By the first day of summer, I’ve started to have trouble deciding what I want to do with my day. Tending to my farm and collection of domesticated monsters is my sole obligation at the beginning of the day (only because I don’t want my plants to die) but after that I am free to spend the rest of the day as I please. I opted for cooking, as it’s a great way to make extra money from my crops as well as foster my relationship with the rest of the townspeople. Especially the cute knight girl. She really likes eggs. Her birthday is coming up at the end of the month, and I’m baking like a madman in order to earn the ability to make a cake. She told me one of her favorite memories is having chocolate cake on a birthday, years ago.

I’ll tackle the next dungeon eventually.

Rune Factory 4 is all about freedom. It doesn’t tie you to a stressful deadline like its Harvest Moon brethren nor does it shackle you into its storyline like your usual RPG. You are given a list of options that is almost overwhelming, but the laid-back nature of the game keeps you from ever feeling like you ever need to do anything. Unless, of course, you find yourself invested in the town and its colorful residents.

The town of Selphia is bustling with life; over a dozen characters inhabit the town and each one has a unique personality and relevance to the plot, should you choose to investigate. They all have something new to say every day which aids oh so well in helping the player feel that they are a part of an organic world. XSEED’s localization work never fails to impress and in a game like this, light in depth but heavy in personality, taking the fluffy dialogue and making it feel earnest adds so much to the relaxed, yet endearing atmosphere of the game.

The hook of Rune Factory, plot progression in the form of dungeon crawling, is actually the least compelling aspect of Rune Factory 4. There isn’t really anything inherently wrong with it, but it just doesn’t actively include the player as much as the rest of the game does. It serves functions: advancing the story, collecting monsters for your farm, gathering resources, and finding rare items, but the linearity clashes with the reined-in openness of everything else. It doesn’t help that combat progression is much less clear-cut than the other skills you can work on. I can’t help but wonder if the dungeon aspect of the game was a little more open, less tied to the narrative, it would be more fitting to the nature of the game.

That said, the combat is fairly robust. The player is capable of handling all sorts of weapons (including farm tools!) and can come across myriad skills and magic. They all serve the same function as puzzles are largely nonexistent, but there is fun to be had as a distraction from all of the brisk micromanagement back home. You can even bring a friend or monster with you, giving you another avenue with which to nurture your relationships.

I sometimes find myself wishing for the overall plot of Rune Factory 4 to be a bit…more, but I can’t help but smile whenever one of the town residents runs by to greet me or ask me for a favor. I do like to relax on occasion when I play games, but the games don’t always allow it. Rune Factory 4 encourages it. It stops just short of finding me a chair and handing me a refreshing lemonade, giving me more options than I know what to do with and no pressure to go along with them. I simply kick back, tune out, and make toast. Lots and lots of toast. Hopefully I’ll be good enough to make that cake soon.

Hint: Always take a partner with you to dungeons. Healing yourself can be cumbersome and they usually have some magic that might save you in a pinch.

by Lucas White