30 May 2025 7:54 AM +00:00 UTC

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time - Did Delays Kill the Hype?

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time was finally released on May 21, 2025, on various platforms such as the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S, and Windows through Steam. However, had it been delayed so much that the hype had already died down?

There are a lot of fans of the original Fantasy Life, which first came out on the Nintendo 3DS back in 2012. It's a role-playing life simulation game developed by LEVEL5. It's a cozy game that features character customization and allows players to take on different "lives" with complete freedom. These lives are the classes that you can choose, from combat ones like being a Paladin and crafting classes such as being a Cook.

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There's a lot to love from the original game, which made a lot of fans excited about the new Fantasy Life title that was announced for the Nintendo Switch and other platforms. It's all fun and exciting, but Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time was first announced in February 2023 through Nintendo Direct.

As someone who loved Fantasy Life on the 3DS, I wanted to get my hands on Fantasy Life i and was following the release date announcements. I was looking forward to its supposed release last year, but it was delayed. After that, I just completely forgot about it due to disappointment. However, after the game came back to my radar, it only made me more excited to play it finally.

A delay would be considered acceptable if it were only for a couple of months and if it were mainly a one-time occurrence. The thing with Fantasy Life i was that it got delayed during its 2023 window into 2024, and then another delay in August 2024. The problem is, it's not the only game that had delay issues.

Some believed that LEVEL5 just had bad schedules. They've announced that Decapolice, a crime-suspense RPG, will be delayed until 2026, when it was initially scheduled for release in 2023. Even Professor Layton and the New World of Steam was teased, but there's still no confirmed release date. These delays can be extremely frustrating, but will it be enough to divert attention from Fantasy Life?

This may not be the case as Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time ranks number 4 in Steam's Top Seller charts and has good reviews (as of May 29, 2025). I believe that it's the nostalgia that's driving many people to play the game, despite the numerous delays.

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And that's it. Stick with us at Gfinityesports.com: the best site for Fantasy Life i coverage.

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Hannah Joy Santander

Freelance writer

From The Sims to Valorant!

A huge gamer since she was young, Hannah evolved from a casual gamer playing The Sims to playing competitively in FPS games like VALORANT. She also tries her luck in gacha games such as Zenless Zone Zero. She enjoys writing fiction or singing on the side.

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