A fun mix between JRPG + Simulation game. Before you decide to invest in this game you need to understand exactly what this is. A lot of people compare it to Animal Crossing but it's more like Rune Factory or Disney Magical World if you've played those. There's a lot packed into this game so I'll try to briefly touch on everything without spoiling anything- Life/Class System - There are 12 different classes your character can become. You can switch your class as much as you want as frequent as you want in the game. Certain quests will require you to be at a higher level within the class though so keep that in mind. You don't have to switch classes but it is highly recommended that you do (though you don't have to do all 12). Each class has their own specific quests ... MoreA fun mix between JRPG + Simulation game. Before you decide to invest in this game you need to understand exactly what this is. A lot of people compare it to Animal Crossing but it's more like Rune Factory or Disney Magical World if you've played those. There's a lot packed into this game so I'll try to briefly touch on everything without spoiling anything- Life/Class System - There are 12 different classes your character can become. You can switch your class as much as you want as frequent as you want in the game. Certain quests will require you to be at a higher level within the class though so keep that in mind. You don't have to switch classes but it is highly recommended that you do (though you don't have to do all 12). Each class has their own specific quests so if you don't switch you'll miss a huge chunk of the game's content. Also classes benefit off each other. For example you can be a paladin (aka mercenary/knight whatever you'd call it) and then switch to blacksmith so you can make your own weapons and armor instead of buying them with dosh (in-game money).- Story/Quests: The game is broken up into three things. Story quests, side quests and exploration. I'll be honest and say the story isn't that deep but it's pretty good and light hearted. There are tons of side quests that will sometimes distract you from the main story and you are free to explore the very vast map in game You will need to progress the story to open up more of the map but this is a game that w.

I can't recommend this game enough. I've spent over 84 hours on it so far and it's just absolutely fantastic. I tend to not enjoy games that are overly repetitive (looking at you, Lego), but though there is some backtracking in these games, the career process still makes it fabulously rewarding. For people who enjoy mini-games and never feel like there's enough in a given game, this title has an entertaining if youthful plot and the career system is basically one long running mini-game. I cannot express just how much I adore this game!Without giving away any of the plot, a quick break-down of the career system:Collecting careers, where you wander around the map and do various tasks to get items to craft or sell.Crafting careers, where you can make armor, food, or ... MoreI can't recommend this game enough. I've spent over 84 hours on it so far and it's just absolutely fantastic. I tend to not enjoy games that are overly repetitive (looking at you, Lego), but though there is some backtracking in these games, the career process still makes it fabulously rewarding. For people who enjoy mini-games and never feel like there's enough in a given game, this title has an entertaining if youthful plot and the career system is basically one long running mini-game. I cannot express just how much I adore this game!Without giving away any of the plot, a quick break-down of the career system:Collecting careers, where you wander around the map and do various tasks to get items to craft or sell.Crafting careers, where you can make armor, food, or weapons out of items you have bought or collected in other careers.Adventuring careers, where you basically go out and fight or hunt things (which will also allow you to collect materials).Not a fan of a given career type? There are others for you to try. You can buy and sell materials, so you don't have to collect everything you use. A well-rounded experience in each of the given careers is required to really reach higher classes in one, however, unless you have a lot of extra in-game currency!I was really nervous about switching careers for the first time, but you can still use the talents of a given career (and continue to level it up!) while actively pursuing another, so it's easy to build your skills more than o.

I have been having such fun with Fantasy Life. It does seem almost addictive, and I have been enjoying it more each day. I am a long time Animal Crossing fan, and although I don't personally happen to think that Fantasy Life is very similar to Animal Crossing, still it has a lot of appeal. Since I enjoy fishing best in Animal Crossing, I chose to be an angler first, and that has been fun.Fantasy Life provides a lot of quests to work on - - you will have over a dozen after just a few hours of game play. For example, my quests included catching particular types of fish, finding out how to get a pet or a better home. You don't really have to complete most of the quests by any particular time, but completing them allows you to progress and improve your skills. The ... MoreI have been having such fun with Fantasy Life. It does seem almost addictive, and I have been enjoying it more each day. I am a long time Animal Crossing fan, and although I don't personally happen to think that Fantasy Life is very similar to Animal Crossing, still it has a lot of appeal. Since I enjoy fishing best in Animal Crossing, I chose to be an angler first, and that has been fun.Fantasy Life provides a lot of quests to work on - - you will have over a dozen after just a few hours of game play. For example, my quests included catching particular types of fish, finding out how to get a pet or a better home. You don't really have to complete most of the quests by any particular time, but completing them allows you to progress and improve your skills. The quests and story line are similar to an RPG, or at least those are my thoughts.These quests create a more structured environment for your game play than in Animal Crossing. Yes, I can just go fish when I want to, but always in the back of my mind there are these quests and story line.(Edited to add:I had to change my 4 star review to 5 stars after a week or so - - this game REALLY grows on you and the more I play it, the better it gets. I love the quests and story line so much more now that I have made some progress in the game. If you feel even slightly disappointed with it, just keep playing because this is an amazing, terrific game that takes a while to develop.)The music/soundtrack in Fantasy Life is great, in my o.

