Rune Factory 4

For the last few weeks, I've been totally wrapped up in playing Rune Factory 4.  I love games that incorporate role-playing and making stuff, so games like the Alchemist series by Gust and the Harvest Moon series are a slam-dunk for me.

The basic premise of any Rune Factory game is that you have to farm and kill monsters to save the world.  In Rune Factory 4, you are trying to save the land of Selphia by replacing the Guardians with Rune Spheres so that the land won't shrivel up and die.  Like any Rune Factory or Harvest Moon game, you can interact with the townsfolk, participate in events and competitions, farm, create and upgrade items, and start a family.  In Rune Factory 4, you can play as either a male or female protagonist - a departure from previous games.

As in nearly every game, your protagonist starts out as a blank slate, unable to remember his/her past or name.  In this one, you're amnesiac because you were attacked while enroute with a mysterious package that you were taking to Selphia, and then to add insult to injury, you were pushed off of your airship to drop to your death.  Fortunately,  you were saved by a lucky landing on top of a dragon - yes, a dragon.  This dragon is the ruler of Selphia, and is called Ventuswill, or Venti for short.

Venti decides that you're the visiting prince/princess that they were expecting, and promptly puts you to work promoting Selphia and farming vegetables to nurture your Earthmate powers.  However, Venti has a darker secret.  For generations, she has been the force keeping Selphia vibrant and living, but the years have taken a toll on her. In the past, Guardians had sacrificed themselves to keep Venti alive, but even their sacrifices and powers have limits, and it soon becomes apparent that if you, the heroic protagonist, don't do something, Selphia is doomed.

The game itself is a good balance between farming/life simulator and role playing game. You fight monsters, complete mini-quests, and save the world by degrees.  If you are constantly being defeated by the same dungeon, you can increase your stats by sleeping, farming, creating and upgrading equipment, and even eating dishes with specific properties that give you resistance to ailments or elements. You also build relationships with the residents of Selphia Town, which allows you to invite them on quests or start a family.  Some relationships need to be built to a specific point before the game allows you to progress, so make sure that you talk to residents daily, complete their tasks, and give them their favorite items.

The game has flaws, though.  The only way to learn most of the recipes for food or items is by consuming "breads", and after a certain level, you can't learn anything new from these breads.  You have to get access to the post-game activities to get full completion of your various recipe books.  Some of the recipes require rare item drops, or in some cases, oddly specific items (ex: medium size milk) to create.

Another flaw in this game is that you practically require a game guide in order to complete some of the main-line quests.  Some events don't trigger unless specific conditions are met, but it's not immediately obvious what sets them off.  There are three main story arcs, but the trigger for the third one seems to be especially difficult to set off.

It's also really challenging to find all of the fishing, mining, and drop items for some of the recipes.  You don't necessarily have to have those recipes to beat the game, but if you're a completionist, this game is going to be a bit of a grind-fest for you.  I still haven't managed to catch a sunsquid or a blowfish despite hours of fishing, and don't even get me started on trying to find light ore.  I beat the game, but I admit that the higher level equipment recipes and upgrades probably would have resulted  in less cussing and trips to the infirmary.

Some of the things I liked about this game is the adjustable level of difficulty.  If you're not sure about your coordination in the fights, or you are just tired of the same boss one-hit-k.o.'ing your party, you can easily bump your difficulty down to Easy, or you can set it higher if you want more of a challenge.  You also have a wide variety of weapons that you can master, and a ridiculous number of skills and spells you can use, so there's a weapon and skill-set for every gaming style.

The art and character designs are up to the usual standards of the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games, making the game visually appealing as well as fun to play.  Finally, the characters in Selphia are fun to interact with.  I enjoyed going around town getting to know everyone and their favorite items, and the town events involving each character revealed a different side of everyone.

If you're new to Rune Factory series, I'd recommend this one as a starting point because of the adjustable difficulty level and more streamlined controls.  It's not a perfect game, but despite my complaints, I did enjoy my time in Selphia.  The three story arcs, and post-game Sharance Maze, give you hours of play-time and probably the most bang for your gaming buck.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some squids to catch.