It’s not uncommon for great Japanese games to miss a western release. Then there are those that eventually get released. Fantasy Life is one of the latter. It’s surprising, then, that a game with art and music by Final Fantasy’s Yoshitaka Amano and Nobuo Uematsu is a near-miss. Fortunately, we westerners are now able to get our hands on this masterpiece.
First things first, here’s a little explanation on game versions: Japan got two versions of the game: the base game and Fantasy Life Link!, which includes the Origin Island expansion pack. We only get the base game version at retail and Nintendo eShop, however we also get to play that expansion pack in the form of paid DLC. Only the base game and offline component were tested for this review.
The game borrows elements from Animal Crossing, such as choosing your outfit and decorating your room. Bear in mind that those looking for a fully-fledged life simulating experience will be a little disappointed, because the game is an RPG at heart. An excellent RPG, mind.
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| The game is an RPG at heart |
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| Your room can be furnished with furniture you either buy or create |
It features a main story and 12 different professions, or lives. You gain bliss by fulfilling certain tasks, earn rewards for completing quests (both in the form of items and dosh, the game’s currency) and earn special points (stars) for completing life-related challenges, which in turn help your career. Your life can be changed anytime without losing progression. In fact, the game encourages you to often change your life. All lives are available at the start of the game, so there’s no need to unlock them. You can be anything anytime. Here’s a brief description of each one of the 12 lives:
Paladin
The job of a paladin is to serve the king by defending the land. The quests associated mainly involve defeating certain types of monsters or outlaws. This life unlocks the Longsword and Shield skills.
Mercenary
This life also involves defeating certain monsters, except this time you’re a freelancer. Associated skill: Greatsword.
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| You'll meet NPC's who share the same life and might give you quests |
Hunter
A hunter is a sneaky fighter whose job is to gather resources from monsters, such as meat, claws and hides. A hunter’s weapon of choice is his bow, and consequently its associated skill is Archery.
Magician
A magician is a master of the elements, which finds weaknesses in its opponents and chooses the spells accordingly. The associated quests include defeating monsters and supernaturals. This life unlocks five different skills: Magic, Earth Magic, Water Magic, Fire Magic and Wind Magic.
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| Each life has its own master. For magicians it's a talking cat. |
Miner
The job of a miner is to gather different types of ore and precious stones. This is the first of the gatherer lives. Associated skill: Mining.
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| Miners have to search for ore in several places |
Woodcutter
Just like a miner, a woodcutter is also a gatherer of resources, specifically wood. Associated skill: Woodcutting.
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| When you reach master rank in a life, a special song is played just for you. |
Angler
An angler’s weapon is his/her fishing rod, and the “battles” take place in the water. The associated quests concern fishing certain types of fish. Associated skill: Fishing.
Cook
This could be considered the first of the five crafter lives. A cook knows the recipes used in both food and beverages. These can be very useful in battle: food recovers HP and beverages recover SP. There are four associated skills: Cooking, Egg & Veg Cuisine, Meat Cuisine and Seafood Cuisine.
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| Each of the crafter lives has its own bench for crafting. |
Blacksmith
This life depends heavily on the resources gathered by a miner. A blacksmith’s job is to craft weapons, armour and tools. Associated skills: Smithing, Weaponsmithing, Armoursmithing and Metal Tool Smithing.
Carpenter
Not unlike what happens with a blacksmith, a carpenter heavily depends on the woodcutter’s job. This time the objects crafted fit into these categories: weapons, tools and furniture. Related skills are: Carpentry, Furniture Carpentry, Weapons Carpentry and Tools Carpentry.
Tailor
A tailor sews and crafts fabrics and clothing, certain kinds of armour and decorations for your room. Associated skills: Sewing, Garment Tailoring, Misc. Tailoring, and Fabric Tailoring.
Alchemist
The last life relates to the crafting of useful items, such as potions/elixirs, bombs and wearable accessories. There are 3 skills associated: Alchemy, Compound Alchemy and Accessory Alchemy.
Besides having to engage in a life, the game features an entertaining storyline. Without revealing too many spoilers, let’s say you’re tasked with saving the land of Reveria from impending doom. Being proficient with your chosen life can really help for an easier story progression.
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| You'll visit the places in Reveria over and over again, yet it doesn't feel repetitive. |
The game has great graphics and art style, with few, but beautiful cinematics. The sound effects and score are also very appropriate. Gameplay is almost never ending, though the main story feels a bit short. But even when you finish the game there are plenty of things to do. We’ve played for around 80 hours for this review and there’s still a lot of undone stuff. The only downside is that some lives are more fun to play than others (the ones that involve crafting are not so much fun). Overall, the game is a gem that shouldn't be missed by Nintendo 3DS owners.
9.5/10
