Despite my love for the Animal Crossing series, the games could do with a bit of variety when it comes to daily tasks and activities. Sure, shaking up trees to collect fruit, digging up fossils, and catching bugs every day can be a nice source of income, but despite the seasons changing up these various factors, they never really change up the core gameplay enough. Fantasy Life is perhaps the answer to that problem, despite it still suffering from some repetitive gameplay.
Fantasy Life revolves around a job system, much like one you'd see in a Final Fantasy game, though here jobs don't only consist of heroic classes like Paladins (although you can be one), you can also opt to become a Chef, a Carpenter, an Angler or a Tailor. There are 12 jobs in all, and not only do they each have specific goals and actions, they can also work in tandem, meaning switching frequently is necessary to get the most out of your Life.
I'm actually impressed with how Fantasy Life manages to juggle all these various systems together, while also balancing an overarching story, as well as constantly making sure the player has something to do, every minute of their play time. While the story won't really grab older players, it is slightly entertaining, if not overly silly. Your character is a silent protagonist, though one you can extensively customize in the character creator, and you're joined by a talking golden Butterfly who serves as the game's guide through the main narrative, but also as an assistant to the game's key features.
Going into the game, I knew I didn't want to be a combat class, so Paladin, Mercenary and Magician were off the table. I wanted to see how the game could handle a labor job, and keep me invested in it, despite having my life's calling be chopping down trees. But that's where Fantasy Life truly shines. You see, your Life is just one third of what you need to worry about. Sure, as a Woodcutter I had a bunch of goals asking me to collect specific types of wood, but then I had a completely separate list of requests made by other citizens, and on top of that, a third list with Butterfly's requests, which pushed the narrative forward. So being a Woodcutter didn't mean that I'd be simply hacking away at trees ad nauseam, I still had plenty of other tasks to keep me busy and to eliminate monotony.
Being simply a Woodcutter meant that after a hard day's work, my inventory of wood logs would be sold away to a merchant for Dosh (the in-game currency). However, switching to the Carpenter, I could then utilize that wood to create various pieces of furniture. The same principle can be applied to an Angler and then a Chef, or even a Miner who obtains ore to be used as a Blacksmith, who can then create armor that can be worn by a Paladin. Level-5 has created a masterful synergy between the jobs, and the game begs to switch between them, and not just concentrate on a single one. The citizen requests also tie directly to the job system, where one person can ask you to make them a food item, or perhaps they want a weapon crafted. Not all requests require you to switch however, but they will certainly keep you on your toes.
There are two very important currencies tied down to progression as well. Completing Flutter's requests will yield Bliss. This currency can then be used to make your life in the game easier. For instance, you can increase the size of your bag to hold more items, gain access to riding different mounts and even eventually own one yourself, gain access to pets, or make shops carry rare items. On the flipside, completing various challenges unique to your Life earns you separate XP points that you can cash in at that Life's Expert. Growing in rank will unlock new unique skills for each Life, making tasks much easier to complete.
Fantasy Life has a diverse and colorful cast of characters that are all well written and generally entertaining to listen to, even if you're not all that invested into the story. Though this is hardly a surprise given that Level-5 has always done a good job with characters in their previous titles like Ni No Kuni, Rogue Galaxy and the Professor Layton series.
Though it might not look it at first, Fantasy Life is an immensely big game. The world itself has tons of interconnecting areas, all with different materials which means you'll need to explore every nook and cranny if you want to master your Life job. But the size isn't just tied down to the world, the game's scope is vast, with tons of quests and tasks, as well as a progression system for each and every Life means that you'll be hard pressed to find yourself with nothing to do. The game is practically built on the foundation of giving you two new tasks for every one you complete. It might be a bit overwhelming to some, especially those coming from a more laid back experience like Animal Crossing.
Speaking of Animal Crossing, the game certainly have a lot of Life Sim elements as well. A few hours into the game will present you with the opportunity to move out of your tiny bedroom, and into a brand new house. Like Animal Crossing, you'll be able to deck your house out with various furnishings, and tailor it to look exactly how you want, except unlike Animal Crossing, you'll actually need to make enough money to pay for your new house out of the gate. No loans here.
The game does include a multiplayer feature, which I unfortunately didn't get to try because it only allows you to play with people on your Friend List when playing online, and we only got a single copy of the game, meaning local multiplayer was out of the question too. However, as I've learned from inquiring about it, the game basically remains the same. Players can free run around different parts of the map, they can gather, craft and hunt together and complete various quests together, assuming they picked them up before going online. Seeing as though I was able to get through the game fine on my own, it doesn't seem like a necessary feature, but it's a welcome one.
Fantasy Life is an amazingly put together title, one that manages to juggle so many different systems on top of one another, and yet weave them together into a coherent experience that's an absolute joy to play. Whether you're a fan of Animal Crossing, or perhaps more into RPGs, Fantasy Life falls right in the center of those two, making it an accessible game for a wide range of gamers.
