Rune Factory 4 Special Reviews

Rune Factory 4: Special packs a whole lot of decent content into a singel package. The game is only let down by some poor decision in the porting department.

Still one of the best of its kind nearly a decade after its initial release, Rune Factory 4 Special is still thoroughly engrossing when it comes to most of what it attempts.

Rune Factory 4 Special comes to the Nintendo Switch seven years after its original 3DS release. Does the move to a new console with one fewer screen work?

Your gender is decided by a simple dialogue choice (which you can change before confirmation):

The Rune Factory series allows players much more to do than simply tending to a farm. Loosely described as Harvest Moon but in a fantasy setting with swords and magic, Rune Factory 4 was highly regarded as one of the best titles in the series in 2012 for the 3DS. Unfortunately, the original developer Neverland Co. went bankrupt. However, the publisher, Marvelous Entertainment, brought in the devs from Neverland to bring us the Switch port of Rune Factory 4 which acts as a prelude to the upcoming Rune Factory 5. While I’m an avid lover of the Harvest Moon series, I never actually had the chance to play any of the Rune Factory games so when the opportunity arose to review this title, I immediately said yes.

Finally there’s the “Order” system, which focuses on improving the town through your royal decrees. Using Prince Points that are gained through doing pretty much anything, you’re able to host various festivals, expand your inventory and crafting systems, bring new stores to town, and much more. Performing Orders gives you a sense of power as the town gains more and more tourists and resources, though the resource requirements can feel a bit extreme at times. Still, it’s a minor complaint against what is largely an enjoyable system.

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.

Rune Factory 4 Special makes the jump to 2020 in amazing fashion by delivering the same amount of charm and great content in the original in a nicely upgraded package.

The good old reliable 3DS was quite the handheld wasn’t it? So good, maybe you want to play some of those games again? The good news is, Rune Factory 4 Special is here, the remake of the 3DS version that was inherently less special than it would appear. It’s obvious right off the bat who Rune Factory 4 Special is meant for. This is a game that’s all about time management, farming, and slaying monsters. It’s more or less Stardew Valley with more updated graphics and more of a story.

Are you a fan of farming sims? Are you also a fan of RPGs? Because I am and that is exactly why i wanted to play through Rune Factory 4 Special, a game that found a special place in my heart the second I realised it would let me do both. Rune Factory has been an ongoing series since 2006 when the first game Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon was released for the Nintendo DS, an apt title indeed. With Harvest Moon being a farming simulator set in present day, Rune Factory has definitely put ...

Rune Factory 4 Special brings the farming/action-RPG hybrid to a new audience on the Nintendo Switch. Rune Factory 4 originally released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013 and was the last game to be released in the series before the original developer Neverland Co. went bankrupt. Fortunately, the publisher, Marvelous Entertainment, brought the devs from Neverland in-house and updated Rune Factory 4 for Switch as a prelude to Rune Factory 5.

Rune Factory 4 Special proves just how charming and well-written the Rune Factory games can be. The Switch remaster is just as addictive as charming as the original release was fourteen years ago, and looks even better, thanks to an HD makeover. New content and difficulty modes provide no shortage of replay value, making this a great time sink for newcomers as well as anyone itching to revisit the friendships forged in the town of Selphia.

If you haven’t played the original and this sounds even remotely like your kind of game, I heartily encourage you to try it. If you did play the original, you probably won’t get too much that you didn’t already experience. Should you just feel a little nostalgic for it and want to go back to one of the best farming life sims ever made, though? That was more than enough for me to adore my time with Rune Factory 4 Special, and will continue to do so long after you’re done reading this. Here's hoping the upcoming Rune Factory 5 manages to capture that magic again.

Rune Factory in general was the brilliant outcome of mashing two genres in a beautiful harmony that worked together wonderfully with Rune Factory 4 being the current pinnacle of the series. The Switch version brings the same entry players loved on 3DS with a fresh new HD look, new difficulty and brand new extras featuring newlywed scenarios for everyone to get the chance to experience for the first time. It's just as wonderful a title as it was on 3DS and the Switch only makes it even better with the option to relax at home on the big screen or freely take it on the go. Rune Factory 4 is boundless fun that's a great time to replay after beating to try new things and experiment with different things each time, marry new partners and perhaps take on a harder challenge along the way. Anyone looking for that farming itch with a dash of adventuring should absolutely play Rune Factory 4 Special.

Whether you want to whet your appetite before Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes out or you're looking for your next fix after blowing through everything available in Stardew Valley, Rune Factory 4 is the perfect second-life for you. You might feel a bit overwhelmed at first, but once you manage to find your focus the addictive gameplay lets you wash away hours of your day in an instant.

Rune Factory 4 Special arrives on the Switch, proving to be a worthwhile Farming Simulator/Dungeon Crawling hybrid.

Any Harvest Moon, Season of Stories, or Rune Factory fan should definitey check this one out on Nintendo Switch, as it has one of the most charismatic worlds I've seen in a game in the genre yet.

If you have NOT played the original Rune Factory 4 however, I highly recommend picking this up. The writing is charming, the gameplay is a wonderful blend of pleasant and exciting, and all the interconnected systems mean even if you’re not directly working on your favorite aspect, you’re still working towards what you love.

Rune Factory 4 is an abundant RPG, full of fun characters, things to do, and a compelling network of interlocking systems.