[Review] Rune Factory 4

Developer: Neverland Co.
Genre: RPG
Released: Oct 2013 (English)
Platform: Nintendo 3DS

I finally got around to playing the game. Yay. Ahh~ So much nostalgia.

Like in nearly every Rune Factory game, the main character, Frey, gets amnesia again and falls out of an airship after being ambushed, then lands on the dragon Ventuswill. The people assume she's a princess, until Arthur comes along. Arthur, the Prince of Norad, leaves his duties to her so Frey ends up having princess responsibilities.

Soon, strange things start happening so you explore dungeons, and defeat the boss there to get a new bachelor/bachelorette to add to your harem. I won't spoil so much because I want you to feel the feels when that certain scene happens while you're playing the game. I swear this game had the most feels out of all the Rune Factory games.

New things I noticed:

The most obvious new thing there is the extra responsibility you have as a princess. So, you need to earn princess points to draw in tourists and develop the place. Thanks to that, this game has a lot of goals you can slowly fulfill, so it's hard to run out of things to do. You also need a licence before you can purchase cooking ware, a forge, and a crafting table.

They added in a new shop feature where you can sell your items at a stall. So you talk to customers and try to convince them to buy your product. Customers tend to pay higher than the item's shipping price.

The battle animations and stuff look a bit cooler now compared to Rune Factory 1, 2, and 3. It totally motivated me to go kill more ants and woolies and other weak things (bully mode). There's also the 'gloves' as a weapon that lets you beat things up with your fists.

There are also more skills this time?! Were the skills this many before?! And it's recommended that you eat everyday so you'll grow stronger. I quote Volkanon: "YOU... MUST... EAT! Repeat after me!"

The choices are more hilarious too. Ex. "Bow down before me, peasants!"

DOWN WITH MY IDENTITY.

Oh, and you can also confess to random people in town... except for a few people like Volkanon. (I wish I could have Volkanon in my party though. That guy's strength is insane!)

One last thing, there's more SPACE! *tears of joy* (。┰ω┰。) I had problems with having too many times in Rune Factory 3, now I have like... so much space! I don't care if I have to chop wood and crush rocks to get it!

Thoughts on characters:

Ventuswill

Ventuswill is the native dragon that lives alongside the people of Selpha. She just sits around all day in the palace.

I really like her personality. One moment she's all stiff and formal, then later she acts like a best friend you've known for a long time. lol I've grown attached to her through the game... ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚

Vishnal

Doesn't he look like Hayate the combat butler to you? I mean... butler + blue hair. Yeah. It's so adorable how he's always trying his best to become the ultimate butler. I like the expression he has with the fire in his eyes. He's always going "I'll do my best to win at this festival!" And so far... he hasn't won a single one. lol Poor Vishnal.

Vishnal, I will train you to become a combat butler!

Arthur

Personally, I like meganekkos so Arthur's appearance totally appeals to me. He has an air of mystery and nobility around him (well, he's a prince so... yeah). He's also a workaholic. Every time I ask him to join me in an adventure, he declines cause he's busy. ╭(๑¯д¯๑)╮

What's bothering me is that he sometimes spouts out lines related to enjoying pain. Could it be he's a...?!

I'm so tempted to give him cat ears so he'll wear them all day. LOL

What about the ones on your face?!

Doug

He's like a more active Gaius. I ship him with Dylas...!!

Kiel

He's a shota who reads books. For some reason, the fortune teller person said our compatibility level is uber high.

Margaret

Her appearance reminds me of Daria, but her personality is definitely not similar cause Daria isn't as afraid of so many things as Margaret is.

I ran out of space to put all my cooking and crafting tables in my room, so I just placed half of them in her house cause it's spacey. Ahahaha... So Maragaret's house became a sort of extension of my house. Well, she's not complaining~

Xiao Pai

For some reason, she reaally reminds me of Colette from Rune Factory 3. That build! That affinity for food!

Clorica

Reminds me of Karina from RF3 and my real life friend Toru. In fact, any lazy girl I encounter in anime, manga or games reminds me of Toru.

Clorica has the sleeping ability that can rival Nanaki-sensei from Hatoful Kareshi. She can also cook delicious food while sleeping?! What madness is this?!

Forte

She looks like Saber!! And her personality reminds me of Kuruna from RF3!

She really really looks like Saber.

Amber

This girl is so tiny! And cheerful! Take all my apple juice, Amber! (∩˃o˂∩)♡

Doug once said that if the world was full of Amber, then there would be no war cause they'd just chill out and drink juice. lol

Dolce

Another tsundere! This game is like... tsundere heaven! Ahh.. Dolce is so adorable!

Pico

She's the ghost who haunts Dolce. Pico is like... the most awesomest ghost friend ever. She even wrote this outside the inn:

You don't want to know what anime her name reminds me of. Seriously. To those who can relate,... uh... yeah... I should just shut up.

Jones

Why is he taken?! lol I blame Atelier Elkrone for making me like older meganekko guys who are doctors or alchemists. No, wait. Now that I think about it. He looks kinda like Clemens sensei. Nuoo!

Clemens sensei, is that you?! ((((；゜Д゜)))

Nancy

OMG. I tried confessing to her once and she actually said she would have considered me if she hadn't married Jones. LOL

Badass Nurse Nancy.

Lin Fa

She's so pretty. Why isn't she date-able? Then again, I'm playing as a girl. lol

Lin Fa's character reminds me a bit of Shino (Sakuya's mom from RF3), except Lin Fa is really clumsy yet has enormous luck that her mistakes turn out well.

Volkanon

This guy is amazingly strong. I mean, how'd he break all those gargantuan stumps by just running through them?! And how did he jump to the other cliff and build a bridge in mere seconds?! #game logic

BUILDING BRIDGES IS EASIER THAN PUTTING ON PANTS?! REALLY?!

Bado

I swear. All this guy cares about is money. And, he's even lazier than Clorica if you take him in your party. He's like... level 35 but he NEVER attacks. Like... EVER. If you try confessing to this guy, all he talks about is money! (╯°Д°）╯︵/(.□ . \)

Illuminata

Tea-loving detective who points at people and go "You're the criminal!"

Other Comments:

This game requires you to go chop wood and break stones more than any Rune Factory game. If you want to progress faster in the game, you have to go chop wood or break stones. >_<

Another annoying thing is that each cooking utensil has its own table. What?! They take up so much space! But then you can like... exploit others' houses. Mehehe...