There's one 3DS game that came out earlier this week that I just haven't been able to pry myself away from, to the point that, platforms be damned, it seems crazy for me to not write about it. If I'm not sleeping or working, my eyes are glued to the twin screens of Rune Factory 4 , a game that might be best described as Harvest Moon meets Monster Hunter meets any number of other influences. From stat building to city building, shop management to social management, this game has a little bit of everything, and I just can't get enough.

We don't cover 3DS games on New World Notes very often. The fact that I don't have a capture kit that would allow me to take my own screenshots in games where that feature isn't built in is part of that, but the other part is that I'm just not sure how many of you regular and irregular readers out there have 3DSes. As popular as they are among lifestyle gamers, maybe they haven't worked their way into your gaming habits.

The Rune Factory franchise started out as fantasy twist on Harvest Moon, a long running farming/romance RPG series. In addition to tilling, watering, and harvesting from the land, taking care of livestock, and settling down to build a family with that special someone, you're face-to-face with monsters, dungeons, experience points and more gear than you can shake your sickle at. You're fighting bosses and stumbling across treasure chests at every turn, and with dozens of skills constantly levelling up... Suffice it to say that even if milking cows isn't your idea of an engaging RPG experience, there's never a dull moment.

Because of the wide variety of things to do, it's very easy to play the game exactly how you want to. Spending your time adventuring in the woods is just as viable as being a homebody. You can run a booming business by growing crops and shipping them straight away, or by turning them into carefully cooked meals that you can sell directly to townsfolk and tourists.

Romance and socialization are staples of both Rune Factory and Harvest Moon. Even though your ultimate goal is to save the town, there's always time to make friends and woo future spouses. Everyone has their own tastes, and giving someone the perfect birthday present based on those tastes is a great way to make a fast friend.

Rune Factory 4 isn't just rehashing their formula, though. You're now the acting Prince or Princess of the town, and by doing favors for those around you you earn points that can then be used to improve the farm, the town, or even just your own personal circumstances. Increasing your backpack size and throwing a few festivals are the best choices when you're just starting out, but once my Princess rank was high enough I was quick to snap up a clothing shop that allows me to change into a variety of different ensembles (tastefully coordinated with my weapons and accessories, of course).

Rune Factory 4 gives the player a lot of room in terms of their play style and how they shape their village, but it also gives them an impressive amount of choice over aesthetics. Not just fashion, but style. Players who are more serious about their RPG experiences will find a bevy of traditional weapons and accessories to choose from, but if they're a little more playful, as I am, they might find themselves running through the forest with a parasol, or even wearing a chicken suit and weilding a daikon radish. The crafting system is also incredibly expansive, and combined with challenging boss fights that yield rare and valuable crafting items, this game gave me much more of a Monster Hunter vibe than previous installments in the series have. This is helped by the fact that combat feels so much better than it has in past Rune Factory titles, and there is a lot of choice in the weapons you weild and how you handle them. It's friendly enough for chronic button-mashers, but still leaves room for the challenge-oriented tactician.

Rune Factory 4 seems to have taken all of the best elements of many current and popular RPG experiences and rolled them into one game. Add to that the lighthearted and entertaining (but far from childish) writing, and localization by XSEED (which has a reputation for phenomenal localization of "niche" Japanese game titles), and Rune Factory 4 exceeded all of my expectations. It's fun, it's clever and it does a lot of things that I really wasn't expecting. Considering how many Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games I've played over the years, that's saying a lot.

To be honest, when I try to conjure up some flaws or problems... I really just come up blank. As someone who tries to be critical of just about everything I consume, whether I love it or hate it, I wish I could muster up something beyond delighted squeals when I'm playing this damned game. It's also very frustrating to write something about it that sounds more like advertising copy than a proper review, because when I encounter that kind of writing in the wild I immediately raise my eyebrow, roll my eyes, or both. But I just... Love it. I love everything about it.

Except...

I'll say that it would be nice to be able to have same-sex relationships, since most of the bachelors are uninspiring while the bachelorettes are just downright lovely. Then again, since a second playthrough of the game will apparently allow players to replace their sprite with a villager's, there's no reason not to make a Prince in the skin of a Princess to essentially do that very thing.

Here's where I drop the real truth bomb, though. If you have a 3DS, your game budget may already be tied up in another upcoming release: Pokémon X/Y. The newest Pokémon game is already being touted as the best one yet, and I'm pretty hyped about it myself. While Rune Factory 4 is easily the most charming game I've played in a very long time, the series just doesn't have the same cultural clout that Pokémon does. If you have to choose, then choose, but be sure to put Rune Factory 4 on your "Play It Someday" list. It's well worth your time.

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