Rune Factory 4 Special on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Quick menu
Journey to the vibrant world of Rune Factory and experience the legendary fantasy farming adventure like never before!
Rune Factory 4 Special is a rpg, farming sim and adventure game
developed by Marvelous Inc.
and published by XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Inc. and Marvelous Europe.
Released on December 07th 2021 is available only on Windows
in 7 languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
It has received 1,907 reviews of which 1,682 were positive and 225 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.4 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 29.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Rune Factory 4 Special into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Rune Factory 4 Special through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-6400
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics HD530
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 5 GB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Rune Factory 4 Special is my favorite game of all time. I have yet to find a game that surpasses this one in terms of sheer fun factor. It takes the same gameplay formula of Rune Factory 3 , and refines it. It’s as fast paced as ever, quick farming, quick combat, quick menu navigation, quick dialogue, it’s fast and snappy. The movement does not feel as slippery, and has analogue support. Dashing is now a separate button. You can now craft in bulk. Better item sorting and more inventory space in general. A lot of changes are small, but improve the overall experience. You can also now play as a female protagonist and romance cute guys. There’s a lot of depth beneath the surface, the game keeps surprising me when I discover something new. A LOT more content, the game that will last you a while. It certainly did for me across three different platforms (3DS, Switch and PC). The story is good, and it’s quite tragic, exploring themes of friendship and sacrifice. The relationship between Ventuswill, protagonist and the guardians is nice, and there are good emotional moments. After replaying the game, I think it’s better than I remember. The dialogue in general is quite fun, and usually funny. The characters are not as zany as those in Rune Factory 3 , but still fun in their own right. Be warned. This PC version is not amazing, as there are some issues that weren’t present in the Switch and 3DS versions. Of all things you could mess up, the sound engineering is all over the place. Some sounds have wrong pitches, for example, the money ding when buying items now sounds like metal clanking, air magic attacks that reflect off walls also sound metallic for some reason. There’s also some instances where sound effects cut off abruptly. Most noticeable is during a drumroll for festival results. Instead of a prolonged drumroll, it ends midway through, which is laughably bad. Did you know that NPCs that sell items are supposed to play voice lines when you shop? You wouldn’t know that if you played this version, because these voice lines straight up don’t play. The music transitions are only half-functional. Instead of fading the previous track out and fading in a new one when e.g. entering a new area, the current track simply stops, fading in the new track afterwards. There’s also a rare glitch when a sound effect may repeat itself over and over. I am not sure if it’s a new bug or it was in the Switch original, and it IS rare, I only got it twice. Lastly. Changing audio output device, like plugging in a headphone in the middle of the game causes the sound to get all glitchy, and can cause the game to crash. Aside from the sound, another issue I noticed is that randomized dungeons (seed dungeons, Sharance maze dungeons) do not display areas you’ve been to on the mini-map, which means you can get lost if you have to backtrack. Again, this wasn’t present in the originals. There’s a memory leak issue of some sort, I noticed that zooming in character stat profiles got slower the longer my session was, as well as navigating inventory. I don’t recall having that issue in the switch or 3DS versions. Last and least, the game crashed occasionally when trying to quit to the main menu through the save screen, which is when I was trying to save scum or quit the game. Which is to say, it’s minor. I have not encountered any other major issues or crashes during the gameplay part of the game. But, yeah, I don’t know how this port passed QA (and it seems like there were a lot of QA testers, which is hard to believe). This version is still playable and you could still have fun with it, but if you want to have a definitive experience, I’d recommend getting the Nintendo Switch version. I cannot comment about PS4/Xbox One