While both titles were formally announced at the last Nintendo Direct (I maintain it was one of the best), the Level-5 Vision 2023 Tsuzumi event brought teaser trailers and more details for both Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time and Professor Layton and the New World of Steam. Both games are due out for Nintendo Switch this year or next, with Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time tentatively set for 2023; there was no target date for Professor Layton and the New World of Steam. That being said, once there is a more specific release date for both, you’ll be hearing from me!
Let’s go alphabetical and start with Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. This is the third game in the Fantasy Life series; the first was released for 3DS (and easily one of my favourites on the console) and the second was mobile-only and recently shut down before it could even launch in the west. It’s really exciting to have a new Fantasy Life game on the horizon! The game is set on Mysteria Island, a beautiful place in the seas of Reveria. It’s an island with a mystery that nobody has been able to solve. A mysterious dragon soars the skies above and a mysterious girl can control time.
If the game is anything like those that come before it, it’s built on a good amount of customization. Customize your face, your hair, and more parts of your identity. Customize your lives, AKA jobs, and change as much as you want. Jobs include Paladin, Woodcutter, and Cook. The island is also customizable, from changing out furniture to town planning and island restoration.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is set one year following the events of Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. This time, the team is heading to America, where the power of highly advanced steam engines has surpassed London’s technological development and ushered in a new world. There’s a mysterious incident in Steam Bison, and a new adventure begins for Professor Layton and Luke.
Professor Layton and Luke are about the same as always. Professor Hershel Layton is a Professor of Archeology at Gressenheller University and one of the world’s foremost authority on riddles. He’s been on his own since Luke went to America. Luke is Professor’s Layton’s self-proclaimed first apprentice. He’s in America due to family reasons. He still loves riddles and keeps solving everyday mysteries; in fact, some have started calling him “Detective Luke.”
