Rune Factory is a beloved series that originated as a spinoff of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series. The game takes a different approach to the gameplay by merging the traditional series playstyle with action RPG elements and creating an epic storyline along with the farming and town elements. The results of this hybrid style is a game that is both welcoming to newcomers to farm sims and a treat for fans of RPGs, and its newest entry has now come to PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, which is the version discussed here.
Rune factory 4 Special sees players journey to Selphia and take on the role of either a male or female Earthmate who is ambushed on the way and stripped of their memory. Initially mistaken for a visiting prince, the player is given the chance to make big decisions about the city and help the townspeople. Along the way, players must get to know the people of the town, do some farming, and go on adventures, which sounds simple, but the gameplay has a surprising amount of depth to it.
Each part of the game is involving and very addictive, whether playing for the story and RPG elements or, just going for farming and other quests available. Players will gain more prince/princess points with each optional side quest that is done, or by just talking to townspeople and farming. These points are used to upgrade various things, such as shops, the player’s room, parts of the town, storage for various items and more.
The more players progress in the game, the more options there will be to find. Another point system to keep track of is the Rune Points, which are used for a variety of purposes, including magic, but also farming, mining, cooking, forging and more. Players need to be mindful of how many Rune Points they have left because once they run out, it is the HP that is drained instead.
The dungeon crawling is well done here, but players may find themselves overwhelmed at times. The solution to this is to have a follower and build a relationship with them so they will stay by the player’s side. The use of magic also helps, and building magic skills are essential to survival here.
The dungeons vary in their design, from forests to haunted houses to fortresses and so on, and there is a nice diversity here. Thanks to a fast travel system available in the game, players can revisit the dungeons when they want, which is good for both level grinding as well as resource gathering, as there are plenty of supplies to find and areas to mine. Players can even fight bosses over and over, such as for special items gained by defeating them or even recruiting them.
There is something so charming about Rune Factory, with its various tasks, the townspeople in Selphia, and the farming that is done. Players can easily spend over a hundred hours before the main quest is done with everything there is to do here. There are also the new modes added for the Special Edition release with Newlywed Mode and Another Episode.
Another Episode takes the form of small visual novel segments that only last a few minutes. Newlywed Mode on the other hand offers a lot more and is available once players marry one of the Bachelors or Bachelorettes. This serves as a new side mode that shows off the married life in more detail, and actually has gameplay and new visual effects, while and the scenarios will last around 45 minutes each, so there is definitely new content here.
Rune Factory 4 Special has that elusive IT factor. It is a game that makes gamers want to keep playing no matter what, and never loses its fun factor in that time. This game is highly recommended as it is truly special. Fans of RPGs and farming sims will want to check this out as it is a great introduction to both genres.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided