Is the Pokemon/Harvest Moon styled combo worth your time?
I found myself running around to a save spot to eat and restore HP. Over the course of the adventure, you’ll be able to get stronger weapons and items. Your weapons have “Tamitaya” cast on them and that spell won’t harm the monsters you fight along your journey. You might try and settle down with one of the townsfolk to start a family and she doesn’t like it when you hurt the monsters. Like in Harvest Moon, you can create lasting relationships and start a family.
Now with every good game, there are good points as well as bad points. Rune Factory 4 is no different. I understand that farming is one of the main aspects of the game but it just didn’t do it for me. I get that you can get stronger from working the fields and gain experience from using an axe. It felt like farming could have been done much quicker if you didn’t have to work at certain spots, like watering a part of the ground once a day. Like I said before, I really enjoyed the writing but it would have been interesting to hear the characters have conversations with each other, instead of saying a few words here and there. The controls were easy to use except when you were fighting and you needed to restore HP, like I mentioned earlier. If you don’t pick up a lot of HP replenishing food/items and don’t find a save place, it could be a quick battle for the other side. It’s these reasons that I’m giving Rune Factory 4 for the 3DS an 8/10, fans of the series will love it but it might take a little time for outsiders to get onboard.
Score: 8 / 10
