Fantasy Life - Review

This last month has passed between titles that have required a great deal of work, such as The Sims 4 and Destiny. We would have liked so much to disconnect and leave for a journey into a fantastic world, perhaps populated by hundreds of magical creatures, full of mysteries and secrets to reveal, of missions to complete and materials to collect, full of trades, those of the past. and the magical ones, an enchanted world where our virtual alter-ego could have grown, developing their skills, learning new skills and, in their free time, furnishing their home, an enchanted universe in which to live our life by choosing step by step. I pass the path to be faced. Thanks to Level-5 all this has been possible, we have recently returned from Fantasy Life yet, we can't wait to leave!

A dream life

After the series of the Professor Layton e White Knight Chronicles, after the wonderful universe of Ni No Kuni, after the football exploits of Inazuma Eleven and the last Dragon Quest, Level-5, for a long time now (Do you remember Dark Cloud for PS2?) a symbol of quality and excellence in the videogame market, he pulls out of his cauldron a title that brings to mind the magic of the first Legend of Zelda. An adventure that flows simple, at times linear but, beware, never banal. An immense universe to play and understand from top to bottom, where a secret can be hidden in every corner.
Fantasy Life really amazed us from the very first minutes of the game where a small editor allowed us to create a mini character being able to choose between faces, mouths, skin color, eyes, accessories and even professions.

In fact, once we have created our mini-hero by customizing it thanks to a fair variety of options, we will be able to give it a job, which will keep us company throughout the adventure and which can be chosen from over 10 available. The chosen profession will not only characterize the dress of our character but all the growth of the character and some phases of the main adventure. Our story will start from CASTLES, the capital of the kingdom of Dreaming in which, thanks to a letter from the King, we will finally be able to start a profession. Each job has its own "intro" or some introductory missions that will enable you to the profession by letting you know the supporting actors of your adventure.  There are a total of 12 Professions, linked to unique technical skills and equipment that can only be used by a certain profession. Does this mean that we will have to start the game 12 times to be able to play it fully? Absolutely not! Through the leaders of the various Guilds of Professions we could change profession at any time by accessing those skills that were previously unattainable and keeping the old ones already acquired. In Fantasy Life there are in fact 4 types of level growth:

The character growth system, which will allow us to increase the stats of our character and depending on the statistic chosen will also affect the profession or a series of them. For example, if you provide Bonus Points, which you will get by gaining experience in completing missions and eliminating monsters, the "Strength" statistic will increase the effectiveness of the Paladin, Woodcutter and Miner professions.

The skills, which instead are the real focus of the game, can only be unlocked by practicing a certain profession or by fulfilling a particular requirement. The latter have an upgrade system different from the character and can be increased simply by using them often, but pay attention to the strength point bar, similar to MP, vital for any skill and which will recharge over time or thanks to healing items.

Development of the License, obtained at the beginning of each profession, will be increased over time by satisfying specific requirements, completing missions, etc. that will provide Star Points and which can be exchanged with the Guild leader for the passage of the license.

Growth of Happiness, there are certain actions in Fantasy Life, such as earning 1000 Lyr for the first time or helping someone, which will give you happiness points. These Points can be exchanged with Franfalla, the talking Butterfly who accompanies every new hero from the start of the game and who will provide you with rewards depending on your level of Happiness. Rewards can be simple items to beautify your home, increased inventory capacity, or the ability to take an animal with you and even the ability to use a horse for faster travel.

To peep into the game there is also the possibility of furnishing the houses which can be bought from the real estate agency usually located in the large capitals of Reveria. These little houses, which are reduced to small rooms, can be filled with the items provided by the game to add an extra level of customization to the adventure. In fact, the game allows you to meet players online, to visit their homes and to exchange useful items for the continuation of the missions.

We haven't had a chance to sample all the Profession classes available in the adventure because to finish the title, following only the main plot, it takes about 40 hours, to which as many must be added to complete all the numerous extra sections that we can find in the classic post-game.

As we said a few lines above, there are a total of 12 professions available but once you have maximized a profession you can choose to undertake another one by becoming a master in all the professions of the game:

Paladin
Soldier of the king, always ready to face monsters and defend those in difficulty.

Mercenary
In anyone's pay, this profession is very similar to the Paladin but often freer in terms of gameplay.

