4h4948

Taito announced its latest piece of Final Fantasy XIV merchandise heading to arcades in Japan, and it is a squishy squeeze toy based on the Cornservant from FFXIV Dawntrail. It will show up on June 28, 2025. 

The Cornservant squeeze toy is a squishy toy that, when squeezed, causes the ear of Turali Corn to pop out of the husk body. It looks exactly like the character from the MMORPG. It will sit at about three and a half inches tall (nine cm) and be able to be displayed when not being squeezed.

Here’s a closer look at the character, as well as what it looks like when someone squeezes it.

The Final Fantasy XIV Cornservant NPC is part of a whole storyline of its own that kicked off in the FFXIV Dawntrail questline that started with “Corn of Necessity.” During them, our Warriors of Light accompany the Curious Corn NPC, then go around talking to hungry individuals. As part of it, we can eventually earn a Cornservant Minion for finishing “Tasteful Memories.” 

This comes after another Final Fantasy XIV merchandise selection from Taito based on FFXIV Dawntrail characters. In May 2025, plush keychains based on the Outrunner appeared. 

Final Fantasy XIV and the FFXIV Dawntrail expansion are available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

The post FFXIV Cornservant Turned Into Squishy Squeeze Toy appeared first on Siliconera.

A new 5.7 Genshin Impact Special Program will appear on June 6, 2025, and the image HoYoVerse shared teased the appearance of Dainsleif and the Traveler’s sibling again. It will air at 5am PT/8am ET/2pm CET. This is expected to be one of the last 5.0 series updates before we head to Snezhnaya with the 6.0 updates.

The new Genshin Impact teaser image features the male version of the Traveler, Aether, alongside Dainsleif as his sibling Lumine appears tearing through the darkness. Since Aether is used as the default protagonist for this imagery, Lumine could replace that in a player’s story. As the storyline with all three of these characters appears during the interludes that come after the main storyline of a region concludes and leads into a new one, that’s likely what is happening here. For example, the “Caribert” act showed up as a break between Sumeru and Fontaine, and “Bedtime Story” came between Fontaine and Natlan. 

 We know the two characters who will appear in 5.7 and be a big part of this Special Program. Skirk and Dahlia will both appear. Skirk is the five-star unit who is tied to Childe, as she helped train him when he fell into the Abyss. Meanwhile, Dahlia is a new Mondstadt character.

Genshin Impact is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Special Program for 5.7 airs at 5am PT/8am ET/2pm CET on June 6, 2025.

The post Dainsleif Shown in Genshin Impact Special Program 5.7 Teaser appeared first on Siliconera.

There could be Hollow Knight: Silksong news soon, data regarding the PC version of the game changed on the Steam DB website. Two pages shows adjustments appeared on June 3, 2025, with a ChangeNumber adjustment and two depot additions. The actual product page on the storefront appears unchanged. [Thanks, CommodoreKong on Resetera!]

This is a substantial amount of action on the Steam DB pages that track Steam backend changes and updates for the PC version of Hollow Knight: Silksong. The one listing featured Changelist #29337185, Changelist #29337189, and Changelist #29337309. That involved it shifting from ChangeNumber 24965705 to 29337185, then 29337185 to 29337189, and finally that to 29337309. The depots 1030301, 1030302, and 1030303 also all appeared. The second only featured a ChangeNumber alteration from 22736671 to 29339689. 

There’d been quite a gap since there were any changes to the Steam files. One noted the ChangeNumber went from 22736671 to 24965705 back in August 2024. That was 10 months ago. The second listing hadn’t changed since March 2024, as the ChangeNumber went from 5782401 to 22736671. That was 15 months ago.

We do know the game is on the way soon. It will be a part of a museum exhibit at ACMI Game Worlds in September 2025. It also apparently has a 2025 release window following multiple delays.

Hollow Knight: Silksong will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC via Steam in 2025, and it will be featured at the ACMI in Melbourne, Australia, between September 18, 2025 and February 8, 2026.

The post Steam DB Reported Hollow Knight: Silksong PC Data Changes appeared first on Siliconera.

