hi there! i'm hoping to check out the rune factory series on the switch. i grew up with harvest moon and it was one of my favorite series. right now i play stardew valley, but i want something a little different, and i've heard good things about rune factory. i want a game i can really sink into that's not JUST farming.
my question is, i'm torn about whether to play rune factory 4 or 5. it seems like a lot of people loved 4 and say that 5 is a downgrade in some aspects. i wouldn't know because i have not played any of the games. i would get both if i had more money to spend but alas, i am poor, so i can only pick one.
what are the differences between the two? i know that one is a lot older than the other so graphics are obvious but i don't really mind either way. but what about the characters? the farming? the combat? any details would be greatly appreciated!!! thank you!
a bit late but yeah 4 is great. Rune factory 3 is also great, but it might be a bit awkward to go back to since you're playing 4 rn. Rune factory 1 and 2 are in a weird place to me. They're fun for a first play through but 2 in particular has that issue where the characters don't have much character and there is a lot of repetition. Rune factory 1 especially is still worth playing through at least once even if they're very rough compared to the later games.
If you can play 5 on anything other than the Switch I would do that for performance reasons. Otherwise I think it really depends on whether you want a top-down view or a 3rd person 3D one. If you are okay with top-down, go with RF4. If that does not appeal to you at all, RF5 is still serviceable on the Switch, but watch some videos to make sure you’re okay with the performance.
If same sex relationships are important to you, RF5 is the only one that allows it. Otherwise just pick the one that’s more visually appealing to you. If you go with RF5 first, you won’t know what you’re missing from RF4 and can still go back and play it at some point in the future.