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A new system in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will allow players to use a technique to travel between worlds and timelines to pursue additional romance options with the bachelors and bachelorettes you can marry. You’ll be able to go to an "alternate future," where you have a new partner, all without losing any of your progress.

While Marvelous didn't update the English version of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma website yet to include the localized name of this mechanic, the Japanese name literally translates to “Technique to Travel Between Worlds.” With this feature, you can go to alternate timelines with a new partner, all without having to lose your current family, level, or inventory. You can travel freely between worlds, and each save data can have up to thirty different timelines. This gives you the opportunity to explore the twelve different romance options in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma without having to completely restart your progress or give up a current love affair with one of the other bachelors or bachelorettes.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the latest entry in the long-running Rune Factory series. This spin-off features a Japanese-inspired setting, and there are two protagonists you can choose from. The gender of your protagonist does limit romance options in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, as all love interests can be married regardless of your choice. Marvelous first revealed this game during the August 2024 Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase. 

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come out for the Nintendo Switch and WIndows PC via Steam on May 30, 2025.

The post Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Lets You Romance Multiple Characters appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous shared a new trailer for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma DLC introducing the bachelor Cuilang. The romance route for this bachelor can only be accessed by players who have acquired the the Seasons of Love DLC bundle. That adds him and Pilika.

Cuilang is a mechanical expert residing in Autumn Village in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. While Cuilang seems to be somewhat aloof and not a very social person, the villagers rely on him and he never turns away people requesting his help.

In the new clip shared, protagonist Kaguya approaches Cuilang at a shrine and asks if he’s the god of autumn. When Woolby talks, he seems to be surprised at meeting a talking Wooly, to which he asks if he's some sort of mechanical doll or puppet. The video ends with a glimpse at his romantic confession to the female version protagonist.

You can check out the Japanese trailer below.

Kengo Kawanishi voices Cuilang in the Japanese dub of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. Kawanishi has previously voiced Miyamoto Iori in Fate/Samurai Remnant, Aventurine in Honkai Star Rail, and Soya Kawata and Nahoya Kawata in the anime adaptation of Tokyo Revengers.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come out on June 5, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC via Steam, and the DLC will add a bachelor and bachelorette. The release date was moved in order to coincide with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2.

The post See Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma DLC Bachelor Cuilang appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous announced that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is slightly delayed in order to ensure the multiplatform game launches alongside the Switch 2 too, which means a new release date for every platform. It originally was going to appear on May 30, 2025. It now won’t show up until June 5, 2025. There will also be an Upgrade Pack, as well as an Earth Dancer Accessory Set limited edition.

Marvelous only revealed prices for certain items tied to the release. For example, we know the standard Switch and PC versions will cost $59.99. (Physical copies are the same price.) If you get the Digital Deluxe with DLC, that brings the price to $69.99. A Super Digital Deluxe with digital artbook and soundtrack in addition to the DLC packs, that’s $79.99. The standard Switch Earth Dancer Edition with a soundtrack consisting of 2 CDs, the art book, a fan, a Woolby keychain plush, and the DLC packs is $99.99. The newly revealed Earth Dancer Accessory Set gets you just the two CD soundtrack, art book, fan, and Woolby for $49.99.

Here’s how that Earth Dancer Accessory Set looks.

As for the Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Switch 2 details following the adjusted release date, those are slim. We don’t know the price yet, so it is unknown if that version of the game will be more expensive. It is possible it will be, as the upgrade pack will be a paid addition. The price for that upgrade is unknown. However, that will add mouse controls, higher framerates, and higher resolution.

The new Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma release date is June 5, 2025, and it will come to the Switch, Switch 2, and PC. 

The post New Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Release Date Coincides With Switch 2 appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s been a while since there’s been a Rune Factory spin-off game, but Marvelous is bringing that idea back with Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. This installment features a new setting, new gameplay elements, and a whole new region that feels inspired by Asian cultures. To learn more about what to expect from this installment, Siliconera spoke to Producer Fujii Hisashi about Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, its development, its world, its characters, and what it’s like to romance a love interest and have children.

