#going through rune prana is HELL

[tinylantern]

It's interesting how some of the criticisms I've seen over on r/runefactory concerning RF4's writing--specifically those surrounding Act 3--are serving as inspiration for a potential AU to explore in fanart (and maybe fanfiction as well, if I ever get around to it.)

So, you know, even as someone who adores Rune Factory 4's cast of characters and the individual character arcs everyone goes through, I am not without my criticisms of the writing. One thing I am definitely not a fan of is the fact that all three acts of the main story are essentially "save Ventuswill: Parts 1, 2, and 3." It's not that "save the Divine Dragon" is a bad plot to have, but that it never really switches up the formula enough to keep it consistently interesting across the length of RF4's story. You can easily describe the three acts of RF4's story as "Ventuswill is secretly dying! You must save her! Oh, now she's dying again! Get the Rune Spheres back from Ethelberd and save her! Surprise! She's not actually dead! Let's save her for real this time!" And because of that lack of variation, the most interesting aspects of Act 2 and Act 3, at least for me, are not saving Ventuswill, but the stuff that happens with the other characters who are involved in the plot. Arthur, who cites frequently in his dialogue how much he dislikes having been born a prince, utilizes the resources he has at his disposal to get Selphia the support it needs from the capital because as much as he may complain about his position, he knows he has a responsibility as a member of Norad's royal family and the true prince who was supposed to run Selphia. Doug, who was revealed earlier in Act 1 to actually be a spy for the Sechs with a personal vendetta against Ventuswill, feels immense guilt for having believed in a lie that ultimately hurt the people he cares about, and he actively seeks to redeem himself to the point of getting injured multiple times across Act 2. And during Act 3, we finally learn that Frey/Lest is a surviving descendant of the Earthmates who have spent literal centuries trying to find a solution to the runes in the land dying out so that Ventuswill will no longer have to rely on the sacrifices of the Guardians in order to live.

However, a post by u/KamenRiderSekai, who I believe goes by @avenger-concerto here, highlights that Act 3 does, to an extent, potentially ruin the narrative themes of Rune Factory 4's story. Even as someone who generally prefers happy endings to sad or bittersweet ones (hell, the whole reason I originally bought Rune Factory 4 Special was because I needed a more lighthearted game after the literal rain of depression that was Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights), Act 3 does feel very... out of place. A lot of RF4's themes revolve around those of loss, grief, loneliness, and self-isolation, and how you need to make the most of the time you have with those you love instead of shoving them away because life is so short. Although it was upsetting to see Ventuswill die at the end of the Act 2 despite all the crap Lest/Frey went through trying to save her, it feels... fitting, especially since Frey/Lest's ending narration solidifies that although they and the rest of the town were in mourning for some time, they resolved to move forward with their lives because all Ventuswill wanted was a bright future for her friends and for Selphia, and she was absolutely tired of people sacrificing themselves for her sake.

But Act 3 comes along and you learn that Oh, not only was Ventuswill not ready to go just yet, but we still have a chance to save Ventuswill despite the fact that she's literally dead. I get that although it has its "dark" moments, Rune Factory is overall a fairly lighthearted series, but it just seems very shoehorned in for the sake of giving players a happy ending where Ventuswill is alive and well. And when you do complete Rune Prana and save Ventuswill, there is so very little fanfare to the point that there isn't even a credits roll like the first two acts; all you get is a commemorative illustration featuring Ventuswill in her human form down in the trophy room. It makes Act 3 almost feel like one big afterthought despite the important lore it contains, especially in regards to Frey/Lest.

With all that said, KamenRiderSekai did briefly bring up an interesting, alternate concept for Act 3, one that has been gnawing at my brain off and on again since I originally first read it. Taken directly from the original reddit thread:

"A more apt arc would have been maybe the birth or succession of a new "Ventuswill", which is something I've always thought of as an alternative for years on end."

This makes so much more sense to me on so many levels. First off: Ventuswill does state during Act 1 that, when she expires, the runes her body gives off will be enough to sustain the land for another 1000 years, during which a new Native Wind Dragon will be born to play their role as she did. A new "Ventuswill" being born, possibly as a result of the influences of the Rune Spheres as well as whatever efforts the protagonist and the Guardians put in, would 100% make sense from a lore standpoint. However, it also makes sense from a thematic standpoint in regards to the franchise as a whole.

A major theme prevalent in the Rune Factory series is the cycle of life, death and rebirth. In almost every game, the protagonist loses their memories, resulting in the "death" of their past self. They wake up in a new town that takes them in, where they create a new life for themselves; eventually, they fall in love with someone, get married, and start a family with their spouse. This lines up so well with the idea that even though the old Ventuswill is gone, she is not forgotten and her spirit will live on in the new Wind Dragon who will one day guide and protect the land like their predecessor.

