Contemplating more Rune Factory “Special” changes/updates I’d like. In this case, things I’d like to see changed/added in a hypothetical, absolutely NEVER going to happen Rune Factory 4 Special+ (or Super Special, or Special 2, etc.)
Obviously since this game already has an updated rerelease, this isn’t happening. But there are still a few ways I think it could be brought even closer to perfection.
- So most of my wants for a theoretical “5 Special” came from 4 Special. Similarly there WERE actually several upgrades or quality-of-life changes made in 5 I’d love to see come back to 4 (or more realistically, maybe they’ll show up in 3 Special!).
- PLEASE let me just examine the stone/lumber box and add in all the materials I have instead of manually taking out stacks and putting them in. You can also do this for fodder bins and the fertilizer, which is nice, but the stone/lumber is the BIG one.
- Automatically picking up items as you run over them is great! I’d love to see that in other titles.
- Tabbing between storage options or categories when cooking/forging/crafting is super convenient. Hopefully that comes back, because after getting used to it in 5 I keenly feel its absence and get a smidge annoyed in 4 when I have to make something and then back out entirely to choose to make something else.
- Make Illuminata a romance option! It’s not clear if she was ever intended to be one and then scrapped, but personally I think she was. She is the only character outside the marriage candidates to have a swimsuit model & sprite, and she has several town events where she is a primary focus, similar to the events that are prerequisites for other bachelor/ettes. Plus she has lots of dialogue explicitly pointing out that she’s single and WANTS to find love. There’s really no reason NOT to make her a love interest other than her taking care of Amber, but if Amber is old enough to be romanced/married, then she’s old enough to live alone too. And Illuminata could continue to run her store after marrying the same way that every other love interest continues to do their job.
- I actually prefer the dragons in 5, but I know A LOT of people would love to see Venti as a love interest, and I’m not opposed to that. She’d be locked to a post-game romance, but she does have a human appearance and she seems to be into Lest/Frey (given her conversation where she blushes and starts to ask “If I were a human...”). Narratively she IS the person Lest/Frey cares about most so she’s got the role of a love interest already, kind of. It would be difficult to do since they’d need to add/change the story to allow her to change to her human form, and probably add a few town events for her, but it would be great if it happened. And perhaps including this would help the... abrupt ending to Act 3.
- Make it a little less ridiculous to romance Doug. I understand narratively why his friendship is INITIALLY gated at 3, but I think it’s ridiculous that it stays there until you’ve beaten Act 2 (which is basically the end of the story proper...). I think it would make sense to unlock the initial gate near the end of or after Act 1. After Doug comes around and basically decides to trust you and help Venti, or right after you beat Act 1 (saving Leon), I think you should be able to progress his friendship further. That said, it makes sense to keep his romance gated, so maybe until you’ve beaten Act 2, he stops progressing at LV 6. This way he won’t be SO far behind everyone else and if you want to romance him you’ll be able to do so almost immediately after he becomes available instead of taking several weeks just to get him from 3 to 7. As someone who dated multiple people in a run, Doug is at a HUGE disadvantage due to his late availability combo-ed with his affection almost surely being worse than everyone else. You either have to wait to date ANYONE to try and snag him first at LV 7 or basically give up in favor of dating others because it will only get harder to date him with every subsequent boyfriend and he will probably always lag behind in terms of affection, making any other guy easier to add to the harem by comparison. Literally all of this is mitigated by just raising his gated affection from 3 to 6 partway through the story. Depending on how long it takes you to complete Act 2 and whether you’re plying him with gifts, you might not even HIT the new limit, but even if you do, if you want to romance Doug it would be much quicker and easier now.
