The video game world can be annoying.  Oversexualized outfits for female characters, too much gore and no real moral system, not to mention the whole Gamer Gate fiasco.  But one company that has always seemed to stay above the sexist and violent pitfalls of mortal life is Nintendo, the company that brought you Pokemon and Animal Crossing, home of agender dragon gods and cross-dressing talking cats.  The only problem with Nintendo is that it habitually reuses the same ideas over and over, as shown by a certain red capped plumber named Mario and his seven thousand games.

In 2013, however, Nintendo decided it could take a break from the cocky plumber who constantly outshines his more useful brother, and collaborated with Level 5 to create the game Fantasy Life, the underappreciated mix of Legend of Zelda, Cooking Mama, and life simulator.

I’ve always been a fan of fighting games, but the needless violence in games like Call of Duty and Diablo has always been confusing to me, as I was brought up by highly pacifist people, which means this game is just perfect.  There’s the same amount of fighting and choosing your weapons in Fantasy Life, but instead of fighting demons from the underworld in blood-spattered torture chambers, you fight mutant carrots and the occasional dinosaur or evil fish.  There are no prisons or blood-spatters, instead you run amok in lush forests and around pristine beaches.

I also like life simulation games such as Animal Crossing, and those aspects are also brought into Fantasy Life.  You can switch between different occupations and go fishing, or mining, or you can make clothes or cook food, or shoot fireballs at jellyfish.  You also get the opportunity to decorate your house with furniture you’ve made, and to adopt pets such as cats, dogs, birds, and horses.

The interaction with NPCs is also an attraction.  Many of them have quests for you, such as dogs who want birthday presents for their people, or a little boy who wants you to find him a bug.  Even more exciting, though, is the fact that there are the most horrible puns I have witnessed scattered throughout the game.  For example one of the clerks in a shop selling wood asked me “WOOD you like anything else?” and my eyes started bleeding immediately.

Now as every good critic knows there’s always going to be some downside, and this game is no  exception.  I spent 20 hours straight playing it. It was an issue.

If for some reason you ever want to give up your unnecessarily violent shooting games for something less likely to make you unnecessarily aggressive, I highly suggest this game.  If you have never even played violent video games, I still suggest it.