FANTASY LIFE i is all about mastering a variety of different jobs and classes, each with their own strengths, playstyles and rewards.
Here’s everything you need to know about the core gameplay of this cozy, adventure RPG.
All classes and jobs in FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time
The original Nintendo DS game had 12 Lives in total. FANTASY LIFE i retains all of these Lives, including two more, totalling 14 different “classes” you can level up.
The game starts with your player character set as “Brand New”, the default Life. You start off with a stick as your equipment. This Life does not function the same as the others as you are aiming to level up all of the Lives other than this starter one.
Lives are categorized into three types: Combat, Gathering, and Crafting. Each one comes with their own benefits and reasons to play since you can’t master one without the other. Here’s a breakdown of the unique attributes of each Life type:
- Combat: For exploration of the land.
- Gathering: For selling to merchants or as resources for crafting purposes.
- Crafting: Makes use of your resources.
| Life | Type of Life | Equipment | Playstyle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paladin | Combat | Sword and Shield | Balances offense and defense, making it a viable beginner combat life choice |
| Mercenary | Combat | Greatsword | Much slower gameplay compared to the other combat lives because of the weapon of choice. Dodge successfully to ultilise the equipment |
| Hunter | Combat | Bow and Arrow | Can fight from a greater distance, dealing damage over time |
| Magician | Combat | Staff | Versatile fighter due to the plethora of spells at your disposal. Play at a distance to keep your character away from harm because the Magician has weak defenses |
| Miner | Gathering | Pickaxe | Mine for useful resources that you can then use to upgrade your equipment |
| Woodcutter | Gathering | Axe | Wood gathering |
| Angler | Gathering | Rod | Fishing |
| Cook | Gathering | Frying Pan | Create recipes that aids you in battle. |
| Blacksmith | Crafting | Hammer | Makes resources into materials, used to create different types of equipment. |
| Carpenter | Crafting | Saw | Create useable items, tools for different Lives, and furniture pieces. |
| Tailor | Crafting | Needle | Create different outfits, both for cosmetic purposes and stat boosting (such as armor) |
| Alchemist | Crafting | Flask | Create concoctions, potions and bombs that aids you in battle. Can also craft accessories. |
| Artist | Crafting | Brush | Create items for your home. |
| Farmer | Crafting | Hoe | Use seeds, grow crops, and acquire ingredients to use in other Lives. |
How to unlock Lives
Only two of the 14 Lives need to be unlocked. These are the two new Lives of Artist and Farmer. Artist unlocks during chapter five and Farmer during chapter four.
Regardless of the Life you choose initially, you’ll need to complete a tutorial quest. After you become a Fledgling in your first Life role, you can skip the tutorial in the rest of them. You can swap Lives at the Guild and become a Fledgling once you’ve spoken to the Master of your selected Life. These characters can be found in the following:
- Cuna the Paladin: Eternia Village’s Guild Hall
- Marcen the Mercenary: Eternia Village’s Inn
- Arche the Hunter: Eternia Village
- Oz the Magician: Eternia Village’s Goddess Statue
- Meralda the Miner: Eternia Village
- Leela the Woodcutter: Eternia Village
- Gramps the Angler: Eternia Village’s pier
- Cocott the Cook: Eternia Village’s Restaurant
- Hammerhead the Blacksmith: Eternia Village’s Shop
- Daiku the Carpenter: Eternia Village, West
- Sue the Tailor: Eternia Village, West
- Chemmel the Alchemist: Eternia Village
- Paulette the Artist: Piccas Resort
- Inaji the Farmer: Terrasa Farm
Best Life to start
The goal of the game is to master all of these Lives, but knowing where to start can be tricky. You’ll want to focus on one Life until the story pushes you into a new, specific direction. Since Crafting Lives are resource heavy especially early on, we recommend any of the Crafting Lives as your first Life. This is because this type focuses on foraging, a free way of gathering resources early.
Focus on accumulating a variety of items by foraging to sell and make quick and easy cash. These items will also serve as essential resources for more advanced Lives later in the future, such as the Alchemist, which often requires multiple materials.
Eventually, you’ll be able to effectively juggle as many Lives as you want. Once you acquire a Life license, you can switch to the Life relevant to the activity you’re partaking in.
