The Harvest Moon series made quite a name for itself when it first released on the SNES in 1996, trading the typical combat-centric trappings of an RPG in favour of a much more laid-back and slower-paced focused on farming. Many sequels would follow in the coming years, and on the tenth anniversary, Marvelous produced an interesting experiment for the DS called Rune Factory.
This new title was billed by its creators as “Harvest Moon where you wield a sword” and it promised to bring in many of the traditional RPG elements that the series had previously eschewed. This balanced take on farming and combat proved to also be a hit with fans, spawning a sub-series that is due to continue very soon thanks to the impending Rune Factory 5. In anticipation of this forthcoming release, Marvelous has seen fit to release Rune Factory 4 Special – a re-released version of the 2013 3DS title – for the Nintendo Switch, which ostensibly will stand as the definitive version of the seminal outing. Fortunately, Marvelous has stuck the landing with this one; Rune Factory 4 has lost none of the charm that made it a modern classic and the additional benefits of this re-release only serve to improve on this already firm foundation.
Rune Factory 4 Special opens with your avatar arriving in Selphia via an airship to make a special delivery to the presiding dragon, Ventuswill, but things quickly go awry when the ship is accosted by soldiers. In the ensuing struggle, your character is conveniently struck with amnesia and falls off the ship, plummeting into a castle below. It is here that Ventuswill and her butler ascertain that your character must be the Prince(ss) they’ve been expecting, and you’re quickly saddled with the responsibilities and expectations of a ruling monarch. From this point, the plot slowly deepens into a larger narrative that ultimately centres on Ventuswill, but it also somewhat takes a backseat. Sure, the story is always there to progress if you so desire, but there is no sense of urgency.
Although the overarching narrative is just sort of ‘there’, the real strength of the storytelling is found in the writing. Selphia is populated by a friendly and diverse cast of characters, and each of them are integral in building the cozy and charming atmosphere that you experience throughout your stay. Whether it be the overwhelmingly bubbly personality of the chef, Porcoline, or the strongly disciplined stoicism of the soldier, Forte, there’s a nice dynamic to how all these different types play off of each other, and that’s only deepened as the months roll by and you come to understand them all better. Underlying it all is a welcome sense of quirky humour, too, often playing on how the main character is something of an ‘outsider’. For example, the letterbox where you pick up requests introduces herself to you as Eliza, but when you mention this to anyone else in town, you’re treated to funny looks and confused replies.
Rune Factory 4 Special is an extremely open-ended experience right from the beginning, granting you almost full control over what you want to do with a given day. There are no right or wrong answers about what you should be doing, especially given that quite literally everything you do will level up some obscure stat or skill. All the expected staples, such as weapon or magic proficiency, are present, but it’s the weirder ones that prove to be delightful. Case in point, you gain experience for your ‘Sleeping’ stat, just by going to bed each day. There’s even a walking stat that goes up just by you going from place to place. It’s tough to get through any given day without inadvertently levelling up at least four or five different stats as you go about your business. This, then, creates something of an infinitely rewarding progression loop, as you’re constantly progressing your character and building yourself up no matter what you do.
Most days will likely be oriented in some way around the excellent farming gameplay, which stands as your main source of income. You start out with just one plot of land (more are unlocked later) which you can tend however you like, and diligent effort must be put in daily to ensure that the plot remains clear of debris, watered, hoed, and harvested. As your character matures and furthers their connection to the town, new seed types will become available at the local store so you can diversify your crop and reap better rewards depending on the season. This also gives you more ingredients for usage in cooking, which can lead to the creation of many helpful consumables for when you go on dungeon runs or work a particularly long day in the fields.
On the other hand, if you aren’t feeling up to tasks like farming, fishing, or cooking, you can take up your sword or axe and explore deeper into various dungeons in the lands beyond the town limits. Though the environments are rarely all that interesting from a design perspective – there isn’t much in the way of puzzles or varied geography – they’re sure to be packed with all manner of treasure that can either benefit you directly or be sold off back in town.
Combat is admittedly simplistic, basically just a matter of swiping and occasionally blocking, but it gets the job done and provides just enough action to keep things interesting. There’s an impressive array of monsters on offer, and if you happen to gift them food or something else that they like, you can potentially recruit them to come live with you on the farm. From this point, you can then care for them in exchange for goods like milk or wool, and you can even have them do chores on the farm or join you in combat as an extra party member.