A manga version of Street Fighter 6 focusing on Luke, aptly named Street Fighter: Luke Rising, will start serialization from June 29, 2025 in CoroCoro Comic. Yoshio Mokomokomaru Masao will draw the manga.

In the announcement Tweet from the official CoroCoro Comic X (formerly Twitter) , we can see the artist’s take on Luke and Ryu. There is also a rougher page of Luke posing, with other characters behind him in smaller s. Yoshio Mokomokomaru Masao previously worked on Gaming Ojou-sama, as well as contributed multiple one-shot comics, which you can read on the Shonen Jump website.

This collaboration between Capcom and CoroCoro is to commemorate the second anniversary of Street Fighter 6. The game came out in early June 2023 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. The arcade version of the game came out in December of the same year. Luke is the poster boy of Street Fighter 6, and he debuted in the series as a DLC character for V. He was also a major character in Street Fighter 6’s story, which is likely why he’s headlining a new manga series.

The Street Fighter: Luke Rising manga will start serialization from the June 29, 2025 issue of CoroCoro Comic. Street Fighter 6 is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. It is also in arcades. The Nintendo Switch 2 version will come out on June 5, 2025.

The post Street Fighter 6 Manga to Star Luke appeared first on Siliconera.

Myethos announced its next Genshin Impact figure will be a take on the five-star Electro character Keqing in a Resplendent Feast costume. It will cost ¥7,260 (~$51). Worldwide shipping is available from the official online store via Buyee. It is expected to ship sometime in February 2026. Pre-orders will remain open until July 31, 2025. 

This Genshin Impact Keqing figure in a Resplendent Feast costume is part of the Myethos Gift+ line. She is a static figure at 1/8 scale. This means she’s almost eight and a half inches tall (215mm). There’s a base included, and it’s made of translucent plastic. There are also some translucent elements to her bows in her hair and on her dress. 

Here’s a closer look at her from various angles:

Other HoYoVerse characters in the Myethos Gift+ line include Mobius: Daughter of Corals from Honkai Impact 3rd and March 7th: The Hunt from Honkai: Star Rail. 

While Keqing can’t wear this outfit in-game, there are two costumes for her in Genshin Impact. One is her default look that you get if you get the character. That’s called Piercing Thunderbolt. The other is called Opulent Splendor. That debuted in 2.4 in 2022. It’s a Lantern Rite look, and it costs 1,680 Genesis Crystals. 

Genshin Impact is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, PC, and mobile devices, and the Keqing Resplendent Feast Myethos figure will debut in February 2026. 

The post Genshin Impact Keqing Figure Wears Resplendent Feast Costume appeared first on Siliconera.

We’re one step closer to seeing the full release of the Eiselin Burchelli Meijal Hulkenberg figure, as Kotobukiya shared an in-progress photo of the Metaphor: ReFantazio character on social media. This is a fully-painted prototype, and the announcements confirmed pre-orders will open soon. However, there’s no exact date for pre-orders or its launch.

Hulkenberg is holding a polearm for the figure, and it is the same one that’s shown up in official art and images. She’s wearing her standard suit and armor from the game. This is a more casual pose for the character, even though she is holding a lance, as her left hand is on her hip and it looks like she is walking.

Here’s the full prototype photo of Hulkenberg:

To compare, here’s official character art of Hulkenberg Atlus released ahead of the game’s launch.

This Hulkenberg figure is one of multiple Kotobukiya collectibles based on characters from Metaphor: ReFantazio. First, a Gallica one appeared. After that, it shared one based on Junah. This means Eupha is the only female party member to not get a figure from the company yet.

In addition to figures, we’re seeing other sorts of merchandise based on the game. SuperGroupies made a coat and bag based on the protagonist, which are being sold worldwide.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The manga based on it is running now worldwide, and there’s no release window for the Eiselin Burchelli Meijal Hulkenberg figure from Kotobukiya yet. 

The post See Kotobukiya’s Metaphor: ReFantazio Hulkenberg Figure appeared first on Siliconera.

Ryu ga Gotoku Studio social media announced that Sega is selling temporary tattoo sleeves, which are fabric arm covers with, with designs based on tattoos of Yakuza and Like a Dragon game characters Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, Ichiban Kasuga, Daigo Dojima, and Taiga Saejima. These cost 1,540円 (~$11) and are expected to ship in July 2025. Ebten does shipping worldwide via WorldShopping. 

