Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time—LEVEL-5’s Latest Nintendo Switch RPG Scores High in Famitsu Review

LEVEL-5 has once again captured the attention of role-playing game enthusiasts with its newest release for the Nintendo Switch—Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time.

This latest entry in the acclaimed Fantasy Life series made headlines after its Cross Review in Weekly Famitsu, Japan’s longest-running gaming magazine, where it received an impressive score of 36 out of a possible 40.

Famitsu's renowned review panel, consisting of four critics, each awarded the Nintendo Switch RPG a score of 9, signaling overwhelming approval from some of Japan’s most respected gaming voices. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time invites players to embark on a new adventure set on the ruined shores of Mysteria Island.

LEVEL-5, renowned for its creative storytelling and engaging life-simulation mechanics, once again places players in a world where exploration, city-building, and time-travel are at the forefront.

On this journey, players can customize their avatars with a wide variety of options, tailoring everything from hairstyle to facial features, before plunging into Reveria’s past and present to restore and reshape the island. One of the standout features in Fantasy Life i is the freedom players have to choose from a variety of ‘Lives’—the game’s version of character classes or jobs.

Each Life comes with its distinctive abilities and content, allowing users to engage in gathering, crafting, combat, or social roles as they see fit.

The versatility in gameplay is matched by robust multiplayer functionality: up to four players can connect either locally or online via the Nintendo Switch to collaboratively build their ideal island or embark on cooperative objectives. LEVEL-5 highlights several core features that make this installment unique: - **Avatar Customization**: Deep personalization options for creating a unique in-game identity. - **Expansive Life System**: Multiple jobs/lives, each offering varied mechanics and playstyles. - **Island Restoration and City-Building**: Gather resources in the past to influence and restore Mysteria Island in the present. - **Online and Local Multiplayer**: Up to four players can explore, build, and quest together for a shared experience. - **Time-Travel Mysteries**: Encounter enigmatic objects known as Strangelings, which tie into a central narrative mystery spanning a thousand years. Weekly Famitsu’s review underscores the game’s accessible yet deep gameplay, praising LEVEL-5 for balancing relaxed life simulation with adventure and narrative intrigue.

According to Famitsu’s assessment, the blend of city-building, job-based progression, and cooperative play distinguishes Fantasy Life i from other RPGs available on the Nintendo Switch. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is scheduled for global release on May 21, 2025, both in physical formats at retail and digitally via the Nintendo eShop.

LEVEL-5 has also confirmed that a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game will follow at a later date, ensuring the title stays at the forefront of Nintendo’s evolving hardware platforms. With its high praise from Weekly Famitsu and a host of fresh gameplay features, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is poised to be a must-play title for Nintendo Switch RPG fans and long-term supporters of the Fantasy Life series.

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