So when did development on Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma begin? 

Hisashi Fujii: Development started in September 2021.

How did the different regions and cultures in Japan help shape depictions of the regions in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma? 

Fujii: Specific examples aren’t coming to mind, but there are, of course, areas in the game that were inspired by specific areas in Japan. And, I’m sorry, just to help clarify, while there’s undoubtedly influence from Japan, it’s not intended to be Japan. It has a lot of Asian influences. It isn’t meant to be one-to-one with Japan. 

In the case of the monsters, how did you ensure that the new ones would fit in with the new region while still blending in with existing Rune Factory monsters from past games that make an appearance here? 

Fujii: Regarding the monsters that are new to the game, many of them were inspired by classic yokai from Japanese folklore, such as the kappa and the karasu tengu, the crow tengu. And so that’s kind of where the inspiration for the new monsters came from. 

Are there any regional variants of returning monsters? Like, is there a new version of the Buffamoo based on the new locations in the game and the new seasons? Or is there just one type of Buffamoo, one type of Wooly, and that kind of thing.

Fujii: It’s a mixture of both. There are monsters in the game, such as the Woolys, that are, essentially, globally the same between Azuma and the world of the previous Rune Factory games, and then there are some monsters that have slight variations based on being in Azuma, such as color variations or slight appearance variations.  

In Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, there’s a really big city management and building element. How did you come up with that idea? What kinds of challenges did you face when implementing that and keeping it balanced with all the other farming and fighting elements? 

Fujii: Regarding the village building elements in the game, a core theme in the Rune Factory series is the idea of the Earthmate using their power to restore the Earth. And a big part of that, and part of the reason why we created this feature, is because we wanted a part of that to be not just restoring the Earth, but restoring the villages that the characters live in. Also to give players the ability to restore them as they see fit or to customzie them to their liking. So that was the impetus for creating the feature.

A number of the bachelors and bachelorettes of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma are gods and goddesses. How did mythology shape their specific designs, abilities, and personalities? 

Fujii: There are marriage candidates who were inspired by existing Japanese myths and gods, but that’s really not all there is to it. There’s really a lot of influence in various elements of their design. To give one specific example, the god of summer Matsuri. Her outfits are inspired by traditional Okinawan outfits, and her motif is the Okinawan hibiscus flower.

In the Rune Factory series, there are always a lot of romance options and opportunities to have relationship events when you’re starting to get together, when you’re dating, and when you’re married. Is that going to happen with Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma where there will be romance events continuing to happen even after you make a commitment? 

Fujii: Pre-dating and post-dating, the scenarios are clearly divided. Before you start dating, you have the events to build your bonds with various characters. And the way of building these bonds is different from after you confess and actually start dating. And once you start dating, you’ll have date events. So that’s clearly demarcated within the scheme. And then also, of course after you get married, there are events around having a child. But there’s not a specific post-marriage scenario outside of just living together, having a child, and sort of the daily interactions.

Speaking of having a child, considering how you can assign people to work in town, can you put your child to work when they grow up and come of age in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma? Since you can have multiple people with you going into dungeons now, can your child become one of your allies? Can it be like a whole family trip?

Fujii: You can have up to two children in the game. The children can’t be put to work in town. You can’t assign them tasks, but you can bring them on adventures with you as party . And as with the other major NPCs in the game, you can raise your bond level with your children and through interactions and gifts. And also, bringing them with you will raise their bond level. As their bond level goes up, there will be certain skills that are unlocked that they can use in battle. And that’s true of all the NPCs you can bring with you.

I noticed when you have your allies in battle, there can be party banter. Are there going to be romantic rivals for the player in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma if there are characters who seem like they kind of get along like in older Story of Seasons games’ rival marriage?

Fujii: There is no rival marriage in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, but as you noticed, there are many different variations on battle dialogue that can play depending on which characters are accompanying you into battle. If a character has a good relationship with another character within the game setting, then there may be a very specific dialogue that will play between them in battle. So we think that really players of the game can enjoy experiencing just how many kinds of variations on these battle dialogues there are. 