Each of the sleeves are 40cm long, which is about 15 inches. These are unisex items anyone could wear. Each package comes with ones to wear on a person’s left and right arms. Each package is based on the tattoo that appears on a character’s back in the series. So the tattoo sleeves for Kazuma Kiryu feature his dragon, while Daigo Dojima’s has the Fudo Myoo design. The Goro Majima tattoo is of the Hannya mask. Taiga Saejima’s is of his tiger. Meanwhile, Ichiban Kasuga’s features the fushion of the koi and dragon.

Here’s a gallery showing each of the available designs. There are also two photos from Ebten that showed people wearing the Kiryu and Kasuga ones.

This comes as Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut is about to debut. This extended version of the game will be a Switch 2 launch game. A new trailer highlighted its gameplay. Sega also announced a 1-888-YAKUZA0 phone line for information about it.

The Yakuza and Like a Dragon tattoo sleeves arm covers based on five characters from the game series will debut in Japan in July 2025, following the Switch 2 debut of Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut on June 5, 2025. 

The post Sega Selling Yakuza Temporary Tattoo Sleeve Arm Covers appeared first on Siliconera.

Level-5 released a trailer that goes over the 15 characters we can choose from when building the South Cirrus Eleven team in Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. While there are 15 though, only five can be picked. These include some of the more unexpected casting choices, with folks like Hikakin and both Hololive and Nijisanji Vtubers showing up. The official page updated as well.

The video begins by noting how the selection process goes. It brings up how there are a number of possibilities at South Cirrus Junior High characters who are willing to play soccer and be on your team in Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. At the outset, we see some of the people who will absolutely be there. These are Destin Billows, Alix La Fontaine, Briar Bloomhurst, Cade Shelby, Cedric Freud, Raika Shinohara, and Thierry Reyes. After that, the focus turns to the selectable characters by showing their official art, introducing their voice actor, and letting us hear the person voicing them perform a line.

This starts with Hikakin’s Winsor Compete. He’s followed by Charis Benzaie, who is played by Michaela Wako Sato. QuizKnock’s Takushi Izawa plays Maine Alsop, who shows up after that. Nijisanji Vtuber Rai Inami comes up after that, and he plays Dario Highton. Hololive’s Ichijou Ririka continues the Vtuber introductions, as she plays Amelia Rainwalker. =Love singer Maika Sasaki appears as Marisol Cavallo at this point. Once that introduction is done, we see VSPO Vtuber Lisa Hanabusa as Meridia Althoff and Nijisanji Vtuber Sango Suo as Tai Richter. Once those two finish up, Fischer’s YouTuber member Masai shows up as Davin Bullock. After that, Kis-My-Ft2 member Toshiya Miyata comes up as Lycus Foxworth, we see voice actor Daichu Mizushima as Florent Shorleigh, voice actress Fumiko Orikasa shows as Antonia Felicier, and voice actress comes up as Kelvin Steelborne. The trailer then closes out by highlighting Yuki Tai as Lemmy Stretchen and Ayahi Takagaki as Starla Thorn. 

Here’s the full Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road “Selectable Character Showcase” that highlights the optional South Cirrus Eleven characters.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on August 21, 2025. 

The post Meet Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road South Cirrus Eleven Characters appeared first on Siliconera.

Good Smile Company shared the release windows for the new Persona 3 Reload Nendoroid of protagonist Makoto Yuki, and the Basic version of the figure will release later in 2025 in some regions. In Japan, we’ll see it show up in September 2025. The worldwide release is set for Q1 2026. 

As this is a Nendoroid Basic figure, it won’t be as robust or expensive as others in the line. It’ll be ￥3,900/$26.99. His facial expression is a stoic, neutral one. He also hold his base one-handed sword in his right hand.

Here are two photos Good Smile Company shared with us that highlight how the figure will look:

This isn’t the first Persona 3 Nendoroid, as the original figure based on Makoto’s appearance in the PS2 game debuted in 2022. Since that is a more traditional model, it included extra face plates, hand parts, and accessories. It only showed up once worldwide, and there’s been no rerun since its debut. 

