Rune Factory 3 Special from Xseed Games and Marvelous for Nintendo Switch and Steam arrives in a month as a remake of the DS game. I’ve been playing it for nearly two weeks on Steam Deck for preview and it feels quite similar to Rune Factory 4 Special in its port quality. If you’ve not gotten that yet, read my review of it on Switch here and on PC here. Having gotten into Rune Factory through Rune Factory 4, I was always curious about how Rune Factory 3 and other entries I never got to play much before. This Rune Factory 3 Special PC and Steam Deck preview will cover the game, the port performance, and more based on the opening hours on Steam Deck.
Rune Factory 3 Special PC requirements
Rune Factory 3 Special PC minimum requirements
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 4GB available space
Rune Factory 3 Special PC recommended requirements
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-9300H
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1650Q
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 4GB available space
Rune Factory 3 Special PC graphics options
Rune Factory 3 Special on PC only lets you adjust the graphics options from the launcher before getting into the game. This is pictured above. Rune Factory 3 Special on PC lets you adjust window mode (full screen, borderless, and windowed), resolution (720p to 4K), anti-aliasing (none to 8x), text language (many options), voice language (English or Japanese), toggle shadows, toggle post-processing, and toggle v-sync.
Rune Factory 3 Special PC control options
Rune Factory 3 Special has support for keyboard and controller input. I didn’t see any proper mouse support, but I’m not sure if that was a quirk of me playing it on Steam Deck or if that’s how the game will be. On the controller side, I had no issues. You can rebind options from the launcher, but not while in-game. It also has support for PlayStation button prompts as you can see in the screenshot at the bottom of the preview.
Rune Factory 3 Special PC performance — frame rate and resolution
Rune Factory 3 Special runs without issues on Steam Deck at 60fps. There isn’t much to say about the port given how well it plays, but I will say that it has a similar issue as Rune Factory 4 Special when playing at 120fps where some camera panning is a bit jittery on Steam Deck. Barring that, I love the upgraded visuals and menus, but the backgrounds still look a bit off like Rune Factory 4 Special’s did. If you, like me, got used to or were ok with Rune Factory 4 Special, Rune Factory 3 Special delivers.
Rune Factory 3 Special on Steam Deck — works great from before day one
While Rune Factory 4 Special plays fine on Steam Deck, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Rune Factory 3 Special pre-release. I also took a risk as I don’t have a windows laptop right now, so would only be able to preview Rune Factory 3 Special on Steam Deck. Thankfully, it works great from day one. It is 16:10, but everything else is as it should be on Steam Deck. It even does frame rates above 60fps when I tested it using the Steam Deck Docking Station as you can see in the screenshot below.
I also had the game display PlayStation button prompts when I used my DualSense wireless controller. It all works as it should with cut-scenes, gameplay, performance, and more already in the opening hours. This is all without changing anything or forcing a specific Proton version.
Rune Factory 3 Special PC preview
While September is a very busy month, especially in the first half, Rune Factory 3 Special is a game that is shaping up to be well worth your time regardless of if you’re a fan or newcomer to the series. It assumes you haven’t played prior entries with its great onboarding, but rewards you for having them (on Steam at least) with save data bonuses. The localization so far is also good, and it just feels like I’m playing a new quality Rune Factory game. I’m looking forward to playing it more for review in the near future while also checking it out on Switch.
In its current state, Rune Factory 3 Special is a joy to play on Steam Deck and I’m glad it works without issues on the system. Having loved Rune Factory 4 Special and liked Rune Factory 5, Rune Factory 3 Special feels like more good Rune Factory, and that is never a bad thing.
Rune Factory 3 Special releases on September 5 for Switch and Steam. Check it out on Steam here.
