Last updated on May 31st, 2025 at 03:48 pm
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a long-awaited sequel to the beloved 3DS title Fantasy Life, and it finally makes its debut on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, XBOX Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, and PC. Blending life simulation, RPG combat, crafting, and even time travel, this game wears many hats—and gives you the chance to do the same, literally and figuratively. But does it live up to the hype after more than a decade of anticipation?
Let’s dive in.
A Quick Overview: What Is Fantasy Life i?
Set on a once-prosperous island now shrouded in mystery, Fantasy Life i drops you into the role of a customizable protagonist tasked with rebuilding the island and uncovering its past. But here’s the twist—you don’t have to do it as just one person. Instead, the game offers 14 unique “Lives” (classes), and you can freely switch between them at any time.
Do you want to be a Paladin fighting monsters one day and a Carpenter crafting cozy furniture the next? In this game, you can. And it all plays out in a gorgeous world that encourages exploration, customization, and a slow, satisfying pace.
The Lives: Your Way, Every Day
At the heart of Fantasy Life i are its 14 different Lives. These are essentially job classes, divided into three main categories:
- Combat Lives: Paladin, Mercenary, Magician, Hunter
- Gathering Lives: Angler, Woodcutter, Miner, Farmer
- Crafting Lives: Cook, Alchemist, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Tailor, Artist
Each Life has its own progression system, challenges, tools, and stats that benefit its tasks. You start as a Novice and work your way through ranks like Fledgling and Apprentice, eventually mastering each one.
What makes the game so player-friendly is that you’re never locked in. You can switch Lives at will—even right in the middle of harvesting, battling, or crafting—making it easy to experiment and follow your mood without being punished.
Gameplay: A Cozy Grind With Real Depth
Fantasy Life i markets itself as a “slow life RPG,” and that label fits perfectly. The game encourages you to take your time, explore the world, and level up at your own pace. It’s cozy—but it’s also grind-heavy. Every Life has challenges you must complete to level up, and they can range from fun and satisfying to slightly repetitive (like gathering 500 of something or defeating a specific monster dozens of times).
Where the game shines is in how interconnected all the Lives are. Want to cook a fancy recipe? You’ll need to fish for the ingredients or grow them on your farm. Want to craft powerful weapons? You’ll need to gather rare ores and wood, possibly by switching to a Miner or Woodcutter Life. The synergy between Lives encourages you to think ahead, plan wisely, and embrace versatility.
And yes, you can do it all solo—or bring in friends. The game supports multiplayer for up to 4 players, making it a great social experience too.
Combat: More Than Meets the Eye
Combat in Fantasy Life i is surprisingly fun for a game that looks like a cozy sim. Depending on your Life, you’ll wield different weapons and skills:
- Paladins use swords and shields for balanced offense and defense.
- Mercenaries swing massive two-handers with heavy damage output.
- Magicians cast elemental spells from afar.
- Hunters shoot arrows and apply status effects like poison, chill, and paralysis.
The combat feels snappy, and each class has a unique feel. You can also learn counterattacks, special abilities, and unlock skill trees to fine-tune your battle style.
Crafting & Minigames: Love It or Leave It
Every crafting Life comes with its own minigame, usually involving quick-time events like tapping, holding, or rotating your stick at the right moment. The quality of your item depends on your performance—and higher quality means better gear, more profit, or prettier decorations.
Some players may find these minigames repetitive after a while, especially if they want to master several Lives. However, the attention to detail in the animations and the ability to let companions help with some crafting adds enough variety to keep things fresh for most.
You do unlock the ability to skip the crafting mini-games later on, but it is worth noting that you may miss out on some of those quality bonuses.
Time Travel & Terraforming: Unique, But Lightly Used
The storyline introduces a unique time travel mechanic: you’ll jump between the present and 1,000 years in the past. Your actions in the past affect how the island looks in the future, adding a cool dimension to story progression and worldbuilding. However, the use of this feature is more structured than open-ended, so don’t expect Zelda-tier puzzle-solving here.
On the other hand, terraforming is surprisingly robust. You can raise land, build cliffs, make waterfalls, and customize your island over time, similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Add the Artist Life into the mix, and decorating fans will feel right at home.
Character Customization & Progression
You can customize your character’s appearance at any time once unlocked, and progression across Lives gives you stat boosts like Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Focus, and Luck. These affect everything from gathering speed to spell effectiveness to item drops.
Thankfully, it looks like stat resets are available, either through an item or vendor (as seen in the previous 3DS version), so you don’t need to stress about early decisions.
Explore Reveria Your Way: Maps, Travel, and Mounts in Fantasy Life i
One of the most exciting aspects of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is the joy of exploration. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a returning fan from the 3DS original, you’ll find yourself immersed in a beautifully crafted world made up of multiple expansive regions, each with its own environment, challenges, and Life-based activities.
The game features several distinct maps, including the central island of Mysteria (your new home), lush forests, shimmering beaches, mountainous regions, and even underground areas. Each area is teeming with gathering materials, monsters to fight, and quests that tie into all 14 available Lives.
To make navigating these large areas feel less daunting, Fantasy Life i introduces fast travel options early on. You’ll be able to teleport between key landmarks, your home, and other important locations once you’ve unlocked them. This makes it easier to bounce between resource zones, story objectives, and Life trainers without constantly backtracking.
Even better, the game introduces rideable mounts—a brand new addition to the series. These mounts significantly speed up travel, making exploration smoother and more engaging. So whether you’re a Paladin chasing monsters or an Angler in search of rare fish, you can get where you need to go quickly while still soaking in the game’s colorful environments.
Exploration isn’t just about getting from point A to point B—it’s about uncovering secrets, stumbling upon hidden treasures, and mastering the landscape through your chosen Lives.
What Works Well:
- Insanely flexible gameplay: Swap Lives anytime, follow your interests
- Fun, snappy combat with depth
- Beautiful worldbuilding and relaxing exploration
- Great for completionists – there’s always something to do
- Multiplayer support adds replayability
What Could Be Better:
- Grind-heavy progression may not be for everyone
- Story pacing is slow, especially at the start
- Time travel is underused as a gameplay mechanic
- Multiplayer functionality is somewhat limited as you cannot progress the story and quests.
Final Verdict: 9.5/10 – An Immersive Story You Can Get Lost In
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is exactly what it claims to be—a slow life RPG that lets you be whoever you want, whenever you want. While it’s not a revolutionary leap from its 3DS predecessor, it brings enough quality-of-life updates, new content, and cozy charm to stand tall on every platform.
If you love the idea of combining crafting, combat, decorating, and story all in one place—and don’t mind a bit of grind—this might just become your next obsession.
Should You Buy It?
If you enjoy:
- Games like Rune Factory, Animal Crossing, or Stardew Valley
- Customizing characters and homes
- Swapping between different playstyles
- RPGs that don’t rush you
Then yes—you’ll love this one.
