Apr 13, 2022News
Rune Factory 5, by Marvelous (XSEED), released on the Nintendo Switch in America on March 22nd, 2022 and in Europe and Australia on March 25th, 2022.
Since hearing the news back in 2020, and waiting such a long time since the release of the previous game in the franchise Rune Factory 4 on the 3DS in 2013 (although now there’s a Special Edition for the Switch), it stands to reason that fans are nervous with exactly what has and what hasn’t changed with this beloved Story of Seasons (formerly Harvest Moon) spin-off series. Well, after playing countless hours of the JRPG/farming sim mash-up, I’m here to tell you what to expect before buying!
Rune Factory 5 starts you off with the same amnesiac trope as usual as you’re brought to a small, quiet town called Rigbarth. Rather then issuing “Orders” as a prince or princess in Rune Factory 4, you’ll become a ranger for the organization, SEED, by protecting the town from monsters. In the same way, you’ll be able to spend these reward “points” toward town festivals, storage upgrades, and more! Moreover, you’ll be farming on the backs of a total of 5 Farm Dragons! See below for other such changes that might interest you!
Although Rune Factory 5 suffers from some rather extreme lagging and loading issues and minor quality-of-life inconveniences, it’s still a welcome step in the right direction for future iterations of the series! Let’s us know what you think of the game so far! If you haven’t already, get Rune Factory 5 on the Nintendo Switch here!
Jan 26, 2020Quick Bits
Only a few days ago XSEED Games announced that Rune Factory would finally be coming to the west! To celebrate the occasion the company held a livestream revealing the first ever English Rune Factory 4 Special gameplay!
For the ones who don’t know yet, Rune Factory 4 Special features enhanced visuals and a new mode called “Newlywed Mode” in which the player can experience special episodes with a spouse – as well as other new enhancements and features! You will also be able to get special items that can later be unlocked in Rune Factory 5!
If you can’t wait for the release next month, then you can watch some brand new gameplay footage below. The one hour stream showcased a good amount of everything you can look forward to when the games lands on the Nintendo Switch!
Jan 23, 2020News
Rune Factory 4 Special was announced almost a year ago during a Nintendo Direct. After the initial release back in 2012 on the popular Nintendo 3DS, the game finally made its way to Nintendo Switch in a more colorful, more polished and best version of it yet. However the Special edition was only available in Japan as of now.
Rune Factory 4 Special features enhanced visuals and a new mode called “Newlywed Mode” in which the player can experience special episodes with a spouse. You will also be able to get special items that can later be unlocked in Rune Factory 5.
XSEED Games and Marvelous finally lifted the curtain on the release date for Rune Factory 4 Special! The game will be available on February 25th in North America and only 3 days later on February 28th in Europe!
If you pre-order the Rune Factory 4 Special you will also receive the exclusive Swimsuit Day DLC. Even better, you can pre-load the game on the Nintendo Switch eShop today!
Take a look at the announcement trailer for Rune Factory 4 Special below!
More related News!If you are an Animal Crossing fans you should check out the latest on New Horizons right here, including a manga series, Garden kit and more!
Story of Seasons for Nintendo Switch is also still in development!
Sep 9, 2019News
Rune Factory 4 Special is a Nintendo Switch remake of the much beloved 2014 Nintendo 3DS title. The game slated for a release this fall is now also getting a beautiful Archival Edition!
XSEED Games and Marvelous surprised fans with a special unveiling of the Rune Factory 4 Special Archival Edition today! The beautiful package featuring some of the gorgeous Rune Factory 4 Special art will include a bunch of goodies and will be sold for $59.99.
The Archival Edition will of course include the main Rune Factory 4 Special game for Nintendo Switch. It will also pack a 160 page art book featuring some of the most stunning art from the game.
The collectors edition also includes the official soundtrack with a total of 33 songs you can listen to whenever you want. The Swimsuit Day DLC is also included and when activated all characters will appear in swimsuits.
The Rune Factory 4 Special Archival Edition will be released in North America and Europe alongside the main game later this year! XSEED also mentioned that pre-orders will open soon, we will be sure to update this post once pre-orders open!
If you are new to the Rune Factory franchise you can check out this guide and learn everything you need to know about these popular games! Rune Factory 5 is currently also in development for Nintendo Switch and the latest teaser makes us want to play the game even more!
Check out everything included below!
