Was committed to marrying Clorica in this version since I loved her on 3DS. Instead went with Dolce and found out that it was really a polycule route with her and her thirsty ghost wife. Perfect videogame.
Technically we played through a lot of it on the 3DS version, it's a lot of effort to want to start over on the Switch version (and also have to deal with not having same-sex romance...)
Wish they did a better job porting this over, in terms of both functionality and visuals this port leaves a lot to be desired. That aside though, best farm sim.
While I wish some models were improved, it's the same Rune Factory 4 fun. It's a rock solid 60FPS high pace action, and the new content is nice. I enjoyed it as much as the original 3DS version, and I highly recommend it to anybody.
I wanted to enjoy this game, I really did, but I think I'm just past the point in my life where I can feel good with spending time on games like this. If you are really into Harvest Moon-like games though and you are interested in this at all, definitely give it a shot.
The controls are a mess, playing this on PC is huge hurdle, the visuals are nice and it's a nice chill game, but it's very hard to get used to the odd keymappings.
gave arthur those fecking cool boy sunglasses and dont have the heart to take them back cause they look dumb. he wore them in an emotional cutscene it was too much T_T watch him wear them on our wedding i stg
still amazing
This review contains spoilers
Finished 2/3 parts, satisfied with my progress so far. Still have to get married but o well. Cute comfy game with satisfying gameplay.
One of the most relaxing Farm Sim JRPGs!
This is my go to game when I need to get some stress off my shoulders and dose a damn good job. Not graphically impressive but the visuals stay true the setting and art style of the game. Loved the many areas I got to explore while dungeon crawling. This game is fairly easy combat wise and can up the difficulty if too easy for your taste. Farming is simple and easy as well but takes patience. I found it very chill to work on my farm along with the in game music. This game is constantly rewarding you by leveling up your skills, whether you're eating, farming, walking or fishing etc. You can buy new tools or furniture which are both essential for the game. You can befriend animals to help with your farm or buy fertilizers to grow your plants faster. I absolutely love the festival feature, it really makes it more immersive for the people of the town and really appreciated it and I love the requests you can take on for something to do when you don't have anything else to do.
Story was pretty generic but interesting enough to enjoy. Very chill and wholesome story overall. This game has the slice of life aspect where you manage and decide what to do for the day. There's romance in this game with a good selection of characters to befriend or fall in love with all with their own personality and backstory.
It's a wonderful relaxing game with many wholesome moments. I never felt like my time was truly ever wasted with the amount of things to do day in and day out. I don't usually play farm sims but this took me by surprise and I loved it a lot.
This is my go to game when I need to get some stress off my shoulders and dose a damn good job. Not graphically impressive but the visuals stay true the setting and art style of the game. Loved the many areas I got to explore while dungeon crawling. This game is fairly easy combat wise and can up the difficulty if too easy for your taste. Farming is simple and easy as well but takes patience. I found it very chill to work on my farm along with the in game music. This game is constantly rewarding you by leveling up your skills, whether you're eating, farming, walking or fishing etc. You can buy new tools or furniture which are both essential for the game. You can befriend animals to help with your farm or buy fertilizers to grow your plants faster. I absolutely love the festival feature, it really makes it more immersive for the people of the town and really appreciated it and I love the requests you can take on for something to do when you don't have anything else to do.
Story was pretty generic but interesting enough to enjoy. Very chill and wholesome story overall. This game has the slice of life aspect where you manage and decide what to do for the day. There's romance in this game with a good selection of characters to befriend or fall in love with all with their own personality and backstory.
It's a wonderful relaxing game with many wholesome moments. I never felt like my time was truly ever wasted with the amount of things to do day in and day out. I don't usually play farm sims but this took me by surprise and I loved it a lot.
