If you’ve been having a good time withFantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, then congratulations. You’re just like us. So many hours have seemingly fallen into a void with this game; it’s a more than worthy successor to its somewhat underrated 3DS predecessor, and a firm reminder of how good the life sim genre can be when it’s blended with more “traditionally RPG” elements.
Which brings us to the point of this list. Some of our readers may not have much familiarity with other games with a similar bend. Games where there’s not just farming, there’s not just fishing, there’s not just base-building, there’s not just fun interactions, there’s not just crafting, there’s not just combat… there’snot justanything. Life sims that weave together rich tapestries of isolated mechanics to give us all a diverse good time. Here are some of my faves.
Rune Factory
The Rune Factory franchise leans in a combat-heavier direction than many other RPG life sims - although, so does Fantasy Life, so really, it’s right at home here. Dungeon-crawling is a common task in Rune Factory, but you’ll till the good earth quite a bit, too.
There’s fishing, there’s cooking, and there’s heaps of crafting. But there’s also monster-raising! And, if you choose our personal favourite, Rune Factory 4 Special, you’ll get the most robust title in the series. Lots of fun to be found courting a prospective partner and adventuring alongside them, thanks to Special’s “Newlywed Mode”.
Rune Factory 6 is, unfortunately, hardly the best entry in the series, but give 4 Special a shot, and maybe 3 and/or 5, as well!
Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon’s earlier entries are must-plays if you’d like to experience the RPG-style life sim gaming genre’s roots, not just because there’s so much which has clearly been pulled into the present time and again, but because there are several gems which hold up to varying degrees in their own right.
I’m a big fan of the original Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, and Harvest Moon 64. What you’ll get here is a heaping helping of farming-centric gameplay; it’s typically a matter of rebuilding a farm from scratch, with growing crops and raising livestock being the cornerstones.
But you’re able to settle down with a sweetheart and start a family, get to know some quirky townsfolk, and collect some fun stuff along the way.
Story of Seasons
Harvest Moon has actually historically been known in Japan as Story of Seasons. Some time ago, Story of Seasons became the series’ official title in the West, as well; games with the “Harvest Moon” label from there on out have not been by the same studio, and frankly, they lack the same overall quality.
Several Story of Seasons games have been released since this shift, although roughly half are remakes of earlier Harvest Moon fare. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is, as far as I’m concerned, an even better version of its original Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town origin on Game Boy Advance - and that was a fun one!
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
WHERE TO PLAY
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a Nintendo Switch remake of a remake, with the original title being Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. You must build up your farm in the titular town, meet the locals, and fall in love.
Stardew Valley
For nine years and counting, Stardew Valley’s been rightly hailed as a champion of its genre, a guiding star for subsequent RPG life sims steeped in the roots of Harvest Moon.
It’s got it all - farming, dungeon-traipsing, monster-slashing, vivid characterization, opportunities for romance… actually, let’s go back a bit, because I need to emphasize thevivid characterization.
The thing about Stardew Valley, and with all respect to Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, but it’s not nearly as strong in this regard, is that its cast of NPCs is outstanding. Millions of players have fallen head over heels for Shane, Abigail, and all the rest of them. Stardew Valley’s not-so-secret claim to fame is that it’s populated by a bunch of people that are well worth getting to know.
Stardew Valley is also incredibly content-rich, thanks to its creator’s nonstop desire to update it time and again. By 2025, there’s just so muchgamein this game.
Persona
Arguably an oddball on this list, but hear me out. In Persona (well, in “modern” Persona, AKA the third mainline game onward), the player is expected to balance an ongoing JRPG-epic plot line with all kinds of sim-centric gameplay mechanics.
Going to movies, heading out to eat, working a part-time job, studying for school, acing exams, and getting to know sprawling casts of characters through interactive conversations galore - Persona is celebrated in part for the plethora of ways in which you can choose to spend your free time between major narrative moments.
All these systems feed into your party’s overall combat strength, too, which isn’t far off from how Fantasy Life’s various Lives offer tangible benefits for each other as you progress them all.
Animal Crossing
It’d be hard to do this list without mentioning Animal Crossing. But if you’ve not yet given Nintendo’s perennially popular series a spin, just know in advance that you’ll not be fighting anything here; Animal Crossing doesn’t mix in any fighting.
That’s OK. There’s a lot to love here, and not every life sim needs that stuff to feel remotely reminiscent of Fantasy Life i. Much like you’ll do so with Base Camp, Animal Crossing: New Horizons will let you build up your town’s layout (and it’s on an island, just like Base Camp!); but there’s far more at play here, because you’re not just placing villagers’ homes and a central shop. You’re placing a museum, too! And so much more.
But in any Animal Crossing game, there’s an unmistakable flow, a rhythm to its gameplay loop, that’s almost too relaxing - so many hours have sailed past me IRL while chilling with dozens of over-the-top, frequently hilarious NPCs, crafting up a storm, fishing up some rarities, unearthing ancient fossils, saving up Bells (read: money) for the next big project, and soaking in the stellar ambiance.
Fields of Mistria
Sure, it’s still in early access, but Fields of Mistria is already so good. NPC Studio has delivered a fantastically retro-JRPG aesthetic that blends seamlessly with the memorable dialogue bursting from old-school text boxes.
All the staples of Harvest Moon successors are on full display: farming, mining, crafting, marrying, and more. You’ll learn spells, fell foes, and brave the seasons as you get to know over 30 townsfolk.
Field of Mistria’s third big update is coming in July, so this is a great time to see why it holds a spectacular “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam!
