The September 2022 Nintendo Direct solidified the rise of an unlikely genre of game: the farming simulator. While of course there had been games in the past that had tackled farming or had allowed for growing crops to be a mechanic, such as with my childhood favorite Harvest Moon (now localized as Story of Seasons) and the incredibly popular Stardew Valley, this direct showed that developers were betting on farming. One of the many games announced was Rune Factory 3 Special, a remaster of the Nintendo DS title and the third game in a series which originally spun off from Harvest Moon.

Rune Factory is an unsung hero in the development of the farming sim as a mainstream genre, adding combat and dungeon crawling to the laid-back feel of running a farm and building up relationships in town. It still provides the appeal of these farming games but also added depth with combat. The setting is also much more fantastical and this makes for a fun twist on the genre.

Rune Factory 3 Special starts off in a similar place to other games in the series, in that your character has amnesia and comes to a new town. You quickly move into your new home (charmingly built into a tree), get acquainted with the townspeople, and start farming. The twist here is that you can transform into a monster (an adorable sheeplike wooly) and are exploring the dungeons surrounding the town (each corresponding to a season) to learn more about why you can transform into a monster and what happened with your memories.

While the plot I described is pretty basic, what really shines in Rune Factory 3 is the characters. The character writing is some of my favorite that I’ve seen in a life sim or farming game, and I found myself drawn to learning more. Interpersonal relationships are a big part of the progression of Rune Factory 3, and I found myself actively looking forward to spending more time with townsfolk or doing requests that moved their stories forward. Requests also take inspiration from the characters mechanically. For example, if you accept a request from Karina, who is notably lazy, don’t expect much for a reward; she can’t be bothered for much more than pocket change. Every character is also intertwined in what feels like organic ways. There are existing friendships, parent-child relationships, mentorships, and rivalries that all were written with care. None of this feels superficial; the people you meet are at the core of Rune Factory 3 and drew me in in a way that none of the other games in this series have done.

Clearly the development of this remaster thought that relationships were important, because the biggest piece of additional content is Newlywed Mode. This mode adds a short additional story with each of the bachelorettes you could potentially marry in the main game, set after marriage (and with a save file with mostly maxed out stats). I personally married Raven, the taciturn blacksmith assistant who takes a long time to open up, so having a short story focused on her was a nice addition to the main game. It’s not particularly long or mechanically deep, but is a nice stinger. I’m interested to see just how the other stories go, as this one felt just right for Raven.

The elephant in the room for any discussion of a farming game is Stardew Valley, which, for better or worse, has defined a lot of the discussion around farming games in the Western market. Rune Factory 3 Special doesn’t have the level of depth for farming or customization that Stardew Valley has - you can’t create a completely automated, tricked out farm with an orchard and greenhouse, for example. However, there are a few benefits to Rune Factory 3. First off, in many ways Rune Factory 3 feels like a more relaxed experience. New systems and options are provided to you at a slow pace, so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Farming and fishing can also be done in the four seasonal dungeons, so if you need a vegetable that’s grown only in Spring but you’re in Autumn, you don’t have to wait until spring rolls back around. Rune Factory 3 also has more in the way of combat–specifically the titular runes (these can be used for magic or other special abilities), a number of different weapon types, and customization through the crafting system. Any weapon, armor, or accessory can be upgraded with a wide variety of items, this upgrade system leading to some interesting combinations. I upgraded my favorite weapons with some of the poison grass, which added a chance to poison enemies. There’s a lot to play around with here, and this is a featureI’m sure is going to be fun for people looking to enjoy the game’s new harder mode added to the Special version: Hell difficulty.

For my money, I do wish there was a bit more to do later in game for either upgrading your farm or house. You can upgrade storage and buy decorative items, but I hit a point where making money required little effort. By the end of my time with Rune Factory 3 Special, I was able to afford anything I wanted with no issue, so I ended up neglecting parts of my farm to push forward through the character stories. I’m sure this may not happen with everyone, but I just wish there was a bit more to actually do with your money, as I hit this point pretty quickly.

The presentation of Rune Factory 3 Special is quite good. Much of the attention has been brought to making character portraits look nicer, and they do look gorgeous on Switch. The opening animation is particularly nice (and the accompanying song goes harder than it needed to). The music isn’t very memorable but is largely serviceable, if repetitive. While there wasn’t a large graphics overhaul for the main gameplay, what’s there is charming enough that the developers didn’t have to; as someone who chose to stop playing Rune Factory 5 pretty early on due to performance issues, I’m relieved the game maintained its original art style and ran flawlessly.

Rune Factory 3 Special isn’t going to be for every farming game fan and won’t dethrone Stardew Valley as the most popular farming game, but its charming characters and setting make for a very enjoyable experience. I was surprisingly pleased at the quality of the writing and the depth of some of the crafting systems, and those propelled Rune Factory 3 Special forward to make it both relaxing and engaging. This is a worthy addition to the Switch library, and one I might return to in the future, if only to spend some time with some of my new favorite characters.