Rune Factory 4 Special Reviews

Rune Factory 4 Special is ranked in the 86th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
85 / 100
Mar 7, 2020

All in all, my time with Rune Factory 4 Special has been great.

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Recommended
Mar 5, 2020

Rune Factory 4 Special will have you praising its variety of content and consistent rewards, but also cursing some of its more finicky components.

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4 / 5.0
Mar 2, 2020

Rune Factory 4 Special is a robust farm-simulator and RPG experience that, while occasionally dull, is a deep and truly relaxing experience. There’s no shortage of things to do from the get-go, and the detail put into combat and the various leveling systems will surely please even those who lean more into the RPG side of things.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 1, 2020

Rune Factory 4 Special is a unique game which provides an experience that you cannot get from anywhere else. It’s great that Marvelous brought back the game on Nintendo Switch, because this gives many people who weren’t able to play it before, the chance of playing it. I highly recommend this game for the newcomers who want to know what the whole fuss is about. However, I don’t think this remaster adds much to the experience for those who have already spent hours on Rune Factory 4

Review in Persian | Read full review

81 / 100
Feb 28, 2020

The beginning of Rune Factory 4 is weird and nearly made me give up. However, once I'd passed the first few hours, I was rewarded with a very diverse gameplay. I won't get to love the story, but developing the city just like I want it to is the game's major gain.

Review in German | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2020

If you enjoy farming, collecting, and casual dungeon-crawling, it's hard to think of a game that does everything as well as Rune Factory 4 Special. It's still a seven-year-old game at heart, and it sometimes does feel dated.

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Spaziogames
DottorKillex
Top Critic
7.5 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2020

Rune Factory 4 takes a second chance with this Special edition, and while this is definitely the best version of the game, it's hard to recommend it to anyone who's already played the original.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Feb 27, 2020

Overall, I certainly enjoyed Rune Factory 4 Special. It is an incredibly addictive game that has eaten up hours of my time and will continue to do so in the future as I play through again and again. The only complaints I have are fairly minor, such as a lack of explanations of a few points or the occasional case of a follower character getting in the way. It's a well-done remake.

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Guardian
Top Critic
Feb 27, 2020

This comfortable but clunky reboot of the part farming simulator, part dungeon crawler, part life sim is very much a product of its time

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8.5 / 10.0
Feb 27, 2020

I had a blast from my day to day activities and my time spent with it didn't feel like nearly enough. I will be playing this long after reviewing it. Rune Factory enthusiasts, as well as newcomers, should certainly give this a go.

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9 / 10
Feb 27, 2020

There’s something here for everyone in Rune Factory 4 Special, but its greatest strength is how it ties together everything into one thoroughly enjoyable package.

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9 / 10.0
Feb 26, 2020

Rune Factory 4 Special makes the jump to 2020 in amazing fashion by delivering the same amount of charm and great content in the original in a nicely upgraded package.

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4.5 / 5.0
Feb 26, 2020

Whether you’ve lived in Selphia for a long time, or have yet to make the journey, Rune Factory 4 Special is absolutely worth picking up.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 26, 2020

After a good twenty to thirty hours with Rune Factory 4 Special, I gotta say it was a good time. This is a game with quite a lot to do, between combat, farming, requests, and planning festivals, plus whatever other jobs you have as a supposed prince. It’s hard to tell how much there would be to do after finishing the story, but at least with a lot to occupy your time until then, Rune Factory 4 Special could be a good fifty to one hundred hour time sink if you need something nice and long to pass the time.

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8.3 / 10.0
Feb 26, 2020

Simply put, Rune Factory 4 Special is the best game in the series so far and a great showcase for how many different gameplay elements can be combined to create an addictive farming sim RPG formula that's exceptionally difficult to put down.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
9 / 10
Feb 26, 2020

Rune Factory 4 Special is a near perfect farming and RPG title. The frustrating elements are outweighed by the gorgeous styled graphics, the immersiveness of the plot, and the sheer joy that comes from playing this remastered game. It raises high hopes for the upcoming fifth instalment in the series, and it can perhaps be considered a masterpiece.

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7 / 10
Feb 26, 2020

The game is gorgeous to look at with wonderful pre-rendered backgrounds and character portraits, and the story kept me wanting to play so I could learn more. The farming feels a little bare-bones, although the time you spend out exploring dungeons makes the game still very engaging.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2020

With a bit of a window remaining until the release of Animal Crossing, if you’ve been looking for something relaxing and structured to occupy your attention you’ll be in luck with Rune Factory...

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8.1 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2020

Rune Factory 4 Special takes the player into a magical world full of adventure and challenges. If you want to fill your virtual existence with fieldwork and explore the story of Selphia, the game will not disappoint you. The learning process is slow and steady, so that the player is not overwhelmed. When you've had enough of gardening, you swing on an animal and ride through the wilderness, beating up some monsters. The fighting could have been a little more challenging, but Rune Factory 4 Special doesn't want that. The title shines with a mix of simulation and RPG elements. This appeals to people who may not otherwise be involved with JRPGs. The new features are well done, especially the synchronisation is impressive. The developer would have liked to add some more graphic elements. The sprites look partly not well ported. If you feel like a fine mixture of Harvest Moon and JRPG, you will definitely get your money's worth.

Review in German | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2020

I will always recommend this game and I already always do. As I said before this game means so much to me and the fact that XSEED brought it back and is even working on Rune Factory 5 is enough to keep a big smile on my face! I think if you were a first time player buying this game online and getting the $39.99 copy would be perfect for you. I personally got the Archive Edition to help support this game and so we can continue to get more Rune Factory games in the future. So thank you XSEED for brining back this loved and underappreciated series!

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