It wouldn’t be a proper Harvest Moon title without an element of romance to it, and Rune Factory 4 Special offers this too by giving you several people of both genders whom you can potentially marry. Through daily conversation, gifting them things like flower bouquets and favourite items, or inviting them on dungeon crawls with you, a steady rapport is built with your chosen partner that can eventually blossom into a rewarding relationship that also grants you additional gameplay benefits. Your mileage here will obviously vary depending on how much importance you place on building virtual relationships in games such as these, but it’s nonetheless a major part of the gameplay loop and a welcome feature to help build immersion in the world.
We feel that special mention needs to be raised around the striking way in which Rune Factory 4 Special executes an addictive synergy that permeates everything you do as the hours roll by. Generally speaking, games that widen the scope of their gameplay in the name of ‘variety’ do so at the risk of becoming unfocused or disjointed. Some aspects may feel tacked on or undercooked, such as uninspired ‘crafting’ systems that are rampant in many AAA releases, and the disparate parts can often feel like less than their total sum.
That issue is almost completely avoided in Rune Factory 4 Special, however, by how literally everything you do feeds into the next thing. For example, farming is intrinsically necessary for succeeding in the combat portions and the same is true for the opposite. Putting more hours into Rune Factory 4 Special is a bit like pushing a snowball down a hill and watching it build in size and momentum as it gets farther down. Despite how many different ideas and gameplay types are at play here, it’s remarkable how Rune Factory 4 Special feels like a surprisingly cohesive and well-constructed whole that continually draws you in with new goals and incentives.
Now, as for the Switch-exclusive features that necessitate that “Special” suffix, admittedly there isn’t a ton here to act as an additional draw. The main selling points are the Newlywed and Another Episode modes, which offer up a variety of cutscenes and scenarios that further the stories of various characters in their married life. Beyond that, there are the newfound HD visuals, which have been retooled now for a single-screen experience, and an additional harder difficulty mode for those who want more challenge. Although these extra features do notably build upon the core experience, it’s critical that none of them prove to be particularly substantial. Those of you that already put a hefty amount of hours into the original release will want to think hard, then, on just how badly you want Rune Factory 4 Special on your Switch. For better or worse, this is basically the same game that released seven years ago for the 3DS, just cleaned up a bit for the new generation.
From a presentation perspective, Rune Factory 4 Special manages to satisfy but doesn’t really impress. Though the visuals have certainly been given the HD treatment, it’s abundantly obvious that this title was designed with much weaker hardware in mind. Models are chunky and textures are often blurry, and such visual issues are only made even more apparent when playing in docked mode. That’s not to say that Rune Factory 4 Special looks bad, but there’s no mistaking this one for an original release built from the ground up for Switch. The soundtrack fares a little better, mixing together a slew of relaxing and peaceful music that does well to accompany the day-to-day slice of life activity, but it doesn’t have much staying power.
Conclusion
There’s something here for everyone in Rune Factory 4 Special, but its greatest strength is how it ties together everything into one thoroughly enjoyable package. Varied gameplay, strong writing, and an emphasis on progressing at your own pace make this one of the best farm sim games available on the Switch to date. We’d give this one a high recommendation to anyone looking for an engaging yet undemanding game for their Switch. With that being said, those of you who have already played it on the 3DS may want to pause before buying it again, as the new features alone do little to justify the cost of entry once more. Either way, Rune Factory 4 Special proves itself to be a modern classic and a shining example of how good this genre can be; make sure to give it a shot.
Comments 48
Don't care about the visuals, I wil buy this game regardless.
Hopefully we'll hear about Rune Factory 5 soon, I'm ready to see what happens there.
As for this game, yeah I wasn't expecting too much new, but I still would rather play this game on the TV. Only thing that bothers me is my stupid Pro controller being too sensitive with the stick, it's annoying trying to get your character facing a certain way. lol
This is a truly wonderful game! But I would say just remember that Rune Factory 5 is coming later this year (hopefully).
