Summary
Fantasian Neo Dimension is a collaboration between Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and renowned composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game has its own quirks to make it stand out of a crowded pack. However, it has a few notable flaws, namely with the controls and camera movement, as well as the narrative arc and combat.
The game’s cutscenes are bolstered by terrific English and Japanese voice acting. The art design in the game is nothing short of wonderful. The campaign made me feel like I was playing Chrono Trigger all over again.
After a predominantly linear and tightly woven first half of the campaign, the second half devolves into a nonjointed series of “rescue the rest of your team” dungeon romps. The presentation worked as a two-part launch in 2021, but the transition from the first half to the second is jarring in a full release at this stage.
Dimengeon battles have an (upgradable) limit, so you have to be mindful of when to trigger the encounter. The downside is that enemy variety is lacking in many areas.
This is somewhat understandable in the case of Growth Maps — character-specific skill trees with dozens of perks and upgrades. Still, I would’ve wanted to have seen the Tension system, akin to Limit Breaks, introduced sooner. Unlike the original version of the game, Fantasian Neo Dimension has Normal Mode.
Fantasian Neo Dimension will be released Dec. 5 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed on PC using a copy provided by Square Enix.
