Fantasian Neo Dimension is remarkable but flawed
Thirty hours into my Fantasian Neo Dimension playthrough, I found myself in a surreal landscape, a twisted amalgamation dotted by ghostly white corruption known as Mechteria. My Dimengeon device, a contraption that allows me to bank monster encounters, was nearly overflowing, so I had to take out over 40 enemies in a single battle. I continued to advance, thinking that the threats had been eliminated, yet numerous encounters piled up within mere seconds.Fantasian Neo Dimension certainly presents a challenge, even for the most ardent fans of turn-based role-playing games, such as myself. Developed by Mistwalker and released in two parts for Apple Arcade back in 2021, Fantasian is a collaboration between two giants of the industry: Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and renowned composer Nobuo Uematsu. Now, this new rerelease for Windows PC and consoles boasts 4K resolution support, along with battle themes from previous Final Fantasy titles, given that Square Enix is handling publishing duties.Indeed, Fantasian Neo Dimension is more than just a callback to the classics of yore or a mere nostalgia fix, as the game has its own quirks to make it stand out of a crowded pack. However, it has a few notable flaws, namely with the controls and camera movement, as well as the narrative arc and combat.Like numerous RPGs, Fantasian Neo Dimension tells the story of an amnesiac. In this case, an adventurer named Leo has found himself jumping back and forth between realms, not knowing what led him down this path. As you piece together Leos story, youre joined by a memorable cast of characters, such as the demure Kina, a healer with a mysterious power, and rambunctious princess Cheryl, whose attitude proves to be more than a match for poor Leo.Fantasian Neo Dimensions story does have its share of serious themes, like children yearning for their parents, and the emotional connections that can eventually grow among newfound friends. At the same time, Sakaguchi and his team deftly combine these ideas with humor and lighthearted sequences. The games cutscenes are bolstered by terrific English and Japanese voice acting to further heighten the drama or convey the relationships among the characters.I can recall the many times I chuckled whenever party members like Zinikr, a boisterous ship captain, and Ez, a vagabond youth, chided Leo for forgetting the traps he set in his own headquarters. Likewise, there were times when mysterious elflike researcher Valrika interpreted things a little too literally, and made remarks about her taste for men with beards. The appearances of the Cinderella Tri-Stars, recurring bosses with some hilarious battle shenanigans, made me laugh out loud, too. There were also a few callbacks to JRPGs, most notably the love triangle involving Leo, Kina, and Cheryl complete with hints of jealousy which reminded me of Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa from Final Fantasy 7.Fantasian Neo Dimensions campaign, meanwhile, made me feel like I was playing Chrono Trigger all over again. My journey took me to other realms not necessarily through time travel quirks, but via dimension hopping to distant places with their own unique designs and landscapes. The art design in the game is nothing short of wonderful, with vivid hand-crafted backgrounds akin to dioramas, from lush forests and frozen mountaintops, to dingy dungeons and cities overrun with Mechteria. Sadly, Ive also noticed that a few backgrounds and environmental details werent fully rendered in 4K, making them look blurry when up close.This, too, is further compounded by janky controls and camera movement. Fantasian Neo Dimension offers three control schemes: gamepad, mouse clicks, and WASD keys. Unfortunately, the sweeping movement of the camera view perhaps intended to make exploration feel more dynamic happened so frequently that it felt as though I was fighting with my gamepads analog stick just to get my character to move toward a location.Speaking of Mechteria, these pustulant growths are harmful to humans, blocking pathways or depleting your partys HP if you get too close. The presence and origins of Mechteria in the world are further explained as you progress through the campaign. In keeping with the other RPGs that clearly influenced this game, lets just say that the planet-annihilating antagonists you fear at the start are but the tip of the iceberg in a narrative arc that goes from zero to 100 rather quickly.After a predominantly linear and tightly woven first half of the campaign, the second half devolves into a nonlinear and disjointed series of rescue the rest of your team dungeon romps. This presentation worked as a two-part launch in 2021, since the parts had a monthslong gap between their releases, but the transition from the first half to the second