19 pm

With that clunkiness it's harder going back to RF1, though I still enjoy it. RF3 plays pretty smoothly. Not as good as 4, but much better than 2. It's the easiest handheld to go back to by far.

Sounds like you're mostly on top of things, but here's a few tips.

I've never tested it but according to the guide Sabrina's event does have to happen in the first year. I wouldn't panic too much about it, though. Unless you exploit a glitch you can't get access to something needed for that event until winter anyway, and I've found that you can usually pull it off within the first couple weeks of winter. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

You only need access to the first dungeon to get the hammer. Leo will give it to you if you till enough soil in Carmite. Which you need to do anyway to get access to the next dungeon. Once you've got a better hammer access to a few later caves (particularly Clemens) mining is one of the fastest ways to turn a profit. The price boost to higher level items is a little broken in RF1, and if you mine a lv 5 gem, it sells quite nicely.

Regrowing crops in seasonal dungeons. The game gives you enough plots that you're probably not going to use most of them, but setting up a few things that you can harvest every day or two in the caves right by your house is a nice, stead source of income.

Aside from any girl you're courting, I wouldn't worry too much about gift giving to raise friendship. Just be sure to talk to everyone when there's a festival. This will give a huge FP boost.

Post Posted: Dec 31, 2014 9:55 am

When you come up to the final cave -Greed- I found it is extremely useful in this case to take advantage of the 'you can not walk on branches' thing. As you enter your first room with monsters in it (should be orc), line up a barrier of branches on the left farming patch (one row is fine) to prevent them from getting at you. Take your LONG sword (you should have one by this point) and attack at them. When I was doing it I was doing it nonstop for days and got up to Lv99. Not as bad as you would thing but it is great. By the time I was 99 and was fighting Terrable I murdered him easily. Keep this in mind if you want to try it!

Melody Muse · Post Posted: Dec 31, 2014 2:57 pm

Here's a few I can think of:

If you marry Melody, you can't access the bathhouse due to a bug, so hold off on that until you don't need it or until post game.
I don't THINK you can marry Mei anymore since the DS wifi is down and she requires a high level love snapper to marry. If RF has local trading you might be able to still do it with a friend locally though to level up the fish.
If you want to marry Bianca, don't give her gifts. She only enjoys talking.
Plan your barns and the order you catch monsters in!! There is no way to reorganize the barns and monsters go in the order you catch them in. So it is incredibly useful to plan ahead.
Talk to everyone during festivals and give gifts/participate during festivals where you can.
IIRC, the characters stick to specific schedules so learning them is useful.
As with any RF, craft craft craft! Or you won't get far.

Admittedly the game is a lot clunkier than 3 and 4, but I really enjoy 1 still. I feel it has either the best or second best plots of the RF games and probably my favorite cast. (And obviously my favorite bachelorette haha.)

Also, this is the only RF Cher has a guide on, so make good use of it.

SerpentTailedAngel · Post Posted: Dec 31, 2014 3:45 pm

You can use local wi-fi for RF1. I traded with my brother all the time and just learned today that you could apparently trade items online.

In any case, I just thought of another one. Do not use a wind affinity weapon on the boss of Mt. Gigant. It has a high resistance to wind and if your strongest weapon has a wind affinity, you're actually better off using a weaker weapon. The best sword you usually have access to at that point in the game is a wind on, so...

Queen Sars · Post Posted: Jan 03, 2015 2:02 am

SerpentTailedAngel wrote: I've never tested it but according to the guide Sabrina's event does have to happen in the first year. I wouldn't panic too much about it, though. Unless you exploit a glitch you can't get access to something needed for that event until winter anyway, and I've found that you can usually pull it off within the first couple weeks of winter. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

You only need access to the first dungeon to get the hammer. Leo will give it to you if you till enough soil in Carmite. Which you need to do anyway to get access to the next dungeon. Once you've got a better hammer access to a few later caves (particularly Clemens) mining is one of the fastest ways to turn a profit. The price boost to higher level items is a little broken in RF1, and if you mine a lv 5 gem, it sells quite nicely.

Regrowing crops in seasonal dungeons. The game gives you enough plots that you're probably not going to use most of them, but setting up a few things that you can harvest every day or two in the caves right by your house is a nice, stead source of income.

