Like Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, FANTASIAN Neo Dimension is another role-playing game I knew nothing about before this year started. Developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker studio, FANTASIAN debuted on Apple Arcade in 2021. FANTASIAN Neo Dimension is the newly released console and PC version with English and Japanese voiceovers, a new difficulty setting, and 4K support.
I had an appointment to see this game at PAX West and walked away with so many questions about the storyline, gameplay mechanics, and characters. After spending the last few weeks playing through the campaign, I’m glad this masterpiece of a game is finally coming to more platforms. Here are more thoughts on the game and what you can expect if you check it out.
A Gripping Storyline
FANTASIAN Neo Dimension revolves around the main protagonist Leo as he embarks on a multi-dimensional journey looking for answers. When we are first introduced to him, it’s revealed that he has amnesia and can’t remember certain things about himself and the pivotal choices he made in the past.
At the same time, a mysterious mechanical infection is destroying his world. While recovering his memories and finding the source of the infection, he comes across several friends and foes who will all play a role in him fulfilling his destiny.
I love how this story tackles themes like life, death, and humanity and expands upon them further to illustrate some form of hope in a dying world. If you enjoy the narrative themes in Stellar Blade and NieR: Automata you’ll find yourself right at home with this game. Learning more about Leo and watching his relationships grow with other characters was also very exciting and made uncovering these secrets even more fun.
While this is largely an action-packed RPG, the intricate moments taken away from the action succeed in telling meaningful side stories. When you talk with different characters, you learn more about their backstories and prior interactions with Leo.
These impeccably narrated storylines feature beautifully illustrated sequences with the perfect backdrop music to set the tone. While you can skip these moments, I would encourage you to check them out as they display the vulnerabilities behind certain characters and give you a better understanding of their viewpoints.
Enhanced Visuals
From a visual standpoint, FANTASIAN Neo Dimension looks even crisper than the previous version. This high-definition port has full 4K support across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The entire world you explore is built from over 150 hand-drawn dioramas, which are stunning to look at and equally fun to navigate. The character models look great, and the animation sequences and cutscenes are silky smooth.
I didn’t experience any performance issues or bugs while playing on the PlayStation 5. The game also runs at 60FPS for those curious to try that out. I’m not sure if this is a game that will eventually get PS5 Pro enhancements shortly after launch or at a later time. Since Final Fantasy VII Rebirth did, I think it’s possible but we will have to see what Square Enix ultimately decides on that.
Fun Combat In A Mysterious World
Combat and exploration are the two main pillars of the overall gameplay experience in FANTASIAN Neo Dimension. As you walk through different areas, you’ll be redirected to a battle screen with enemies eager to fight you and your team. Most of the time you won’t see what types of enemies you’ll face until the battle screen appears. The tutorial you play as soon as you start the campaign does a great job of getting you up to speed on how combat works and you’ll get used to the battle interruptions pretty quickly.
Once battles begin, your team and your adversaries take turns pulling off attacks. Each member of your team has health power (HP) and magic power (MP) that continues to deplete as the fight rages on. Everyone on the squad also has unique skills that can evolve. These special attacks have varying skill trajectories meaning that you can alter the positioning of the attack to affect multiple enemies at once. Trajectories are cool and offer different approaches to strategizing the most effective moves.
As you continue playing through the story, Leo discovers a Dimengeon machine that can store various enemies in a battle realm to fight later. I found this tool very helpful because it cut down on the times I needed to engage in battles immediately. There is a limit however to how many enemies can be stored and once you reach that limit you are immediately through into the Dimengeon to face all of these enemies at once.
These battle encounters are a lot of fun because of the inclusion of icons called Dimengeon gimmicks that appear near enemies and can be used as part of a targeted skill trajectory attack. For example, if you line up an attack to hit one of these icons, it can lead to an increased attack power or extra turns. These gimmicks are randomized based on each fight but come in handy to help you finish the fight quicker.
If there is one critique to make about combat then it would be that the fights can get repetitive after a while. I’m talking specifically about the random enemy encounters as opposed to the boss battles which are more varied and challenging. The upside is to think of every other fight as a way to level up your characters and learn which attacks work best. If you take this approach then I guarantee you’ll be well equipped to deal with any bigger threat that comes your way.
When you aren’t fighting, there is a massive world to dissect. There are several chests to unlock by finding special keys and you can engage in dialogue conversations with other NPCs. As you get deeper into the game, Leo gains access to a Warp device that helps him travel faster to any location he remembers. Having the ability to take breaks between exploring new areas and fighting enemies keeps everything fresh and balanced.
A Sensational Soundtrack
Final Fantasy Series Composer Nobuo Uematsu did an incredible job on this soundtrack. The music perfectly matches the narrative themes and fully encapsulates every moment. Players also have the option to swap the background music for songs from other Final Fantasy games if they’d like.
The story campaign takes about 23 hours to finish without doing any side quests. If you want to complete all of the side quests then you’re looking at about 50+ hours. There is a New Game+ mode available that I’m about to start. There is more than enough content to check out for the advertised price of $49.99.
Final Verdict
FANTASIAN Neo Dimension is a game I didn’t know anything about before this year. Not only was I surprised by how good it was but it also cemented RPGs as one of my favorite gaming genres these days. If you’re looking for an RPG with a great storyline, meaningful characters, and a cool combat system look no further than this.
This review was written based on a digital review copy of FANTASIAN Neo Dimension for PlayStation 5 provided by Square Enix.
