It’s also the longest story to date for the series, with three narrative arcs, each with its own definite ending and credit roll. While this tale has some surprising moments of gravity, it is juxtaposed with the day-to-day silliness typical of the Rune Factory series, keeping the game’s atmosphere light and cheery. Her amnesia, however, obfuscates a mystery that soon comes to light involving the decay of the land and its four Guardians that have kept it in stasis for hundreds of years. Having no recollection of herself or her original objectives, the young woman agrees and quickly discovers her powers as an Earthmate, enabling her to commune with nature on a level that normal people cannot. When the protagonist falls from an airship and loses her memory, she is assumed to be a princess who was scheduled to arrive in Selphia that very day, and even though this is almost immediately proven false, Ventuswill urges her to live in Selphia Castle and guide the citizens to prosperity. Rune Factory 4 is set in Selphia, a beautiful land populated by warm-hearted people and protected by the semi-divine Ventuswill, Native Dragon of Wind. It’s amazing how a myriad of small design tweaks and an obviously passionate localization have elevated the game far beyond a second-rate “Harvest Moon with swords.” With some reluctance, I approached Rune Factory 4, expecting more of the same drudgery… and against all odds, I found it remarkably enjoyable.
#RUNE FACTORY 4 PORCOLINE SERIES#
I thought I would find satisfaction in the added action-RPG elements of the Rune Factory games, but they never quite appealed to me the way Harvest Moon did, and 2011’s disappointing Tides of Destiny convinced me that my connection with the series was never meant to be.
The original addictive farming simulation (we do not speak of Farmville, heathens) used to capture my attention with each new iteration, but recent entries have somewhat stagnated. That analogy doesn’t work, because Harvest Moon is actually a lot of fun. All farming and no fighting makes Jack a dull… no, wait.