Fantasy Life originally released in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS and since then, the series’ output has been a bit dry. There have been mobile releases in between, but Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is the first proper sequel after all this time to the this neat hybrid between a JRPG and a slice-of-life simulator. That’s right, in a world filled with every roguelike, deckbuilder and metroidvania you could imagine (often times mixing these three styles at once), Fantasy Life provides a Final Fantasy x Animal Crossing experience you don’t exactly see very often nowadays. After all these years, do these two completely different game styles still manage to work well together?

For starters, let’s look at the Animal Crossing side of this bold claim. In Fantasy Life i, things start off, as expected, with you receiving a house to act as your home base, as well as your resting spot. Much like in Nintendo’s money-making life sim, you’re able to collect furniture, wallpapers, flooring, and a lot more to customize the inside and outside of your crub, making it feel like a legit home after a long day of adventuring. You’ll also be able to terraform the island that you live on, creating islands and waterfalls, pathways and more as you create a world that suits your personal preference.

Now, for the Final Fantasy-esque aspect of things. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time features a system, creative called Lives, which is similar to how Jobs and Classes work. There’s a lot to pick from, and not all of them are focused around fighting monsters. You have your typical ranger with the Hunter life, warrior with the Mercenary life, and so on, but you also have resource collection and crafting lives. For instance, there are classes called Miner and Woodcutter, who are mostly useful for resource collection, whilst Blacksmith and Cook excel at crafting. Lives can be changed at nearly any time by visiting guild masters, and this is where that typical JRPG grind comes in.

Without fail, any JRPG will have some degree of experience grinding for you to get the full experience, and Fantasy Life i is no exception to the rule. Every Life has 10 ranks to make your way through, and with 14 on offer, that’s 140 ranks to grind. You’ll have to spend time catching fish, making swords, fighting monsters, and so on. While the early levels go by pretty quick, getting to a God level will take a considerable amount of time overall in any Life, let alone all of them. Everyone that’s played a JRPG knows how addictive the grind can get though, so say goodbye to free time and hello to tree chopping. It feels like playing RuneScape again.

The combat in Fantasy Life i is arguably a bit simplistic –  as a close range class you can walk in hack and slash style, wait for an enemy to attack, and dodge away. As a more long range class, you just simply attack at a safe distance, and again dodge away as enemies get near. The world can feel a bit simple in areas with pretty flat and muted colours and not a lot of detail to look at or explore. Other areas though, can feel packed full of visuals, maybe this is where all the time was spent.

In a weird way, every single character looks almost exactly like you would expect based on Fantasy Life’s criteria. Somewhere less animated and “childish” than Animal Crossing, and more properly built and, obviously, 3D than Stardew Valley. In a way, they mostly resemble the more kid-friendly takes on the Final Fantasy and even Dragon Quest games, most notably Dragon Quest Builders. There’s something about the context of the game and its overall play style that really fits well with how it’s all designed.

Furthermore, I simply cannot deny that I love this game’s soundtrack. Every single tune matches perfectly with its overall environments, from peaceful fields, to regal castles – deserts to forests, take your pick, the music is more than fitting in every situation. A soundtrack can make or break a game and Fantasy Life i hits the levels triple-A games like Call of Duty or The Last of Us strive for in every instance.

All in all, there’s a lot that Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time does very well. It managed to create a perfect mixture between a JRPG and a slice-of-life simulator that can engage anyone, from the most seasoned veteran to the most casual of newcomers. Sure, some of its areas can occasionally look a bit too bland, but then again – and I might be cursed for it – even more refined and legendary titles in the Final Fantasy titles are guilty of such issues. The Lives system is interesting, and offer more than enough variety, nearly brinking on MMO territory. Overall, a very fun experience it would be easy to get lost in, whether it’s for minutes, hours, or days.

Graphics: 7.5 Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time features some really cute graphics, but also some bland areas. While it’s not bad looking at any point, there are sections that aren’t that good looking.	Gameplay: 9.0 There is so much going on and that you’re able to do in Fantasy Life i, but unlike a lot of other games, it excels in most gameplay situations. Nothing feels like its truly an afterthought.
Sound: 9.5 The music in Fantasy Life i is awesome and more than worth listening to, even if you have no interest in the game.	Fun Factor: 9.0 There’s not a lot of JRPGs I actually want to go through the grind for. Fantasy Life i is the exception to me and a game I plan to play a lot more of.
Final Verdict: 8.5

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available now on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series S|X.

Reviewed on PC.

A copy of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time was provided by the publisher.