Rune Factory 4 Special ’Archival Edition’ is a beautifully crafted collection including an art book commemorating the work on the entire Rune Factory series by character designer Minako Iwasaki, as well as new illustrations for the premium box and art book cover by the artist. Full contents include:
– Physical copy of Rune Factory 4 Special for Nintendo Switch
– 160-page art book measuring 5.8” x 8.2” featuring the works of Minako Iwasaki from Rune Factory 1 through 4, Rune Factory: Frontier, and Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny
– Official soundtrack CD consisting of 33 tracks from the original release, plus 3 new tracks
– ‘Swimsuit Day’ DLC that adds an option to have characters appear in their swimsuits
– Premium custom box with original illustration by Minako Iwasaki
Jul 31, 2019News
Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town was first released in 2003 and quickly became one of the best selling gameboy games of its time. Now the the popular farming game will get a remake on Nintendo Switch and be published under the Story of Seasons Reunion of Mineral Town name, with many familiar and beloved characters making a return.
If you have played the original game back in the days, you may have come to enjoy the company of some, or even many of the characters in the game. Mary, Gary, Elli, Doctor and even Kai are now confirmed to be making an appearance in the remake.
With the surprise annoucnment, Marvelous was also kind enough to share some more screenshots with us. Check out how our beloved friends will look like in the new and remastered version of the game.
Marvelous will be releasing Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town in Japan on October 17th. There is no release date for the west yet, however XSeed Games, who will be handling publication in the west has confirmed that the game will indeed be coming to North America and Europe at a later point.
If you can’t wait for Story of Seasons on Switch, make sure to follow up on Rune Factory 4 Special which is now out on Nintendo Switch. There is also a brand new teaser for Rune Factory 5 you don’t want to miss!
If you are curious to find out why Harvest Moon games are now being published under the Story of Seasons name, make sure you head over here to find out!
Jul 25, 2019News
As reported a few days ago, Marvelous has held its livestream today. While the main focus of the stream was on Rune Factory 4 Special coming to Switch this year, Marvelous managed to surprised its fans with a short but beautiful Rune Factory 5 Teaser.
Rune Factory 5 is the sequel to the much beloved and extremely popular Rune Factory 4 – a game initially released on the Nintendo 3DS and now coming to Nintendo Switch with all new visuals and game features.
Fans of the series are excited to learn more about Rune Factory 5 for Nintendo Switch. To satisfy the need and hunger for more details on the sequel, Marvelous released a a short Rune Factory 5 Teaser at the end of todays stream. Check out the adorable little video below!
If you missed the event, you can watch the entire 2.5 hours of todays stream right here.
Don’t miss out on Critter Cove a relaxing village simulator set on a remote island.
Jul 22, 2019News
Marvelous already held various livestream in the past to showcase the new visuals and all new features of Rune Factory 4 Special. During the last stream, the company announced that a future event would finally reveal more about the much anticipated Rune Factory 5.
Marvelous announced today that the next livestream surrounding both games will take place on July 25th at 4am PT / 7am ET. The developers also said that Shiro Markawa will attend, but that there would also be a secret fans of the series can look forward to.
The next stream will feature extensive gameplay for Rune Factory 4 Special on Nintendo Switch, fans can also ask questions and get answers directly from the developers. Furthermore a part of the event will be dedicated to the upcoming Rune Factory 5.
In the last stream Marvelous revealed another Episode mode for Rune Factory 4 Special, we are truly excited to see what Marvelous has for us on July 25th. You can watch the stream below once it kicks off!
There has been some news about the latest Harvest Moon Special edition, make sure to catch up on the feature packed special edition for farming sim!
May 16, 2019News
Rune Factory 4 Special is on its way to Nintendo Switch. The game features an all new “Newlywed” mode and beautiful enhanced new visuals, but how good does the game really look on Nintendo Switch? Some brand new Rune Factory 4 Special gameplay footage has been released, you will be stunned how beautiful the game looks!
Marvelous recently held an online live stream with some of the team members working behind the upcoming game. During the Rune Factory 4 Special livestream, the developers showed some new gameplay footage right from the Nintendo Switch. Check out the recording below for some stunning new footage and an interesting first look at the game running on Nintendos latest hybrid console.
Rune Factory 4 Special as well as Rune Factory 5 were announced during a Nintendo Direct earlier this year, both games are heading to Nintendo Switch. While no release date has been given yet, Rune Factory 4 Special is set to release sometime later this year. Marvelous recently talked about the Rune Factory 5 release date and went into a bit more detail about the development progress about the upcoming sequel to our beloved Rune Factory franchise.
source: Marvelous Twitch