Can’t wait! I already have this pre-downloaded on my Switch (I had a lot of gold points saved up, so I snagged the game for less than £20), and I’m very much looking forward to diving into the game again after sinking 200 hours into the original five years ago. This will be the perfect thing to tide me over until Animal Crossing comes out!
Finally got mine after two days delays but now I have to much game backlogged it's not funny.
Got the Archival Edition a couple days ago, very nice
I didn’t know that this or RF5 were coming to Switch. Nice for fans of the series.
Ahh I’m so excited, I broke the 1500 hour mark last month so I can finally wave goodbye to my town and move onto the Switch version while I wait for RF5!
I got this today (shopto are great at sending games out before release and only cost me £27) and yeah its pretty much what I remembered from RF1 on the DS...its good (so far a 7.5/10) but Stardew Valley has really spoiled me in terms of these types of games. The farming side is lacking, I dont think there is that much more in terms of improvements over the first game, I havent played any others, but its cheap enough and there's a lot of game so far with this.
Sounds really good, appreciate the review.
However as I own but haven't even started Stardew Valley yet I will hold off buying for now....
I remember in the direct this was announced in, some lady said very strangely- "It is about to be fall". I have no idea why I laughed so hard. My friends refer to Rune Factory as it is about to be fall game
I still have this on 3DS, and it’s on my list for Switch, but I’m not sure if I’m gonna double dip. Maybe when it’s on sale. Barely scratched the surface in 3DS version... was harder for me to get into than Stardew for some reason, I should LOOOOVE this game, rpg and farmer mashed together, yet it just had a slow/not as drawing start.... might have been burnt out at the time too due to Story of Seasons.
I’m so glad to see the series back in action after being in limbo for what felt like forever. I sure hope that it is here to stay this time.
I barely started the 3ds version so looking forward to this. In lieu of a 3ds player I hope more 3ds devs try to pad their releases by porting 3ds games with enhancements. cough Fantasy life cough
Really enjoying this so far! Doesn't feel quite as perfect/satisfying to me as Stardew, but man, I'm getting into it. Can't wait to play some more later.
My copy should be here in a week or so and I'm pumped! I've only played the first RF to completion and probably put 70 hours into Frontier, but was maybe halfway through the story? Either way, I'm looking forward to this and the eventual RF5. The only nitpick I have (and this is coming from the HM-lover side of me) is that I wish I could just have regular livestock along with the tamed monsters...I miss my bubble cows dang it!
An amazing game. I will say the lacking visuals sort of give the game a watercolor theme to it. Plus, the music can change to music from other games of the series. Worth a try.
@PBandSmelly I reckon that’s one of the Chinese characters, they speak in broken English as in the original JP voices, they spoke in broken Japanese. It’s an overdone trope but they’re lovable characters just like the rest of the town.
Excellent review although it doesant matter what score it received as I've already got my Archival copy on the way.
I don't remember seeing this in your review but do you have to be in bed by a certain time like in Stardew Valley and My Time In Portia?
I'm holding out for RF 5. I love 4 and think it's a great game but I played it so much that I'm ready for something new.
man, if I had the time I'd dive right into this. loved the limited time I spent with the 3DS release, but may wait a bit before picking this one up. either way happy to see it come to the Switch
I've been amused: I've played enough Rune Factory and Harvest Moon to know what the core of the gameplay is, but I haven't seen a single ad for this game that advertises the core farming/dungeon crawling gameplay mechanics. Literally the only ads I've seen have been either about the swimsuit DLC or the eligable bachelorettes. If I hadn't already played some of this game on the 3DS, I wouldn't even know that the game is a farming sim from its ad campaign.
@Ryu_Niiyama cough Fantasy Life cough and cough the Professor Layton series cough. Just those two things, and I’d be the happiest gamer on Earth. What is Level 5 waiting for?!
Edit: fixed a spelling error.
@Averagewriter Ah cool,like real life then.Yep,I'm gonna make sure I'm in bed by 9 then!
@Wazeddie22 I believe it’s 1 am that it has you wake up fatigued, so just make sure to warp yourself back to bed before then
@Ryu_Niiyama @Jooles_95 I’ve kept my 3DS primarily to get through FL at some point, love that game! And the level of disappointment when Level 5 made FL2 mobile only and changed the formula a bit.... just cant be described lol! Hoping for FL1 port or even FL3! Hope everyone bought snack world and Layton to show level 5 they can be rich on Switch! Lol
@Jooles_95
I really, really really would give a kidney to have Fantasy Life on the Switch!