versions, but I’d imagine they have similar issues as they all released at about the same time. The only upside of this PC port is that there are mods for it. I’m happy to know that there are dedicated fans that make mods for this game and other Rune Factory games. You may be wondering, what’s so special about Rune Factory 4 Special ? Let me walk you through a list of changes from the 3DS original (not comprehensive ofc): -“Improved” visuals. I think the character portraits have been properly updated and they look nice. Otherwise… yeah, “AI” upscaled textures and sprites. It’s like one of those filters you can find in an SNES emulator. I originally thought that these were kinda good, with some ugly textures and sprites, but after playing Rune Factory 5 … yeah, the visuals are just okay. However, I can confidently say that if you can look past the visuals, there’s a genuinely fun game to be had here. Don’t judge a book by its cover as they say. -Rock solid 60FPS. The original 3DS version did have some dips in areas with many NPCs/action-heavy scenarios. -Hell difficulty. If you thought hard isn’t hard enough, you can go even further beyond! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!! -Escape spell is now a separate button, ZR/Right Trigger. This is a nice QOL feature that frees an ability/magic slot (you could still use switch’s touch screen and click on it on PC, but why would you?) -According to many reports, the RNG for the third act of the story has been fixed. The game has an infamous RNG system for events, usually short and quirky stories involving other townsfolk. And the devs decided to tie a major story element to that. I didn’t have to wait for long before triggering arc 3, but I also don’t remember waiting long in 3DS original (European region). Must have been luck. -Newlywed mode. You unlock one for the character you have married, but you can spend prince/princess points to unlock the rest of them. These are essentially the main game with objectives tacked on for story purposes that ends when you fulfill all of them. Most of them are pretty simple. You start with no skills at a specific level, with some things unlocked and some good gear. My favorite is Vishnal’s, it has an OPTIONAL challenge to beat a tough boss for a crystal skull item. You could just walk into a cutscene and move on, but it was fun to get it legit, on a time limit no less. I think that’s how I’d like to have these stories. Straightforward, but challenging if you so choose. Unfortunately, Rune Factory 3 Special ’s stories usually ended in tedium, because of challenges that weren’t optional (like fishing a rare Sunsquid). The protagonist and marriage candidates use Live 2D sprites, and I’ll be honest, I don’t think they’re very good. I think it’s in part due to them being uncanny. I’m so used to the static sprites and now they move! The animations are pretty awkward. I’m not a fan of them here and neither in Rune Factory 3 Special . -Another Episode mode, narrated episodes of protagonist x spouse with cute artwork. Venti is in there, they are clearly teasing us with a dragon waifu. -Autumn Road/Winter Field music has been changed for some reason. Apparently the new song choice is from Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny . I personally think the 3DS version fits the mood better. Even without knowing the Tides of Destiny origin, the new song sounds too “breezy” for autumn/winter. -You can choose between English VO and Japanese VO, if you were ever curious how Japanese people sound (apparently they sound louder than English ones). -A new artwork after beating the third act and interacting with “Beat the Game” trophy. It’s pretty cute. -Updated intro cinematic. -More than 3 save slots. Overall, Rune Factory 4 Special is plain fun. Lot’s of things to do, it’s quick and snappy, a lot of mechanical depth, fun and memorable characters, good story and funny moments. The Special moniker is fitting if you’re a Rune Factory fan, waiting for the return of the beloved series after original developer’s bankruptcy, but it is applicable to the game as a whole. Rune Factory 4 truly is a special game, therefor it’s Rune Factory 4 Special .
Expand the review
One of the absolute best in the genre. A perfectly grindy farm-sim with addicting crafting and leveling systems, deceptively deep farming mechanics, and likeable characters. While combat is simple, exploring and progressing through the game's many dungeons and areas is rewarding and truly sets Rune Factory apart from other farm-sims. This port introduces many qol improvements and a small amount of extra content. Unfortunately, the ai upscaling they used on all of the textures makes them look pretty undefined and smeary. I would recommend using the Rune Factory 4 - Unfiltered mod from Nexus; it makes a huge difference.