Also, which characters are friends with other characters is something that’s set within the game. It’s not something that the player can necessarily influence. 

How did Rune Factory 5 shape Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma? 

Fujii: As the development team, we took the we received from s on Rune Factory 5 very seriously and made our best effort to improve some elements in Guardians of Azuma. 

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come to the Nintendo Switch and PC on May 30, 2025. 

The post Interview: Developing Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma appeared first on Siliconera.

There’s a lot going on with Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma! It’s a new entry in the series, but also a spin-off. It’s adding a new type of gameplay, given we actually build up towns. There’s also the whole thing of the previous entry experiencing some issues. However, this new game seems like a new opportunity and, after some hands-on time with it, makes it seem the team learned learn from past missteps and mistakes.

In Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, players step into the shoes of an Earth Dancer. It’s a special kind of warrior not unlike an Earthmate. They are connected to the land and able to heal and foster its growth. Which is good, as a blight hit Azuma affecting many villages there. This means using sacred treasures to grow crops, banish corruption, and fight foes. 

When I first stepped into Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma for the demo, town management and farming were the focus. You’ll need to get necessary items to build up a village and place buildings or plots of land for farming. These affect the Earth Dancer, for example increasing HP. It can also mean new items are available to buy or access, and adding fields provide chances to grow crops. After land is cleared and places are built, citizens who returned to the area can be assigned jobs or roles to help out. They may have abilities or traits that make them specifically suited to certain tasks. 

As part of this prep, the sacred treasures came into play. For example, an umbrella could be used for water-based attacks in a fight or to gently glide from one elevated landmass to another, or you could use it to water crops. A drum? It could be used to attack and heal or to speed up growth by one day. There’s a sense of connection, so I could see how everything’s purpose could change and provide different benefits based on context. It also seemed great for ensuring there was no clutter among the tools. Especially since each piece of equipment would also be used to banish a certain type of corrupted growth, indicated by color. 

When it comes to fighting, these treasures are more of a prized resource due to needing energy to be used. As such, every Earth Dancer relies on one of those equipped pieces alongside a secondary weapon that doesn’t require any type of saved stamina to use. These can be melee ones, like the traditional swords from past Rune Factory games, or new ones like a ranged type of talisman like a Touhou Project danmaku. I got to test out these, as well as see how a full party of four worked in-action, in a cleared dungeon. You can have up to three people you in your quest. In this case, the Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma romance options Murasame, Iroha, and Ulalaka were by my side. Each is designed to take on certain roles based on their personality, so Murasame was an aggressive warrior and Iroha was more of a tank-type. Heading in meant facing various monsters inspired by yokai, as well as facing an equine boss. Said boss could also be staggered and temporarily stunned by exploiting weaknesses, with the sword sacred treasure and its fire attack proving critical for that.

While developing the land and quickly running through a dungeon were the initial focuses of my Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma demo experience, romance with some characters came up as well. The two scenes I got to see involved the bachelor Murasame and the bachelorette Iroha. He’s a warrior who ended up needing to survive on his own in the wild for a time, and the event with him focused on that. Meanwhile, Iroha runs a teahouse, and hers ended up being a mix of making it a success and luring in more people to the town she loved. In each case, it felt like the characters got to be the focus, which is exactly what I feel we want from these heart events. Also, I appreciated the quality of life adjustment tied to finding them. When both were available, I could see special icons on the map highlighting that I could get to know them better and further our relationship.

It seems like ensuring the four core gameplay elements of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma are well-balanced could prove critical to ensuring this entry’s success. We aren’t just farming, fighting, and finding love anymore. A whole region’s success depends on us managing rebuilding efforts. It should prove interesting to see how well that goes.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come to the Nintendo Switch and PC on May 30, 2025. 

The post Preview: Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Combines a Lot of Elements appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous released a new bachelor trailer for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, the latest entry in the series, and it focuses on Murasame. He is a samurai training to become the strongest swordsman in the world, and you can date and marry him.