This actually doesn't remind me very much of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory, because none of the lives are farming. Missed opportunity there, if you ask me. I also haven't seen anything related to befriending or romancing the villagers, or raising farm animals. So comparing this game to Harvest Moon isn't really accurate, except for the "video game that lets you do things other than fight monsters" part.I can't compare to Animal Crossing, because I never really got into that series myself.What I will compare this game to, however, is Final Fantasy XIV. As in that game, there are both combat and non-combat jobs available, and the game doesn't focus on any of them over any others. You go on quests, buy and sell items, upgrade your gear, just like in an MMO, except ... MoreThis actually doesn't remind me very much of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory, because none of the lives are farming. Missed opportunity there, if you ask me. I also haven't seen anything related to befriending or romancing the villagers, or raising farm animals. So comparing this game to Harvest Moon isn't really accurate, except for the "video game that lets you do things other than fight monsters" part.I can't compare to Animal Crossing, because I never really got into that series myself.What I will compare this game to, however, is Final Fantasy XIV. As in that game, there are both combat and non-combat jobs available, and the game doesn't focus on any of them over any others. You go on quests, buy and sell items, upgrade your gear, just like in an MMO, except without all those pesky other people around. You don't have to fight anything if you don't want to, but sometimes there are monsters standing near that tree you want to chop down. You can play just one job or switch between them all the time, just like in FFXIV.The music is great (I was on the fence until I heard Nobuo Uematsu), the character designs are cute (you've heard of Yoshitaka Amano, right), and the writing is SO AMAZING that I find myself smiling uncontrollably at the most mundane interactions. "Welcome to Castele General Goods! We don't just sell the goods, we sell the greats!" I can't wait to try out all of the jobs!

I was concerned this game would feel generic and not have too much character, because it doesn't have super distinctive branding, but it charmed me right away. I really enjoyed interacting with characters in the towns and within my professions. The main story is kinda hard to sit through, but you can get it over with pretty quickly and just jump back into the crud ton of quests, gathering, crafting, and exploring. (That said, when characters realize what their true wishes are during the story, a cute little thing happens that I find really sweet and still think about once in a while.)The big, green starting town is nice and all, but the other areas you discover (especially Port Puerto!! and some of the caverns and wilderness) are downright gorgeous. I think Castele ... MoreI was concerned this game would feel generic and not have too much character, because it doesn't have super distinctive branding, but it charmed me right away. I really enjoyed interacting with characters in the towns and within my professions. The main story is kinda hard to sit through, but you can get it over with pretty quickly and just jump back into the crud ton of quests, gathering, crafting, and exploring. (That said, when characters realize what their true wishes are during the story, a cute little thing happens that I find really sweet and still think about once in a while.)The big, green starting town is nice and all, but the other areas you discover (especially Port Puerto!! and some of the caverns and wilderness) are downright gorgeous. I think Castele Castle is butt ugly, so while judging the visual style and deciding whether to buy, ignore that.After switching from Fantasy Life to a different game for a while, I realized FA has really great sound and animation that make actions, like woodcutting and fighting, very satisfying. In comparison, the other games just didn't have that punch. In a game about running around doing tasks, it would be a crime not to make those tasks...fun, you know?Also, character creation is great, I have the best looking character, fight me.

