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Changing Character Gender in Save Files

I've thrown together a simple tool to help players change their character's gender in Rune Factory 4 Special. This guide explains both the simple usage and technical implementation details.

Quick Start Guide

Note: The system save (rf4_sys.sav) is optional since the game automatically updates it when you save in-game.

Technical Details

The gender system uses two save files:

1. Player Save File (rf4_s01.sav to rf4_s20.sav)
  • Controls in-game gender
  • Gender bit at offset 0x36
  • CRC in first 4 bytes

2. System Save File (rf4_sys.sav)
  • Controls save/load menu display
  • Gender bits start at 0x500
  • 0xA4 bytes between slots
  • Auto-updates on game save
  • CRC in second 4 bytes

Script Features

Core commands:
  • verify: Detailed save integrity check
  • fix: Repair save file checksums
  • gender: Change character gender

Examples:
# Verify save integrity
python rf4_save_fixer.py verify rf4_s01.sav

# Fix CRC after manual edits
python rf4_save_fixer.py fix rf4_s01.sav

When using the gender command with a system save file, the script extracts the slot number from the player save filename (e.g., rf4_s01.sav is slot 1). The filename format must be "rf4_s%02d.sav" where %02d is the slot number (01-20) - this matches the game's own save file detection logic. Using different filenames will prevent both the script and game from finding the correct saves.

Manual Editing

  • Edit values in hex editor
  • Fix CRC with script:
# After editing names in rf4_sys.sav
python rf4_save_fixer.py fix rf4_sys.sav

# After editing player save
python rf4_save_fixer.py fix rf4_s01.sav

Safety

Always backup your save files before making any changes! While the script is designed to be safe, it's always better to be careful with save files.

Article information

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1 comment

  1. grubcore
    grubcore
    • member
    • 9 kudos
    works like a charm! :] for anyone who might be struggling, here's some tips:

    • ensure Python is installed on your PC. without it, you'll get an error when trying to run the script telling you that Python can't be found and that you need to download it
    • to make things easy, place your rf4_s0X.sav file (and optionally your rf4_sys.sav) in the SAME FOLDER as the downloaded and extracted rf4_save_fixer.py script. select the folder's file path (either by clicking on it or using alt + d) and type "cmd" to open command prompt. this will automatically direct it to use the folder you're in. in that terminal is where you'll enter the gender, verify, or fix commands. after confirming the changes in the command prompt, move your now-modified save file(s) back where they belong (AppData >> Roaming >> Rune Factory 4 Special). 
    • to make the change from female to male rather than vice versa, just take the line in step 3 and use male instead of female