The newest beloved adventuring title Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is unlike any other game. The new hit from Level 5 combines several genres in a way that's unique to the Fantasy Life franchise, leading players on an RPG story with a slow-life twist. The game lets players choose from 14 different "Lives" (ie, classes) to focus the gameplay on the aspect of cozy gaming that they prefer.

Fantasy Life i is the latest entry in the series, which got its start in 2012. The game's extremely versatile playstyle makes this title unlike any other game, so it's hard to find another experience quite like it. That said, there are several games that players who enjoyed Fantasy Life i might like, which combine cozy life simulation with an overarching RPG-like story.

10 Stardew Valley

One Of The Most Beloved Cozy Games Of All Time

Chances are, if you're a fan of cozy farming and battling sims, you're already familiar with Stardew Valley. But if you happen to be new to the franchise or simply haven't played this nearly decade-old hit indie title yet, this is your call to do so. Stardew Valley is one of the most beloved cozy games of all time, combining cozy farming sim and romance elements like Harvest Moon with fighting and lore punctuated with the occasional Easter egg.

The solo dev, ConcernedApe, is still updating the game regularly after all these years (though he's now taking a bit of a break to work on his next project, Haunted Chocolatier). If you love the mix of storytelling and cozy gaming elements in Fantasy Life i, you'll almost certainly also enjoy Stardew Valley.

9 Palia

The Wholesome MMO About The Power Of Friendship

You don't have to pay a lot to experience a cozy fantasy world. In the case of the MMO Palia, in fact, you don't have to pay anything at all. The free game is a wholesome experience through and through, encouraging and rewarding players for working together to accomplish goals like collecting resources, befriending villagers, and completing quests that reveal the lore of the Palia world.

Like Fantasy Life i, the world of Palia offers a rich environment with many cozy gaming elements. Players can craft decor and tools, gather resources, design their home's interior and surrounding grounds, and interact with a vibrant cast of characters. There's a lot to do in Palia, and you decide how to interact with the world and which elements you engage with. Palia offers a peaceful gaming experience best enjoyed with friends (but also playable solo!).

8 Harvestella

Final Fantasy Meets Harvest Moon

This surprise genre-bending experience comes from Square Enix, a fact that's evident from the moment you boot it up. Harvestella blends elements any Final Fantasy fan is familiar with, like magic, crystals, and a world-shattering story, with the cozy Harvest Moon-esque experience of farming, collecting resources, and fishing.

The protagonist of Harvestella finds themselves in a world where a mysterious illness wreaks havoc on its residents. Like Final Fantasy, the story grows to have consequences that extend beyond the small patch that you call home. Players must navigate the epic story while juggling a day-night cycle and maintaining their farm. Harvestella also has a job mechanic that works similarly to Fantasy Life i, where players can choose between 12 different classes on a whim (though these jobs only affect your character's appearance and combat style).

7 Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

Collect Dungeon Loot To Sell In Your Shop

Recettear is an older title, released in 2007, but it still holds up nearly 20 years later. In this adorable dungeon crawler, you follow the young Recette, who's suddenly placed into debt when her father runs away from his responsibilities (literally). ed by a fairy companion named Tear, Recette sets out to gather goodies from enemies and sell them in her family's item shop.

While this concept has been done plenty of times, Recettear has a simple but rewarding gameplay accentuated by hilarious writing that doesn't take itself seriously. (Fans of the anime Hayate the Combat Butler may find the humor and art style to hit a very similar note.) The game has a charm that still delivers many years after its initial release, and while it's not as involved or complex as Fantasy Life i, it's a great little game for Fantasy Life fans to check out.

6 Kitaria Fables

The Exciting Adventures Of Cute Anthropomorphic Cats

Kitaria Fables is one of the most similar games to Fantasy Life i in of the farming and exploration balance. Coming from the indie studio Twin Hearts, the game isn't as polished as the Level 5 title, but it's still a very fun experience for adventure RPG fans.

