Rune Factory 3 Special Reviews
Hopefully Rune Factory 6 will be a return to form for the franchise but in the meantime, Rune Factory 3 Special is a spectacular remake that will delight fans who have never gotten a chance to try it, and will tide over old fans of the series. The future looks bright for Rune Factory.
Marvelous have absolutely succeeded in making Rune Factory 3 Special endearing to newer fans despite some obvious differences compared with the newer Rune Factory titles. It remains a great blend of RPG farming and fighting, the latter can be focused on for farming aficionados, holding off main story progression until it is desired. The comprehensive post-game content that is not conditional on various requirements only adds to the experience. Let's hope Rune Factory 1 and 2 receive similar treatments in the future!
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Rune Factory 3 Special. I can see why people love this series; its laid back game-play is welcoming but it has enough depth to keep you coming back for more. I had a blast figuring out the best items to give all the Bachelorettes, seeing their reactions to them, and watching their stories unfold. The combat here is a ton of fun, and I can certainly see myself wanting to take on the extra dungeons and challenges at some point down the line. The game is well worth the $39.99 asking price, and I think any fan of the series should jump on this day one. If you’ve never played one of these games you should give them a chance. I didn’t think this would be up my alley, but I was mistaken. I look forward to checking out Rune Factory 4 Special sometime in near future.
Rune Factory 3 Special may lack quality of life features found in recent entries but offers perhaps the best cast of characters in the series with crisp visuals and an addictive gameplay loop.
I love my casual little farming games, and Rune Factory always scratches the itch for me. Even though numerically we’re going backwards from the other games already on the Nintendo Switch, Rune Factory 3 Special is a very welcome addition to the platform and a healthy return for the Nintendo DS game. With less emphasis on combat, although there is plenty of it there should you want to make it a focus, it feels a lot more casual and focused on relationship building.
The real draw here is simply the ability to play Rune Factory 3 on a console that doesn't have 'DS' in its name-about 90% of the experience is exactly the same as the original, and that remaining 10% doesn't exactly cover a whole lot. Luckily, Rune Factory 3 is and always was a great farm sim/RPG hybrid, and it's something that we can still easily recommend to new and returning players alike. That said, if you fall into the latter group, we'd encourage you to consider carefully how much you want to shell out to replay this on modern hardware. It's a great game, but it's effectively the same thing as your DS copy. Still, it's good to see a return to form after the rather uneven Rune Factory 5. If you're looking for another very solid farm sim to add to your Switch library-and you haven't played it before-this is definitely one to consider.
Rune Factory 3 Special brings a fan favourite entry into the modern era relatively untouched, for better or worse.
While it may not have all the whistles and bells of Rune Factory 4 or 5, this delightful remaster of 3 is a welcome addition to the continued trend of bringing back older enjoyable titles for more to get their hands on.
Rune Factory 3 Special is a life/farming simulation game originally released for the DS in 2009. Remade, it's now playable on the Switch. Fight monsters, grow and harvest crops, sell loot, cook, fish, and raise your relationship levels with the villagers in this very interactive and fun game.
Rune Factory 3 Special isn't going to be for every farming game fan and won't dethrone Stardew Valley as the most popular farming game, but its charming characters and setting make for a very enjoyable experience. I was surprisingly pleased at the quality of the writing and the depth of some of the crafting systems, and those propelled Rune Factory 3 Special forward to make it both relaxing and engaging. This is a worthy addition to the Switch library, and one I might return to in the future, if only to spend some time with some of my new favorite characters.
The core issue with Rune Factory 3 Special is that Rune Factory 4 Special is already out, and without any significant improvements, there isn't a ton to recommend Rune Factory 3 Special overits sequel. There's more structure to the storyline and more freedom to break the game early on, but beyond that, it's basically the same experience that is a step backward. Rune Factory 3 is still fun, but it feels like it's missing things so soon after Rune Factory 4 Special because, well, it is. On the DS, Rune Factory 3 was a huge improvement over the previous game, but when you're going in reverse, it loses a lot of its luster. Short of having burned yourself out on Rune Factory 4 Special while still hankering for roughly the same gameplay, there's no huge reason to grab this over its sequel.
I had a lovely time with Rune Factory 3 Special, and I think you would too. For those familiar with the series it’s another fantastic entry. For newcomers I think it serves as an excellent entry point, although with the caveat that there are some issues with direction and the learning curve. The game is elevated by a cast of charming characters, and much of the fun is found in events and interactions with the people of Sharance. The farming element is fun to dive into, and that little bit of additional complexity that Rune Factory adds makes it more fun to engage with than similar titles in my experience. If you appreciate cheap and cheerful combat, expansive crafting options, and delightful characters, then you should pick Rune Factory 3 Special up.
Rune Factory 3 Special is as enjoyable game as Rune Factory 3, only now it's on more platforms so a larger audience can appreciate it.
All the charm and the excellence of the original game shines through, with only a couple of decade-old gameplay elements sticking out. The game offers a great jumping on point for those not experienced with the series while staying quite accessible to those used to the gameplay of later entries. It is an easily recommended blend of life-sim and RPG that many RPGamers can find enjoyment with.
'Rune Factory 3 Special' does an incredible job bringing the unique, easygoing charm of the original game into the modern era for a new audience.
Featuring a visually appealing graphical overhaul and the addition of extra modes to enjoy, there’s absolutely no reason why any farmer worth their salt should overlook Rune Factory 3 Special. The latest installment in the Rune Factory franchise may be a re-release of a 13-year-old game, but don’t let that stop you from diving into this cornucopia of fun.
Rune Factory 3 Special is a solid remaster of an older Rune Factory title from the Nintendo DS years. It’s been modernized and the core gameplay loop of farming, crafting and dungeon crawling holds up very well. In fact, this same core gameplay look features in a lot of games these days with Cult of the Lamb springing to mind immediately.
If you love the entire package of story, farming, combat, exploration, and characters, you could spend 50 to 70 hours playing the main game before even getting to the 11 Newlywed Mode chapters.
Wonderfully pleasant, but also quite predictable, the strength here is in the characters you’ll be working to build relationships with
Like the other games in the franchise, Rune Factory 3 Special is an addictive mix of action RPG and farm simulation. The update adds more content to the pack, making it a great way to experience the DS classic, but the quality of the experience has left something to be desired in some respects of polish. Even so, it's a very easy recommendation for anyone who likes both genres.
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