While this is a Persona 3 Reload model, it isn’t too dissimilar from the original Persona 3 version. The hairstyle and facial expression are identical to the 2022 release, and the uniform seems almost exactly the same. The weapon is different, however, as the one-handed sword for this figure is an all-silver one that resembles Makoto’s starting weapon and the one with the original figure was a more traditional sword with gold hilt. 

The Persona 3 Reload Nendoroid Basic figure of the protagonist Makoto Yuki will appear in Japan in September 2025. It will appear later worldwide in Q1 2026. Pre-orders for it will close on June 25, 2025. Persona 3 Reload is available worldwide on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the original game first debuted on the PS2.

The post Persona 3 Reload Makoto Yuki Nendoroid Is a Basic Figure appeared first on Siliconera.

At the end of May 2025, Level-5 confirmed that the Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time upgrade update would be available for the Switch 2 at launch and teased its changes. It noted it would look and run better, basically. Now the company further explained the difference with two more detailed videos that compare Switch and Switch 2 gameplay.

In each case, there are split-screen videos on YouTube that directly compare the same instances in the Switch 2 version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time to show the changes between the two. Each one is rather brief and designed to give a quick glimpse of the changes in action. The shorter of the two is the Graphics Showcase. That only lists 15 seconds. In both, a player’s avatar is using the Woodcutter role to chop down one of the bosses for that job in the field. In the case of the Switch 2 version, the textures for the environment are clearer and we can more clearly see the character’s facial features and clothing. 

The one comparing the load times in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time on both Nintendo platforms is a bit longer. That comes in at 40 seconds. This is because it is showing the time it takes to start the game from the main menu and to go between the Guild Hall in the Present to Ginormosia. It takes 6:19 seconds to load the game on the Switch 2 after starting and 12:12 to do so on the Switch. In the case of heading to Ginormosia with the teleportation gate, it takes 9:39 seconds on the Switch 2 and 17:06 seconds on the Switch. So in each case, the time is almost double on the older console. 

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available now on the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Switch 2 version and upgrade update file will launch on June 5, 2025. 

The post See the Fantasy Life i Switch 2 Changes appeared first on Siliconera.

HoYoVerse shared details about the Zenless Zone Zero Beard Papa cream puff crossover that will feature Anby and Burnice. The promotion will run in the US starting on June 8, 2025, and it will end on July 15, 2025. In addition to exclusive merchandise, there will also be Perfect Taste Bundle codes for in-game items.

Essentially, the Beard Papa promotion guarantees Zenless Zone Zero merchandise and codes if you get certain collaboration sets. The basic one is called ZZZ x Beard Papa’s Operation Yum Collab 2-Puff Set. This gives you the Anby Key Lime Crumble Puff with vanilla bean filling and key lime topping and the Burnice Royal Raspberry Puff with vanilla filling and raspberry glaze. You also get one random pin with either of the two characters or a Bangboo mascot in the restaurant’s costume and the Perfect Taste Bundle code. The 4-puff set comes with both of the limited edition cream puffs, two Original Vanilla ones, an acrylic standee of one of the two heroines and the code. Finally, a 6-puff set comes with two of the Anby puffs, two of the Burnice ones, two Original Vanilla ones, a standee, a random pin, and the code. 

Here’s how all of the Zenless Zone Zero cream puffs and merchandise will look. The Bangboo mascot is paired with the Original Vanilla option.

As for the Perfect Taste Bundle code, that gives anyone who claims it a Bangboo Beard Papa avatar, collectible, and namecard, a Stamina Item, three Senior Investigator Logs, and 30,000 Dennies.

This is the second recent Beard Papa crossover with a popular series. At the start of 2025, a Mashle event appeared. This involved both merchandise and specific cream puffs inspired by characters from the anime and manga.

Zenless Zone Zero is on the PS5, PC, and mobile devices now. The Xbox Series X version and 2.0 update comes on June 6, 2025. The Zenless Zone Zero Beard Papa Anby and Burnice 

The post Anby and Burnice Star in Zenless Zone Zero Beard Papa Crossover appeared first on Siliconera.

