Since it is so hot and I don't feel like doing much of anything, I ended up spending the better half of this past weekend playing this game.
I had been wanting to pick it back up for some time now, but the fact that it takes quite a time investment to get anywhere coupled with forgetting what I was doing prevented me from doing so. But, with plenty of time on my hands, it was a good time to do it. It actually wasn't as difficult as I thought, partially because I read my comments from this thread back when I put the game away as a little refresher.
I found a nifty Runey guide on GameFAQs, and it details a few simple steps on how to maintain enough Runeys for crops to grow, but not have to constantly fiddle with them. But, it was winter, so for the time being, I gathered up all of them from every area except my homeland, where they seem to be safe and their numbers do not deplete. Then, on the 30th, I placed one Runey of each type in each area, to take advantage of the bonuses for the first week of the month. After that, I gathered up my bonus Runeys, then placed a bunch of the type of Runey that matched that area's preferred type. Once that was done, I just needed to restock on a few days throughout the month, and that's that. Pretty simple.
That takes care of the Runeys. As for the ruins, I've been slowly making my way through the Snow Ruins. I got to a door that couldn't be opened. Confounded, I checked GameFAQs to see what was up. Apparently, there's an event that's supposed to happen on Whale Island that makes it open, but I never figured out how to open the gate behind the tower of Iris. So I looked that up, then went through the gate, and easily made my way through that dungeon since I got so powerful fighting in the Snow Ruins. Until I got to the tower of course, then the monsters got scary. Yikes!
So now, I've got a strong axe with a lvl 3 special attack that whoops monsters, provided I don't miss with it. I've gotten my love interest to max points, so now I'm growing the roses necessary to make the bouquet used to propose. I'm working my way through both dungeons, upping my overall level as well as looking for materials to make better equipment. I've decided, once I get married and complete all the ruins, I will consider the game to be complete.
After playing again, I'm not surprised I stopped like I did. There's a lot to like about this game, but there's some serious issues holding that back, chief amongst them the Runey system. If a sequel is made, it will have to do away with the Runeys and the crops that take forever and a day to grow, and have certain events not be so slow. And, once you get married, you should gain control of the girl. I mean, why not?