Thirty hours into my Fantasian Neo Dimension playthrough, I discovered myself in a surreal panorama, a twisted amalgamation dotted by ghostly white corruption referred to as Mechteria. My Dimengeon machine, a contraption that permits me to “financial institution” monster encounters, was practically overflowing, so I needed to take out over 40 enemies in a single battle. I continued to advance, considering that the threats had been eradicated, but quite a few encounters piled up inside mere seconds.
Fantasian Neo Dimension actually presents a problem, even for probably the most ardent followers of turn-based role-playing video games, resembling myself. Developed by Mistwalker and launched in two elements for Apple Arcade again in 2021, Fantasian is a collaboration between two giants of the business: Ultimate Fantasy sequence creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and famend composer Nobuo Uematsu. Now, this new rerelease for Home windows PC and consoles boasts 4K decision assist, together with battle themes from earlier Ultimate Fantasy titles, on condition that Sq. Enix is dealing with publishing duties.
Certainly, Fantasian Neo Dimension is greater than only a callback to the classics of yore or a mere nostalgia repair, as the sport has its personal quirks to make it stand out of a crowded pack. Nonetheless, it has a number of notable flaws, specifically with the controls and digicam motion, in addition to the narrative arc and fight.
Like quite a few RPGs, Fantasian Neo Dimension tells the story of an amnesiac. On this case, an adventurer named Leo has discovered himself leaping forwards and backwards between realms, not realizing what led him down this path. As you piece collectively Leo’s story, you’re joined by a memorable solid of characters, such because the demure Kina, a healer with a mysterious energy, and rambunctious princess Cheryl, whose perspective proves to be greater than a match for poor Leo.
Fantasian Neo Dimension’s story does have its share of great themes, like youngsters craving for his or her mother and father, and the emotional connections that may finally develop amongst newfound pals. On the similar time, Sakaguchi and his crew deftly mix these concepts with humor and lighthearted sequences. The sport’s cutscenes are bolstered by terrific English and Japanese voice performing to additional heighten the drama or convey the relationships among the many characters.
I can recall the numerous instances I chuckled at any time when celebration members like Zinikr, a boisterous ship captain, and Ez, a vagabond youth, chided Leo for forgetting the traps he set in his personal headquarters. Likewise, there have been instances when mysterious elflike researcher Valrika interpreted issues a bit of too actually, and made remarks about her style for males with beards. The appearances of the Cinderella Tri-Stars, recurring bosses with some hilarious battle shenanigans, made me chuckle out loud, too. There have been additionally a number of callbacks to JRPGs, most notably the love triangle involving Leo, Kina, and Cheryl — full with hints of jealousy — which jogged my memory of Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa from Ultimate Fantasy 7.
Picture: Mistwalker/Sq. Enix through epicgamejourney
Fantasian Neo Dimension’s marketing campaign, in the meantime, made me really feel like I used to be taking part in Chrono Set off another time. My journey took me to different realms not essentially by way of time journey quirks, however through dimension hopping to distant locations with their very own distinctive designs and landscapes. The artwork design within the recreation is nothing wanting fantastic, with vivid hand-crafted backgrounds akin to dioramas, from lush forests and frozen mountaintops, to dingy dungeons and cities overrun with Mechteria. Sadly, I’ve additionally observed that a number of backgrounds and environmental particulars weren’t totally rendered in 4K, making them look blurry when up shut.
This, too, is additional compounded by janky controls and digicam motion. Fantasian Neo Dimension presents three management schemes: gamepad, mouse clicks, and WASD keys. Sadly, the sweeping motion of the digicam view — maybe supposed to make exploration really feel extra dynamic — occurred so often that it felt as if I used to be combating with my gamepad’s analog stick simply to get my character to maneuver towards a location.
Talking of Mechteria, these pustulant growths are dangerous to people, blocking pathways or depleting your celebration’s HP when you get too shut. The presence and origins of Mechteria on this planet are additional defined as you progress by way of the marketing campaign. Consistent with the opposite RPGs that clearly influenced this recreation, let’s simply say that the planet-annihilating antagonists you worry initially are however the tip of the iceberg in a story arc that goes from zero to 100 quite shortly.
After a predominantly linear and tightly woven first half of the marketing campaign, the second half devolves right into a nonlinear and disjointed sequence of “rescue the remainder of your crew” dungeon romps. This presentation labored as a two-part launch in 2021, because the elements had a monthslong hole between their releases, however the transition from the primary half to the second is jarring in a full launch at this stage. In a manner, the disparity between the 2 halves additionally jogged my memory of discs 1 and a pair of of Xenogears, the place the previous and latter had vastly totally different constructions and presentation.