Embark on a quest through Kitaria as an anthropomorphic cat, as you uncover the secrets of the world and the encroaching darkness. The game combines farming and cultivating crops for money with real-time battles and exploration, as well as weapon and magic crafting. And, similarly to Fantasy Life i, you can pair up with a friend in local coop.

5 Final Fantasy XIV

Features A Surprisingly Well-Developed Crafting System For An MMO

You might not think of Final Fantasy XIV as cozy or focused on crafting, but the truth is that it can be both. Someone described Fantasy Life i to me as "Final Fantasy meets Stardew Valley," and FFXIV is one of the only Final Fantasy games where you can choose how much of the main story you explore. The MMO has a very developed foraging and crafting system, allowing for resource gathering, fishing, crafting, and even decorating your own space (once you can afford one).

The story is also engaging, with many memorable characters, so pursuing the main quest is a rewarding experience. But if you're just not into MMOs, you don't have to engage with the story, focusing instead on the crafting and exploration elements of the title. Plus, the game's free demo version lets new players play until they hit 70 with no restrictions, so you can try the game out for as long as you want as long as your character doesn't hit the level cap.

4 The Atelier Series

Alchemy Made Easy With Cute Anime Girls

It's hard to pick a favorite among the Atelier series, as each entry introduces a new protagonist and story. But the games all follow the same basic premise of a girl attempting to master the ancient art of alchemy. This involves exploring to find materials while learning and practicing recipes. While all the games have the same basic premise, each game has a different story to tell, featuring rich world building and memorable characters that sometimes appear in multiple games.

Titles like Atelier Sophie and Atelier Rorona are excellent in their own rights, the spinoff title Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is the most similar to Fantasy Life i. The game brings characters from the other games together in one location, which players can develop and build from the ground up—while still synthesizing items and exploring for materials.

3 Rune Factory 4

Farm And Hunt In This Beloved Harvest Moon Spinoff

The Harvest Moon franchise is one of the first cozy farming adventures, which set the stage for the cozy life sims that followed. The original games were fairly simple, with a gameplay loop that revolved around farming and interacting with villagers and a story that was slowly revealed in the background.

Rune Factory took the successful Harvest Moon recipe and added the element of combat to it. Rune Factory 4 is believed by many to be the best entry in the franchise so far, combining elements of an epic fantasy RPG with farming, monster fighting and raising, cooking, crafting, and more. Plus, if you enjoy Rune Factory 4, you'll have something to look forward to since the next game in the series, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, is coming out soon.

2 Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

A Turn-Based Version Of The Monster Hunting Franchise

Unlike the other Monster Hunter games, the Monster Hunter Stories spinoffs aren't challenging monster-hunting experiences that require teamwork and strategizing. Instead, Stories 1 and 2 are anime-style RPGs that ask you to befriend monsters instead of fighting them.

In Monster Hunter Stories 2, the protagonist embarks on a journey to figure out what's causing the strange environmental abnormalities around the world, like the disappearance of Rathalos everywhere. Hatch dragon-like monsters and explore the world alongside your new companions in this game that echoes the dragon-themed main story of Fantasy Life i.

1 Ni No Kuni 2

Build A New Kingdom In A Fantasy World

Also created by Level 5, the first Ni No Kuni game set the tone for the series as a Ghibli-esque tale of coming to with grief. It was a beautiful experience with fleshed-out characters, open world exploration, and a gorgeous soundtrack that was easy to love. But if you're looking for an experience more like Fantasy Life i, then the second Ni No Kuni might be more like what you want.

The sequel takes place in the same world as No No Kuni, this time telling a much larger overarching story about the world at large. While Ni No Kuni 2 has a similar fantasy setting as its predecessor, it also introduces the element of building a city. Players must find and recruit new residents for their growing small kingdom, building new structures and asg residents to work in various parts of the city, in a way that's very reminiscent of the city-building in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time.