Finally, they've done it. A game that makes grinding fun. Maybe like a third of the way through my first playthrough I started encountering serious difficulty spikes, and soon found out that getting stronger in this game was not about leveling up but rather about upgrading your equipment. In order to upgrade your equipment however, you have to level up your crafting and forging skills first. So many RPGs fall into the trap of making this grind tedious and annoying, but Rune Factory 4 makes the process a natural and satisfying part of the gameplay experience. That, in tandem with the game's great cast, a pleasant contrast to most farming sims where I only care about one or two of the characters, is what makes this game so great (past the slow crawl first five hours).
loved so much and played a lot too, enjoyed the writing and combat
I'm going to make you love me by throwing a single squid at you every day for a year and there's nothing you can do to stop me.
such a charming game! so in love w the rune factry series now! def going to be playing rf3 special when it comes out n i wanna play rf5!!! the charcters are amazing, story is so charming. i adore it <3333
A really enjoyable fusion of an RPG and a farming sim, and considered by many series fans to be the best installment. The depth of the in-game systems as well as the variety of crops and equipment make Rune Factory 4 a fun rabbithole to get lost in. Admittedly, the combat is rather simplistic and the villain of the main quest is really forgettable. Thankfully, this doesn't take away from the joys of mingling with the locals, fishing and growing giant veg.
more like completed first arc, but mmmmm
Edit: i did it for real this time, all "3" arcs
solid game i had a lot of fun. the grind was good and rewarding, and as someone that enjoys doing side content it felt like the game was full of known annd unknown things for me to mess around with that always had rewards behind them. everything you do feeds into another so anything and everything is a benefit to you. the plot was simple but fun and you get different feelings from it depending on your own engagement with the town and its people.
last relevant pieces of review info: forte best girl, axe/hammer main forever
Edit: i did it for real this time, all "3" arcs
solid game i had a lot of fun. the grind was good and rewarding, and as someone that enjoys doing side content it felt like the game was full of known annd unknown things for me to mess around with that always had rewards behind them. everything you do feeds into another so anything and everything is a benefit to you. the plot was simple but fun and you get different feelings from it depending on your own engagement with the town and its people.
last relevant pieces of review info: forte best girl, axe/hammer main forever
This is a decent port of my favorite game, though moving from two screens to one brings some quirks. I'm glad more people get a chance to play it, and I can't wait for RF5!
My first Rune Factory and I loved it!!! Great characters and super addictive gameplay. I only knocked off half a star because the music got SUPER repetitive at times. But man, as someone who loves both farming sims and JRPGs this is such a wonderful combo of both!
i have too many farming sim games i need to finish this one
Full video review: https://youtu.be/9EKIHS4j-tI
I was a bit iffy going into this one. Harvest Moon type games have always been a bit hit or miss for me, but with Rune Factory 5 coming out soon, I figured I’d give this one a shot.
Gameplay
Despite the simple graphics here - RF4S is a bit of a beast in terms of content. Not only is there the farming stuff, but you’ve got dungeon exploring, this extensive crafting system, a large map to explore, and a dating and marriage system on top of that. Up front, it seemed like I would get lost in all of this, but the game actually does a really good job easing you into it through its request system.
You start off small and eventually work your way up to this big field of crops, tamed animals taking care of it, and an arsenal of cool weapons and runes to take down dungeons with. There’s a lot of freedom too. Some days I would just completely ignore the storyline and try to maximize my farm’s space or go hunting for a certain animal to tame and some days I would work towards getting more prince points to bring a new festival to town or upgrade a local shop.
It’s something I didn’t think I would catch on to as quickly as I did and honestly, it made me kinda nostalgic for how DS games like this were designed back in the day. The overall gameplay is just incredibly relaxing and it is exactly for this type of game that I’m excited to get my Steam Deck in just a few months.
Still, I can’t deny that there is a bit of repetition involved. This is ultimately a Harvest Moon type game, so you will be doing the usual tasks over and over, especially early on before you can tame animals to do some of it for you. It can be a bit tedious, so you gotta have a bit of tolerance for it. Once I got past that point though, I found myself experimenting more with the crafting, cooking, and dating mechanics.
Story
The "Special" edition of RF4 adds a “Newlywed Mode”, which is a bonus mode that basically adds extra scenes for each character unlocked once you wed them. There’s also a mode titled “Another Episode” which acts as a sort of epilogue for each character taking place after the main story (which itself is like a 50+ hour thing on its own).
The writing may not be all that impressive, but the story elements that are there aren’t that bad either. If anything, it reminded me a lot of an Atelier game, where it can be serious at times, but it’s ultimately there to serve a more relaxed gameplay style.
