Fantasian Neo Dimension review – Final Fantasy father gets a deserved homecoming
It’s a bit surreal playing Fantasian with randomised Final Fantasy battle music. But it’s not unfitting. At one point I was in a fraught battle against a giant fiery salamander as the unmistakable piercing strings of One Winged Angel distracted me, as if Sephiroth himself was about to swoop down from the sky. To help or hinder, who can say.
Fantasian Neo Dimension reviewDeveloper: MistwalkerPublisher: Square EnixPlatform: Played on Nintendo SwitchAvailability: Out on 5th December on PC (Steam), Xbox Series X/S, PS5/PS4, and Nintendo Switch
Fantasian feels like a lost Final Fantasy game emerging from the 90s and that’s only reaffirmed by the inclusion of actual Final Fantasy battle music, which has been added to this re-release of the game. And for a time it really was lost. Developed by Mistwalker, itself a studio founded by the father of Final Fantasy Hironobu Sakaguchi, and with music from long-time Final Fantasy series composer Nobuo Uematsu, Fantasian was originally released – and subsequently trapped – exclusively on Apple Arcade back in 2021.
Now Mistwalker has reunited with Final Fantasy custodians Square Enix to publish this PC and console re-release as Fantasian Neo Dimension, with a little help from Final Fantasy 14 and 16’s Naoki Yoshida. This is a homecoming, then, the gang back together to share with the world a curio intended to be Sakaguchi’s final, fantasy.
FANTASIAN Neo Dimension Launch Trailer Watch on YouTube
What characterises Fantasian most of all is its blend of old school genre trappings and modern sensibilities. Sakaguchi is uncompromising in his vision – for better or worse – resulting in a game aimed squarely at longtime RPG players and demanding a great degree of expertise. Yet this re-release is undoubtedly a more approachable version, if still not quite definitive.