Expand the review
After playing Rune Factory 4 on every possible platform throughtout the decade, i have many things to say about this game, I'll try my best to answer your possible questions about this game while giving my honest thoughts. Oh boy, i never thought i would fall in love with a game that looks like an unseasoned chicken breast, RF4 may be one of the most unexciting looking game, but dear god its a fricking "VIDEOGAME" I couldn't ever guess that Rune Factory 4 was the game i always imagined as the ideal "perfect video game", it wasn't yet still to this date its the closest thing to my imagination. Im not talking about you can be fishing, foraging, farming, fighting, romancing, crafting, forging, cooking (In a lot of various types) petting etc. the most important thing ,even the current developers are skipping, is you want to put dedication on them! Yes, in Rune Factory 4 there are absurd amount of content and none of them feels useless, at some point you always see yourself dealing with one of them yet the game doesn't force you, and it knows how to reward you for those. There are 50+ progressable skills, all of them is needed for your progression, because of attributions are much needed to survive if you want to end the game. For the combat, its nothing special, for a 3ds game, its awesome. close combat tools aren't that various but i wouldn't say the same for abilities, they are so cool and enough for build variations. Forging and crafting are the 2 most important skills since this game is %50 dungeon crawling, even in easy mode you never find yourself overleveled/overgeared yet you can easily become undergeared and it will be a true nightmare. Don't forget everyboss can oneshot you if you lose your focus on battles. Generally game isn't balanced because the normal mobs can't even answer your swings yet some bosses makes you feel like an ant. Characters are lively and well-written but don't forget this game is in generic jrpg format, you won't find unforgetable npcs or scenarios, bachelorettes have few good choices but bachelors are lacking. And the farming in this game is mindblowing, it has soo many layers that it will give you seizures and headaches if you put too many time in it, but if you don't put any time it punishes you HARSH. you can consider this good or bad. Lastly, is "Special" version really that special? I don't think so, it added two new extra content called "Newlymed Mode" and "Another Episode" to be honest i never found myself dipping in both of them, i tried them, they are short and wholesome yet pretty useless, also i didn't like the portrait motions on newlymed mode, its a bit disturbing, scares me i guess? It fixed a lot of older 3ds version bugs plus added QOL features, unfortunately some non existent sound bugs appeared in this version. If you try to view "Special" as hd port of a game that was stuck in old generation consoles instead of a content adder it will no longer be a problem, this is the best version for now. If you are a JRPG fan, it may be a good experience for you, if you are a farming fan, it may be a good experience for you, have fun!
Expand the review
One of the best games I've ever played. It has a little bit of everything without feeling bloated. Fighting and taming monsters? Yep. Crafting and cooking? Yep. Skill progression and leveling? Yep. Romance and marriage that felt like you were living in a fairy-tale novel? Yep. (Love you, Doug.) Fishing? Yep. Farming? Yep. Festivals and town events? Yep. Characters that have so much dialogue and life put into them that I'm still discovering new conversations after hundreds of hours put in on both PC and the Switch? It has that too, and so much more. I can't even fit it all here. It has to be experienced at least once. I played as Frey, the female main character, and it's one of the few times I played as a nameable protagonist that I felt was alive and growing as a person the more I played. I wanted her to succeed and live a happy life. I honestly can not recommend this game enough. It's a masterpiece, a hidden gem that I hope a lot more people discover and fall in love with like I did.
Expand the review
A game that thread a fine line between action RPG and farming sim that not only thrives but excel in it. In that aspect, this game is unmatched and have never been surpassed since. The characters are great and lovable. The town design is compact, you can get to every one very quickly. The loop between building relationships, farming and dungeon diving makes this one of those game where you keep telling yourself 'just one more day' and its already morning and you haven't slept for the past 10 hours. Wonderful.
Expand the review
Similar games
View all
Rune Factory 5
As the newest ranger of a peacekeeping organization known as SEED, protect your community by rounding up rowdy monsters and going on special missions. Cultivate your farm and friendships alike while unravelling rune-related mysteries!
