After playing copious amounts of Animal Crossing (AC), I saw tidbits of Fantasy Life (FL) on the Tumblrs I would visit every so often. Intrigued, I watched the trailer and left with the impression of “eh, maybe.” Then, in November, a friend asked if I had the game because she really enjoyed it. I told her I would see if there were any deals for the holidays. There weren’t, but I ended up snagging a couple of copies – one for me and one for my sister (her Xmas present). Needless to say, it is now our Currently Playing game.

One of the more difficult things in switching games is getting used to the graphics and the controls. For example, the brain has to rewire what pressing X does (X brings up your inventory in Animal Crossing (AC) while it does nothing (depending on context) in Fantasy Life (FL)). Then, your eyes have to adjust to a new set of graphics. While the graphics are cutesy and similar to AC, I found myself wishing there were a zoom in FL, but eventually I adjusted.

FL is the MMO that’s not a MMO. I jokingly think of it as what the original MMOs should have done in the first place. The architecture is such that you can pick up different Lives (aka, classes) on a single character. No need for multiple alts and play Let’s Shuffle Inventories between them.

There are 12 Lives and a couple of stats that dictate each one, e.g., Dexterity and Strength for Hunters, Intelligence and Focus for Magicians. The Lives can be further broken down into combat-based (Hunter, Paladin, Mercenary, Magician), gathering-based (Woodcutting, Mining, Fishing), and craft-based (Blacksmith, Carpenter, Cook, Tailor, Alchemist).

Each Life has its own set of “levels” as well as the overall level of your character. Meaning, the more you do something associated with a Life, the higher that Life’s levels will increase. For example, being a Carpenter has level bars for Carpentry, Weapons Carpentry, Tools Carpentry, and Furniture Carpentry. While only one Life can be active at a time, you don’t have to have a particular Life active to use the work stations. e.g., I can be a Hunter and work at the carpentry workstation, but special moves associated with the Carpenter won’t be available.

While I generally opt for a fast melee DPS class (e.g., thief), ranged DPS (e.g., Hunter) is my fallback before I pick up a tank. I went Hunter and my sister picked up Alchemist first before getting frustrated with her paltry dagger weapon, which is available to all Lives. We eventually worked out a complimentary system such that we each have all of the gathering Lives, but we specialize in the different crafting Lives. This diversity allows us to share the work to craft the items we need.

FL has a main storyline and then what I refer to as “free play” in that you can roam the world, finish up Life-specific quests, and most importantly, play co-op. During the storyline quest, you’re not allowed to co-op, but you can knock off Life-specific quests or fill out NPC requests.

Storyline quests are triggered by a variable called Bliss. Bliss is both a currency and requests that are tied to your butterfly companion (aptly named “Butterfly”). Butterfly will have a set of requests to talk to certain NPCs. Then, when you return to your base, you can talk to Butterfly to tally up the Bliss points you earned from talking to those NPCs and any points you have earned from simply playing the game (e.g., picking up a new Life will give Bliss, every 10 levels will award Bliss, and so on). Every X Bliss points, you can choose a Bliss reward, such as a bigger bag, a bigger storage, “buffs” to shopping, enabling pets, and so on. When you fulfill all of Butterfly’s current requests, you can trigger the storyline quest.

Storyline quests are little chunks (or Chapters) of directed play. As in many RPGs, you play a pivotal role in the story. What’s more, each Chapter opens up a little bit more of the world. My sister and I have been progressing slowly story-wise because we are more focused on building up our Lives. When we reach a threshold with our Lives, then we’ll do the next storyline quest. And repeat. I find it oddly amusing that this is one of the few games I’m not rushing to finish.

So, there is a lot to do and perhaps it is a little repetitive in the traditional MMO sense. Kill x of y, make z of w, … but what makes it fun is the co-op. Since storyline quests are solo, my sister and I will team up to knock off our Life quests. Some of the bosses, like the dinos, big birds, and wraiths are easier to finish off together than alone. Not to mention, it has led to some very hilarious hours of play. The finesse that is required in MMO raids is not required against bosses, but there is still a need for situational awareness.

Finally, there are hints of AC sprinkled throughout FL. You can buy houses around the world of Reveria, which allows you to decorate as you like and gives you fast-travel destinations (basically, warp points). What makes it more fun is the Carpenter can make furniture and other items to decorate your house with. Then, there are fruit trees to shake, which you can consume to replenish health or use in Cooking recipes. NPCs will have requests for you to gather something for them.

FL is a fun handheld MMO-esque game. It’s good for casual play and the co-op is a big plus. Another plus is the music authored by Nobuo Uematsu, who has done soundtracks for the Final Fantasy series and other big name titles. I would recommend it if you need something a little more laid back, something to pass the time with, and/or need something cute but not brainless. My sister has dubbed it the Best Game Ever.