Cacciatore
Equipped with hunting skills, he can get food by hunting animals from the game universe.

Mago
Equipped with Magic and able to cast spells, he can use the latter to overcome otherwise insurmountable portions of gameplay.

Cook

One of the funniest jobs, and one of those we have explored the most. Expert in cooking skills, he will have to choose the right ingredients for his dishes, travel the world in search of new recipes and overcome small quick time events in order to prepare a dish.

Pescatore
Equipped with the Fishing skill, he will be able to fish in every pool of water in the game in search of legendary fish.

Woodcutter
Able to cut down trees will provide the essential elements for the carpenter.

Miner
The other profession that we have tried thoroughly, will lead us in search of the precious metals hidden in the caves of Reveria. These metals can then be sold or forged to earn money and create new weapons not found in stores. Thanks to his pickaxe, the miner can dig any mining vein in search of gold and precious stones with a simple press of the action key.

Blacksmith
Able to work iron, he can bend metals at his will and forge unique weapons.

Carpenter
A great wood worker, he will be able to create furniture for home furnishings.

Tailor
If you are looking for a new dress every day, the Tailor is the job for you. Thanks to special fabrics he will be able to create magical clothes.

Alchemist
Equipped with the ability of Alchemy, he will be able to merge the numerous materials of the game, always creating new combinations.

In addition to the Level up system, the other system to master it is that of Crafting: creating objects and collecting materials is in fact one of the prerogatives of this title that will lead us to collect an infinity of herbs, stones, animals, insects, gems, liquids, metals and so on and so forth, which can be used for the creation of as many materials and objects.

Fantasy Life is varied and full of things to do, it never gets boring and yes, even cooks know how to fight! In fact, regardless of the class chosen, all the characters will have to leave on a great journey that will lead them to visit all of Reveria, a journey fraught with dangers but which denotes the low difficulty of the enemy AI, which will only be heard in some post-game missions. The low level of difficulty, however, is compensated for by everything else: Fantasy Life is a magical, beautiful and simple adventure, to be experienced at 360 degrees by deepening every aspect. The fights are in real time and are very similar to those present in Zelda with the enemies that circulate around the game world that you just need to get close to start fighting. Some classes will be more devoted to facing enemies, while others will learn to skilfully circumvent them using skills such as Stealth and Magic. We will be able to choose the path to face and the enemies to fight that change according to the time of day, the time is in fact calculated in Fantasy Life and we will often see the long days spent collecting objects and exploring mysterious caves, coming to an end while the night he buys our adventures after a beautiful sunset.

The game graphics are somewhere between classic cel-shading and funny and cartoonish three-dimensional polygonal models, Level-5 did not create a plot of a great colossal full of numerous twists but it is an element that easily fades into the background thanks to the harmony and lightness that reigns in the continent of Reveria. Epicness is matched with humor, sometimes childish, but do not think that a world like this cannot give you satisfaction because getting a license to the maximum level is a great effort and is priceless. Our little polygonal hero, placed under the watchful eye of the classic isometric view, moves in a colorful and extremely lively universe: from animals to plants, from nature to man, everything in Fantasy Life has been studied in detail with an obsessive eye for detail. There are hundreds of faces that you will meet during the adventure and yet you will hardly experience that feeling of deja-vu looking at any NPC that is part of the scenario.

The locations are wonderful, if it were possible to book I would recommend a holiday in the continent of Reveria to everyone. No place is the same as another and every element of the scenario sprays fantasy from all the pixels creating a universe that looks like the summary of the worlds of the top 10 final Fantasy. The stereoscopic mode is among the best seen on 3DS, after the levels reached with the last Professor Layton we certainly did not expect less from the Level-5 studios.

FINAL COMMENT

We have been to Reveria and we want to come back as soon as possible, this is the first thought after taking your hands off the Nintendo home console. Fantasy Life is one of the best titles you can find on 3DS, the result of a great experience and technique in the world of fantasy, and not, acquired by Level-5 in these last 15 years of work. From graphics to the mix of various videogame types, 12 professions to discover and a mysterious universe to conquer, Fantasy Life is a masterpiece that expands and improves the limits of genre titles, capable of thrilling the little ones and moving the grown-ups. If you have a Nintendo 3DS this title cannot be missing in your collection, treat yourself to a great life, you deserve it!