Did you know that the creator and composer of Final Fantasy teamed up again in 2021 to release a gorgeous retro-inspired RPG? You probably didn’t—that’s because Fantasian was released exclusively on Apple Arcade and was quickly forgotten. But now it’s coming to Nintendo Switch, as announced during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, and you shouldn’t miss it a second time.
Despite being relegated to Apple Arcade, Fantasian is actually a fantastic RPG that blends modern and old-school sensibilities. That shouldn’t be too surprising given developer Mistwalker’s team: as mentioned, Final Fantasy series creator Hironbu Sakaguchi produced and wrote the game, while long-time Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu provided the music. Their involvement alone enough to get gamers excited, and Fantasian does have a certain quality about it that makes it feel like Final Fantasy in everything but name. Honestly, you could put Fantasian next to Mistwalker’s Lost Odyssey, The Last Story, and Blue Dragon and have yourself a little off-brand Final Fantasy collection.
But beyond creator pedigree, Fantasian offers something fresh to the formula. The most stunning part of the game is its unique visual aesthetic. As an homage to the pre-rendered environments of old-school RPGS, Fantasian’s environments were made with real-world dioramas. It gives the game world a dreamlike texture and feel when the computer-rendered enemies and characters wander around. Mechanically, the big gimmick of Fantasian is its slightly tweaked traditional turn-based combat. Characters can cast spells or launch attacks at single enemies, but if you curve the path of an attack with the touchscreen, you could attack multiple enemies.
One of my favorite features in Fantasian is the Dimengeon, which addresses the annoyance of grinding and random encounters. When exploring the world, you can trap encountered enemies in the Dimengeon and continue exploring without fighting. Once the Dimengeon is full you then commence one long battle against all the enemies you have trapped. It’s a neat system that lets players have more freedom and choice in their exploration.
While all of the visual and mechanical features of Fantasian feel like inventive iterations of classic RPGs, the narrative isn’t much to write home about. You are an amnesiac protagonist sent to save the world and everything goes about as you’d expect. But for those who are tired of replaying all the classics and want a taste of something new, Fantasian’s dazzling environments and inventive combat make it a delightful adventure. I can’t wait for more people to play it when it launches this Holiday season on Nintendo Switch.
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