Fantasy Life i is getting its first paid DLC, The Celestial Express

LEVEL-5 has officially announced the first paid DLC for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, titled "The Celestial Express." The expansion introduces new God-in-Training and God Life ranks, pushing the game's progression ceiling higher for players who have already maxed out their base jobs.

The update adds God Crafting features, stronger monsters, and new housing options. It also introduces a Divine Mount with customizable parts and Wingmate flying companion accessories. I'm curious how the flying mechanics will integrate with the existing terraforming system, considering the base game was built around ground-level island shaping.

Reaching for godhood

The base game launched in May 2025, serving as the mainline follow-up to the 2012 Nintendo 3DS original. After a brief detour into a mobile spin-off that shut down in 2022, LEVEL-5 brought the series back to consoles. The current release is available on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

Fantasy Life i centers around Mysteria Island, where players travel between a ruined present and a thriving past set 1,000 years earlier. The core loop relies on switching between 14 distinct "Lives," which function as job classes. You can swap from a Paladin to a Cook to a Woodcutter at will, using the materials gathered in one class to craft gear for another.

The 14 available Lives are split into three categories: Gathering, Crafting, and Combat. Gathering classes like the Miner and Angler pull resources from the environment. Crafting classes like the Blacksmith and Alchemist process those materials. Combat classes like the Mercenary and Hunter use the resulting gear to clear dungeons. It is a closed economic loop that demands you engage with a little bit of everything. The new God Crafting features will likely require materials dropped by the expansion's new monsters, forcing players to level up their combat and gathering classes in tandem.

Hardware transitions

When the game launched last year, it straddled a hardware generation. LEVEL-5 released a dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 Edition shortly after the base Switch version, offering an upgrade path for existing owners. The base game requires 7.6GB on the original Switch and 14.2GB on the Switch 2, reflecting the higher-resolution assets used for the newer hardware.

The base game supports up to four players online, allowing groups to tackle dungeons or explore each other's islands. There is also a two-player family co-op feature that lets a second player drop in locally without an internet connection. This cooperative focus makes the addition of stronger monsters in the DLC a logical next step.

LEVEL-5 built its reputation on story-driven RPGs like Professor Layton and Ni no Kuni. Fantasy Life always stood out in their catalog by blending the cozy town-building of Animal Crossing with the combat and crafting loops of a traditional action RPG. The terraforming tools introduced in The Girl Who Steals Time allow players to modify the terrain, draw rivers, and place housing.

LEVEL-5 previously offered a Digital Deluxe Edition of the base game that included exclusive Napdragon equipment and an Ethereal Girl outfit pack. It is currently unclear if owners of that edition will receive any discount on the upcoming expansion. The studio has not yet confirmed the exact release date or pricing for "The Celestial Express."