Aside from any girl you're courting, I wouldn't worry too much about gift giving to raise friendship. Just be sure to talk to everyone when there's a festival. This will give a huge FP boost.

So tilling soil in Carmite is all I need to do to get the hammer? That's great, I was afraid I had to wait even longer for that darn thing. That's also good news about Sabrina, that was the one I was worrying about the most, but if it's til Winter then I should be fine. I love mining the most oddly enough, so I should be rolling in it once I get to Clemens lol. Speaking of festivals, is everyone present at them? I have a hard time finding Zavier in the town so after I was introduced to him he just disappeared. I'll focus less on presents and more talking to everyone if I can find them. Thank you for the help!

i'm just here wrote:I found it is extremely useful in this case to take advantage of the 'you can not walk on branches' thing. As you enter your first room with monsters in it (should be orc), line up a barrier of branches on the left farming patch (one row is fine) to prevent them from getting at you. Take your LONG sword (you should have one by this point) and attack at them. When I was doing it I was doing it nonstop for days and got up to Lv99. Not as bad as you would thing but it is great. By the time I was 99 and was fighting Terrable I murdered him easily. Keep this in mind if you want to try it!

Thank you, if I'm too underleveled I'll give this a try!

Melody Muse wrote:Here's a few I can think of:
If you marry Melody, you can't access the bathhouse due to a bug, so hold off on that until you don't need it or until post game.

I don't THINK you can marry Mei anymore since the DS wifi is down and she requires a high level love snapper to marry. If RF has local trading you might be able to still do it with a friend locally though to level up the fish.

If you want to marry Bianca, don't give her gifts. She only enjoys talking.

Plan your barns and the order you catch monsters in!! There is no way to reorganize the barns and monsters go in the order you catch them in. So it is incredibly useful to plan ahead.

Talk to everyone during festivals and give gifts/participate during festivals where you can.

IIRC, the characters stick to specific schedules so learning them is useful.

As with any RF, craft craft craft! Or you won't get far.
Also, this is the only RF Cher has a guide on, so make good use of it.

Is there a glitch also with the other bachelorettes too? Like if you married Rosetta, who gets your shipments? I can only assume Jean. Is RF1 crafting a bit tedious? I don't think I've unlocked crafting yet, or I just can't find where to craft! I remember in RF2 I quit a lot because crafting was a pain. I'd do it, but I didn't really care for it. I didn't know you couldn't switch monsters in the barns, I'll make sure to plan that thank you! I stopped any sort of plan of ever marrying Mei, despite local connection working as SerpentTailedAngel said, I have no one in my area that plays RF1 so she's out. Where is this guide by Cher? I looked in the Guides section for RF and didn't find one, sorry for the newbie question and thanks for the help!

SerpentTailedAngel wrote:Do not use a wind affinity weapon on the boss of Mt. Gigant.

Thanks for the warning, I hate when I get prepped up and then the boss nulls my stuff! >:(

Thanks you guys, you've been very helpful! I managed to open up Carmite, bought a seed maker, and am now saving up money to buy a battle axe from Leo via selling radishes and weeds. I haven't stepped in Carmite yet though, but it's still very fun to just talk with the villagers for now.

Melody Muse · Post Posted: Jan 03, 2015 2:38 am

As far as I know, all of the other bachelorettes are glitch-less. Melody just has a weird one where she (without being in the bathhouse aha) says something like "you can't bathe for free until we're married" (which was presumably supposed to be only if you bathed when you were engaged) but it keeps happening post marriage. I don't remember anyone saying there were issues with marrying Rosetta, and I know she was very popular so I'd imagine if there were, they would have come up.

For future reference and helping others find it, the Guide is on the main page, under the Harvest Moon side, under DS Games. It's right above DS and DS Cute and below Puzzle De Harvest Moon. But here's the direct link to it. (It's a marvelously well made guide so I always was a bit sad she didn't do guides for the others, but I understand due to the lack of time and the added content it would be a lot more work for her.)

Queen Sars · Post Posted: Jan 04, 2015 2:46 am

Melody Muse wrote:As far as I know, all of the other bachelorettes are glitch-less. Melody just has a weird one where she (without being in the bathhouse aha) says something like "you can't bathe for free until we're married" (which was presumably supposed to be only if you bathed when you were engaged) but it keeps happening post marriage. I don't remember anyone saying there were issues with marrying Rosetta, and I know she was very popular so I'd imagine if there were, they would have come up.

