After getting settled, you’re given access to a field for crops, on which you can also place monster barns. On the off chance you’re not aware, Rune Factory is basically the fantasy action RPG cousin of the Story of Seasons games. And then there’s Porcoline, the owner of the restaurant, who frightens me just as much on my monitor as he did on my 3DS screen. Many of whom are anime archetypes with a couple of broad characteristics, of which they like to remind you again and again.

You can marry many of the townsfolk (although this was a bit before the games that let you do same-sex marriages). Some of said arcs see you fighting the aforementioned empire. You get to know the inhabitants of Selphia as you use your strange Earthmate powers to turn monsters into humans, while you make your way through dozens of hours of dungeons and surprisingly intricate story arcs. Luckily, they agree to let you keep doing what you’re doing, since they don’t see eye to eye with their father. Only, the real royal envoy shows up a bit later. All the while, you’re living out of the room next to hers. There, the Native Dragon of Wind, Ventuswill, assumes you to be royalty and gets you set up to farm and give the kingdom orders. Your character ends up falling off into the kingdom of Selphia below. They’re attacked by soldiers from an empire named… okay, I’m not going to get into that here.

The story, which is actually fairly in-depth here, begins with your character on an airship. Although, seeing a 3DS game blown up to 4K isn’t the most natural fit in the world. Regardless, Rune Factory 4 Special is a deliciously compelling experience filled with hours of content. The game is almost 10 years old now, but little has been done to dilute its core appeal, even if some aspects of it could surely have used some updates. The rhythm of taking care of your crops, fighting through dungeons, and making sure my gear was up to the task of getting me through the game’s challenges had me hooked.

Rune Factory 4 was a game I put a hell of a lot of hours into back on the Nintendo 3DS.

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