- Give players the ability to manipulate town events, at least a little. Technically players can already manipulate town events by determining when one happens and then just save scumming until they get what they want, but I want an in-game method that’s intended to help get the events you want. That said this IS an RNG system and I kind of like that. I wouldn’t want it to give you complete control. But I think something like adding “Orders” to the game at some point that allow you to, say, spawn “only town events involving [name]” would be GREAT. I won’t get into the particulars of how early the feature should be allowed (personally I think end of Act 1, but it could also be after Act 2 or an “Extra Order” reward for beating Act 3 and available from the beginning in any new game) or how much each Order would cost. I just think being able to force the game to only pick from town events involving a specific person (and including any mini-events) would be nice. Once you’ve seen all town events involving that person (excluding the marriage event, which has priority anyway) the order is automatically canceled. You could also cancel it yourself at any time. With this feature it would be MUCH easier to get the prerequisites for your intended spouse, but there is still some element of RNG considering everyone has at least a few events they’re involved in that AREN’T their needed events. This would also be great for trying to get mini events for characters you haven’t seen before.
- Some kind of weather forecast would be nice. With the exception of typhoons, people in town only comment on the weather that is currently happening. And you can still get taken by surprise if no one happens to mention the incoming typhoon or if you don’t talk to everyone. I believe weather is probably RNG as well, but if it was randomized and set like a week in advance, it would be nice if there was a way to check the weather for the next few days. Obviously this is most useful for making sure you KNOW a typhoon or snowstorm is coming and could wreck your farm. It also has other small uses - if you know a thunderstorm is happening you can remind yourself to go to the area that requires that to unlock. You can plan outdoor dates knowing the weather in advance. I don’t know about the airship or observatory but I KNOW there are variations of the lake date depending on the weather, so if you want to see them all you need the weather to comply. This way you’d know ahead of time and be able to plan for it.
- Lastly, either the game needs to be smarter about characters equipping everything they’re “given” or it needs to give players a way to directly, manually change other’s equipment from all the items they have. This is MOSTLY a problem with Kiel specifically since he has a reoccurring quest where he asks you to give him a weak shield and then he equips it EVEN IF IT’S SUBSTANTIALLY WORSE than whatever he had previously (and thus the better shield just DISAPPEARS), but in general I wish characters wouldn’t just automatically equip whatever you give them. If the system checked to be sure it was better than what they already had, that would be ideal. Of course, then you’d have to define what makes it better - which stats matter most, or is it the difficulty level of crafting/forging the item, etc. Alternatively, characters could have a stash of every equipment item you’ve ever given them and you can manually go in and decide what they actually equip (similar to the original .hack games, if anyone’s played those. In that game, characters did automatically equip “stronger” weapons/armor but you could manually change them to whatever you wanted that they had).
Overall I think 4 Special is an AMAZING game and I love it a lot. Most of my complaints are quality-of-life changes, compared to my more substantial issues with 5 (which is still like, but not as much. I like these games mostly for the social/romance aspect and that’s where 4 blows 5 out of the water even despite the RNG of town events making it way harder to actually marry who you want). In both games I long for more love interests, but that can’t be helped. Partly I just crave the extra content that would bring, though I do genuinely like and would want to marry some of those people if I could.
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Wishes, Dreams, and Memories Chapter 6
Fandom: Rune Factory 4
Rating: T (to be safe)
Genre(s): Adventure, Hurt/Comfort
Characters: Lest, Dolce, Amber, Dylas, Leon
Summary: She had a wish to see him again. He had a dream of her last moments. They had their memories of having only each other. The amnesiac Earthmate never knew that by bringing his best friend back wouldn’t make his daily life go back to normal. Nor did he know she was the key to his and his ancestors’ past.
Chapters: list
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Author’s notes: An extra bonus chapter to catch up with FFN’s update. Please enjoy!
Chapter 6 – The Guardians’ Feelings
The late summer breeze blew throughout the empty streets of Selphia at night. The hazel-haired Earthmate had been standing in front of the castle for some time, looking up at the castle’s roof. With the next season coming, the temperature had started cooling down and the leaves falling from the trees, blown away by the wind all around town.
Lest caught one of the blown leaves and looked at it for a moment before it was blown away from his fingers. Lest looked around the empty town square before turning towards the east side of the town, “This isn’t the end,” Lest reached for his chest where some green feathers from a charm given by his first friend was, “There must be another way to save Venti. We just have to believe it and try again. I need to check on the Guardians for now.”