For future reference and helping others find it, the Guide is on the main page, under the Harvest Moon side, under DS Games. It's right above DS and DS Cute and below Puzzle De Harvest Moon. But here's the direct link to it. (It's a marvelously well made guide so I always was a bit sad she didn't do guides for the others, but I understand due to the lack of time and the added content it would be a lot more work for her.)

Okay so it's just Melody (well that sucks D;) I only threw Rosetta out there cause that'd be horrible if she caused me not to gain any more money. I haven't decided on who to marry yet, but it sounds like this game really doesn't pressure you into doing it nearly as much as I thought it would.

Oh, I've seen this guide before! I could never figure out where to find it on this site so I always tried my luck in finding it again (or favoriting it and forgetting that I did that...). I really like that guide too, the information is spaced out just right to where you're not getting lost in what they're trying to say. I don't even blame her for just making one, there's so much stuff in the RF universe and each game it seems like they just add more.

Thanks for the help, I'll come back to this thread and ask again if I can't find what I need in the guide/need clarification. Provided this thread doesn't die before then, otherwise I'll just make another one.

Melody Muse · Post Posted: Jan 04, 2015 6:12 am

No problem! The game can be a bit frustrating mechanically at times (similar to how any HM can be when they try a lot of new mechanics), but it's really fun so I hope you enjoy it!

Also another boss to be wary of is Siren. I remember her giving a lot of people trouble, mostly because no one seemed to find a good specific trick to beating her. But some others like me never had any issue, so just a heads up. I don't remember any other bosses being particularly awful according to the forums though.

And I 100% agree on the other RF guides; poor Cher does need a life outside of HM after all haha.

copernicusmaximus · Post Posted: Jan 05, 2015 12:50 pm

My only advice is to make sure you get into the winter only cave in your first year. Which shouldn't be a problem since I was ready to go into it by Summer and I had to wait, but yeah. Wouldn't want you to wait through 3 extra seasons.

Queen Sars · Post Posted: Jan 07, 2015 2:02 am

Melody Muse wrote:No problem! The game can be a bit frustrating mechanically at times (similar to how any HM can be when they try a lot of new mechanics), but it's really fun so I hope you enjoy it!

Also another boss to be wary of is Siren. I remember her giving a lot of people trouble, mostly because no one seemed to find a good specific trick to beating her. But some others like me never had any issue, so just a heads up. I don't remember any other bosses being particularly awful according to the forums though.

And I 100% agree on the other RF guides; poor Cher does need a life outside of HM after all haha.

The only frustrating thing thus far I could say about this one is having to hold the R trigger to run. I dunno if it's just the DS I'm using or the game but I really have to press that button to make Raguna move.

I do like how the townspeople are so far. They're rusty compared to later RF games, but they don't feel like they're complete robots. Each one has a different personality and I really like how if you want to marry one of them, you have to do something different. Like find a white stone or get a sword or something. That's really cool!

As for Siren...

Spoiler:

I'll come ask if I do get stuck with her, thanks for the warning!

Final note, as for making guides I could never do it. There's always too much information. I manage to write down bits and pieces from games I play if I ever get stuck or if I like a character I'll write down what they'd like for their birthday and how to get it in time (I did that a little bit for RF2 more than anything). Seriously though, props to her for putting that guide up. She didn't have to do that, but it's very helpful and I really appreciate it!

copernicusmaximus wrote:My only advice is to make sure you get into the winter only cave in your first year. Which shouldn't be a problem since I was ready to go into it by Summer and I had to wait, but yeah. Wouldn't want you to wait through 3 extra seasons.

I remember being told about that. I would say "aw, I can tough it for 3 more seasons" but no way. I did that sort of for RF2 (I waited a whole year to make sure I had enough money to keep going with the story) and that bored me to tears. Seeing as how you made it to that in Summer, I don't THINK I'll have that problem, but I'm a slow player so who knows. Thanks for the heads up!

Oh! Unrelated question: Does the small table do anything? I bought it from Ivan along with the small shelves. The shelf is nice, but I don't know if I just blew my money on a table for nothing.

Another question: I got an Ultimate Curry from Emmett. Under Cost it says "Expirty: 210" is that expiration? If not, what does it mean?