Fantasy Life has easily become one of my new favorite games. There really is a lot to enjoy here. This a very detailed and creative world with elements of many great games, mixed together in an entertaining way, yet Fantasy Life forges out its own unique identity. The dialogue is funny and clever, and it reminds me a bit of classic Paper Mario writing. The adventuring has a little bit of a Zelda feel to it, with the sword play and exploring. There's aspects of Animal Crossing with the collecting of items and designing your room and outfit, if you like. And there are elements of Rune Factory in here too, with the simulation and crafting aspect.As for the atmosphere of the game, it's mostly has an upbeat and colorful vibe, though there are some slightly darker moments ... MoreFantasy Life has easily become one of my new favorite games. There really is a lot to enjoy here. This a very detailed and creative world with elements of many great games, mixed together in an entertaining way, yet Fantasy Life forges out its own unique identity. The dialogue is funny and clever, and it reminds me a bit of classic Paper Mario writing. The adventuring has a little bit of a Zelda feel to it, with the sword play and exploring. There's aspects of Animal Crossing with the collecting of items and designing your room and outfit, if you like. And there are elements of Rune Factory in here too, with the simulation and crafting aspect.As for the atmosphere of the game, it's mostly has an upbeat and colorful vibe, though there are some slightly darker moments mixed in as well, so the game does good work of keeping the story interesting. What I also very much enjoy is that the designers did great work with the interfaces and menus too. I didn't find the interface screens to be clunky or unclear. I felt as if there was a lot of thought put into the menus to make it very user friendly.If you enjoy light-hearted RPGs with catchy music, big, detailed world's to explore with great personality, clever writing, nice graphics,and a sense of humor, you'll enjoy this game. It really is a lot of fun with a great amount of depth.

I'm 19 hours into the game and just finished the main story. This game is just that addicting. In a fun way. Even with the main story finished, there's an enormous amount of content to explore, and that's not even considering the DLC. I can easily see logging over 100 hours.If I have any issues with the game:People talk too much. They talk and talk and talk. Mostly during the main quest lines, and at times you'll wonder if you're playing an RPG or a visual novel.Once you trigger a main quest line (and that also considers Live quest lines) you're sorta stuck in that arc until you finish it. There's a few points where you can take a break, but for the most part, if you need a break, just close the cover rather than waiting for a natural pause.Luckily, the main story ... MoreI'm 19 hours into the game and just finished the main story. This game is just that addicting. In a fun way. Even with the main story finished, there's an enormous amount of content to explore, and that's not even considering the DLC. I can easily see logging over 100 hours.If I have any issues with the game:People talk too much. They talk and talk and talk. Mostly during the main quest lines, and at times you'll wonder if you're playing an RPG or a visual novel.Once you trigger a main quest line (and that also considers Live quest lines) you're sorta stuck in that arc until you finish it. There's a few points where you can take a break, but for the most part, if you need a break, just close the cover rather than waiting for a natural pause.Luckily, the main story is not hard and the game's general progression will level you appropriately. I finished at level 25, and feeling cocky, I visited some new areas where some monsters took 50% of my health in two hits, so the difficulty is not so much in the main part, but post-game. And I haven't even touched multiplayer yet!And finally, one of those few games where I was compelled to watch the cutscenes. The game lets you skip them, but I didn't, they were just beautifully done. Overall, I really want to call this a "masterpiece".

One of the best RPG games I have ever played. I don't use the 3D effect too much but the features are still really beautiful. I like that you can chose 12 lives. I recommend to become efficient in every life class. I started off with the Paladin and use him as my main character with whom I do the Bliss Quests which is the main story line. To learn how to mine and fell trees and to fish is very useful while you explore the different areas. Other trades such as Blacksmith, Carpenter or Alchemist and Cook are also useful to learn. I like making my own furniture or cloths as example. Each life has its own set of quests. Even if I finish a quest while I am in a different life the game will let me know. The credit though for completing those quests can only be received ... MoreOne of the best RPG games I have ever played. I don't use the 3D effect too much but the features are still really beautiful. I like that you can chose 12 lives. I recommend to become efficient in every life class. I started off with the Paladin and use him as my main character with whom I do the Bliss Quests which is the main story line. To learn how to mine and fell trees and to fish is very useful while you explore the different areas. Other trades such as Blacksmith, Carpenter or Alchemist and Cook are also useful to learn. I like making my own furniture or cloths as example. Each life has its own set of quests. Even if I finish a quest while I am in a different life the game will let me know. The credit though for completing those quests can only be received once you change into the life to which the quests belongs to. I try to keep an balance between fighting my way through the game and trying to create items I can sell or use for myself or meals I can also sell. In the game you have a general leveling up and also a certain level you can gain through your quests within a that life. Once you finish a certain pain in the main story you also invite other characters in the game to fight with you and you can play through your internet with other players once you befriend them and they own this game as well. I know the game can be redundant, you always have to collect items or constantly have to battle monsters, but I also like games like Harvest Moon or Rune Factory or Pok.