Lest headed towards the Carnation where Amber had been staying since she woke up from her long slumber as a Guardian. Judging by the light coming from the side windows of the flower shop, the Earthmate could tell that at least one of the residents hadn’t fallen asleep yet. Lest raised a hand and knocked on the door a few times before the door opened to reveal the self-proclaimed detective of the town.
“Good evening, Illuminata. I’m sorry for bothering you at this hour, but I was wondering if-” Before Lest could finish his sentence, the older elf had cut him off.
“Is there an emergency mystery that needs me to investigate?” Illuminata reached for her monocle.
“N-No, is Amber-” Once again, Lest’s sentence was cut off in the middle.
“Is there something you need from my assistant?” Illuminata asked with a serious look on her face, but softens when she saw Lest sighing and shaking his head, “Hm? That’s not it either?”
“I’m here to check on Amber if she’s okay,” Lest let out a sad smile, “I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help, sadly.”
“I see,” Illuminata looked at Lest confidently, “Worry not, the Great Detective shall uncover the truth behind Amber’s condition! Have a good night!”
With Illuminata’s last words for the knight, she closed the door on Lest's face, “Uh… thanks?”
In the building, Illuminata had walked up the stairs to the second floor and approached her friend’s door. Soft sniffles could still be heard until she knocked on the door, “Amber, are you okay?” There was no answer coming from inside, but the sniffles had stopped, “Let me know if you need me, okay?”
The younger female was lying on her bed in her room with her eyes wide awake. Hearing her elven friend outside her door worrying about her had stopped her from crying even more, just to prevent her from being more worried. The silence she gave her had left Illuminata with nothing else to do other than leave her for the night. The sound of footsteps was heard and was stopped by Amber’s response, “Thanks Ellie…” Illuminata smiled after hearing Amber’s response before continuing her walk towards her own room, finally turning in for the night.
Meanwhile in the restaurant, the male Guardians were sitting together on the table near the counter. It was already past closing hours, making it the best place for the two males to have a chat. A pitcher filled with milk was sitting on the table along with two drinking glasses on each of the Guardians’ sides. The glass on Leon’s side was left untouched, compared to Dylas’ glass which had already been empty.
“Once you stop crying, you fill yourself with milk. Interesting,” Leon let a small laugh while he watched Dylas pouring another glass of milk.
“There’s no way I’m crying, Sir Red-Eye!” Dylas glared at the older Guardian before finishing his glass of milk.
Leon’s smile turned into a smirk, “You’re one to talk, Mister Sniffle-Nose!” Leon let out a sigh before turning serious, “So, what now?”
“We can’t quit, that’s for sure,” Dylas poured another glass for himself and stared at the glass for a moment, “We all want her back while having our own reasons for her return.”
“True,” Leon nodded in agreement, “That and because she’s our friend.”
“Yeah…” Dylas finished another glass and poured more on his glass, “I don’t know how many centuries it has been for her, but I feel like it was just yesterday that Venti and I went fishing together,” Dylas looked at Leon with determination on his face, “We’ll do whatever it takes to take Venti back, even if we have to rip that dumb gate open!”
Leon nodded before fanning himself with his feather fan, “I agree.”
The restaurant door creaked open, getting the attention of the two Guardians in the room before Lest popped his head into the room, “Hey, both of you are here.”
“What are you doing here?” Leon asked as he saw Lest walking towards the table they were sitting on.
The Earthmate took a seat next to Dylas, “I’m checking on you guys. Are you two okay?”
“Hey, that’s what we’re supposed to ask you,” Dylas replied worriedly, “Is your body all right? Feeling better?”
“I’m okay, Mister Sniffle-Nose,” Lest replied with a laugh.
“Y-You heard that?” Dylas asked in embarrassment, getting a laugh from Lest and Leon.
“Since Sir Red-Eye said so,” Leon turned to Lest with an eyebrow raised.
“So you heard that too,” Leon commented before turning to the two, “Well, what should we do for now? You two know that we shouldn’t be giving up on Venti just like that.”
