Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Due to its numerous delays, I was somewhat skeptical when I first got my hands on Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. However, as the hours passed, I realized that I was in for a new gem of the genre, with plenty of activities to do, a story full of charismatic characters and a high level of customization.

If you’re keen on trying out Level-5’s long-awaited sequel, this is absolutely the best way to play on Nintendo systems.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time starts off rather slowly, but it quickly shows us what the game is all about: doing a lot of things in a simple, accessible, and most importantly, rewarding way. Its myriad tasks, whether combat, crafting or hoarding related, joined with the exploration and the plot make this a delightful experience that we find ourselves getting back to all the time, and it all fits nicely as it should.

I was nervous for Fantasy Life i, because I truly loved the 3DS original and was not that optimistic that Level-5 could capture the same magic a decade later. For the most part, they did. This has the addictive gameplay loop of completing quests and furthering your lives in tandem. This has the seemingly endless parade of adorable touches filled with cute writing. In a way, even the ambitious scope that threatens to sometimes take down the whole thing is reminiscent of the original and the era that its developer Level-5 was going through with the success of Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch. If Fantasy Life i is representative of what they’re going to be doing going forward with the likes of Professor Layton, I’m becoming more and more hopeful that they’ll be able to reach their old heights. Fantasy Life i is enjoyable even with its occasional slips. I’m happy to be back juggling my multiple jobs of Angler, Paladin, Blacksmith, and Artist.