Fantasy Life

The leveling system, different classes, and questing are all really fun elements that make Fantasy Life a role-playing game worth checking out. But be ready for an uninteresting, wordy, and overbearing story that gets in the way of the fun that the title does offer.

Don’t let yourself be fooled by the easy controls of Fantasy Life, as this new Level-5 world is a lovely one to discover. Backtracking is not great, but with that many content we cannot really complain.

You never truly become the character, and that's the reason why this virtual world does never feel fully interesting.

The feeling while playing Fantasy Life is that this is an experience for those less used to playing JRPGs. It's not a particularly difficult or innovative game in its mechanics, and it does not offer many surprises except consistency and certainty in the different crafts and freedom given to the player.

You'll need to cycle through a fair few jobs to progress rather than being free to stick to just your favourite. [Dec 2014, p.81]

This game will not appeal to everyone, but those who wants a different take on a simulator game that strays into RPG territory may wish to start their own Life in Reveria.

Fantasy Life proposes that simple skills such as sewing and mining are worth devoting one’s existence to. But by hewing to the constraints of traditional RPG design, these are best enjoyed as means to other, more vicious ends: stitch up your cloak so as to take less damage from enemies; pound that iron into a stronger, mightier blade. You can play the game as a Tailor. But you’ll want to switch over to Mercenary soon enough.

Fantasy Life starts off enjoyable, but it nosedives quickly, leaving you with an experience disconnected from the potential of the world and its inhabitants.

This is RPG lite, Animal Crossing plus questing, and for some people that's absolutely fine. [Issue#153, p.124]

After an ambitious start and far too much repetition, the magic is drained from Reveria and, in the end, all you’re left with is the mundane.

Fantasy Life tries to bite of more than it can manage to chew. After a positive start and a fun setting where ordinary jobs is as important as a warrior and mage the game gets repetitive and dull. Fantasy Life is to slow and shallow to be an epic adventure in the style of Final Fantasy, yet to rush in tempo to achieve the same state of mindfulness as Animal Crossing. In the end it's a pleasant but forgettable experience.

Fantasy Life fails to capture either the lazy, pleasing routine of village life seen in Animal Crossing or the sense of urgency from the strongest Japanese RPGs. In its eagerness to offer variety, Fantasy Life somewhere lost its focus.

Still, despite its flaws, there is a lot of fun to be had in Fantasy Life. The job system is extensive and mastering each skill compulsive, while decorating apartments provides a nice break from the repetitive missions.

In lieu of depth, the game almost always substitutes repetition. It may have ample charm and smart progression systems, but life in Fantasy Life is more mundane than fantastic.

Fantasy Life lets you partake in every step of the adventuring process, from item creation to monster slaying. Unfortunately, the copious backtracking and bland narrative make this adventure rather boring.