“We’ll wait for what Arthur finds,” Dylas replied, “I asked him to look into this too, so let’s hope that he finds something.”
“Right,” Leon nodded before turning to Lest with a sly smile, “Now you know what to do next, right? We’re doing fine here, but I think there’s someplace you’d better be right now.”
“Yeah, I know,” Lest rose from his seat and smiled, “I need to check on Dolce and Pico as well.”
“I wish I can eavesdrop on you lovebirds, but I think I��ll let you off this time,” Leon laughed mockingly before Lest sighed in annoyance.
“It’s better if you don’t eavesdrop at all,” Lest replied, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed.
“You better go now, don’t keep a woman waiting for too long,” Lest completely ignored Leon’s comments before turning to Dylas.
“I’ll get going now. Good night guys,” Lest left the building, leaving the two males on the empty restaurant once more.
“Those two seems happy together, don’t you think?” Leon turned to Dylas, who had finished half of his glass already.
“I thought those things aren’t your interest,” Dylas replied flatly, before his expression turned into worry, “Hey, Leon?”
“What is it?” Leon looked at the other Guardian questioningly.
“Do you feel anything strange lately? Like there’s someone or something calling you?” Dylas asked, but the expression on Leon’s face hadn’t changed at all.
“No, I don’t think so. Have you checked yourself at the clinic?” Leon replied with another question.
“Physically I’m okay, but I hear some voices echoing in my head sometimes ever since I come back from the ruins to get some materials to upgrade my fishing rod,” Dylas’ response started the silence in the room before Leon finally spoke up.
“That’s strange…” Leon put the feather fan he was holding on the table and folded his arms before leaning against the chair, “I heard Amber had been in that similar situation lately after returning from Yokmir Forest…”
“We’ll have to look into this, once we’ve got Venti home,” Dylas responded in a serious tone.
Meanwhile, Lest had made his way from the restaurant towards the clinic to check on the last Guardian, only to find out that Dolce and Pico had already left once more. Getting the vague directions Dolce and Pico had headed from Nancy, Lest excused himself and headed towards the lake where the two was supposed to be heading.
The first thing Lest noticed when he made it to the area was a figure in purple standing by the bridge leading towards the mansion’s back door. As the Earthmate approached, the figure noticed him coming and turned to him, “Lest! You’re here!”
“Pico?” Lest looked around the area, but he found no sign of Pico’s human friend anywhere until he noticed the worried look on the ghost’s face, “What’s wrong? Where’s Dolce?”
Pico turned to face the Obsidian Mansion’s back door, “Dolly is in there, but she wouldn’t let me in…”
Lest turned to the back door, “I should check on her then,” Lest turned his gaze back to Pico, “Come with me. I don’t think she’ll be mad if you come in with me.”
“Uh…” Pico hesitated for a moment, before noticing the smile on Lest’s face that made her feel better, “Okay, let’s go!”
Lest and Pico went across the bridge before Lest pushed the old wooden doors open to reveal the biggest room of the mansion. Two lanterns had candles within them to help with the room’s lighting, although the old chandelier hanging from the ceiling provided most of the room’s lighting. The old tables and chairs were still in their places throughout the room, surrounding the place which seemed to have been a big stage many years in the past.
Colorful runeys were flying around the room, giving the warm atmosphere despite the old, run-down look of the room. The ghost and the Earthmate approached the big stage, where a single familiar figure stood in the middle of it with her back turned to them. Even once the two of them was near the stage, the figure stood still as she didn’t notice the uninvited guests coming for her.
“Dolce,” Lest called out softly and worriedly, “Are you okay?”
Dolce turned around and saw her ghost best friend along with her boyfriend standing just below the stage, “Pico? And Lest?”
“What are you doing here at this hour?” Lest climbed on to the stage to join Dolce, while Pico simply floated to Dolce’s side.
“I…” Dolce opened her mouth to speak, but turned her head to avoid eye contact, “I just want to be alone here, that’s all…”
“Milady felt sad that we still can’t bring Ven back even after everyone worked so hard to find a way,” Pico explained.