Rune Factory 3 Special
Bridge the divide of an ancient schism between humans and monsters in Rune Factory 3 Special as half-human, half-wooly protagonist Micah. Farm, fight and fall in love as you revisit a classic in the series that perfected the blend of RPG & Life-sim genres.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
Welcome to the eastern nation of Azuma! In this fresh take on Rune Factory, use your powers as an Earth Dancer to restore the land, its people, and even its gods. Along the way, battle corrupted monsters, rebuild seasonal farms and villages, and form bonds with the colorful locals.
LUNAR Remastered Collection
Dive into the enchanting worlds of LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete! Tag along on Alex and Hiro's quests and challenge enemies like the Magic Emperor and God of Destruction to save the world from dire peril in two adventures set 1000 years apart from each other!
幻想三國誌5/Fantasia Sango 5
Fantasia Sango 5 is based on the post era of the Three Kingdoms. At the time, hosts like Cao Cao and Liu Bei are all gone. Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao, at the northern territory proclaims himself emperor, and uses Sima Yi to start his expansion proactively.
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition
In celebration of Harvest Moon's 20th Anniversary comes an all new Harvest Moon title for Steam! Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition! The game encompasses twenty years of the spirit that have made the franchise what it is today!
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos
Explore the wide world of Anthos with the help of your wacky inventor friend Doc Jr. and many others! It’ll be up to you to revive the Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites, as well as reconnect all of the villages of Anthos with each other! Farm all around Anthos using the improved Expando-Farm!
The Scarlet Demonslayer
Agnis, the Scarlet Demonslayer, is the strongest of the demon eradication warriors battling against the calamities that plague the world. But after losing her powers, the nation is defenseless against the otherworldly attacks! To recover her lost magic, she must depend on her assistants to help her!
Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal
The legends speak of a long forgotten prophecy... of a shining hero and of perilous adventures... of sinister powers, strange worlds and swarms of fairies ... but they said nothing of a girl with a big heart instead of a big sword!
Serin Fate
Evil is afoot... Wielding your new Magic, bound into mysterious Monster-infested lands to uncover ancient relics and restore the Fate Stone. Along the way, explore the depths of every nook to find creatures, garner ingredients, train in Witchery, and craft new equipment.
Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time
Uncover the mysteries at Luna Nova Academy and experience the magical world of Studio Trigger style Japanese animation in Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time.
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town
Welcome to Olive Town, a peaceful community established by your trailblazing grandfather and his friends. Now that you've taken over his farm, it's your job to carry on his legacy. Plant crops, raise animals, build relationships, and get to know the residents of your new home!
Frequently Asked Questions
Rune Factory 4 Special is currently priced at 29.99€ on Steam.
Rune Factory 4 Special is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 29.99€ on Steam.
Rune Factory 4 Special received 1,682 positive votes out of a total of 1,907 achieving a rating of 8.43.
😎
Rune Factory 4 Special was developed by Marvelous Inc. and published by XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Inc. and Marvelous Europe.
Rune Factory 4 Special is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Rune Factory 4 Special is not playable on MacOS.
Rune Factory 4 Special is not playable on Linux.
Rune Factory 4 Special is a single-player game.
Rune Factory 4 Special does not currently offer any DLC.
Rune Factory 4 Special does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Rune Factory 4 Special does not support Steam Remote Play.
Rune Factory 4 Special is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Rune Factory 4 Special.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 14 June 2025 16:01 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 14 June 2025 01:47 |
| Steam price | 14 June 2025 20:31 |
| Steam reviews | 15 June 2025 03:54 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Rune Factory 4 Special, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Rune Factory 4 Special
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Rune Factory 4 Special concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Rune Factory 4 Special compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
85
Developer
Marvelous Inc.
Publisher
XSEED Games,
Marvelous USA, Inc.,
Marvelous Europe
Release
07 Dec 2021
Platforms