When asked about which game lets you customize your character, decorate your home, and collect items that you can sell and forge into different goods, you'll probably think of Nintendo’s Animal Crossing first. But there’s another game that lets you do all that and more. Developed by Level-5 and released for the 3DS, Fantasy Life is an RPG that lets you experience Life. Literally.

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Although it might initially feel like an Animal Crossing clone, Fantasy Life is anything but. The game's overarching plot, combat system, a huge world, and delightfully charming characters all help to create a truly unique experience.

10 Storyline

There’s not much of a storyline in Animal Crossing. Besides completing all the museum galleries and paying off your mortgage, Animal Crossing is focused more on everyday occurrences than plot. That’s not the same as in Fantasy Life. In Fantasy Life, you’ll be whisked away on a magical journey that will take you all over the land of Reveria.

You’ll get to visit forests, caves, beaches, and deserts all while uncovering the mystery behind the Doomstones and your butterfly friend. Additionally, Fantasy Life picks up from where you last saved, so you can rest assured knowing that you didn’t accidentally abandon all your hard work after not playing for a month.

9 Life And Lives

Apart from a job you had at Tom Nook’s shop in earlier games, you don’t exactly have a career in Animal Crossing. But in Fantasy Life, your new Life is kind of like your career. There are twelve Lives for you to choose from, ranging from the mighty, sword-wielding Paladin to the talented and fashionable Tailor. All Lives have their own advantages and disadvantages, and each has its own ranking system.

The more you engage with your chosen Life, the better you become at it. But if you are having second thoughts about the Life you chose, no need to panic! You can always change your Life for a new one. So, if prefer learning magical spells to catching fish, feel free to make the switch. Speaking of magic…

8 Magic

In Animal Crossing, the only magic that is present is the magic of the game's feel-good atmosphere. In Fantasy Life's action-packed adventure, you can wield magic as long as you try out the Wizard's Life. And as a Wizard, you are given the ability to cast both healing and attack spells on your enemies.

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When engaging in combat, not only will you be able to hack and slash with your weapon, but you’ll be able to use Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind magic to send those baddies flying. Oh, by the way, there’s fighting in Fantasy Life too.

7 Fighting

The closest you might get to 'fighting' in Animal Crossing is hitting your annoying neighbors with a bug net till they get angry. Fantasy Life’s fighting is a bit more engaging. Once you leave the safety of Castele, you’ll come face to face with many ferocious opponents. From wolves to Bandits to a giant carrot (called a Carrotella), you’ll have to defeat these monsters with nothing but your wits and your dagger.

But fear not! These foes won’t stay scary forever. In fact, if you pick a specific Life, you’ll be able to defend yourself using swords, shields, magic, arrows, and bombs. Even if you chose a more laid-back Life, you’d be surprised at how quickly you can level up your dagger skills.

6 Quests

Occasionally in Animal Crossing, you’ll be asked to do simple favors for your neighbors. Sometimes it’s delivering a letter or a present, and sometimes it’s finding a new outfit for the asker. These 'favors' are a little more complicated in Fantasy Life. In Fantasy Life, you are given three categories of Quests to accomplish. There are Challenges, that tie directly to your chosen Life, Butterfly’s Requests, which help to advance the plot, and Other Requests, which are tasks that NPCs will give you.

Each Quest gives you a different reward following their completion. Challenges will help you level up your Life skills, Butterfly’s Requests gives you Bliss, and Other Requests supplies you with money and items to use on your adventures. It’s a lot to remember but don't worry, these Quests can be done whenever you like. So, if you feel like sitting back and relaxing, do that!

5 Pets

Besides a couple of fishes and bugs you can display lovingly in your home, there’s not a lot of pet-owning in Animal Crossing. (Plus, having a pet would be super awkward considering the types of characters who might be your neighbors.) But, in Fantasy Life, you can own a pet once you have collected enough Bliss.

Bliss is obtained through Butterfly’s Requests. When enough is accumulated, you can then exchange it for features that will make your Life more enjoyable. These include a bigger bag, more storage, and yes, owning a pet. After adopting your new dog or cat friend, you can then take them out adventuring and have them attack enemies. Yup, definitely not like Animal Crossing.

4 Allies

Once you have completed the necessary tasks or in-game chapters, you’ll be able to ally yourself with Fantasy Life's cast of charming characters. These partners will fight by your side and join you while you explore Reveria. Your allies can assist you with those especially tough monster fights (like the Napdragon) or just keep you company in case you get lonely.

If you managed to purchase the game’s DLC, you’ll be able to unlock your mentors from the twelve different Lives to help you out. If, however, you missed the chance to do so, don’t worry about it! You'll still be able to partner up with many cool and unique characters. Like a princess and a pirate!

3 Leveling Up

You don’t really 'level up' in Animal Crossing. Sure, after certain milestones are passed, you can unlock new features, but your character stays relatively the same from start to end (with the occasional outfit swap). In Fantasy Life, all you’re running around and monster fighting is rewarded with experience points. With enough EXP, you’ll be able to level up and become even stronger.

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Each level-up will also give you Stat points to use to increase one of your base stats. These include Strength, Vitality, Intelligence, Focus, Dexterity, and Luck. Not only will improving your stats help you on the battlefield, but it will also help you excel in your Life. After all, it’s hard to cook if you don’t have the Focus to do so.

2 World Map

Sure, Animal Crossing has places to explore besides your small town. But even though a city, a downtown area, and different deserted islands are fun to visit, they are more of an expansion of your little hometown. In Fantasy Life, there are so many different locations to explore in Reveria. There’s Castele, Port Puerto, Al Maajik, and Levitania.

Though that might not sound like a lot, each area is made up of several connecting districts. For example, within Castele, you can visit the Grassy Plains, the Elderwoods, and even climb Mt Snowpeak. So, gather your party of allies and explore to your heart’s content.

1 Housing

When it comes to your living arrangements in Animal Crossing, you either stay at a randomly generated location, or you pick the spot you want to live in. And, apart from New Horizons where you can move your house, your living space is permanent. This is different in Fantasy Life.

In addition to being able to move from your attic home to a new, unoccupied house in the city of Castele, you can also own a Holiday Home in Port Puerto and Al Maajik. Not only will this give you more rooms to customize, but you will also be able to fast travel between your homes, thus saving you precious gaming time. In total, you can own three houses in Reveria. Even more, if you have the DLC!

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