Lest turned his attention from Pico and back to Dolce, who had a slight sadness on her face, “I knew it…”
The female Guardian slowly moved from her spot and walked a few steps towards the back of the stage to reveal the floating rune sphere Lest had previously placed, “Have I told you before?” Dolce’s voice turned into a whisper, “That day, when I decided to become a Guardian to save Venti… I only thought of saving her, nothing else…”
“Of course, I was against the idea,” Lest’s attention turned to Pico, “I understand how Ven means to Dolly, but I can’t imagine living so many years without her…”
“Initially, my parents were against it as well,” Dolce continued while looking at the floating sphere, “However, this has always been my choice. By becoming a Guardian I can save Venti, whom I always consider as a precious friend other than Pico. This is the place where I had been sending rune energy to Venti for hundreds of years.”
“Although that choice seems to be a hard one for Pico and your parents…” Lest added before his expression turned into sadness, “Even for Venti…”
“So this is how it feels…” Dolce’s voice turned into a whisper, “To be left alone, knowing that precious friend might never come back…”
“But she will,” Dolce and Pico turned to Lest, whose sadness had turned into seriousness, “We will bring her back, no matter what.”
“Wait, you’re not thinking of doing that again, are you?” Pico asked in a serious tone.
“I can feel that it’ll work next time, I just need to train harder and-”
“No,” Dolce’s short but stern response had cut Lest’s sentence and the two turned to the female Guardian, “We can try other ways, but I cannot allow you to risk yourself like that again,” Dolce’s eyes once again avoid contact with Lest’s, “What if… if things turned out to be worse the next time? I… I don’t want to lose you too, you know…”
Lest noticed a shade of pink across her face before he nodded and smiled at her, “Okay,” Lest walked closer to Dolce and gently grabbed her shoulders while trying to look at her in the eyes, “Rest assured, I’ll always be by your side.”
Dolce looked at Lest in surprise, before she let out a smile, “Yes…”
Pico let out a fake cough, “I’m still right here, you know!”
The two of them turned to the frowning ghost girl, back at each other, and noticed the distance between them before Lest let go of her shoulders in embarrassment, “S-Sorry.”
There was a short pause before Dolce turned her head slightly to look at the embarrassed Earthmate, “You should be, you idiot,” The Guardian’s response had confused Lest while Pico was grinning slyly.
“Huh?” His embarrassment slowly turned into confusion as he saw Dolce’s expressionlessness.
Pico let out mocking chuckle, “Milady is just jealous when Amber happened to hug Lest back in the room.”
“Is this another way of you asking to die again?” Dolce questioned the ghost with a smile, but the smile was terrifying enough for Pico to slowly back away.
“Uh… gotta go now!” Pico quickly flew away before Dolce could grab her and went straight through the mansion’s doors.
“That pervert…” Dolce’s smile had faded, feeling disappointed that she couldn’t catch the ghost before she got away.
“I think I can see that you’re doing okay now,” Lest stated with a chuckle, getting Dolce’s attention, “Shall we head back?”
Dolce nodded and smiled, “Yes.”
Lest easily went down from the stage before offering a hand to the female Guardian, “Now, give me thy hand, milady.”
The pink color returned to her cheeks, “Knock it off, idiot,” Dolce hesitated a bit before she took Lest’s hand and went down the stage. Still having her hand in Lest’s, both of them walked towards the doors to leave the mansion.
“… come… give me…”
The strange voice had surprised the female Guardian, who let out a gasp before stopping her tracks and turned to look at the rune sphere. The loud gasp had gained the attention of the Earthmate, who watched as the female Guardian looked at the rune sphere while clutching her chest. Lest approached Dolce and tapped her shoulder in worry, slightly startling the Guardian.
In response, Dolce turned to look at the worried face of her Earthmate boyfriend, “There’s…” Dolce turned back to the rune sphere, which was still floating normally with colorful runeys flying around in the room, “Nothing. Let’s head back.”
“Okay…” Lest replied while still feeling that something was wrong, but decided that it was best for them to head back.
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