I’ve been very interested in giving the Fantasy Life sequel a try since it was first announced a number of years ago. The first one was something I was curious about, but I just never got around to buying. So now, with The Girl Who Steals Time, I’m giving myself to the Fantasy Life. And one thing I can easily say is that I am very invested in what Level-5 have provided with this game.

Upon creating a character, I find myself on a boat as part of Edward’s expedition team. Having found a dragon fossil under the water, it started directing the team somewhere with a beam of light. When close by to the island the beam is guiding the boat toward, they are attacked by a dragon. But, from the fossil, a bone dragon awakens, trying to save those on the boat. Myself and Edward’s bird Trip escape through a portal created by the bone dragon.

And so, here we are. Separated from everyone else, it’s discovered there’s people here. An entire kingdom. And the dragon has been hurt. In asking for help from the king, Ranoah says to take up a life before he will help. Lives in Mysteria are professions, with 14 to choose from across combat, crafting, and gathering. I considered going for a combat one first, but I had a stick, so felt well equipped for now. What I wanted was a way to prepare for when I took up a combat life, so chose to be a blacksmith.

Each life has a Life Master who oversees everyone wanting to be part of that life. So meeting the blacksmith Life Master, I engaged in the initiation challenge to become their apprentice. Once I completed that initiation challenge, teaching everything the Life entails, I was now a fledgling blacksmith. Ready to craft up a storm. To earn some money, as while the king was true to his word, the guild master won’t let us fly away without first paying her for repairs to her house.

This is where helping people is introduced. People will have requests for items that they want, or enemies that need to be slain. Through the skills of one of the lives, these tasks can be completed. Money, called dosh in this universe, and other items are rewarded upon completing requests. Once I’d earnt enough money through quests and selling items, I could finally return to where I’d come from. But that’s not the last I’d see of Mysteria. As it is just one of three parts to Fantasy Life.

At first, I was certain that finding Edward would be the last thing done. Certain that someone new would always have a reason for holding us back from getting home. But no. Through the portal we go again, learning that the place we had been was 1000 years in the past. Edward is quickly found, and the reason for the game’s subtitle comes into play. Along with a third world to be exploring.

I won’t go into too much detail about those two other areas, but each has unique things to discover along with the gathering and combat. The story takes place across all three, with unique characters and great interactions to be had across all of them. While one of them does feel like it’s copying standard open world tropes (particularly the Switch Legend of Zeldas), the mechanics of Fantasy Life still make it fun to traverse.

And with fun combat mechanics, too. After progressing enough to gain access to those other two worlds, I jumped into many new lives, including the one combat life I felt I’d most enjoy. Magician. A ranged form of combat, the weak attack fires off magic balls while the strong attack pulses that magic in an area of effect attack. That, plus dodges, make for a good basic system. Though each combat style has more to it, such as the magician able to learn different spells through the skill tree.

The crafting lives all feature a mini game that requires fast action to complete sequences from the three options in time. There’s only so many turns allowed to fill the meter fully, so being fast is key. As for gathering, everything has a level. Whether that be ore, fish, or trees. As long as SP is available, chipping away at the health can happen. Weak and strong uses also feature here, along with weak spots to take off even more health.

All these lives are connected, with gathering helping to provide for crafting which will help provide for combat. There’s a lot of systems that go into making Fantasy Life’s core worthwhile, though I’m uncertain just how much will need to be engaged with to complete the story. According to a walkthrough, I’m roughly halfway through. And haven’t yet really needed the strongest of what these lives can provide.

That’s not to say Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a bad game, however. With everything there is to engage with, I’m invested in what it provides. I want to explore, build up these lives, and be prepared for anything that will be thrown my way. One can never be too over-prepared, after all. And though I feared optimisation would be bad on the Switch, it runs smoothly. Aside from the occasional freeze. This is a Fantasy Life I can easily recommend.

Images Taken From:
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time | Nintendo Switch [Docked]