This game is fantastic in *almost* every way. The characters are an absolute delight who seem to almost NEVER run out of new dialogue. (Seriously I've been playing for several in game years and I have yet to come across any repeated daily dialogue yet, which is astonishing.) The story is compelling, and almost every game play aspect of this game is very immersive.
Sometimes a bit too immersive... Which leads me to my main criticism of RF4. The crafting, farming, and battling mechanics are VERY complex and can take hours of grinding to get where they need to be late game, and it takes even MORE time to even figure out the mechanics properly as they're so nuanced. Additionally, many late game features are left entirely up to chance — getting the items necessary as well as triggering the game's final story arc and true ending can take YEARS of in game time to trigger as this is all random.
Overall I've sunk countless hours into this game on my 3DS, and I plan to buy the Switch version as well, and I'm also keeping my eyes peeled for RF5. Needless to say my critiques don't take away the magnificence this game has to offer. Play it. Seriously. Just do it.