Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has undoubtedly had a tough journey leading up to its launch. The many delays, Keiji Inafune’s departure from LEVEL-5, and the decision to restart development all contributed to the game taking years to release. This type of story often ends with the cancellation of the title or it simply turning out badly, especially when it involves resurrecting a series that’s been dormant for over ten years.
Fantasy Life positions itself as a cozy RPG that tasks players with, quite literally, living their own “fantasy life,” as the name suggests. This can mean anything from crafting and gathering to defeating monsters, basically living life the best way possible, without any restrictions holding you back. The series is appealing, and while I had heard of the original on the Nintendo 3DS, I never had the chance to play it. When a friend told me that a new title was finally being released after so long, I saw this as the perfect time to dive in. On Nintendo Switch 2, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a charming package, although there are some glaring flaws.
Dreams, Adventure, and Fantasy
Fantasy Life i focuses on Edward, an archaeologist who is out looking for more adventure and discoveries. You are his assistant, traveling with him, learning the ropes, and hoping to be there for the next discovery. However, soon after finding and naming an uninhabited island, you are both attacked by a giant dragon. This nearly destroys your ship, until the dragon fossil you both found under the sea comes to life, saving you both.
It soon becomes clear that you didn’t end up on an uninhabited island; instead, you find locals. This isn’t your world, and you must find a way to get back. As you slowly begin that journey, more mysteries begin to uncover themselves, launching you on a quest to save the world and time itself. Will you be up to the challenge?
This story does feel weird because of one character I have not mentioned just yet, Trip. He is a bird that can talk with the help of a helmet that translates him and everyone nearby. This little helmet helps with much of the game and saves certain people along the way. However, his main goal is always to make sure that Edward is safe and nearby. This isn’t that surprising, being that Trip is a pet, so being near his owner makes sense. However, the real issue is that, while you are the protagonist, Edward drives most of the story.
I admit that when I first saw the character, his love for adventure and his friends were charming. I didn’t even mind that he is one of the returning characters from the now-dead mobile title, Fantasy Life Online. The issue becomes apparent with how he is used in the story. The general flow of it tends to be that you will find something to get back to him. You will then explore the uninhabited island before he gets stuck in something new.
In fact, despite the main plot taking place in both the past and present, it felt like most of what I was doing didn’t matter. This is to keep in line with the cozy RPG, but I wish it would instead allow me to take my time more, without a save-the-world plot. I know that having a silent protagonist usually means that another character will need to speak up for you. However, that means such a character needs to be charming, and Edward is at best annoying. As a result, he’s a difficult character to follow along with, which is tragic because Rem and her brother Ranoah are both interesting characters.
Although they can be very formulaic at times, here they work, since you aren’t constantly dealing with a mess that they caused. This is a huge difference that makes these characters shine while Edward falls flat. Honestly, there needed to be more characters like them, because while many characters show up, they frequently do not matter. This includes the various lives that you can participate in and their masters.
Go Get a Life
There are fourteen lives to choose from in Fantasy Life i, divided into three categories: combat, gathering, and crafting. Each life must be chosen through the guild master, who then directs you to the corresponding life master. This unlocks an introductory story about that life and its characters. But after that, the narrative largely disappears, and you’re expected to forget about the introduction as everything falls away.
Another sign that these stories don’t really matter is that, after your first life, the game asks if you want to skip the first quest entirely. This is disappointing, as some of the stories could have been interesting. For example, there are two characters trying to woo Mezza, the carpenter’s apprentice, but these characters never actually interact with her. This could have been an engaging plot point, but the game drops all side stories outside of the main narrative.
The addition of meaningful life stories could have reinforced the idea that you can truly do whatever you want. Following a storyline that interested me could have kept me invested in a particular life while offering a welcome distraction from Edward. This would have enhanced the cozy RPG feel and helped create a stronger sense of friendship with the NPCs connected to each life.