The trailer shows female protagonist Kaguya, who is accompanied by bachelorette Ulalaka, talking to Murasame about his swordsman training. The clip also shows a glimpse of the one-on-one love confession from Murasame to the player character.

You can check out the new Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma short trailer introducing Murasame here:

Marvelous has yet to confirm who voices Murasame in the English dub of the game. Meanwhile, Murasame is voiced by by Makoto Furukawa in the Japanese dub of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. Furukawa is well known for his roles as Saitama in the One-Punch Man anime adaptation, Sylvain in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Gepard in Honkai: Star Rail.

You can check out how Furukawa sounds as Murasame here:

The previous bachelor trailer for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma focused on treasure hunter Mauro. Additionally, Marvelous released a general bachelor and bachelorette trailer showcasing all the possible romance options in the game.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come out for the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam on May 30, 2025.

The post Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Bachelor Murasame Introduced appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous released a new video revealing new details about Mauro, one of the bachelors and love interests in the Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. Mauro is a treasure hunter who travels all over the world in search of them.

In the new trailer, Mauro can be seen pestering fortune teller Hisui as he stumbles upon the female protagonist of the game. Meanwhile, the second part of the trailer shows his love confession to the protagonist. Marvelous USA has yet to reveal who voices Mauro in the English dub of the game.

You can check out the trailer for bachelor Mauro in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma here:

Marvelous also released a Japanese version of the same trailer. He is voiced by Yuki Kaji (Adol Christin in the Ys game series, Eren Yeager in Attack on Titan.) You can check out how he sounds as Mauro below.

We already knew the full list of romance options and love interests in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, since Marvelous had released two trailers focusing on the bachelors and the bachelorettes in the game back on Valentine’s Day 2025. The developers also talked to Famitsu about the decision to allow players to romance the playable protagonist of the opposite gender in the spin-off.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come out for the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam on May 30, 2025.

The post Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Bachelor Mauro Highlighted appeared first on Siliconera.

While we already knew the characters who would be romance options in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, two new trailers go over the bachelors and bachelorettes who will be love interests in the game. The bachelors video looks at Cuilang, Fubuki, Ikagura, Kai, Kurama, Mauro, Murasame, Subaru. As for the bachelorettes one, it features Clarice, Hina, Iroha, Kaguya, Kanata, Matsuri, Pilika, and Ulalaka. Of those, Cuilang and Pilika are DLC candidates you need to buy in the Seasons of Love add-on.

First, here’s the Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma bachelors trailer showing what it is like to romance those eight romance options. It highlights the English voice acting for each one, showing the character’s portrait, then looking at them in-game. First up is Murasame. After that, Mauro shows up. Kai appears after him. He’s followed by Kurama, with Fubuki appearing after that. Ikaruga shows up after that. The DLC character Cuilang comes after. Finally, things close out with Subaru. 

Meanwhile, the Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma bachelorettes trailer begins by showing what it’d be like to try and romance the love interest Iroha. As with the other video, each segment begins with official character art before showing gameplay and interactions. The second heroine to appear is Ulalaka. Another pink-haired woman named Hina follows her. Matsuri shows up after that. She’s followed by Kanata. A Clarice segment appears after that. Pilika comes up after Clarice. Finally, that video ends with a peek at Kaguya.

Marvelous and XSEED also shared another look at the game’s limited edition alongside pre-orders for it opening. It is up at places like Amazon and Best Buy for $99.99. That gets you the game, on the Switch, four DLC packs, an art book, a fan with display stand, a soundtrack, and a Woolby plush keychain.

Here’s how that looks:

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come to the Nintendo Switch and PC on May 30, 2025. 

The post Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Love Interest Trailers Look at Romance Options appeared first on Siliconera.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Director Shiro Maekawa talked to Famitsu about the new spin-off title in the fantasy farming series and explained how the marriage system works between the two playable protagonists. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

In past titles in the Rune Factory series, the player is usually given the choice to play as either a male or female protagonist. However, in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, the protagonists of both genders will appear throughout the course of the game and story, and the game allows the player to marry the other protagonist as well.