PC Port
I may not have run into any crashes, fps drops, freezes, bugs, or really anything like that, but it does carry the problem of being hardlocked to 90 fps and being unplayable at that framerate because the game speed is tied to it. Fortunately you can fix this problem simply by toggling the game’s VSync option on. Beyond that, I don’t really have any other complaints.
The game runs flawlessly at 1440p 60 fps and plays fine on both controller AND keyboard and mouse. The latter actually feels good to use and is fully rebindable too - I would have no problems recommending that playstyle if you don’t have a controller.
Overall
Rune Factory 4 Special is a really easy recommendation. Fun and laidback gameplay, tons of depth, plenty of character interaction, and a nice PC port too. If you’re a fan of games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley - this one is definitely worth a play and I myself am already looking forward to the 5th one coming out next year.
I was a bit iffy going into this one. Harvest Moon type games have always been a bit hit or miss for me, but with Rune Factory 5 coming out soon, I figured I’d give this one a shot.
Gameplay
Despite the simple graphics here - RF4S is a bit of a beast in terms of content. Not only is there the farming stuff, but you’ve got dungeon exploring, this extensive crafting system, a large map to explore, and a dating and marriage system on top of that. Up front, it seemed like I would get lost in all of this, but the game actually does a really good job easing you into it through its request system.
You start off small and eventually work your way up to this big field of crops, tamed animals taking care of it, and an arsenal of cool weapons and runes to take down dungeons with. There’s a lot of freedom too. Some days I would just completely ignore the storyline and try to maximize my farm’s space or go hunting for a certain animal to tame and some days I would work towards getting more prince points to bring a new festival to town or upgrade a local shop.
It’s something I didn’t think I would catch on to as quickly as I did and honestly, it made me kinda nostalgic for how DS games like this were designed back in the day. The overall gameplay is just incredibly relaxing and it is exactly for this type of game that I’m excited to get my Steam Deck in just a few months.
Still, I can’t deny that there is a bit of repetition involved. This is ultimately a Harvest Moon type game, so you will be doing the usual tasks over and over, especially early on before you can tame animals to do some of it for you. It can be a bit tedious, so you gotta have a bit of tolerance for it. Once I got past that point though, I found myself experimenting more with the crafting, cooking, and dating mechanics.
Story
The "Special" edition of RF4 adds a “Newlywed Mode”, which is a bonus mode that basically adds extra scenes for each character unlocked once you wed them. There’s also a mode titled “Another Episode” which acts as a sort of epilogue for each character taking place after the main story (which itself is like a 50+ hour thing on its own).
The writing may not be all that impressive, but the story elements that are there aren’t that bad either. If anything, it reminded me a lot of an Atelier game, where it can be serious at times, but it’s ultimately there to serve a more relaxed gameplay style.
PC Port
I may not have run into any crashes, fps drops, freezes, bugs, or really anything like that, but it does carry the problem of being hardlocked to 90 fps and being unplayable at that framerate because the game speed is tied to it. Fortunately you can fix this problem simply by toggling the game’s VSync option on. Beyond that, I don’t really have any other complaints.
The game runs flawlessly at 1440p 60 fps and plays fine on both controller AND keyboard and mouse. The latter actually feels good to use and is fully rebindable too - I would have no problems recommending that playstyle if you don’t have a controller.
Overall
Rune Factory 4 Special is a really easy recommendation. Fun and laidback gameplay, tons of depth, plenty of character interaction, and a nice PC port too. If you’re a fan of games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley - this one is definitely worth a play and I myself am already looking forward to the 5th one coming out next year.
I have more thoughts, but they boil down to that RF4 is the perfect Harvest Moon type game for me. The combination of RPG elements and story with the farming elements scratches an itch that Harvest Moon titles and Stardew Valley couldn't, and kept me consistently coming back to the original 3DS version for years, keeping it at my most played game on that console for all those years too, haha.
I think the way each "side" plays into each other in almost, though not entirely, inseparable ways but you can still mostly focus on whatever side is most fun to you is great. I find both very fun, and they both keep me pursuing each other. They just play together very nicely. The gameplay in all respects just feels nice, and the writing is surprisingly touching at points, although nothing groundbreaking overall. Still, it's very lovable, carried by its charming cast, and with a few striking and clever moments.
