Fantasian Neo Dimension is remarkable but flawed

Thirty hours in my Fantastic Neo Dimension During the game I found myself in a surreal landscape, a twisted amalgamation littered with ghostly white corruption known as Mechteria. My Dimengeon device, a device that allows me to ‘bank’ monster encounters, was about to overflow, so I had to take out over 40 enemies in one battle. I continued to advance, assuming the threats had been eliminated, yet numerous encounters piled up within seconds.

Fantastic Neo Dimension certainly presents a challenge even for the most ardent fans of turn-based role-playing games, such as myself. Developed by Mistwalker and released in two parts for Apple Arcade in 2021, Fantastic is a collaboration between two industry giants: Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and famed composer Nobuo Uematsu. Now, this new re-release for Windows PCs and consoles brings 4K resolution support, along with battle themes from previous Final Fantasy titles, as Square Enix handles publishing duties.

Indeed, Fantastic Neo Dimension is more than just a throwback to the classics of yesteryear or a mere nostalgic fix, as the game has its own quirks to make it stand out from the crowd. However, it has a few notable flaws, namely with the controls and camera movements, as well as the storyline and combat.

Like countless RPGs, Fantastic Neo Dimension tells the story of someone who suffers from amnesia. In this case, an adventurer named Leo finds himself jumping back and forth between realms, without knowing what led him down this path. As you piece together Leo’s story, you’ll be joined by a memorable cast of characters, like the demure Kina, a healer with a mysterious power, and the dashing Princess Cheryl, whose attitude proves to be more than good for poor Leo.

Fantastic Neo Dimension‘s story also contains serious themes, such as children longing for their parents, and the emotional bonds that can eventually form between new friends. At the same time, Sakaguchi and his team deftly combine these ideas with humor and light-hearted sequences. The game’s cutscenes are supported by great English and Japanese voice acting to further enhance the drama or convey the relationships between the characters.

I can remember the many times I chuckled as party members like Zinikr, a rambunctious ship captain, and Ez, a wandering young man, chided Leo for forgetting the traps he had set in his own headquarters. Likewise, there were times when the mysterious elf-like researcher Valrika interpreted things a little too literally and made comments about her preference for men with beards. The appearances of the Cinderella Tri-Stars, recurring bosses with some hilarious combat tricks, also had me laughing out loud. There were also a few callbacks to JRPGs, most notably the love triangle between Leo, Kina and Cheryl – complete with hints of jealousy – which reminded me of Cloud, Aerith and Tifa from Final fantasy 7.

Fantastic Neo Dimension‘s campaign, meanwhile, made me feel like I was playing Chrono trigger all over again. My journey took me to other realms, not necessarily through time travel oddities, but via dimension hopping to distant places with their own unique designs and landscapes. The art design in the game is nothing short of beautiful, with vibrant, handcrafted backgrounds that resemble dioramas, from lush forests and frozen mountain peaks to grimy dungeons and cities overrun with Mechteria. Unfortunately, I also noticed that some backgrounds and environmental details weren’t fully rendered in 4K, making them look blurry up close.

This too is made worse by janky controls and camera shake. Fantastic Neo Dimension offers three control schemes: gamepad, mouse clicks and WASD keys. Unfortunately, the overwhelming movement of the camera view (perhaps intended to make the exploration feel more dynamic) was so frequent that it felt like I was fighting with my gamepad’s analog stick to get my character to move to a location.

Speaking of Mechteria, these pustular growths are harmful to humans, blocking paths or draining your team’s HP if you get too close. Mechteria’s presence and origins in the world are further explained as you progress through the campaign. In keeping with the other RPGs that clearly influenced this game, let’s just say that the planet-destroying antagonists you fear at first are just the tip of the iceberg in a storyline that goes from zero to 100 quite quickly.