Picture: Mistwalker/Sq. Enix through epicgamejourney
Fight in Fantasian Neo Dimension consists of random enemy encounters, which happen as you discover landscapes. A novel twist to this tried-and-tested components is the inclusion of the aforementioned Dimengeon machine, a method of “banking” or “accumulating” enemies till you’re able to take them on in a single large battle. Nonetheless, the Dimengeon additionally has an (upgradable) restrict, so it’s important to be aware of when to set off the encounter, lest you get overwhelmed in a while.
I loved using this function for probably the most half, although the latter half of the marketing campaign proved to be tedious because of so many encounters occurring inside seconds of one another. I needed to partake in a number of Dimengeon battles with over 40 enemies, a lot in order that the pacing grew to become insufferable. (There’s a approach to utterly reset the Dimengeon counter, however this required me to warp to a different city. Though quick journey within the recreation could be very player-friendly, I didn’t at all times have the means to teleport to and from sure maps or sections.)
In the meantime, the battles themselves are your regular turn-based affair, with enemies and your three-person celebration taking actions based mostly on the initiative bar. One other refreshing soak up Fantasian Neo Dimension is that the majority character abilities and spells pierce by way of enemies, and you may align their trajectory to hit particular foes in a straight or curved line. For instance, if one opponent is obstructing its cohorts behind it, you’ll be able to “bend” your spell to strike these targets as a substitute. The idea provides new tactical layers in how I approached battles, particularly throughout situations once I needed to prioritize particular foes or power-ups. The draw back is that enemy selection is missing in lots of areas, with the sport usually that includes the identical monster varieties, albeit with totally different elemental weaknesses.
Picture: Mistwalker/Sq. Enix through epicgamejourney
My solely different grievance with Fantasian Neo Dimension’s fight is that a number of key mechanics are launched a bit too late within the marketing campaign. That is considerably comprehensible within the case of Progress Maps — character-specific talent bushes with dozens of perks and upgrades akin to Ultimate Fantasy 10’s Sphere Grid system — since these are unlocked as you receive key gadgets referred to as Divine Artifacts. Nonetheless, I’d’ve wished to have seen the Pressure system, akin to Restrict Breaks (i.e., highly effective talents that may be unleashed solely upon filling a gauge) launched sooner. I can solely surmise that this was as a result of unique’s two-part launch, the place the discharge of half 2 made it really feel like an growth of kinds for many who had already gone by way of half 1. For a full launch, although, a number of main tweaks would’ve been essential to align these mechanics with anticipated participant development.
One optimistic facet value mentioning is that not like the unique model of the sport, Fantasian Neo Dimension has Regular Mode, a welcome idea on condition that the Apple Arcade launch solely had Exhausting Mode as its default issue. This makes the sport considerably extra approachable for newcomers. The grind turns into much more manageable when you’re making an attempt to carry down the sport’s hardest bosses, too. Nonetheless, don’t count on these fights to be cakewalks, since you continue to have to be aware of your celebration composition, character perks, and gear.
Furthermore, the collaboration between Mistwalker and Sq. Enix has led to the most effective options within the recreation: the power to select from battle themes from different Ultimate Fantasy titles, resembling Ultimate Fantasy 7 Remake, Ultimate Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Ultimate Fantasy 14: Endwalker, Ultimate Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, and Ultimate Fantasy 16. I actually grinned from ear to ear once I fought a few slime mobs and Uematsu’s good “One-Winged Angel” immediately performed within the background. Even with simply the default music, Uematsu’s genius stays on full show, with hovering and haunting melodies complementing every stage and placement. There’s even a tune that seems like a extra sinister rendition of the traditional Prelude/Crystal theme from the Ultimate Fantasy sequence.
In the long run, Fantasian Neo Dimension continues to be a strong providing from Mistwalker, one which introduced again reminiscences of traditional RPGs I performed a long time prior, together with these that includes work from Sakaguchi and Uematsu. References and callbacks abound, although there are nonetheless refreshing ideas to maintain you engaged for dozens of hours, together with a secret dungeon and a brand new recreation plus mode. Simply be careful for the annoying digicam actions all all through and the ridiculous variety of encounters towards the later portion of the sport.
Fantasian Neo Dimension might be launched Dec. 5 on Nintendo Swap, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Sequence X. The sport was reviewed on PC utilizing a duplicate offered by Sq. Enix. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media could earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. Yow will discover further details about epicgamejourney’s ethics coverage right here.