I do wish the graphics had been upgraded for Special, though, instead of what just seems like the original low-res textures having been put through an AI upscaler..? Legit it looks like someone just slapped everything through Waifu2x and it's not very good. Easily ignorable, but not good. The original low-poly character models look great in HD, though.
And yeah, the only things different between Special and the original 3DS version are 1. MANY more save files, which is great, 2. Newlywed mode, 3. certain story triggers are no longer random, which is INCREDIBLY welcome. Which means if you already have the 3DS version, Special isn't a huge step-up. Decide for yourself if it's worth it in that case, but if you haven't tried the game yet, I'd absolutely recommend it.
I think the way each "side" plays into each other in almost, though not entirely, inseparable ways but you can still mostly focus on whatever side is most fun to you is great. I find both very fun, and they both keep me pursuing each other. They just play together very nicely. The gameplay in all respects just feels nice, and the writing is surprisingly touching at points, although nothing groundbreaking overall. Still, it's very lovable, carried by its charming cast, and with a few striking and clever moments.
I do wish the graphics had been upgraded for Special, though, instead of what just seems like the original low-res textures having been put through an AI upscaler..? Legit it looks like someone just slapped everything through Waifu2x and it's not very good. Easily ignorable, but not good. The original low-poly character models look great in HD, though.
And yeah, the only things different between Special and the original 3DS version are 1. MANY more save files, which is great, 2. Newlywed mode, 3. certain story triggers are no longer random, which is INCREDIBLY welcome. Which means if you already have the 3DS version, Special isn't a huge step-up. Decide for yourself if it's worth it in that case, but if you haven't tried the game yet, I'd absolutely recommend it.
Rune Factory 4 for the longest time was my favorite game in the series before Rune Factory 5 came along, and even then it sits just right behind it. While a lot of the gameplay may feel a bit dated to some, this adventure is truly an amazing one worth going through. It finally refines a lot of the gameplay issues the first three games had then ups everything to an 11. I really enjoyed the setting, gameplay and characters of this game a lot.
8.5
This game is the perfect storm for me. It’s got so many different elements that I love. It’s farming, monster raising, life sim. There are so many elements.
The story is sweet and all the characters are great. You get to know everyone so much and it makes the whole town feel so alive.
The farming is great. The dungeons are great. It has insane QoL features. The trophy room under the castle has so much. Difficulty settings, fan art, record keeping. It’s such a great idea.
My one slight issue is the town events. Because they are random, they can cause a little bit of frustration especially when you need a certain event but keep getting a different one.
The story is sweet and all the characters are great. You get to know everyone so much and it makes the whole town feel so alive.
The farming is great. The dungeons are great. It has insane QoL features. The trophy room under the castle has so much. Difficulty settings, fan art, record keeping. It’s such a great idea.
My one slight issue is the town events. Because they are random, they can cause a little bit of frustration especially when you need a certain event but keep getting a different one.
Very well-made farming RPG with obvious charm and surprising depth.
+ incredibly colorful cast of lovable characters who constantly interact with the player and each other
+ well-designed hub city that exudes liveliness
+ intricate farming and crafting mechanics
+ ubiquitous level-up system rewarding even the most mundane activities
+ decent action combat made great by endless customization options
+ monster taming that even extends to bosses
+ simple but appealing story divided into three parts
+ sweet hour-long bonus content in the "Newlywed Mode" and "Another Episode"
- some practically impossible difficulty spikes without the abuse of hidden mechanics or easy mode
- random nature of town events hindering story or relationship progress for potentially dozens of hours
+ incredibly colorful cast of lovable characters who constantly interact with the player and each other
+ well-designed hub city that exudes liveliness
+ intricate farming and crafting mechanics
+ ubiquitous level-up system rewarding even the most mundane activities
+ decent action combat made great by endless customization options
+ monster taming that even extends to bosses
+ simple but appealing story divided into three parts
+ sweet hour-long bonus content in the "Newlywed Mode" and "Another Episode"
- some practically impossible difficulty spikes without the abuse of hidden mechanics or easy mode
- random nature of town events hindering story or relationship progress for potentially dozens of hours
lategame combat made me cry a little. ventuswill doesnt need saving i'm just going to harvest turnips and hang out with my anime people forever
why is one of the characters a horse. i need to ask. are the developers okay. (theyre not, its marvelous, theyve never been okay)
Actually pretty insane how many times this game blew my mind the entire playthrough
looks ugly but fixes every single problem that made the 3DS version a pain in the ass.
