Nintendo is the king of remastering games from older consoles for the next generation. Unfortunately, some of those games don’t necessarily get remastered, so much as ported with minimal updates. I was worried when I saw news that Rune Factory 4 Special would be coming to the Switch, and I was hoping that would not be the case. We now have the first 40 minutes of gameplay via Nintendo Hall. So, how are things looking?

The Rune Factory games are one of my favorite series. Essentially, the games let you get a full JRPG experience in a very inviting, visual way. With farming, dungeon exploring, and marriage being central to the gameplay, the 3DS version of Rune Factory 4 yielded 100+ hours of my time. It’s a great game that’s just a bit deeper and more nuanced than Animal Crossing, sprinkling elements of Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons.

After watching the 40 minutes of footage with the game, I’m a little disappointed at the updates. The graphics are seemingly improved, but the performance of character movements looks as clunky as ever. On the 3DS screen, you’re working with 800 x 240 pixels up top. That means slow movements and subpar environments are going to be forgivable. On the Switch? I’m thinking it’s going to be hard to ignore.

Still, there are some notable changes. More voiced lines are going to make the characters feel more alive. Likewise, animated cutscenes and moving sprites show that there’s some effort going into vamping up the experience. Lastly, an expanded marriage system provides more elements to the dating part of the game. It’s worth noting that if you’re not into dating sims, the gameplay element is largely optional.

At 150,000 copies sold on the 3DS, Rune Factory 4 is the best selling game of the series. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Switch version matches those numbers or not. We’ll find out when the game releases worldwide this month.

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