After a mostly linear and tightly woven first half of the campaign, the second half devolves into a non-linear and disjointed series of ‘save the rest of your team’ dungeon romps. This presentation worked as a two-part launch in 2021 as the parts had a gap of months between their releases, but the transition from the first half to the second is jarring at this stage on a full release. In a way, the disparity between the two halves also reminded me of discs 1 and 2 of Xenogearswhere the first and last had vastly different structures and presentation.

Fight in it Fantastic Neo Dimension consists of random enemy encounters, which take place as you explore landscapes. A unique twist on this tried and tested formula is the addition of the aforementioned Dimengeon device, a way to ‘bank’ or ‘collect’ enemies until you’re ready to take them on in one big battle. However, the Dimengeon also has an (upgradeable) limit, so you need to take into account when to trigger the encounter or you’ll be overwhelmed later.

I enjoyed using this feature for the most part, although the second half of the campaign proved tedious with so many encounters happening within seconds of each other. I had to participate in multiple Dimengeon battles with over 40 enemies, so much so that the pace became unbearable. (There is a way to completely reset the Dimengeon counter, but this required moving to another city. While fast travel in the game is very player-friendly, I didn’t always have the means to teleport to and from certain maps or sections .)

Meanwhile, the battles themselves are your usual turn-based affair, with enemies and your three-man party taking actions based on the initiative bar. Another refreshing insight Fantastic Neo Dimension is that most character skills and spells pierce through enemies, and you can tailor their trajectory to hit specific enemies in a straight or curved line. For example, if an opponent is blocking their cohorts behind them, you can “bend” your spell to hit those targets instead. The concept adds new tactical layers to the way I approached combat, especially in cases where I had to prioritize specific enemies or power-ups. The downside is that there is a lack of enemy variety in many areas, with the game often featuring the same monster types albeit with different elemental weaknesses.

My only other complaint with Fantastic Neo DimensionThe game’s problem is that several key mechanics are introduced a little too late in the campaign. This is somewhat understandable in the case of Growth Maps – character-specific skill trees with dozens of perks and upgrades similar to Final fantasy 10‘s Sphere Grid system – as these are unlocked when you obtain important items known as Divine Artifacts. Still, I would have liked to see the Tension system, similar to Limit Breaks (i.e. powerful abilities that can only be unleashed if you fill a meter), introduced sooner. I can only assume this was due to the original’s two-part launch, with the release of Part 2 feeling like an extension of sorts for those who had already gone through Part 1. However, for a full release, there are a few key adjustments that would have been necessary to bring these mechanics in line with the player’s expected progression.

One positive aspect worth mentioning is that, unlike the original version of the game, Fantastic Neo Dimension has Normal Mode, a welcome concept considering that the Apple Arcade release only had Hard Mode as the default difficulty. This makes the game significantly more accessible to newcomers. The grind becomes a lot more manageable when you also try to take down the game’s toughest bosses. Don’t expect these battles to be a cakewalk, though, as you’ll still need to consider your party composition, character perks, and equipment.

Additionally, the collaboration between Mistwalker and Square Enix has led to one of the game’s best features: the ability to choose from battle themes from other Final Fantasy titles, such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, Final Fantasy 14: Dawn TrailAnd Final fantasy 16. I was honestly grinning from ear to ear as I fought some slime mobs and Uematsu’s brilliant “One-Winged Angel” suddenly played in the background. Even with just the standard music, Uematsu’s genius continues to be on full display, with soaring and haunting melodies that complement any stage or location. There’s even a tune that sounds like a more sinister rendition of the classic Prelude/Crystal theme from the Final Fantasy series.

In the end, Fantastic Neo Dimension is still a solid offering from Mistwalker, one that brings back memories of classic RPGs I played decades earlier, including those featuring works by Sakaguchi and Uematsu. References and callbacks are plentiful, but there are still refreshing concepts to keep you occupied for dozens of hours, including a secret dungeon and a new game plus mode. Beware of the annoying camera movements and ridiculous number of encounters in the later part of the game.

Fantastic Neo Dimension will be released on December 5 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed on PC using a copy of Square Enix. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.