This review contains spoilers
This is one of favorite game of all time and for me, it’s the best farming fighting game out there. I played the 3DS version first and they played Special when it initially released.
I’ve tried a lot of Harvest moon games in the past, but I just felt like they failed to keep my attention for long and I would barely get past spring on year 1.
But in this game, I feel like there are so many things you can do that constantly keep my attention. I have some days where I focus on my farm and talk to the townsfolk. Other days I focus on progressing the story and fight in dungeons. I love switching up the focus, which games like Harvest Moon never let me do.
Farming also just feels much faster paced than you’d expect. Even with most basic water can for example, you can water and walk at the same time, rather than going to each individual plot to water it. Once you start getting your own monsters to work on the farm, you’ll barely have any farm work to do yourself, which I actually like a lot. Farming can also be simple or much more complicated. If you have a magnifying glass in the game, you can lot at the stats of the soil and object that’s planted there. There are lots of stats for the soil, which is something I’ve never seen any other farming game.
You can also craft and cook in this game. There are so many weapons, accessory armor, food, and medicine to craft.
There is even a post game called Sharance maze. I’ve actually never finished it, the levels of the monsters go even higher than the monsters in Arc 3 of the game.
In terms of romance, I always went for the guy characters. When I first played this on 3DS, I chose Vishnal to marry. But in my second full play though on switch, I tried going for Dylas, but they ended up picking Arthur to marry instead. I originally wasn’t a fan of Arthur’s design, but his personality is cute.
The only thing I thought was not that great was the story (this is the spoiler part). I thoughts arcs 1 and 2 were fine. At the end of arc 2, Venti is gone, and it seems like she would be gone for good, right? Wrong. Arc 3 sets out to bring Venti back, even though this feels like it goes against the original intent of the story. I guess they didn’t want to leave things on a sour note, so they gave the game a happy ending.
I do think RF4S looks gross because they used pixel smoothing, which I’m not a fan of. But that’s the only real issue I have with this game. RF4S makes improvements to how the events are activated and add new new content with newly wedded mode.
I love RF4 and RF4S adds more improvements making this the better version.
I’ve tried a lot of Harvest moon games in the past, but I just felt like they failed to keep my attention for long and I would barely get past spring on year 1.
But in this game, I feel like there are so many things you can do that constantly keep my attention. I have some days where I focus on my farm and talk to the townsfolk. Other days I focus on progressing the story and fight in dungeons. I love switching up the focus, which games like Harvest Moon never let me do.
Farming also just feels much faster paced than you’d expect. Even with most basic water can for example, you can water and walk at the same time, rather than going to each individual plot to water it. Once you start getting your own monsters to work on the farm, you’ll barely have any farm work to do yourself, which I actually like a lot. Farming can also be simple or much more complicated. If you have a magnifying glass in the game, you can lot at the stats of the soil and object that’s planted there. There are lots of stats for the soil, which is something I’ve never seen any other farming game.
You can also craft and cook in this game. There are so many weapons, accessory armor, food, and medicine to craft.
There is even a post game called Sharance maze. I’ve actually never finished it, the levels of the monsters go even higher than the monsters in Arc 3 of the game.
In terms of romance, I always went for the guy characters. When I first played this on 3DS, I chose Vishnal to marry. But in my second full play though on switch, I tried going for Dylas, but they ended up picking Arthur to marry instead. I originally wasn’t a fan of Arthur’s design, but his personality is cute.
The only thing I thought was not that great was the story (this is the spoiler part). I thoughts arcs 1 and 2 were fine. At the end of arc 2, Venti is gone, and it seems like she would be gone for good, right? Wrong. Arc 3 sets out to bring Venti back, even though this feels like it goes against the original intent of the story. I guess they didn’t want to leave things on a sour note, so they gave the game a happy ending.
I do think RF4S looks gross because they used pixel smoothing, which I’m not a fan of. But that’s the only real issue I have with this game. RF4S makes improvements to how the events are activated and add new new content with newly wedded mode.
I love RF4 and RF4S adds more improvements making this the better version.