Thanks for this, Nick.

Looks like you've been busy. Now that I've heard the Ys game is good, I might have to look into that one. 

Fantasy Life i isn't really structureless, there's a story there, there's just more to do in between the story missions. Like doing quests for NPCs, and the various quests to raise your Life ranks. If you do end up playing it, let me know and I can give you some helpful tips that I wish I'd known when I started playing.