Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time sold over 500,000 copies in its first three days, even boasting thousands of "very positive" reviews on Steam. To celebrate, an illustration was shared to X alongside a post sharing the team's gratitude for those who have started a new life.
But as happy as I am about the fact so many people are enjoying the new slow-life RPG, I can't help but think of the global release of Fantasy Life in 2014 (2012 in Japan) and how different the reception was.
It didn't receive bad reviews by any means, but those published at the time weren't exactly shining either. One review that really stood out was from the Guardian, stating "living the dream? Not quite" in the title before giving it three stars.
In fact, a lot of the reviews from 2014 shared that the gameplay felt "rudimentary" and the pacing sluggish, but the high praise of the newest installment is an obvious sign that things have drastically improved over the last decade and a bit.
One user even shared to Reddit that Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is the "best game they've played in a long time" and went on to say in the comments that a number of changes have been made to improve the experience. Just a brief look at the Steam reviews show many praising the game after 11 years of waiting for a sequel, which certainly shows there's an appetite for it.
The love for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time seems real, and has certainly been reflected in sales. It's certainly piqued my interest now that I've seen so many people enjoying themselves, but I know the second I start my own adventure I'll probably lose hundreds of hours to it. Fortunately, I'm sure I can persuade more of the team here to play too, so stay tuned.