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping brings us back to the world introduced in Duck Detective: The Secret Salami and, well, it’s exactly what you’d expect the adventure game to be. This is a short, bite-sized adventure with colorful characters, and it ends it feeling rather cozy due to it being a rather laid back approach to sometimes low stakes mysteries. It’s a good thing! Not every title needs to be a 40-hour epic, and Happy Broccoli Games again created a captivating story to savor over the course of an afternoon.

Eugene McQuacklin, who I’ll just go ahead and call Duck Detective from here on out since everyone else does, is down on his luck as the sequel begins. He’s living in Freddy Frederson’s spare room, still is addicted to bread, and his ex-wife wants nothing to do with him and won’t return his calls. He can’t wallow, however, as Freddy is dragging him on a glamping trip with his new girlfriend to grounds near a potentially haunted asylum. (He already paid for it!) Forced along, the detective finds either ghosts or haunting the area, or there’s a decidedly more dastardly explanation for unsettling behavior. It’s up to us to investigate again.

Aside from Freddy, the alligator that got Duck Detective goat’s in the first game, tagging along, Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping proceeds pretty much identically to the first game. A mystery will arise. You’ll need to put together deducktions, based on observations, interviewing people, and interacting with the environment, to get topics to feed into a Mad-Libs style statement figuring out what happened. Solving one mystery opens up the next, advancing the story and granting access to new areas.

What I loved about Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping that is unique to this entry is honestly the increased interactions with Freddy. The Duck Detective is a prickly sort of character that feels plucked from a noir novella and dumped into what is, at a glance, an adorable world that includes a lot of quirky characters. By adding Freddy as a more present foil, we get to appreciate the ways in which this more goofy, nerdy, and typical person interacts with this serious investigator.

However, I also appreciate that despite being cozy, The Ghost of Glamping continues the tradition of Duck Detective actually including some dark and mature themes just like The Secret Salami. While it’s played for laughs and silliness since it is just bread, the titular detective does have an addiction. His relationship with his former lover is an issue. There are not-great people here trying to take advantage of and hurt others. 

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping offers more of the same and, in the case of this series, that’s exactly what Happy Broccoli Games should be doing. It’s a welcome addition to our gaming libraries! The characters are still incredibly entertaining. The gameplay is sound. The narrative is engaging. It feels like another episode of something we all already agreed that we enjoyed, and I appreciate the relief of knowing there’s a consistent series that will regularly deliver a certain type of enjoyable adventure for an evening.

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping is available for the Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

The post Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping Builds on the Original Game appeared first on Siliconera.

Capcom announced the next Monster Hunter Wilds Event Quest will let our hunters dress up like our Palico companions, as Faux Felyne headgear will be a craftable reward. It will be tied to “Three Tails Better Than None.” We’ll only have two weeks to claim it via playing the game, as the mission will be available June 3-17, 2025.

In order to take part in “Three Tails Better Than None,” you will need to be at HR 16 or higher. So make sure you beat the campaign and are well into the adventure. Taking the quest will send you off to Wounded Hollow. Once there, you’ll then need to beat three Quematrice within the time limit. Since this is a monster we first encounter early in the game and it’s only HR 16, I think it should be fairly manageable. Especially since it is designated as a four-star difficulty level assignment.

Upon beating the quest, you’ll get the materials needed to head to Gemma and make Faux Felyne α headgear, which makes you look like a Monster Hunter Wilds Palico. Capcom didn’t note how many times we might need to beat the Event Quest in order to get enough for one. It did share one example photo, however, which shows the more traditional appearance of the cat-like creature, which looks like a Siamese cat with blue eyes. 

There are two other Event Quests starting at the same time as “Three Tails Better Than None.” However, neither of them involve a special cosmetic item. They will be more challenging than the Faux Felyne headgear assignment. Both are five-star difficulty missions and require HR 21. Anguish and Atrocity is a Guardian Doshaguma quest at Ruins of Wyveria for Hunter Rank Points. “Tongue-Tied” is a Tempered Chatacabra hunt at Windward Plains for Advanced Armor Spheres and Hard Armor Spheres.

Monster Hunter Wilds is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Faux Felyne headgear Event Quest that lets us make gear that look like a Palico head will debut on June 3, 2025. 

