Fantasy Life

Since I finished Bravely Default, I have picked up Fantasy Life. This was a game my oldest son (Ty) had gotten a while ago. My husband had been playing it, but I confiscated it from him. I'll give it back eventually.

Fantasy Life is a fairly standard RPG game. There are times where it almost seems like it's parodying the genre. As far as game play goes, it is pretty easy, at least so far. I'll admit I'm not very far in the game--following my standard style, I'm moving through it at a snail's pace. It almost feels like a game designed for younger children, except for the vocabulary. It periodically throws in words that are probably not in most adults' repertoire.

My favorite part about the game is the different classes or lives as they are called in this game. I especially like the crafting jobs. There are 12 different jobs to choose from: four combat related (Paladin, Mercenary, Hunter, and Wizard), three gathering professions (Woodcutter, Miner, and Angler), and five crafting jobs (Cook, Carpenter, Blacksmith, Tailor, and Alchemist). My favorite within those is the Tailor (no surprise there). I like that you are encouraged to play several different jobs, and I especially like that you can craft from outside your profession as long as you've started it at some point. So, if my character is currently a Blacksmith, I can go to the tailoring area and craft fabric. This is very convenient as several of the recipes require items from other crafts. I could go buy those craft items, but I'd prefer to make them myself. If I had to change jobs every time I wanted to access a particular craft, it would get very cumbersome.

I would have to say my least favorite part of the game is the main story line, which, so far, seems pretty weak. Again though, I am not very far into it, so maybe it'll improve. I also dislike the Butterfly that is the driving force behind the story, which may also tie into why I dislike the story. I guess I have a thing against small annoying sidekick-like characters (Navi from Legend of Zelda being the most well known character of this type). Incidentally, although Bravely Default has one of these characters as well, [spoiler]I at least got to kill her in the end![/spoiler]

The overall design of Fantasy Life is very cutesy, which I like. So far, I'm enjoying it. I'll pass judgment on the game as a whole once I finish it... assuming I finish it, which could be next month, next year, or never. =P I'm fairly notorious about picking up games and never quite finishing them.