Rune Factory 4 Special |OT| Regrowth OT (2025)

Rune Factory is an offshoot series of the popular Harvest Moon series of farming games, with a larger focus on combat and fantasy elements. With installments across several platforms (Rune Factory 1, 2 & 3 for the Nintendo DS, Rune Factory Frontier for the Wii, Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny for the PS3/Wii, and most recently Rune Factory 4 for the Nintendo 3DS), the series had built up an appreciative niche fanbase who loved its particular off-kilter take on the farming genre.

As you can see in the diagram above, a prodigious number of series installments got released within a relatively short amount of time. Unfortunately, long time Rune Factory series developer Neverland Co. ended up going bankrupt in November 2013 (the month after RF4's US release), and while the developers were ultimately absorbed into Marvelous AQL, fans were understandably worried about the future of the Rune Factory franchise. Thankfully, the 2/13/2019 Nintendo Direct assuaged those fears, confirming both a remastered re-release of Rune Factory 4 (a full 7 years after the original), and, incredibly, a full blown numbered sequel in Rune Factory 5. The first of those two announcements has come to pass, with the US release of Rune Factory 4 Special – we're about to find out if there's still a place for an OG like Rune Factory sales-wise in a post-Stardew Valley world.

For a great overview of the series in general, check out this Youtube video:

So what's new in Rune Factory 4 Special (vs. the original 3DS version)?

1. A new opening movie!
2. New story cutscenes that weren't in the initial release
3. A tougher "Veteran" mode to challenge returning players
4. A "Newlywed Mode", accessible from the title screen. Essentially, extra side stories you can engage in with each of the romanceable candidates after you've already managed to marry them in-game. Based on the trailers, these new sections appear to use Live2D to animate your spouse's conversation art.
5. An "Another Episode" mode, also accessible from the title screen, that looks to be a bunch of supplemental voice drama/VN style content. Initially, only Ventuswill's Another Episode is unlocked, with the other twelve marriage candidates locked behind eShop DLC. XSeed has confirmed that just like the Japanese version, the DLC will be a free download for the first month after release.
6. Dual audio support (also accessible via a toggle on the title screen)
7. Significantly improved resolution (obviously, as this is a port of a 3DS game) and a much smoother framerate
8. Language support for French and German
9. Since the game is on the Switch now, you gain all the benefits that entails (you can play it on a home display, with a regular controller, or play on the go with a larger screen, better battery life, and a suspend function that isn't completely useless)

The Archival Edition (which goes for an additional 20 bucks, as mentioned above) contains the following extra goodies:

A full-color, 162-page "Archival Book" with artwork from the Rune Factory games, plus exclusive promo and comic images. I flipped through the book for the purposes of making this FAQ, and as the cover page suggests its an art retrospective of all the Rune Factory games we've had up to this point (from the original Rune Factory's JP release in 2006 to the western release of RF4S in 2020) plus an additional annex of bonus promotional art. It has a nice slip case protecting the main book, and the paper quality is top notch.

Original soundtrack CD with 36 music tracks from the game. Sturdy cardboard sleeve, shrinkwrapped.

A download code for "Swimsuit Day" bonus content. As usual, its a small insert in the jewel case. I managed to redeem this off the eShop, and it apparently gives you a new Order that makes all the marriage characters parade around in swimsuits... so, uh, yeah.

Pre-release gameplay summary videos of the Switch are pretty few and far between, so I used this video for now. It has a decent mix of the basic exploration, combat and farming gameplay of the NSW version. Having played a bit of the Switch version myself, the image quality is a huge step up from the 3DS version, and the framerate is very smooth with no drops.

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So, for the series newcomer - how does it play? As much as I'm sure Marvelous loathes comparisons to Stardew Valley, it's the most likely point of reference most newbies will be coming in from due to said game's mainstream commercial success. After all, most Harvest Moon fans are already well aware of what the RF series is like by this point, and will already know whether its for them or not without needing to read this section.

So to answer the question: if you're coming in from Stardew Valley and you liked it, will you like this?

It depends on what you like about SV's game design, frankly. SV is a lot more freeform, and lets you achieve success through whatever method you choose. SV is also much more focused on the farming side of things, with the end goal (aside from stocking the museum and the community center) is the optimization of your money stream, and building your farm the way you want it. Rune Factory 4 on the other hand has a much larger emphasis on fighting, exploration and skill development, and as a result has far more indepth combat and crafting mechanics; the game's farming component is still very strong, but it's not the be-all end-all it is in SV. It's also far more regimented.

There's a more structured plot in RF4, and the characters have a lot more to say in terms of pure dialogue; the characterization might not be as good depending on your tastes however, as RF's characters tend to lean towards the predictable, trope-y anime archetypes, while SV's are more realistic. SV also allows for same-sex relationships whereas RF4 does not.

One last note: time runs slower in RF4 vs. SDV. If the constant struggle to maximize your day wore on you over time in Stardew Valley, you'll appreciate Rune Factory 4's comparatively sedate pacing.

In the end, these are two significantly different approaches to the same farming genre. If you explicitly don't want lots of fighting mixed into your farming then you should definitely steer clear, but if you're open to an expansion of that aspect of the game I'd say give it a chance. You may just have found your new addiction.

These character trailers do a much better job than I would of introducing you to the main romanceable cast, given my shit-tier image editing skills. It's also a convenient way to stop writing this OT because I am very, very tired right now.