Fantasian Neo Dimension has the features of a classic. But, is it a classic?

It’s interesting how some games come into your purview. I was talking to trusted gaming pal when he said he was playing an incredible, yet challenging RPG called Fantasian from Mistwalker on…wait for it…Apple Arcade. I asked them, “You’re playing it on an Apple device?” He confirmed. Naturally, I didn’t give it much thought after hearing that I’d have to play on an iPhone or iPad. Said gamer wrote a review for the game and I’ll admit; I was intrigued. Sadly, mobile gaming is something I’ll never get behind. Nearly one year later after hearing about this, Fantasian was released (and allegedly rebalanced but we’ll get to that) for modern consoles. Fantasian Neo Dimension is a challenging RPG that has a nostalgic vibe longtime RPG fans should enjoy.

Fantasian Neo Dimension stars an amnesiac named Leo. The game opens with him and two robotic assistants in a factory. As the trio outruns and demolishes enemies, Leo finds himself warped to the small town. Not long after, he meets Kina, a softspoken healer that joins Leo to help him restore his memory. The story is a mixed bag because it starts with a familiar theme, flips the player on its head with some depressing moments, and then goes back to lighthearted fun. And then, it does it again and again. Toss in some elements of time travel and parallel worlds and robot dystopias while at it. It’s quite the rollercoaster that’s backed up by a group of great characters. The princess, Cheryl, is my favorite for those wondering. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovable Cinderella Tri-Stars: three hilarious yet formidable villains that give a Team Rocket-like entrance whenever they appear. The Neo Dimension version features voice acting in either English or Japanese, which helps gives the cast more life.

The story can get complex. On the opposite end of things, gameplay is mostly straightforward. At least, on the surface. If you take a glance at some screenshots, you’d be lead to believe that controlling Leo through towns, dungeons, and anything in-between would be familiar to anyone that’s touched an RPG. But, when you start moving Leo across the screen, things get hairy. The game’s environments are beautiful, but they’re presented in a manner that’s an amalgamation of prerendered and diorama. What this means is that as you’re moving through areas, the camera will shift and rotate suddenly; forcing you to shift your directional input. Even after 30 hours, I never got used to it. I already have a poor sense of direction. So, it was a struggle. It didn’t help that many of the places Leo and his team explored were filled with white spheres called Mechteria. These are an element of the story, but they also have a role in gameplay. Leo’s path is oftentimes blocked by them. If Leo gets too close, then the party’s HP is drained. The janky camera swings coupled with life-draining blockades wasn’t a fun combo. Healing items are abundant, but that doesn’t help with those moments of, “Come on! Not again!” occurring regularly.

Taking these navigation issues a step further, combat in Fantasian consists of frequent random battles. After about an hour of game time, Leo discovers the Dimengeon: a futuristic contraption that captures enemies from a random encounter. It doesn’t take long for this to get filled to max capacity. This is a neat feature that will allow players to tackle encounters the way they like. You can fight a few enemies frequently, or you can wait until the Dimengeon is at max and fight upwards of 40 enemies. But, and I’m sure you know where I’m going with this, the navigation would cause my device to fill up quickly. The encounter rate is already high, so as expected, I would do a lot of battling against large groups of foes.

Combat in Fantasian is turn-based. At the bottom of the screen is a bar showing the turn order of the participants. Your party of three will fight hordes of unique enemies and bosses. Nearly every ability, regular attacks included, has a trajectory that can be precisely aimed to hit as many enemies as possible. Piercing multiple foes in a straight line, curved line, or with an area of effect is one of the most satisfying things in Fantasian. The game is balanced in such a way that you must be deliberate with each action. In other words, most enemies will fall after an attack, but the battlefield gets so crowded that you must make every strike count. Boss battles are an entirely different matter because each one usually has a gimmick. Elemental weaknesses and stat buffing are important, but careful aiming is just as important. Eventually, a Limit Break feature is unlocked. Finishing a battle rewards you with money, experience, and items. New abilities are acquired after characters reach a certain level. Typical stuff, right? Well, things turn atypical when you’re presented with Growth Maps. Like the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X, every character has a map in which you can unlock upgrades.

There’s a lot to like about Fantasian’s gameplay loops. Despite this, it’s worth noting that Fantasian can get very tough, very quickly. Picking a party of your favorite three characters isn’t recommended because it’s necessary to constantly switch members to tackle the ever-changing challenges. Normally, I wouldn’t mind this. But, the frequent encounters with seemingly diminishing returns can make things tedious. Rewarding? Sometimes. But still; it’s tedious. I played the game on Normal. A Hard mode is available for those that really want to see how brutal the game can get since it’s the same difficulty that was in the original Apple Arcade version.

I played Neo Dimension on Switch. Whether docked or handheld, the graphics were shiny and sleek. It felt like a renaissance for what I and many consider the golden age of RPGs on the PlayStation but with more modernity. Some extra shimmery cinematics were added to move the story forward. Nobuo Uematsu composed the soundtrack, and it’s another classic under his belt. For those that really want to keep things varied, a hefty number of battle themes from the Final Fantasy series were added as free, additional content. Hearing the battle track from Final Fantasy XVI queue up as I entered a long, Dimengeon battle was a comfort. Other tracks included the classic One-Winged Angel and the second battle theme from Final Fantasy IV.

Fantasian Neo Dimension is a 30 to 40 hour campaign. There’s some bonus content and a new game plus feature. It was fun at times, frustrating at others, but ultimately another good way to remind of why I enjoy RPGs so much. I won’t be playing it again, and I doubt I’ll remember it as I continue to play and replay new and old favorites. But, for what it was, Mistwalker did a good job delivering something classic.

Overall, 7/10: Unexpected for better and for worse, Fantasian Neo Dimension enhanced an Apple Arcade game I never would have played, and it’s recommended to dedicated RPG players.