Fantasian is a JRPG that will make you re-live your childhood
The game that was developed by Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s studio Mistwalker, and then re-published on home consoles by Square Enix as Fantasian Neo Dimension, draws inspiration from older titles of the franchise to breathe new life into the genre!
Recently I had been given the gift of time in my life. It is a gift that does not come around quite often in the world of being an adult, with hectic work schedules, workouts, and keeping up with friends and other chores making it seem like a daunting task to find time for yourself. So I decided to jump back into the world of gaming and give the old PS5 some much-deserved love.
I bought a whole bunch of games that I had kept on a list in the back of my mind and played through them all: Metaphor Re: Fantazio, Dragon Quest III 2D-HD, Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero and 2024 Game Of The Year Astro Bot were all really good games that I enjoyed playing.
But none of them really scratched that itch. None really immersed me in the experience of the game. With all of those games it felt a lot like a chore getting to the end credits, rather than settling in and taking my time with them. (Metaphor Re: Fantazio may have been one small exception, but honestly it felt a bit too preahy with its social commentary.)
Then I was given a recommendation from a random person during a live stream. They said that if I enjoy playing Final Fantasy titles, I should check out the most recent game from the person who created the series, Hironobu Sakaguchi. This game’s name was Fantasian.
Locked in by story and characters
I had heard about this game before and did have it in my mind to try it out. I was a little bit thrown off by the art style that seemed like it was made by clay dols, but I eventually decided to try it out, keeping an open mind, an open heart and zero expectations.
I never looked back. The game immediately captivated me with its mysterious world and greatly designed characters, who I was able to develop a strong connection with. It felt as if I had suddenly doven into one of the original PlayStation-era Final Fantasy games that I had somehow missed, where you go from finding cats to saving entire universes.
The game immediately throws you into action as Leo, the main character, finds himself in an unknown factory having lost all his memories. I have to admit, I didn’t like how the story was based on the overly used amnesia trope (it’s not even such a common medical issue!) but I decided to roll with it and give this game a chance. And I was rewarded for my patience.
A new world unfolds
As it goes on, you discover more and more about who Leo is and where he comes from, but you also get to interact with a colourful bunch of diverse party members who each have their own stories to tell and mysteries to unravel. You also get to explore a whole new world and uncover the secrets of its various cultures and civilisations as you go and, of course, you’re faced with mutliple villains who’s actions are eventually explained as the game goes on.
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of this game looks like it’s been made out of modelling clay. Sometimes the characters and locations seem a little stiff but it’s nothing that I felt drew me out of the overall experience. Additionally, Fantasian relies a lot on the picture-book method of storytelling, which I thought was quite innovative. The game describes a series of events that took place in the past as drawn images are shown in the background under the sound of soft music. This gives players a part of the story, but also allows them to use a portion of their own imagination to re-create what took place, which is what makes it so good.
The gameplay borrows a lot of elements from — what a lot of people consider to be — the golden era of JRPGs, before the merger of Squaresoft and Enix. You can see the influence of games like Final Fantasy IX, X, or even Chrono Trigger in this game. Its world, its story, even its characters you feel would easily find a place in one of those previously mentioned titles.
For example, early on in the adventure you get an airship which you can fly all over a world map, just like in the old FFs. Or at some point (admittedly rather late) in the game, you unlock what is known as a Growth Map, which is like a skill tree and provides more abilities for your characters as they level up. This is similar to FF X’s Sphere Grid or FF XIII’s Crystarium.
Battle system a mix of FF IX and FF X
But the heaviest influence of FF in Fantasian can be seen during the battles themselves. Characters each have their own abilities and spells (some unique to them, some shared between them) and they each have turns in a fight to take actions, just as with any other traditional turn-based role playing game. There are spells such as Cure, Dispel, Heal, Earth, Blizzard, Fire, Lightning, etc that you will find in any other game.
The reason why I thought this game was so similar to both FF IX and X in terms of combat is that each character has their own respective role that cannot be changed (for example Leo is a fighter, Kina is a healer, etc) and you can also switch them out with other reserve party members at any point — unless they’re inflicted with a status ailment preventing you from doing so.
I felt that this type of battle system was so easy to get into. The best way to describe it would be trying out a new pair of shoes from the same designer you always buy from. It just fits, you know? It’s what makes this game so easy to pick up, especially for someone who got into Final Fantasy in the late 90’s such as myself.
Uematsu’s genius and the true love of RPGs
What makes this experience even more enjoyable is the soundtrack created by longtime composer for the Final Fantasy franchise Nobuo Uematsu. Having recently been to one of the concerts by Uematsu-san’s musical band Con-Tiki’s in Sydney, I could definitely see how he was inspired to create the music for this game. It’s amazing and for anyone who liked some of his early tracks from those late 90’s games, this should not be missed!
Overall, this game oozes with love for the classic role-playing titles that made the older generation fall in love with the genre and the younger generation feel curious to go back and see what the hype is all about. It’s a byte-sized version of how large and consuming those games felt and it recreates those emotions of having to find all the hidden weapons, take on all the hidden bosses and unlock all those neat-looking abilities that went through our minds as we explored those worlds. It’s an amazing experience from a legendary game creator born from his love and passion for the industry.
The themes that this game takes on are unexpectedly heavy, but it goes about it in a way that will undoubtedly leave most players feeling emotional at the end of their journey.
It also fills me with hope that there may be potential for further collaboration between Square Enix and Mistwalker which may lead to the development of the next entry in the Final Fantasy franchise being handled by the father of the series himself. We’ve recently seen solid proof that there’s plenty of room for turn-based RPGs in the market, through titles such as Persona 5, the upcoming Clair Obscur Expedition 33 and even Fantasian itself, and I could think of no one else who makes them better than Sakaguchi!
