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3DS

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Fantasy Life Review

by Daan Koopman - September 16, 2014, 3:02 pm EDT
Total comments: 3

8

A bold journey with many, many quests awaits you in Level-5's latest title.

The western release of Level-5’s Fantasy Life is a delight, as the simulation/RPG is yet another of the developer’s many unique endeavours from the past few years. Published by Nintendo in Europe (out on September 26) and North America (out on October 24), this game displays the full power of Level-5’s predillection for bringing atmospheric worlds to life. Despite a slow start, it grows into a magical, open-ended game with so much to do, including an enticing job system and a cavalcade of charming characters.

Fantasy Life begins with the start of your brand new life in the world of Reveria. You can choose between 12 jobs that give you access to an array of skills that carry over even if you decide you have had enough of one task. Switching between jobs and interacting with the different characters associated with each one is one of the most engaging aspects of Fantasy Life. While each group of tasks starts slow, they pick up quickly, especially as you see more of the world. The variety on display for each job is staggering, as they all have their distinguishing quirks, on display in jobs such as the rock-pillaging Miner and the wily tool-making Carpenter.

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The jobs are lavish and deep, but the main story is extremely slow to start. By the time it starts to pick up, the main story ends, clocking in around 12 hours long. That length, however, depends on if you just stick to one job and don’t touch the numerous side quests and adventures. It might be short on a main plot, but the extraneous content is vast and engaging. For example, unique characters are all over the place, popping up throughout all of your extra adventuring. The writing is fantastic and charming for each one, ranging from typical bullies to cheerful elderly folk and a whole lot more.

The world is also filled to the brim with quests. You get quests from all sorts of characters, including townsfolk and job masters. Completing these fun tasks can earn you anything from additional game content to money to buy cool items. The quests are all open-ended, and you can have many active at once, making for a pleasant, leisurely pace to complete them all. With no real rush, it is never frustrating; these short quests are perfectly geared for handheld travels. Counter to the handheld design is the limited ability to save. You can’t save anywhere, so if you’re playing in bursts, you need to constantly find save points during quests. This comes as a struggle with the story missions in particular, because they always steer you in a certain direction away from save points. These moments are the only times when the games directs you in this manner, so it’s generally easy to avoid.

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The world of Reveria isn’t all that big either. Each of the few towns gives you shops with new items in addition to fast travel points you can buy, but it all feels small still. I love walking through the areas, specifically the booming pirate beach town of Port Puerto, but there just aren’t a lot of towns to visit. The environments are mostly filled with nature in Fantasy Life, which can be a good or bad thing depending on your active job. It is not particularly fun as a cook to go through the woods and deal with a bunch of monsters, but it’s awesome to be an action-focused class as you can always find enemies to defeat.

Visiting those towns is much better with friends, fortunately, as you can play Fantasy Life with up to two others locally or online. I tried multiplayer a couple of times and I enjoyed exploring the vast world with a few friends. It’s easy to set up and lag-free. While playing online, you can chat with your mates by typing out short messages, and you can even send these messages when you are playing alone and see what your friends are up to with the Link Mode. With these clever ways of interaction, the game knows how to hold your attention where ever you are, as long as you’re in the range of Wi-Fi.

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Fantasy Life is a bright and colorful treat visually. The charming cartoon environments feel like a living, breathing world with characters moving around. The music is just as delightful with atmospheric, cheery, and action-packed tunes. It’s just a fun world to wander around in and explore. After 50 hours or so, I’ve had my fill for the time being, though it is more than likely that I will return to Reveria once time allows me to. There is still much to do.

I wasn't expecting to like Fantasy Life as much as I did, but its overall charm just left me smiling constantly. It has its rough edges, especially with the slow opening and limited story, but once you hit the side quests and dig deep into the job system, the world opens up beautifully. The main story may seem to end right as it starts getting good, but the jobs are worth staying around for, making Fantasy Life a lengthy and interesting simulation RPG.

Summary

Pros
  • Bright presentation
  • Fun, quirky characters
  • Local and online multiplayer
  • Variety of quests
  • Various jobs are delightful
Cons
  • Limited environments
  • Short story mode
  • Slow beginning

Talkback

EnnerSeptember 16, 2014

So excited.
I've heard that some content from Fantasy Life: Link (JPN) is purchasable DLC for the English version of Fantasy Life. I hope there will be a review of that in the future.

AzagthothSeptember 17, 2014

Nice review Daan. I'd love to hear you talk more about it on the podcast.

Fatty The HuttSeptember 18, 2014

Definitely on my radar, this one.

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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

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