The post Monster Hunter Wilds Event Quest Gives Us Palico Faux Felyne Headgear appeared first on Siliconera.

Yuri Lowenthal took to Bluesky to discuss the possibility of him playing Yosuke Hanamura in a possible Persona 4 remake. He definitively said it won’t happen. He also said, “…They don’t want me to come back.” He voiced the character since the original game, which debuted in 2008.

Here is a screenshot of Lowenthal’s statement on Bluesky. In it, he addressed the fact that multiple people apparently brought up the question. He also referenced a possible Persona 4 remake, though Atlus hasn’t announced any revival project for that entry.

Yuri Lowenthal has been the English voice actor for Yosuke for multiple Persona 4 projects and general Persona games. In addition to playing the character in the original game and Golden update, he also played the role in spin-offs like Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4: Dancing All Night. 

If a Persona 4 remake did happen, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for Atlus to go with an actor other than Yuri Lowenthal to play Yosuke. When the company made the  Persona 3 Reload remake, it went with an entirely new English cast. 

Persona 4 is available on the PS2, and Persona 4 Golden showed up on the Switch, PS4, Vita, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. Atlus hasn’t announced a remake of it, but did release a remake of Persona 3 in 2024.

The post Yuri Lowenthal Discussed Being Yosuke in a Persona 4 Remake appeared first on Siliconera.

Anyone else ever worry when a game gets delayed, then delayed again, then delayed even further? I do. It completely shakes my confidence. Especially when the developer behind it hasn’t launched a lot of titles recently and talks ing AI when making things. Simply put, Fantasy Life ended up being one of my absolute favorite 3DS games, and I was terrified about Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time after the delays and the disaster that was Fantasy Life Online. 

I didn’t need to be. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is amazing. My only concern is perhaps maybe that Level-5 tries to do too much with it, but even then it is easy to just… ignore the elements you don’t care for as much and focus on the ones you do. There are like three games worth of games in Fantasy Life i, and all of them are good.

When I say there’s so much to Fantasy Life i, that applies to the story too. Our avatar is an archeologist working alongside Edward to investigate a mysterious dragon skeleton that led their crew to an island spot. Except upon reaching an unusual place, it means the fossil awakens to become Skelegon. So in the past, we’re investigating Mysteria in the past, our home base hub on the outskirts of depths with a mysterious gear somewhere inside in the present, and an additional major landmass known as Ginormosia. Each place has its own mysteries, not to mention gameplay elements, and they all feed into each other.

The Mysteria past location in Fantasy Life i feels most like a traditional action-RPG and Fantasy Life game. Here’s where you’ll pick up the 14 lives. Four of them are classic RPG class roles, which are Hunter (archer), Magician, Mercenary, and Paladin. These are used for the action-RPG combat segments. The gathering jobs are Angler, Farmer, Miner, and Woodcutter, which are tied to fishing, getting crops, mining rocks and ore, and getting wood. Those directly feed into the crafting lives, which are the Alchemist, Artist, Blacksmith, Carpenter, and Tailor. The alchemist can make potions, some accessories, and mounts, the artist works on home decorations, the blacksmith makes weapons and equipment, the carpenter makes furniture, and the tailor makes some decorations and clothing. And since the best way to get equipment for your combat classes is via the Alchemist, Blacksmith, and Tailor roles, all that feeds into each other again. Artist and Farmer are the new roles this time around and, as such, need to be unlocked by actually going through the campaign quests. 

When going through the campaign, tied mostly to the Mysteria part in the past and our hub in the present, it means following storylines that send you to different locations. In the past, you’ll work alongside Rem to go to different islands in Mysteria from the main hub of Eternia, which is your base in the present. There aren’t really traditional dungeons here, as instead you’ll go through woods, caves, fields, and other locations. These will be filled with gathering points for those types of jobs, enemies to fight, and even “bosses” for the combat and gathering roles. For example, a “boss” for a miner might be a major elemental crystal or for a woodcutter would be a tree with angel wings. Aside from having more health than usual, these “foes” will change their weak point, forcing you to search for the “sweet spot” to deal damage when “attacking” to gather. Naturally, there will be enemy bosses as well, which could be a real boss or a bigger and more adept version of lesser foes around you. 

