Produced and written by the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi, and accompanied by a mesmerizing soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, Fantasian: Neo Dimension’s PS5 release will enchant both new players and longtime Final Fantasy fans. Although originally designed for mobile in 2021, Fantasian is a full-scale JRPG with undeniable charm. I recently had the chance to explore an early preview through the Ancient Hill area with Leo, Kina, and Cheryl in my party. The segment includes a few voiced cutscenes, a small area to explore, and a handful of battles, including a particularly mysterious encounter and an epic boss fight. Here are the highlights.
What’s new in this version
Fantasian: Neo Dimension brings some exciting upgrades when it releases on PS5. Most notably, the stunning 4K resolution brings every detail of the meticulously crafted world to life in breathtaking clarity. Another welcome addition is the bilingual voice acting. Whether you prefer the authenticity of Japanese dialogue or the accessibility of English, Fantasian: Neo Dimension delivers a fully voiced experience that brings the cast to life. Finally, the addition of an easier difficulty option means that newcomers to the genre will have an easier time getting through the game despite its classic JRPG difficulty.
One of the coolest new features is the ability to customize your soundtrack. For battles, players can choose from the original music composed for Fantasian—which is obviously fantastic considering its creator—or mix it with iconic tracks from some of the older Final Fantasy titles. You can choose a specific game or use the random option to have a surprise soundtrack play during each battle.
A unique artistic direction
Fantasian: Neo Dimension’s art direction is nothing short of phenomenal. The game’s world is built entirely from handcrafted dioramas, digitally recreated using drones equipped with 3D scanning technology. This painstaking process resulted in over 150 dioramas that make up the game’s various environments, each filled with hand-drawn detail.
These models are crafted with unparalleled attention to detail, with contributions from renowned artists including Akira Toriyama, the man behind Dragon Ball, and veterans of Japan’s Tokusatsu industry, renowned for its practical effects work in film and television.
Exploring these diorama-based environments is like stepping into a work of art, with layers of texture and intricate detail that I wish I could touch through the screen. The physics ingenuity creates a visual experience that’s completely unique to the game.
Combining heritage with innovation
One of the most notable aspects of Fantasian: Neo Dimension is how it cleverly blends classic JRPG elements with some innovative gameplay mechanics. Traditional JRPG fans will find comfort in the familiar turn-based combat system, complete with elemental weaknesses and your classic spells. However, the game introduces a simple twist by allowing players to manually target the trajectory of their attacks and spells, allowing them to bounce off multiple enemies. Some of these attacks will be your classic area-of-effect spells or single-target slashes, but others will pierce through enemies, and you can manually adjust the trajectory of your spells to hit specific enemies in their path. This added layer of strategy is incredibly satisfying, especially in large-scale battles.
And to boot, larger-scale battles are ensured by the Dimengeon system, a feature that addresses perhaps one of the most common criticisms of traditional JRPGs: random encounters that sometimes repeat themselves. Instead of constantly fighting the same enemies in the world above, Fantasian lets you store these encounters in the Dimengeon, an alternate dimension where you can tackle them all at once. A couple of caveats about this: any enemy you haven’t encountered yet will still trigger an instant battle, and you can only store a certain number of enemies before you have to dip your toes into the Dimengeon and clear your queue.
Not only does this system streamline gameplay, allowing for some fun periods of uninterrupted exploration, it also allows for some great battles. As you enter Dimengeon, you’ll find various rewards scattered throughout that allow you to steal enemy turns or power up your party’s attacks. Collecting these rewards by aiming your attacks through the rewards turns these mass battles into thrilling, high-risk encounters. I found this system particularly enjoyable because it allowed for more creative approaches to combat. The large number of enemies in these Dimengeon battles – reaching up to 30 in a single battle – gave me the opportunity to experiment with different spells and strategies, making each encounter feel fresh and exciting.
Fantasian: Neo Dimension is a beautifully crafted love letter to JRPGs of old, with modern touches that make it feel fresh and innovative. The combination of beautifully handcrafted diorama environments, classic gameplay elements, and new mechanics like the Dimengeon system make for an experience that is both nostalgic and refreshing. As a fan of the genre, my time playing Fantasian: Neo Dimension certainly has me eagerly awaiting its full release.