Melody Muse · Post Posted: Jan 07, 2015 7:14 am

I want to say the small table is required for marriage or for your spouse to cook you a meal after marriage? I don't remember at all but that feels right to me. Either that or you need ot to unlock something else crafting wise.

Yeah, the characters definitely have stiffness due to staying in the same spots etc, but I really feel like they did excellently with the heart events (especially the ones that involve other characters) and the other side information they gave them all dialogue wise.

Tbh a remake of RF1 with RF 3/4 mechanics would be a dream come true for me. I know we have RFF which kind of is but it's just not the same with so many of the original characters missing. (I will never forgive them for seperating Melody and Sharon cause they are bffs ok?!?!

)

As for siren, I dont remember, sorry! I would imagine so but with a smaller number of attack types in her RF1 version.

Queen Sars · Post Posted: Jan 14, 2015 5:23 pm

Well at least Ivan didn't just sell me decoration. The table is nice, but I'm saving up for that battle axe. I kind of wish he'd show up more in town rather than just holiday, kind of like Yue does in RF2.

I'd love a remake solely for the mechanics of the new ones! I've already faced the sad situation where I missed putting an item in the shipping bin and watched it disappear. I really wish you can pick up things off the ground...

Isn't RFF a sequel of the first one? I was always under the impression it was (why would you split up best friends?!).

Oh, and if anyone stumbles upon this thread and wanted to know what "Expirty: some numbers" means, it's how long the effects of the food will last. So "Expirty: 210" means 210 minutes of whatever effects eating that food will bring. The food isn't gonna rot in your inventory...I'm so glad I found that out before I ate the Ultimate Curry Emmett gave me!

Melody Muse · Post Posted: Jan 14, 2015 6:59 pm

Queen Sars wrote:Well at least Ivan didn't just sell me decoration. The table is nice, but I'm saving up for that battle axe. I kind of wish he'd show up more in town rather than just holiday, kind of like Yue does in RF2.

I'd love a remake solely for the mechanics of the new ones! I've already faced the sad situation where I missed putting an item in the shipping bin and watched it disappear. I really wish you can pick up things off the ground...

Isn't RFF a sequel of the first one? I was always under the impression it was (why would you split up best friends?!).

Oh, and if anyone stumbles upon this thread and wanted to know what "Expirty: some numbers" means, it's how long the effects of the food will last. So "Expirty: 210" means 210 minutes of whatever effects eating that food will bring. The food isn't gonna rot in your inventory...I'm so glad I found that out before I ate the Ultimate Curry Emmett gave me!

It is a sequel of sorts. When you run into Mist in the first game, you basically get to choose "MIST?!?!?!" Or "Who the heck are you?" And from that the intro of old characters will either be them remembering you from RF1 or not.

But yeah, Melody doesn't even get any letters from Sharon in RFF as far as I know. ;-; Just makes me sad. (Then again, Melody in RFF had some things changed/made canon/clarified/whatevered depending on who you ask, so she just kind of had some weirdness going on all together.)

So it's basically either a sequel that assumes you never got married in RF1 or a "enhanced remake" sort of deal depending on what you chose at the start. It's a tad clunkily done imho, as it doesn't exactly explain those two options meaning anything, but eh.

Post Posted: Jan 18, 2015 7:22 am

In this game grass doesn't regrow after you cut it and you'll end up buying stacks of fodder at the shop. Don't worry though, money is pretty easy here with fishing and the regrowable crops. And after you upgrade the house.

There are some fish and monster drops that you can only get in winter and never, never ever use the sleeping bag in that cave in winter 30. It will glitch out and kill your save.

The sleeping bag is only good for raising your crafting levels by upgrading it imo, other than that it's just sitting in my shelf. The camping skill is dumb, don't bother.

Item drop rate depends on the time of the day, I don't know the exact numbers but they just weirdly do.

Till the land that you'll use and let the untilled ones grow weeds and spawn wood for easy lumber.

For energy, the easiest ones to make are nasu eggplant, soba noodles and popcorn.

It got so...long. Oh be careful about harvesting or milking animals that are too close together because you might end up with just one animal product.

And uh, the house doesn't upgrade itself instantly it will take days (weeks?) to finish so plan accordingly.

(if this is considered necro, sorry!)