If I were to make this into a full blown AU, there are other things I would like to explore as well. I highlighted in a post from August about how Arthur's Another Episode reveals that Selphia's relationship with the royal family is complicated because it is not actually ruled by the king, but by Ventuswill herself, and that her death should have had more implications in terms of Selphia's political status as well as in regards to Frey/Lest and Arthur's switch... which it doesn't because a major point of RF4's gameplay is that you're in charge of Selphia and even Arthur returning to his position briefly during Act 2 doesn't affect your ability to manage the town through the Order Symbol.

There is also the matter of the Guardians; although they willingly allowed themselves to have the Etherlink spell cast on them because they wanted to save Ventuswill, all four of them had lives prior to their centuries-long slumber and with her death, it seemingly renders the sacrifices they made pointless. So, you know, there is an incredibly great potential for angst as well as character development if this becomes a "Okay, we failed to save Ventuswill, but we can speedrun the birth of the new Ventuswill" plot.

I'm sorry for the massive ramble. It is just strangely satisfying knowing that some genuinely valid criticisms of a game I adore have the potential to result in some incredibly tasty fanwork scenarios.

#rune factory #rune factory 4 #rf4 #rf4 ventuswill #spoilers

[mariethecrocheter]

I’m Laaaaaaaaaaate

Hey, I’m still alive. Somehow. I managed to miss the Nintendo Direct and still haven’t actually watched it (surely I can’t be the only one who prefers to receive information in written form vs. video form, right??) but heard through the rumour mill that Rune Factory 4 is being revamped and re-released on the Nintendo Switch, and that Rune Factory 5 was announced!

The Rune Factory 5 official website just contains a logo with a message that it’ll be released in 2020. But that means that they will release more info on the website after the game is closer to completion, so you may want to keep an eye on it. (I know I will, lol.) Also, it appears it will be released for the Nintendo Switch.

Rune Factory 4 Special’s official website has a little more information, but not much. The game is set to be released (in Japan) on 25 July 2019, so it’s still a few months away. It’s also for the Nintendo Switch.  Surely we’ll get a better look at it over the next few months. On the features page, they mention a few of the differences between this version and the 3DS version: 

HD remaster. The devs are taking advantage of the Switch’s high-resolution capabilities to tweak the game’s graphics. 

Newlywed Mode. They’re being pretty hush-hush about the details (because, of course, the best way to experience them is to play the game yourself!) but, upon marriage, a new mode will appear on the game’s menu. “Newlywed Mode” seems to focus on Frey/Lest and their spouse, giving us new events and conversations depending on who they married. This mode appears to be designed to make marriage more enjoyable! 

New “Hell” Difficulty Mode. If you thought going through Rune Prana on the hard difficulty was too easy, you can now select the “hell” mode! That will make Rune Prana a true hell.

Remastered (+brand new) animated cutscenes. If they’re remastering the in-game graphics, then naturally they’re also remastering all the animated cutscenes! We also get new animated cutscenes that are used in Newlywed Mode. (Cute romantic scenes involving Frey/Lest and spouse, I assume!)

Let me also remind everyone: the Switch is region free, meaning that if you purchase the physical copy of the Japanese version, it should work in a foreign (non-Japanese) Switch. If you follow certain steps, you should be able to purchase games from the Japanese eShop. So if you want the Japanese version of the game, there’s not much preventing you!

Aaaaand I’ll go back to hibernating again... Good night.

#rune factory 4 #rune factory 4 special

[midnakoopa]

frick

IN THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF ME DOING REALLY DUMB SHIT IN RUNE FACTORY 4: I FIGHT G GOLEM WITH A 1147 ATK WEAPON AT LEVEL 141

FUCKLE THE BUCK UP THIS IS EVEN LONGER THAN MY LAST BATTLE RANT

HOOOOOLY shit, where to begin. Let me give you a piece of advice about fighting the G Golem with the Fists of Light: Don’t. Doing all this stupid shit has forced me to come up with insane game plans that rely on very specific things all going right at once, and the G Golem is no exception. This was, bar none, the most difficult fight I’ve had in this game yet. So let me break it down.

From what I’ve seen, G Golem is a pretty serious roadblock for a few players. This being due to the fact that G Golem takes very little damage from any and all physical attacks, and powerful enough magic to fight it can be a bit of a thing to come by. This would be a problem, since my strategy for quite frankly all of Rune Prana relies on a fist weapon. But there are a few things that can be done to solve these problems.

First, Shade Stone. Enhancing a weapon with Shade Stone mitigates enemy resistances, making physical damage to G Golem at least possible. I also gave it a Love attribute. I don’t know if it helps in this particular case, but few things resist Love damage, so it’s more of an all-around thing. Finally, a Ruby Ring, which I’ll go over in a bit.

Onto the fight itself... G Golem is maybe the easiest boss in the game to figure out. Its attack pattern is formulaic as all fuck. Fitting for a Golem, I suppose. The problem is that it hits like a freight train, especially when you’re decked out in a Lamellar Vest, Silver Boots, and no shield, for a total of 709 defense (abysmal). Which would be fine. Again, its attacks are super predictable, and it leaves ample windows open for Straight Punch.