is jarring in a full release at this stage. In a way, the disparity between the two halves also reminded me of discs 1 and 2 of Xenogears, where the former and latter had vastly different structures and presentation.Combat in Fantasian Neo Dimension consists of random enemy encounters, which occur as you explore landscapes. A unique twist to this tried-and-tested formula is the inclusion of the aforementioned Dimengeon device, a means of banking or collecting enemies until youre ready to take them on in one huge battle. However, the Dimengeon also has an (upgradable) limit, so you have to be mindful of when to trigger the encounter, lest you get overwhelmed later on.I enjoyed utilizing this feature for the most part, though the latter half of the campaign proved to be tedious due to so many encounters happening within seconds of each other. I had to partake in multiple Dimengeon battles with over 40 enemies, so much so that the pacing became unbearable. (Theres a way to completely reset the Dimengeon counter, but this required me to warp to another town. Although fast travel in the game is very player-friendly, I didnt always have the means to teleport to and from certain maps or sections.)Meanwhile, the battles themselves are your usual turn-based affair, with enemies and your three-person party taking actions based on the initiative bar. Another refreshing take in Fantasian Neo Dimension is that most character skills and spells pierce through enemies, and you can align their trajectory to hit specific foes in a straight or curved line. For example, if one opponent is blocking its cohorts behind it, you can bend your spell to strike those targets instead. The concept adds new tactical layers in how I approached battles, especially during instances when I had to prioritize specific foes or power-ups. The downside is that enemy variety is lacking in many areas, with the game often featuring the same monster types, albeit with different elemental weaknesses.My only other complaint with Fantasian Neo Dimensions combat is that several key mechanics are introduced a bit too late in the campaign. This is somewhat understandable in the case of Growth Maps character-specific skill trees with dozens of perks and upgrades akin to Final Fantasy 10s Sphere Grid system since these are unlocked as you obtain key items known as Divine Artifacts. Still, I wouldve wanted to have seen the Tension system, akin to Limit Breaks (i.e., powerful abilities that can be unleashed only upon filling a gauge) introduced sooner. I can only surmise that this was due to the originals two-part launch, where the release of part 2 made it feel like an expansion of sorts for those who had already gone through part 1. For a full release, though, a few major tweaks wouldve been necessary to align these mechanics with expected player progression.One positive aspect worth mentioning is that unlike the original version of the game, Fantasian Neo Dimension has Normal Mode, a welcome concept given that the Apple Arcade release only had Hard Mode as its default difficulty. This makes the game significantly more approachable for newcomers. The grind becomes a lot more manageable if youre attempting to bring down the games toughest bosses, too. Still, dont expect those fights to be cakewalks, since you still need to be mindful of your party composition, character perks, and equipment.Moreover, the collaboration between Mistwalker and Square Enix has led to one of the best features in the game: the ability to choose from battle themes from other Final Fantasy titles, such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, and Final Fantasy 16. I honestly grinned from ear to ear when I fought a couple of slime mobs and Uematsus brilliant One-Winged Angel suddenly played in the background. Even with just the default music, Uematsus genius remains on full display, with soaring and haunting melodies complementing each stage and location. Theres even a tune that sounds like a more sinister rendition of the classic Prelude/Crystal theme from the Final Fantasy series.In the end, Fantasian Neo Dimension is still a solid offering from Mistwalker, one that brought back memories of classic RPGs I played decades prior, including those featuring work from Sakaguchi and Uematsu. References and callbacks abound, though there are still refreshing concepts to keep you engaged for dozens of hours, including a secret dungeon and a new game plus mode. Just watch out for the annoying camera movements all throughout and the ridiculous number of encounters toward the later portion of the game.Fantasian Neo Dimension will be released Dec. 5 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed on PC using a copy provided by Square Enix. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygons ethics policy here.
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