The good news is that those quests in question are more than enough to keep you busy, as Rune Factory 5 has a plot that's interesting enough to justify ploughing through. Thanks to generous tutorials, extensive dialogue with NPCs, and gameplay that lets you delve deep into elements you gel with but ditch those you may not, it's a game that'll crank out hundreds of hours of relaxing gameplay if you've got the commitment. Yet for new players too, it's never too much to swallow. It updates the farming, romance, and combat mechanics for new hardware - and a new 3D perspective - even if the performance isn't quite as smooth as you'd expect. Especially for a JRPG newcomer, that can be a whole lot to take in, but Rune Factory 5 does a good job of orienting new players, while also giving loyal fans a follow-up that absolutely does what it says on the tin.Īlmost a decade after Rune Factory 4 arrived on the 3DS, this much-anticipated sequel brings the formula back in a way that may not surprise diehards, but will satisfy them nonetheless. You'll often unassumingly boot up the game, unaware of just how many new mechanics, characters, and events you'll need to get to grips with.
Starting a new JRPG experience can be a daunting thing.