Fantasian Neo Dimension

Fantasian brings together two of the biggest names in Japanese games: Hironobu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, and renowned composer Nobuo Uematsu. In collaboration with Square Enix, they are bringing the role-playing game previously exclusive to the Apple Arcade to PC and consoles as Fantasian Neo Dimension.

Hironobu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, who left Square Enix in 2003 to found Mistwalker, which he still runs today, was inspired to create Fantasian when he replayed Final Fantasy VI after a long time. He wanted to make an emotional RPG again, and that's exactly what he did with Fantasian. In the game, protagonist Leo wakes up with only one memory in a strange land of machines - a world ravaged by Mechteria, a deadly mechanical infection that robs humans of their emotions and lives. Using a left-behind warp device, Leo must embark on an interdimensional journey to recover his lost memories and save the world from this infection.

In terms of gameplay, players explore different environments with Leo and his party, go on quests, interact with other characters, upgrade characters and fight in a turn-based mode. The world is made up of over 150 areas, which combine handmade dioramas with CG graphics, giving the game an unconventional look and making the characters stand out from the background. The combat system is also distinctive, with each skill and attack having a different trajectory, including straight lines, curves and area effects. In terms of positioning and turn order, players must use skills that hit as many opponents as possible. Incidentally, opponents' health points are not displayed. Instead, there are different colours that indicate the condition of the enemy. Further information about enemies can be obtained by using special actions and skills in battle, if desired.

The Dimengeon system is quite unusual, too. This system allows players to save enemies they encounter for later battles - at least until the machine is full. This system makes it possible to keep enemies and random encounters for later, for example while exploring the environments. So players can decide when they want to catch up on these fights. And with items and 'growth cards', which are similar to skill trees, it is possible to improve and specialise characters.

Fantasian was released in two parts on Apple Arcade in 2021 by Mistwalker. The upcoming PC and console versions have been produced by Mistwalker in collaboration with Square Enix. This version will be released under the additional title 'Neo Dimension'. Sakaguchi explains that this instalment was only made possible by the reboot of Final Fantasy XIV (A Realm Reborn), which also helped him re-establish contact with Square Enix - as he plays FF XIV himself. Naoki Yoshida from Square Enix's Creative Studio 3 (FF XI, XIV and XVI) got in touch with him and is acting as co-producer for Fantasian Neo Dimension. It is Sakaguchi's first game with Square Enix since he left the company 20 years ago.

New features in Neo Dimension include English and Japanese voice acting, an additional difficulty level (normal and hard) as the original game was considered quite difficult towards the end, 4K support (not in all scenes) on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X, and customisable battle music. Players will be able to change the battle music from the original soundtrack to various songs from titles in the Final Fantasy franchise. The game was originally designed for touch interfaces, which is particularly noticeable in combat, but on PC and consoles the port is generally okay, with only the clunky interface still clearly showing where the game came from.

Fantasian Neo Dimension will be released digitally on 05 December 2024 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch and Xbox Series X|S at full price.

Conclusion

It's good to see that Fantasian isn't just an Apple Arcade exclusive, but is also coming to PC and consoles in an enhanced edition. Only the interface could have used a little more platform-specific polish.