Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a classic party-based RPG, but how – I hear you ask – do you go about recruiting your NPC party members? To which I respond: hey, did you ever watch Beauty and the Beast?
That’s right. In Fantasy Life i, you’ll meet a series of anthropomorphised items – such as pieces of furniture, clothing, and even plates of food – known as Strangelings. These amusing-looking critters are in fact humans with strong Life energy who’ve been magically transformed into objects that bear some relevance to their chosen profession – but of course, having no hands does make it quite hard to, say, whip up a perfect stack of pancakes.
Unsurprisingly, Strangelings will be so grateful if you manage to revert them back to their human form that they’ll become recruitable Buddies, who can bring their expertise in one of Fantasy Life’s titular Lives (think classes, but cuter) to the aid of your party. There are 49 Strangelings in total in the base game, so read on for a full list of Strangeling locations in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, plus instructions on how to revert them.
Fantasy Life i Strangeling list
Strangelings are often found in Shrines across the Ginormosia map or as drops from crowned (elite) enemies, but some are also findable through general exploration, or granted as rewards for completing requests. Finally, there are a few who will join you through story progression, taking some of the worry out of accruing a full party roster if you’re beelining towards the end-game (which is not how I’d recommend playing an RPG, let alone one this whimsical, but you do you).
Here’s an overview on whereabouts you can find all 49 Strangelings:
| Strangeling | Buddy Name | Life (Class) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angler’s Hood | Isaac | Angler | Fan’ni Shrine |
| Bereted Target | Fern | Hunter | Gela’shi Shrine |
| Big Brother Bust | Pierre | Artist | Ree’lif Shrine |
| Big Ol’ Bomb | Flamel | Alchemist | Reward after completing three requests from Pyroscoe in Panther Preserve |
| Black Knight’s Sword | Odin | Paladin | Sker’ri Shrine |
| Black Wolf Doll | Fang | Mercenary | Inside a chest in Wyrmtail Cave |
| Blue Demon’s Tile | Bray | Blacksmith | Happi Shrine |
| Breezy Weathervane | Hawke | Hunter | Het’rud Shrine |
| Cash Cat | Cormell | Carpenter | Reward after completing three requests from Haniwendy in Haniwa Hamlet |
| Cheery Wheat Juice | Grantz | Miner | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Cold Crystal | Sylvia | Miner | Lun’li Shrine |
| Cook O’Lantern | Chakpo | Cook | Viridia Plateau |
| Corny Bottle | Jerry | Hunter | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Country Wood Pot | Orlando | Woodcutter | Drakesnout Range |
| Dandy Bat Hat | Klaus | Tailor | Bit’ah Shrine |
| Dragonslayer’s Sword | Glenn | Mercenary | Obtained through story progression (Chapter 6, Step 9) |
| Easy-Going Shield | Hilda | Paladin | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Elegant Icewolf Statue | Cliff | Magician | Wav’yu Shrine |
| Fluffy Beaver Doll | Cherry | Carpenter | Dahl Shrine |
| Fortune Cat Doll | Colin | Magician | Angar Shrine |
| Free-Spirited Cap | Laura | Paladin | Sed’nas Shrine |
| Fresh-Faced Helm | Ian | Blacksmith | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Graceful Carp Banner | Teruha | Angler | Drakeseye Valley – North-East Island |
| Graceful Fan | Kikyo | Artist | Obtained through story progression during Chapter 5 |
| Hefty Bear Carving | Bearheart | Woodcutter | Faan Shrine |
| Homely Flower Basket | Leilah | Hunter | In pond west of Googlithy’s Tower |
| Knight Flan | Jake | Paladin | Reward for completing Personal Request 3 in Simian Village |
| Leafy Watering Can | Pino | Farmer | Obtained through story progression during Chapter 4 |
| Little Brother Bust | Butch | Farmer | Glehd Shrine |
| Lovely-Dovey Lamp | Demiel | Alchemist | Wur’ii Shrine |
| Maajik Daemon Statue | Daemon | Magician | Reward after completing three requests from Gonk in Beetle Borough |
| Mustachioed Helmet | Mustang | Paladin | Besh’fal Shrine |
| Odd Dresser | Kunugi | Carpenter | Obtained through story progression as the Strangeling tutorial in Chapter 3 |
| Old Man Anchor | Ahab | Angler | Reward after completing three requests from Terrapapa |
| Pirate Princess Flag | Olivia | Paladin | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Plushling Lady Doll | Rouge | Mercenary | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Quirky Hammer | Magmia | Blacksmith | Agekara Cave |
| Royal Yummy Stew | Allan | Cook | Thril’ah Shrine |
| Scarecorn | Roissin | Farmer | Shroomhaven |
| Secretive Mask | Sophie | Alchemist | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Shaman’s Painting | Meime | Artist | Reward after completing three requests from McCowing in Buffalo Base |
| Sleepy Pillow | Sloane | Magician | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Snacky Pie | Nommie | Cook | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Snowy Idol | Snow | Mercenary | Eeg’ah Shrine |
| Soothing Basket | Monika | Woodcutter | Ba’reng Shrine |
| Sturdy Wheelbarrow | Duglas | Miner | Obtained through story progression (Chapter 3, Step 13) |
| Wholesome Yarn Basket | Taylor | Tailor | Random drop from crowned enemies |
| Witch’s Broom | Hazel | Magician | West Drydridge Desert |
| Wooly Chair | Shea | Tailor | Southeast of Googlius’ Tower |
How to revert Strangelings in Fantasy Life i
Reverting a Strangeling to their human form isn’t a simple matter of finding them, unfortunately. Instead, you need to deliver them to the Goddess Statue in your Base Camp in order to have her perform a miracle.
The Goddess in question isn’t just giving up the goods for free, however: she requires a tribute of Celestia’s Gifts – a type of glowing blue flower that blooms throughout the Base Camp environs – as payment for reverting a Strangeling into a Buddy. The exact price is variable, but expect to be paying around 100 Celestia’s Gifts per reversion ceremony, at least until you pick up some skills that can reduce that cost.
Fortunately, Celestia’s Gifts bloom in abundance on the island where you make your Base Camp. However, there’s a downside in that they only respawn once every real-world day, so you need to be quite efficient at farming them to ensure you have a regular supply!
Of course, you won’t need Buddies so much when you’re off on a multiplayer expedition, so be sure to check out our guide detailing how to play Fantasy Life i in both online and local co-op! And while your playable avatar isn’t at risk of turning into a teapot anytime soon, you still might light to freshen up their look every now and then, so be sure to take a look at our guide on how to change your appearance in Fantasy Life i.