When asked about the reasons for adopting the protagonists marriage system for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, Director Maekawa said that there are two. The first one is that the Wii and PS3 spin-off Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny introduced this system, but it was never used in any other game. Maekawa felt not using it was a great waste and wanted to include it for this game.

The second reason is due to player . When they introduced the choice for a male or female protagonists, many players felt like really liked these characters and designs and wanted to be able to marry them. Maekawa also felt similar to these designs and characters, so he took these comments as another reason to include this system.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come out on May 30, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch and Windows PC via Steam. You can read more about the marriage candidates in the game here.

The post Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Protagonists Marriage Explained appeared first on Siliconera.

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin characters will appear as free launch-day DLC characters in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. This information first appeared during the official stream to commemorate how pre-orders are open for the latest Rune Factory game. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The information comes near the end of the stream, which shows Sakuna and Tama sitting outside a house before running to help with the rice fields. It then ends with a shot of Sakuna looking out over the village. The stream did not provide any further information on the Sakuna and Tama DLC in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. However, as this is free DLC, you don’t actually need to add them to your game if you don’t want to see them.

Other information that Edelweiss revealed in the stream include new romanceable characters Pilika and Cuilang, as well as information on village management and combat. In total, there are sixteen possible characters to romance—the most in a Rune Factory game—and all of the scenes are fully voiced. Aside from romantic scenes, you can also hang out with them in everyday situations. The game also includes same-sex marriages, as well as marriages between the protagonists. Heterosexual marriages may also results in children.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come out on May 30, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch and Windows PC via Steam.

The post Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin DLC to Appear in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous revealed the release date for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma as May 30, 2025. The game will appear on Steam a day later. Additionally, the issue of the weekly Famitsu magazine will include a 16-page feature on the game revealing new details. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The Japanese voice actors for the main protagonists have been revealed, with Subaru being played by Junya Enoki, Kaguya being played by Yui Ishikawa, and sidekick Mokoron being played by Ai Kakuma. Additionally, some of the 12 romanceable characters were also introduced. These include Hina, a mysterious archeologist voiced by Shiina Natsukawa in the Japanese dub; the skybound adventurer Mauro, and the vibrant tea house worker Iroha.

The Famitsu feature will also include an interview with Director Shiro Maekawa delving into how the new Rune Factory spin-off came to be and what were the goals set by the development team. Furthermore, the gameplay loop of the Rune Factory series will be explored, and details about the new aspect of "Dance" in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will be explored.

The game was originally revealed on the August 2024 Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase with a 2025 release window and a trailer introducing the protagonists and the Japanese-inspired land of Azuma.

The Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma release date is set for May 30, 2025. The game will come out for the Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam a day later.

The post Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Release Set for Late May 2025 appeared first on Siliconera.

During the August 2024 Indie World Showcase and Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, Marvelous shared an extended trailer and release window for the new Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma game. The game will be out in 2025, and we get to see what’s going on in the lands of Azuma ahead of its debut.

In this new Rune Factory game, our avatars ends up contracting with a dragon to become an Earth Dancer. There are two default protagonist options who each have their own connection to a dragon, and their names are Subaru and Kaguya. After an altercation between the two, the main character you choose wakes up with amnesia in front of the Dragon God descendent Woolby. You then farm, build up a village, go through dungeons, and then also build relationships with humans and gods you meet.

Here’s the official Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma trailer, which shows what’s going on with Subaru and Kaguya. We also get to see what combat looks like and how we’ll help restore villages and the land around us. This will also be a Rune Factory game where the amnesiac protagonists will eventually regain their memories as they go on their new adventures.

We also know there will be an Earth Dancer special edition. That will include a Switch copy of the game, along with physical items like a Woolby plush, soundtrack CD, art book, and fan. Digital content will be in there as well. You get some costumes and a Seasons of Love DLC. That will cost $99.99.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will come to the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, and it has a 2025 release window.

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