Shinichi Manabe got his start as a programmer on games like Sonic Advance 2 and Kirby & The Amazing Mirror before taking over in that role’s foremost position for Rune Factory 3. From there, he directed both Rune Factory 4 and its six-years-later special edition. And Takanori Tsuji was right there with him on Rune Factory 3 and 4, helping to pen the games’ elaborate scripts.
Together, the developers have taken to Kickstarter in the hopes of funding a fresh new farming sim entitled Farnia Village. Funding has surpassed the modest initial goal of ¥8,000,000 ($32,883 USD), with 550 backers already lined up, and 28 days left on the clock. Stretch goals exist up to ¥20,000,000 ($135,500), but as of now, Farnia Village is only targeting a Steam launch. Manabe hopes to change that.
I Need This On Switch
First reported by NintendoLife, Shinichi Manabe posted on the Kickstarter campaign page that the Nintendo Switch has been on the devs’ minds while crafting Farnia Village. So much so, in fact, that the game “is being optimized to run comfortably on hardware comparable to the Nintendo Switch.” After explaining that this should make Farnia Village an easy fit for many laptops, he goes on to say that “[they] hope to bring the game to home consoles in the future, if possible.”
Right now, Farnia Village has an altogether nebulous launch window. It could be as early as September ’27, as late as September ’28, or, you know, however long it ends up taking. Game-making isn’t easy, and small studios can only work so fast. As best I can tell, this is indeed quite a small studio: Manabe and Tsuji are joined by a trio of character designers, plus a composer from Studio Qareeb.
Farnia Village promises the farming and relationships one would expect from someone with Manaba’s pedigree, and with luck, it’ll be a good time. Rune Factory 4 still holds a place in many fans’ hearts as that series’ zenith, and the most recent entry, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, is something of an acquired taste by comparison. TheGamer’s Ryan Thompson-Bamsey gave it a 2.5/5.
