Fantasian Neo Dimension review: modern RPG classic gets the port it deserves

When I first fought Fantasian’s Sandsea Serpent, one of the Apple Arcade RPG’s first bosses, it wiped the floor with me. Now returning to it years later in Fantasian Neo Dimension, a new console port of the mobile standout, I didn’t find the battle nearly as difficult as I remembered. Was it that I was already familiar with the boss, so I had an advantage this time around? Not exactly. That was thanks to one of the game’s new features, a new “normal difficulty” that toned down what was once a brutal challenge.

This small difficulty adjustment is one of many welcome changes to Fantasian Neo Dimension, making it a much smoother experience than what’s currently available on Apple Arcade. Tweaks like that don’t get in the way of what the original game does so well, though.

Neo Dimension polishes an excellent RPG with an inventive turn-based combat system, fun cast of characters, and standout visual presentation. Its mobile origins result in some disjointed story pacing and awkward controls, but Neo Dimension’s enhanced features makes the 2021 RPG feel fresh again.

Modern throwback

Fantasian Neo Dimension follows a young man named Leo who becomes an amnesiac after suffering a magical explosion in a factory. In a journey to recover his lost memories, he aims to learn more about Mechteria, a machine-like plague that’s increasingly taking over the environment. It’s a classic world-hopping and world-saving affair that’s been explored many times in other RPGs, but Fantasian supplements the common plotline with a charming cast of characters.

Each character embodies familiar tropes. These include the old guy Zinikr, the annoying kid Ez, the lone wolf Tan, and the girl with mysterious powers, Kina. Fantasian is filled with character-specific side quests that let us see what each hero is like beyond these tropes, but not all character development was divided up equally. I enjoyed the cliche yet fun subtle love triangle between Leo, Kina, and Cheryl, but Tan feels underdeveloped because he permanently joins the cast too deep into the story.

The original Fantasian’s story pacing felt uneven because the game itself was split into two halves released months apart, each of which has pros and cons. The first half has tons of story exposition and sets up intriguing plotlines later on, but combat can grow a bit stale.

The second half greatly expands on gameplay by giving each character a skill tree, opening up new battle possibilities. However, major plot developments don’t occur until the last few hours after bombarding players with boss fights. Since Neo Dimension is now one single package, the pacing feels a bit better because I can simply jump into the second half right after finishing the first, but the disconnect is still noticeable in the unified release.

What helps alleviate the story and character development’s weird pacing is Fantasian’s excellent presentation. The environments are presented as dioramas (created from real, handmade models) that look stunningly natural, especially as an alternative to bland 3D models or hyper-realistic visuals. The fixed camera angles add a unique retro flair that makes it feel like I’m playing a throwback Nintendo DS game.

Line of sight

One of Fantasian’s best aspects, which is preserved on consoles, is its turn-based battle system. On mobile, Fantasian took advantage of touchscreen controls by letting players adjust the trajectory of certain attacks. This allowed for some unique strategic gameplay. For example, some skills can hit multiple enemies at a time, but if an enemy had a shield up, the attack would stop dead in its tracks. By modifying the skill’s arc, I could redirect the attack to bypass the shielded enemy and still hit the enemies behind it. This touch-based battle system loses a tiny bit of novelty now that it’s been translated to a controller, but it still feels just as immensely satisfying hitting multiple enemies at once.

I’m not a big fan of random encounters in modern games, but Fantasian handles it expertly with its Dimengeon’s mechanic. Every time you trigger a random encounter, the enemies get sent into a pocket dimension if you have a gadget activated. You don’t have to fight them right away; instead, you can knock out a dozen enemies at once in one big battle gauntlet. Eventually, the Dimengeon will overflow after a certain threshold and you’ll be forced to face them all at once.

Not only does this save a huge amount of time by not having to go through screens and transitions between the field and battle every time a fight occurs but defeating all these monsters at once makes combat feel worthwhile. Instead of incremental EXP boosts after multiple small battles, my party gets a huge cumulative boost that makes it feel like I’m making actual progress. Players can toggle the Dimengeon device on and off at any time if you still want that traditional random encounter experience.

While these new changes are welcome, I wish that there were a few more. An option to increase the speed of battles like in Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake would’ve been appreciated. It especially could have helped during the long-winded Dimengeon fights. A minimap in the corner of the screen would’ve been a nice addition too, as it’s annoying to keep having to pull up a map to see where I was going.

What’s new?

All of these features translates well to consoles. The dioramas now look even better in Neo Dimension, with 4K resolution making them sharper. I could see all of the small details like mountain grooves on TV much easier than I could on a tiny phone screen.

However, Neo Dimension has some awkward controls carried over from its mobile roots. Whenever the fixed camera would shift in a new angle as I traveled across a field or town, I’d try to change Leo’s direction, yet the controls would be unresponsive. I’d have to stop first, and then move in a new direction. It feels like this is an issue leftover from porting its mobile touchscreen controls to modern consoles.

As a nice touch, the game comes complete with voice acting for cutscenes, which adds weight to its most emotionally heavy story scenes. The game has a fantastic soundtrack to boot, composed by Final Fantasy veteran Nobuo Uematsu. It especially shines during some boss themes toward the end of the second half. Neo Dimension even adds the option to customize its soundtrack and play Final Fantasy music during combat, which is a sentimental callback to its inspirations.

In the original version, Fantasian’s second half was criticized for being too hard, with bosses having the ability to wipe the party out if you’re not prepared. In response, the aforementioned “normal difficulty” was added. However, players can still opt to play Neo Dimension at its original difficulty by choosing “hard difficulty.”

After playing Neo Dimension, it’s easy to see why fans have been so eager to see Fantasian break out of Apple Arcade. Its unique spin on a turn-based battle system was engaging on a mobile device, and its stunning dioramic visuals made its colors pop out of the screen. Despite some bumpy character and story developments, Fantasian Neo Dimension solves a bit of the original’s fragmented story while also giving it new life on it on other platforms with additional features.

Fantasian Neo Dimension was reviewed on Xbox Series X.