Originally, Fantasian Neo Dimension was released for Apple Arcade. With its release on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, this JRPG is now accessible to a wider audience. 2 features are responsible for making the old-fashioned gameplay suitable for every RPG fan – even for MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen.
One of my greatest passions is probably Japanese role-playing games. That’s why I couldn’t be happier this year, as several major JRPG hits like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and Persona 3 Reload are coming to the video game market in 2024.
To perfectly round off the year, I dived into the world of the remake Fantasian Neo Dimension. Originally, the game came out for Apple Arcade in 2021, and now it is also available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Fantasian Neo Dimension is a role-playing game created by two famous personalities from the Final Fantasy universe. On one hand, the father of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, was involved in the title, and on the other hand, composer Nobou Uematsu.
Since Sakaguchi is responsible for the older Final Fantasy parts, it’s no surprise that Fantasian Neo Dimension relies on mechanics that date back to when Japanese role-playing games were just emerging. However, even though many mechanics are quite old-fashioned, 2 specific features convinced me to play the title.
You can watch the trailer for Fantasian Neo Dimension here:
2 features make Fantasian a must for every RPG fan
Fantasian Neo Dimension relies on mechanics, that are typical for earlier JRPGs, including the older Final Fantasy titles. These include:
- Save points at fixed locations activated by a floating crystal.
- Cutscenes cannot be skipped, so in the worst case, you have to watch the same scene multiple times.
- Hours of grinding to be strong enough to face the boss enemies.
- There are random battles when you move across the map. The frequency is so high that you’ll stop every few meters and have to engage in a battle.
Modern role-playing games try to prevent such old-fashioned mechanics and therefore include sufficient quality-of-life improvements. These include free saving, an option to skip cutscenes, and various difficulty levels.
But despite the many JRPG features from an ancient era that may seem daunting at first glance, 2 features saved the fun of the game for me.
On one hand, with the console and PC remake, there is the option to choose between two difficulty levels. In the original version, there was only one difficulty level that was quite challenging. The development team seems to know that the original version was hard, as the then-only difficulty level is now the “Hard” option.
A new addition is the ability to choose “Normal” as a difficulty level. And what can I say: The difficulty level is just right for me. I hate grinding for hours just to defeat a boss enemy. With the normal difficulty level, it rarely happened that I had to level up once or twice to beat an enemy.
I was also never pulled out of the story for long. The story has its emotional peaks and exciting twists that I didn’t expect. If I had to grind for hours in front of a boss, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it in one go.
On the other hand, there is a useful feature that I would wish for in every game with random battles. In Fantasian, there is the so-called Dimengeon machine. This allows you to save enemies from random battles and store them for later. With the machine, it’s possible to save up to 30 enemies.
The machine is so good because it didn’t pull me out of exploration. Without the device, it’s annoying to walk through the game world. I couldn’t take 20 steps in an enemy area without being attacked by monsters.
This is especially unfortunate because the game world consists of handcrafted dioramas. I couldn’t get enough of many places and wanted to admire the beautiful game world in peace. Every object seemed perfectly placed and beautifully designed, making me feel like a dwarf in a clay world.
Thanks to the Dimengeon machine, I could save the battles and deal with them later. This even brought a bit of strategy with it, as I could gauge when the next level-up would happen and my health and mana points would refill.
It’s even possible to empty the machine by paying a fee. This way, random battles can be completely bypassed if one is not in the mood for them. The only exception is that each new type of enemy appears at least once as a battle. But I would recommend everyone to participate in every battle to level high enough for the enemies.
New features for the PC and console version of Fantasian
Through the two features, the game became much more enjoyable for me. I can also imagine that it could open the door for many players who otherwise can’t deal with feature relics of old JRPGs.
In addition to the normal difficulty level, an English and Japanese voiceover has been added, which greatly enhances the dry dialogues. The customizable background music is also a nice gift, especially for fans of Final Fantasy. Because there is the option to choose background music from various games in the Final Fantasy series. It brings back memories!
Those who are not bothered by the negative aspects of the game or are generally fans of old-school JRPGs will likely have a great time with Fantasian. But even newcomers in the JRPG field, who want to experience the essence of older role-playing games, have a good option with this game.
That the RPG world doesn’t change dramatically is, according to Sakaguchi, the fault of the fans. He sees the problem with players who do not want change, but rather rely solely on nostalgia: The creator of Final Fantasy says: Games are not modernized because of the players