Copy should be here tomorrow. Maybe this time I'll go through the third arc and marry Clorica. Hope the things I've been hearing about some of the RNG being removed are true.
I wasn't able to inch a bit further past the start on the 3DS version, so I'll stick with that for now (unless if RF4S drops at a good-enough price under a sale). In fact, I'm more curious in what RF5 would look like...
@Ryu_Niiyama You hear that, Level-5!? Fantasy Life Switch! Get to it!
Infusing my sword with Turnips remains one of my favorite moments in any game ever!
waiting for 5, I hope they don't base their sale of 4 special as a decision to make 5
@SyFyTy They already announced 5 alongside the announcement for 4 Special.
I played this to death on 3DS so I'll likely pass on the Switch version... for now. I know at some point I'll likely succumb to the temptation, likely when it goes on sale or price drops.
@k8sMum using another time and day when it wasn't remastered to the Switch is comparing Apples to Oranges. Same game title but remastered isn't a fair or equal comparison.
People like to bash RF4 already and yet have to play on Switch. You'll get it less eventually for sale or less but not anytime soon. Your looking out at least a year or two before you would get it on sale at the earliest.
With Animal Crossing coming next month and RF5 confirmed, as a major fan of AC and Stardew Valley, can someone tell me if they think I should buy this game? Or stick with AC and wait for RF5?
@Heavyarms55 I'm a huge fan of the farming sim genre, including Stardew Valley. To me, RF4 is the genre's crowning jewel. There is so much to do, everything connects in an organic way, and the central story thread actually involves the entire town in a way that makes you want to form relationships with them. The combat is surprisingly deep and satisfying and there is a real weight and sense of purpose to dating and marriage, sonething I feel is generally lacking in games of this kind, where marriage is the end goal of relationship forming but doesn't lead to much else.
@SwitchForce
Not this time; it's comparing Apple's to apples. The game may look a bit prettier on the Switch but it's basically the exact same game.
Even the review says "With that being said, those of you who have already played it on the 3DS may want to pause before buying it again, as the new features alone do little to justify the cost of entry once more."
Look, I believe and said it's a great game, which I played for many, many hours. So many that I don't feel the need to play it again. So I'll wait for RF5.
1 more $60 port... Are we done now?
There were like 10 reviews this month for old games I do not care to play again. This has to be some record 🙄
As to those raving on ports costing more then go back to playing on 3DS version and stop complaining. As to Apples to Oranges they aren't the same. As the Programmers whom has to re-master for the Switch coding and they will tell you a different story. Your only seeing the GUI/UI not the underlying programming. So NO, they aren't the same game. If you done anything programming you would know otherwise.
@Heavyarms55 It depends. I assume RF5 won't make it outside of Japan until 2021, especially with XSeed handling the Story of Seasons FoMT remake sometime later this year. RF4 is also a cheaper price ($40 in the US, but I got my copy for $32), so it could be a good way to try out the series if you haven't and make a decision on RF5 from there.
@Ryu_Niiyama A fantasy life 2 would be awesome on switch, hell, I will even settle for a port fantasy life with updated graphics on switch. That game is awesome.
No same-sex marriage in this game. Guess I'll wait for Rune Factory 5 then. Hopefully it's coming to the Switch.
@cmk8 I feel you on this and I am playing Stardew, and Portia, and ACNH, and Graveyard Keeper - but I will still buy this though...!
@DarthFoxMcCloud - would be at least a year though...
@Phon Doesn't matter. More than enough games to play. I don't need yet another life-sim style game in my collection that forbids me for playing how I want. Times are changing and it's pretty unacceptable nowadays to not have LGBTQ relationships represented. I understand older games might not get those ported in (yet Story of Seasons: FOMT remake got the addition of these relationships when the game was brought to Steam and Switch) but I'm hopeful that a new game like Rune Factory 5 will have the option baked in to the game at launch! Until then, I'll stick with Stardew Valley.
@DarthFoxMcCloud Probably more of an answer than was entirely required, to be fair - I kinda didn't need a lecture, but thanks anyway.
Common sense media worships this game lol
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