In a sense, this is also a double-edged sword. Newcomers who picked up the Rune Factory series with a later episode, or who will start with the upcoming Rune Factory 4 Special , will have a very hard time going back to 1 and 2 to better understand the story. While each Rune Factory game is standalone, the games have an overall linked storyline. There are recurring characters too. For example, Rune Factory 1 had a half-elf little girl, who appears as an adult in Rune Factory 2, set a few decades ...