Fantasian Neo Dimension is remarkable but flawed

Thirty hours into my Fantasian Neo Dimension playthrough, I discovered myself in a surreal panorama, a twisted amalgamation dotted by ghostly white corruption often called Mechteria. My Dimengeon machine, a contraption that enables 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 definitely presents a problem, even for probably the most ardent followers of turn-based role-playing video games, corresponding to myself. Developed by Mistwalker and launched in two elements for Apple Arcade again in 2021, Fantasian is a collaboration between two giants of the trade: Remaining Fantasy collection creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and famend composer Nobuo Uematsu. Now, this new rerelease for Home windows PC and consoles boasts 4K decision help, together with battle themes from earlier Remaining Fantasy titles, provided 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. Nevertheless, it has just a few notable flaws, particularly with the controls and digital camera 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 backwards and forwards between realms, not realizing what led him down this path. As you piece collectively Leo’s story, you’re joined by a memorable forged of characters, such because the demure Kina, a healer with a mysterious energy, and rambunctious princess Cheryl, whose angle proves to be greater than a match for poor Leo.

Fantasian Neo Dimension’s story does have its share of great themes, like kids craving for his or her mother and father, and the emotional connections that may finally develop amongst newfound mates. On the identical time, Sakaguchi and his staff 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 occasions I chuckled every time social gathering 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 occasions when mysterious elflike researcher Valrika interpreted issues slightly 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 giggle out loud, too. There have been additionally just a few 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 Remaining Fantasy 7.

Fantasian Neo Dimension’s marketing campaign, in the meantime, made me really feel like I used to be taking part in Chrono Set off over again. My journey took me to different realms not essentially by way of time journey quirks, however by way of dimension hopping to distant locations with their very own distinctive designs and landscapes. The artwork design within the recreation is nothing in need of 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 seen that just a few 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 digital camera motion. Fantasian Neo Dimension affords three management schemes: gamepad, mouse clicks, and WASD keys. Sadly, the sweeping motion of the digital camera view — maybe meant to make exploration really feel extra dynamic — occurred so steadily 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 social gathering’s HP for those who get too shut. The presence and origins of Mechteria on the planet are additional defined as you progress by way of the marketing campaign. In line with the opposite RPGs that clearly influenced this recreation, let’s simply say that the planet-annihilating antagonists you worry in the beginning are however the tip of the iceberg in a story arc that goes from zero to 100 slightly rapidly.

After a predominantly linear and tightly woven first half of the marketing campaign, the second half devolves right into a nonlinear and disjointed collection of “rescue the remainder of your staff” dungeon romps. This presentation labored as a two-part launch in 2021, for the reason that 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 method, 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 buildings and presentation.

Fight in Fantasian Neo Dimension consists of random enemy encounters, which happen as you discover landscapes. A singular twist to this tried-and-tested system is the inclusion of the aforementioned Dimengeon machine, a method of “banking” or “amassing” enemies till you’re able to take them on in a single large battle. Nevertheless, 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 characteristic for probably the most half, although the latter half of the marketing campaign proved to be tedious as a consequence 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 turned insufferable. (There’s a technique to fully reset the Dimengeon counter, however this required me to warp to a different city. Though quick journey within the recreation may 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 ordinary turn-based affair, with enemies and your three-person social gathering taking actions primarily based on the initiative bar. One other refreshing absorb 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 possibly can “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 typically that includes the identical monster varieties, albeit with totally different elemental weaknesses.

My solely different criticism 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 Development Maps — character-specific ability bushes with dozens of perks and upgrades akin to Remaining Fantasy 10’s Sphere Grid system — since these are unlocked as you get hold of key gadgets often called Divine Artifacts. Nonetheless, I’d’ve needed to have seen the Pressure system, akin to Restrict Breaks (i.e., highly effective skills 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 types for individuals who had already gone by way of half 1. For a full launch, although, just a few main tweaks would’ve been essential to align these mechanics with anticipated participant development.

One constructive facet price mentioning is that in contrast to the unique model of the sport, Fantasian Neo Dimension has Regular Mode, a welcome idea provided that the Apple Arcade launch solely had Laborious Mode as its default issue. This makes the sport considerably extra approachable for newcomers. The grind turns into much more manageable for those who’re trying to carry down the sport’s hardest bosses, too. Nonetheless, don’t count on these fights to be cakewalks, since you continue to must be aware of your social gathering composition, character perks, and tools.

Furthermore, the collaboration between Mistwalker and Sq. Enix has led to probably the greatest options within the recreation: the flexibility to select from battle themes from different Remaining Fantasy titles, corresponding to Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake, Remaining Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Remaining Fantasy 14: Endwalker, Remaining Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, and Remaining Fantasy 16. I truthfully grinned from ear to ear once I fought a few slime mobs and Uematsu’s sensible “One-Winged Angel” out of the blue 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 site. There’s even a tune that appears like a extra sinister rendition of the traditional Prelude/Crystal theme from the Remaining Fantasy collection.

In the long run, Fantasian Neo Dimension remains to be a strong providing from Mistwalker, one which introduced again recollections of traditional RPGs I performed many years 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 digital camera actions all all through and the ridiculous variety of encounters towards the later portion of the sport.

Fantasian Neo Dimension will likely be launched Dec. 5 on Nintendo Change, 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 by way of affiliate hyperlinks. You’ll find extra details about todaysviralmedia’s ethics coverage right here.