Rune Factory 3 Special
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Rune Factory 3 Special Trailers
Rune Factory 3 Special - Launch Trailer
Rune Factory 3 Special - Bachelorettes Trailer
Rune Factory 3 Special - Release Date Trailer
Critic Reviews for Rune Factory 3 Special
While it may not have all the whistles and bells of Rune Factory 4 or 5, this delightful remaster of 3 is a welcome addition to the continued trend of bringing back older enjoyable titles for more to get their hands on.
The real draw here is simply the ability to play Rune Factory 3 on a console that doesn't have 'DS' in its name-about 90% of the experience is exactly the same as the original, and that remaining 10% doesn't exactly cover a whole lot. Luckily, Rune Factory 3 is and always was a great farm sim/RPG hybrid, and it's something that we can still easily recommend to new and returning players alike. That said, if you fall into the latter group, we'd encourage you to consider carefully how much you want to shell out to replay this on modern hardware. It's a great game, but it's effectively the same thing as your DS copy. Still, it's good to see a return to form after the rather uneven Rune Factory 5. If you're looking for another very solid farm sim to add to your Switch library-and you haven't played it before-this is definitely one to consider.
Rune Factory 3 Special is a reminder of why the series is so near and dear to my heart, but also less of a remaster and closer to a port with a few upgrades sprinkled on top. The visuals are much cleaner and higher resolution. The new dub is good, but you can barely hear it over the chiptune music. This is still a great game, but with less than the bare minimum of quality of life added.
At the end of the day, Rune Factory 3 Special is a fine game, and its only crime is how closely it sits to games that use it as a stepping stone. If you love the “cozy” genre and are looking for some farming action, but only have the budget for one game, it’s hard to recommend this. But if you’re more of a fan of Story of Seasons and/or Rune Factory as a series, there’s absolutely room for Rune Factory 3 Special on the shelf.
Rune Factory 3 Special brings a fan favourite entry into the modern era relatively untouched, for better or worse.
Rune Factory 3 Special is a great preservation of the original, but would have benefitted from a lot more fine-tuning.
We're not sure if this is the best Rune Factory game available on Switch, but what we're definitely sure of is that the changes to the DS version are all for the better and that the game is still as enjoyable and relaxing as it was some 14 years ago.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Rune Factory 3 Special is a life/farming simulation game originally released for the DS in 2009. Remade, it's now playable on the Switch. Fight monsters, grow and harvest crops, sell loot, cook, fish, and raise your relationship levels with the villagers in this very interactive and fun game.
