All of the social elements of Rune Factory are on par or better than Harvest Moon, the farming is toned down, but still very enjoyable and still has a lot of variety. Crops are mostly the same and farm animals are replaced with a monster capturing mechanic for things like wool and milk and honey.
The biggest differentiater is the fact that it is truly an RPG. Everything has a different skill associated with it, and leveling in those feed into your character level hp/mp/etc. And I mean everything! Fishing, crafting, cooking, camping, foraging, etc.
It's not the most deep action combat, but it's still quite good. Boss battles are mostly fun.
Really, the game is so good because it's a kind of Jack of all trades. There is so much content, and everything you do feeds into the gameplay loop. If you decide to take a break from dungeon crawling for an in game week, you aren't in any way punished. You're still making money, you're still leveling skills, and because of that your main level is still going up.
Nothing is a wasted effort, every task is satisfying and rewarding.