Instead, to level up your lives, you must craft and do certain challenges that will let you rank up. These challenges vary depending on your chosen life and generally require you to use specific skills or craft certain items. The system stands out because leveling up grants you better stats and skill points, while your rank determines access to improved recipes and equipment. It’s a neat system that provides a clear goal to work toward with each rank.
However, the rewards for ranking up, beyond what I’ve already mentioned, feel nonexistent. There are no additional stories, and leveling up your lives feels more like something you do for its own sake rather than for meaningful progression. While that’s supposed to be the point, I often found myself neglecting certain lives until it felt absolutely necessary. This usually happened when my combat life wasn’t dealing enough damage, forcing me to return to my crafting life to make better equipment. In theory, that should feel rewarding, but in practice, it doesn’t.
Ginormosia, The Island, and You
One thing a friend pointed out is that Fantasy Life i feels like three different games built into a single package. On its face, you have the past segment, where you develop lives and progress the main story. Then there’s the present segment, which focuses on developing the island for the people you rescue during your adventure. Finally, there’s Ginormosia, an open-world segment that includes all the trappings of that particular genre.
The easiest section to describe is the present island, since this part will probably see the most use outside of the past. Development here is slow and involves building a settlement for rescued Strangelings, humans who have been turned into objects. You can find them by defeating enemies, completing Shrine challenges across Ginormosia, and doing quests. To turn them back into humans who can help you on your adventure, you need a special flower called Celestia’s Gift, which you earn by developing the town and making the Strangelings happy.
The whole section feeds back into itself, letting you reliably focus on it while adventuring in the past or Ginormosia. Characters gain affection by being around you and through solving the quests they give you each day. This system alone feels like it could have been its own separate game, and most players would probably have been happy with that. Especially once you unlock the ability to terraform the island, which quickly became my favorite part because it reminded me of my favorite section from another cozy life sim.
There is a lot here that, while technically optional, feels like a full-fledged game. Ginormosia is the same way. This section is a fully optional open-world experience that lets you wander at your own pace. You will need a combat class for this part, but it is fun to explore and track down the mysterious Phantom Buddies, temporary team members who lend a hand in battle.
The other important part is the shrines that appear along Ginormosia. These are mini-dungeons that have challenges that you complete in order to break the seal stuck to a Strangeling. That being said, I never ventured much into this section, despite it feeling very well thought out. My reason for this is that it falls back onto personal achievement. I didn’t feel like I needed to ever go back, and outside of one quest, the game never asks you to go back for the main story.
So, the entire section can somewhat feel like a small waste of time, especially if you are grinding out the story. That’s a big problem I have personally with Fantasy Life i: there is so much to do, but it all feels disconnected from each other. There could have been a little bit of interconnectivity between each section of the game to make them feel together. Instead, you are given a plate of three different meals but told only one is required. That’s all well and good, but I wish this meal were a single complete meal.
The Fantasy Lives On
Despite everything going against it, Level-5 refused to let this beloved series die. They put in the hard work, and the game rose from the ashes. However, maybe a little too much rose with it when they were coming back to life. The lives are interesting and start out strong, but quickly turn into checklists to complete. The same could be said of the story that follows the same exact beats repeatedly.
However, there is a lot to this package, and you can easily skip over the sections that you deem unimportant. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time feels like three games in one, and it shows that off as much as it can. These sections needed to be blended together better, or at least give better reasons to do each one independently. It’s wonderful to see so much content available, especially for just $59.99, but the disconnect between it all can feel like a tough pill to swallow. However, Fantasy Life i is quite a charming game, and my disappointment with the above illustrates that I do care about this title.
Even now, the game is repeatedly getting free updates, improving the quality of the experience. Sitting here a few weeks past release, the title feels completely different from what it did at launch. With dozens of hours worth of content awaiting, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a good choice for your next RPG — just be aware that things might not always connect the way you expect them to.
Disclaimer: Level-5 provided a Nintendo Switch copy of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time for review purposes. The reviewer purchased the upgrade pack for Nintendo Switch 2.
