I've actually played the other Rune Factory games, and Tides of Destiny strays from the original Harvest Moon formula the most.
So, I actually like the others more. Actually being able to farm the land myself was one of the things I liked the most about it.
It's just that the newer games seem to be focusing less and less on actually plowing land, planting seeds, watering, harvesting, etc.
(I like Rune Factory a lot more than Harvest Moon though, because of the more realistic settings and characters, but mostly for the combat, leveling and dungeon aspects.)
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Like a crow, I am always observing humans from my distant perch.