At first. After hitting half health, though, the G Golem activates the overdrive from hell. It goes like this: One-two punch, rocket fist, spinning charge, fireball spray. From there it goes to the one-two punch if you’re close to it, or to the rocket punch if there’s some distance, and repeats the above pattern starting from whichever move it used.

The problem is that all of its attack cooldown periods are basically fucking gone; there is no fucking window to use Straight Punch safely. Trying to move in after the one-two punch will get you plastered against the trees by a rocket fist; Trying to move in after the rocket fist will immediately get you murdered by the spin; Trying to move in after the spin will get you a face full of fire; Trying to move in after the fire will get you punched twice in the head. It attacks too quickly; Straight Punch cannot go off without tanking some damage, all of which is lethal at this point.

After I don’t fucking know how many attempts, I noticed I could sometimes get a hit off through the fire spray, but only when the spread was conveniently spaced. I had a Magic Ring (+50 M.DEF) and Summer Headdress (Fire Res 5%), which I tried, and failed, with. Which is when I thought to make a Ruby Ring, which grants 50% Fire Resistance. And it worked. It still took a few tries because sometimes the fire spread was still too thick, and even with the resistance, with my level and equipment I was still taking over 1000 damage per fireball. But it was enough. Fuck you, G Golem, I have never hated you so much as I do now.

I ain’t even worried about the rest of ‘em. The boss fairies are pretty easily sealed in my experience, and Ragnarok’s a big weiner all I need to watch for is the homing dark balls. Sorry for the fuckin essay here, if you even took the time to read all that shit. Had more to say than I thought. Take easy, Koopa out.

#rune factory 4 #g golem #video games #boss fight #stories #i guess #long post #like seriously #spoilers i guess? #this wasn't supposed to be a challenge run #i just want to live my life as a homs #in six different worlds with six different wives :V #but yeah i'm at like the end of prana 7 on first summer 11 #i was listening to end of the world from eou the whole time #help #frick #frigamajig #i wonder how many times i've flipped off my 3ds by now

[tumblunni]

OH MAN I STILL REALLY LOVE RUNE FACTORY 4 the postgame quest has been ruining my good will a lot tho. The only flaw in this game is that the dungeons are often RIDICULOUSLY unfair, full of fuckin insta death traps that require pinpoint dodging pseudo-platforming nonsense or make the place unwinnable unless you craft the exact right pair of shoes and manage to figure out the awkward item descriptions to even know which one negates which trap and A LOT OF THEM CAN NEVER BE NEGATED but i still really love this gaaaaame I finally beat Dead Tree 2 so i think the rest of rune prana will now be back to being totally do-able except for the map hazards. that was like the only tough boss of the main game, the only one that you cant just grind to beat cos the problem is dodging bullet hell instead of the boss actually having high stats. aaaaaaaaaa anyway i got lucky and its double triple quadruple dead now and im gonna go back home and brush my pet dead tree and remind him how he is infinately better than the boss version. ...man, now i wonder if using the pet version would have made the boss easier? ive just been doing all of this dungeon with my love inetrest + fave non batchelor character, cos it feels thematically right. I want [spoilery dead character] to see them when i save them, yknow?? GOD, thats why rune prana bugs me so much! Its an unfairly impossible un-fun nonsense dungeon thats holding your fave character hostage. Why did they have to make THIS be the postgame quest to revive them? it just makes you feel double bad eveyr time you fail to a crappy unfair trap and want to quit and seriously ITS LIKE DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU WANT TO QUIT! its more unfair and tedious than ‘difficult’... GOD and that stupidness on the second floor where i got lost forever cos for the first time a hidden pathway is mandatory to progress. I mean I’ve found plenty of those before but usually they’re optional bonus items, not the goddamn switch to open the final door! and there werent any walkthru walls in the whole dungeon so far, gahhhh and the fuckin fire place in general geez fuckin god constant poison-type fire damage in half the rooms fuckin 50% hp off fire spurt things that throw you backwards into the other ones and fuckin impossible patterns so you cant fuckin attack any of the enemies because the aiming system is nonsense and makes you fly into the fuckin traps and then lets make it an entire floor of mandatory enemy battles to unlock switches to unlock doors and hey lets throw in a bunch of enemies that throw you backwards AGAIN into the fuckin traps and then lets make you clear each room TWICE because lol fake switches that summon enemies yet you HAVE to trip the fake switches anyway and GAHHHH and how you cant even teleport straight to where you left off, you have to teleport to leon karnak and walk through like three screens to get to the main teleport thing and it just gets SO TEDIOUS when youre doing this like ten to twenty times each floor cos you keep cheaply dying!!! but goDDDDD the game is still SO GOOD i CANT STOP PLAYING IT oh god my character is like so fuckin swole now i mean i started off being able to lift my entire forge over my head so its pretty canon frey is a total badass lol now im just doing it in a wedding dress while also lifting my new husbando and defeating TERRIBLE TRASH UNFAIR DUNGEONS LIKE A BAMF god this gameeee i cnat stop play this gamesesedese

#bunni plays rf4