However, interestingly enough, our base in the present time in Fantasy Life i involves Animal Crossing types of elements. There’s terraforming, to determine how it all looks. We have villagers of sorts, in the restored Strangelings from Ginormosia and the main campaign. We get a home that we can customize. It is based on 24-hour, real world time for flower, crop, and resource gathering. There’s even relationship-building with these allies, which unlocks additional traits and bonuses for when they you while adventuring in the world or crafting. Yes, if you’re not playing with folks online, you can have up to three in your party for adventures at any time. They’ll help when you fight enemies! When you’re gathering, they’ll offer buffs for you, debuffs on the target, or even in if they share that job. Whenever you craft, you can add folks who share that role to the task to boost your skill level and get a possible bonus. 

There’s also open-world style exploring. Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, heading to Ginormosia means finding towers that unlock new views of the map, conquering shrines with different sorts of challenges to get Strangelings that can be restored into villagers for your hub, more gathering opportunities, enemies to challenge, and even villages to save, as well as additional insights into the overarching story and major characters you’ll encounter in them. And you can jump into this area at any time! It’s even encouraged, since fast traveling back and forth can reset resources in certain areas or make it easier to find certain foes for tasks. However, I noticed that facing enemies in these spots seemed to trigger bugs where suddenly foes will be temporarily invincible, due to being outside their range or getting stuck on different “levels” or “elements” of the environment. That usually rectifies itself after a few seconds. 

The funny thing about Fantasy Life i is, while this is a game that absolutely involves grinding, it never feels like a grind. It respects your time in so many ways. Do you need resources? Once you can bring in NPC allies or work together with other players, it takes far less time to get the materials you need and ends up being more fun. Worried about that crafting minigame? Get enough experience and you can automatically skip it by unlocking certain abilities in the skill tree and adding allies. Need money? There are folks in the past who will offer sidequests with helpful rewards. Getting a lot of Celestia flowers? You can put those toward items in a shop in the present. Ginormosia is getting too easy? Rank things up at a tower. Don’t like how you look? You can change it at any time in the present and “buy” new catalogs to add additional cosmetic options. Just want access to the new jobs without the tutorial quests? You can skip them. Happen upon a gathering spot, group of enemies, or crafting table that needs a job you don’t have equipped? It automatically swaps to the one you need at a push of a button. Want to forge some equipment when you’re in a restaurant with cooking equipment? Any workbench offers access to all crafting Lives’ actions. By finding other people to play with, unlocking Strangeling allies from Ginormosia, and unlocking certain nodes in the skill trees for each job, you can basically customize elements of the experience to your liking. 

There’s also a sense of freedom that comes from reaching certain points in the Fantasy Life i story. Once I got access to Ginormosia, I immediately unlocked all the towers, found all the shrines, and made sure I restored a Strangeling from each crafting and gathering class. After I got the Farmer role unlocked, I spent a lot of time leveling Lives, finishing sidequests, and starting to work on my own little town. It’s like open-world games in that way, as you get this sense of freedom to do what you want and prioritize the elements you enjoy. Yes, you unlock more recipes, Lives, and locations if you follow the campaign. But if you take your time, you’ll find just as much to do without advancing things.

The only real issue I noticed is that Fantasy Life i has a real issue on handheld gaming PCs. This is a problem not only I noticed, but someone else I consulted with as well. It plays amazingly well on high settings! …Until you enter a cutscene. Then everything slows to a crawl. The only way I managed to solve it was to drop down to medium settings, then play around with all of the other features like shadows, anti-aliasing, and such until I found a combination that worked. Once you do go through that, I found it works perfectly and still looks fantastic, so it’s more of a potentially temporary annoyance than anything. 

Again, minor hiccups aside, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is amazing. There's so much to it, and it is easy to prioritize the elements you like best. There’s an endless wealth of content and options, and you could probably spend months enjoying every element. The original Fantasy Life is one of the best 3DS games, and now Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is one of the best titles we’ll see on the Switch and PC. Since Level-5 also confirmed there will be DLC, I also wonder if we’ll see it get even better.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and it will also come to the Switch 2. 

The post Review: Fantasy Life i Turned Out Incredible appeared first on Siliconera.