Rune Factory 4 has a secret: It’s all your favorite games rolled into one

You might know that Rune Factory emerged from Harvest Moon, the farming and life-simulation series that began on the Super Nintendo, but that might be the extent of your familiarity. It’s pretty niche.

Rune Factory is basically Harvest Moon plus role-playing elements, but it adds up to a lot more than that. Playing Rune Factory 4, the latest entry for 3DS, reminded me of a lot of great games. It’s one giant hodgepodge.