We store cookies, you can get more info from our privacy policy.
3DS

North America

Nintendo’s Next Big 3DS RPG Is More Fable than Final Fantasy

by Neal Ronaghan - July 29, 2014, 8:28 am EDT
Total comments: 4

Maybe we can call it NintenFable?

Before seeing a demo of Fantasy Life, the Level-5-developed 3DS game (with help from 1-UP Studio and h.a.n.d.) coming to North America this October thanks to Nintendo, I was blissfully unaware of what exactly the game is. I assumed, incorrectly, it was just some sort of Animal Crossing/Harvest Moon game. Maybe there was a town or a farm that you ran? I don’t know. I do know I was wrong. From the basic overview I saw and played, Fantasy Life seems more like a Nintendo version of Microsoft's Fable series to a certain extent.

At the base is a job system of sorts. Controlling your avatar, you can focus on one of twelve different life classes that include Blacksmith, Mage, Angler, Cook, and much more. Depending on what life class you have active, you can build and use different abilities and actions. However, unlike most other job systems, you pretty much keep the majority of those abilities when you change your class. For example, when you start fishing as an Angler, you can still do that when you switch to another class. As near as I can tell, you just lose some stat bonuses and maybe an ability when you don’t have the class active.

You take those abilities and classes out on a grand adventure, where you fight a lot of gigantic enemies that all look just as gorgeous as you'd expect from classic Final Fantasy series artist Yoshitaka Amano. Combat is simplistic, and that's where, to me, the comparison to Fable was more evident. You can build up your avatar however you like, with a focus on melee or ranged combat. Most of the combat actions are simple as you move around in a real-time environment. You can even pal around with other people locally (and likely online, too, but Nintendo wasn't confirming that yet despite the option showing up in some E3 live streams).

I only got to see a sliver of Fantasy Life, but from what the Nintendo Treehouse representative hinted, it seems to be an epic, expansive adventure. That rep has currently played through it three times and had a different experience each time thanks to what classes she focused on. Fantasy Life seems like it's packed with content. Personally, I can't wait for it to get here October 24, and I’m totally jealous that Europe gets it in September.

Talkback

StratosJuly 29, 2014

I am glad this is not a Nintendo Rune Factory clone. I will pay more attention to it in the future because I could now see it as different enough from RF/HM to warrant the purchase.

Triforce HermitJuly 29, 2014

So sort of like Fable and sort of like Rune Factory, but with a job system that affects how you do normal work along with combat. I love the job system in games a lot because I get a kick out of grinding and maximizing all of the job classes and if this has a sort of Rune Factory and Fable mix with it, then I will definitely buy this game.

VahneJuly 29, 2014

Is the version we're getting Fantasy Life Link! or is it the original?

Mop it upAugust 02, 2014

I'll only be interested in this game if there is online, so I hope that makes it into this version.

Share + Bookmark





3DS

Game Profile

Fantasy Life Box Art

Genre Simulation
Developer Level-5
Players1 - 3

Worldwide Releases

na: Fantasy Life
Release Oct 24, 2014
PublisherLevel-5
RatingEveryone 10+
jpn: Fantasy Life
Release Dec 27, 2012
PublisherLevel-5
RatingAll Ages
eu: Fantasy Life
Release Sep 26, 2014
PublisherLevel-5
Rating7+
aus: Fantasy Life
Release Sep 27, 2014
PublisherLevel-5
RatingParental Guidance

Related Content

Got a news tip? Send it in!
Advertisement
Advertisement