Rune Factory 4 Brings Farming Back to its Roots - Preview
by Karl Koebke , posted on 16 June 2013 / 3,799 Views
The Rune Factory series is one of those franchises that takes two things that taste great (farming sim and Action RPG) and puts them together to make something even better. The issue with that philosophy is you have to get the combination of these parts just right. Go too far to one genre of the other and you could ruin the other half. Rune Factory Tides of Destiny had this issue when it largely automated farming in an effort to focus more on the combat. Unfortunately even the combat didn't turn out great, so we were stuck with a product that was mediocre in both aspects. Rune Factory 4 looks to counter that with a return to farming that brings me hope for the series.
I had a long time to play Rune Factory 4 at E3 2013 but oddly enough the best way I learned about it was simply through the help menu. Farming seems to be largely back to normal. There's a farm right outside your main character's residence which you can tend to yourself as well as other farms further away that you can reach by airship. The XSEED representative told me that monsters can still be set to do most of the farming work, but the nearby farm didn't have a stable. So I'm thinking that monsters are more necessary on those far away farms while the nearby farm is meant to be tilled the old way.
Rotating crops is a big concern as soil can get overworked and become less fertile so sometimes it's best to just leave the soil unused for a while. The soil even has its own experience and levels. Experience is gained by harvesting crops from that particular plot of soil. If the soil increases its level you'll see gains in how fast crops grow as well as the quality and quantity of crops on that particular square of soil and even their chances of surviving poor weather. All in all I'm hopeful that these changes mean that farming isn't the throwaway game mechanic that it was in the last title.
That's not to say that farming is all you'll be doing; this ain't Harvest Moon. There's also princess work to be done (or prince if that's the gender you choose). You'll give orders to the townsfolk and create new features in the hopes of increasing tourism which will in turn increase your ranking as a princess (or prince). Of course if you choose to be female you'll have your choice of all the eligible young bachelors, so there's that too.
Finally combat seems a bit slower and simpler than the last game but Rune Points are no longer necessary just for swinging your weapon so it has less Rogue-like limitations for how long you can stay out and about. One last thing I noticed is that almost every object I came upon seems to be destructible. While in the farm behind the house I picked up my water well and threw it at a sign and both took damage. I'm not sure what would happen if I continued doing that but while I was in a dungeon I noticed that the save point took damage as well. After a few hits the save point was destroyed, much to my amusement. I was told that it would come back if I simply reentered that specific area, but was left wondering where this ended. Picking up or destroying every object in town would allow you for some mighty impressive customization.
Overall I'm really happy with how Rune Factory 4 is looking. The renewed focus on the farming aspect reminds me of what makes this series fun and unique in the first place. Look for more about Rune Factory 4 on 3DS as it nears its release sometime in Summer 2013.
