This JRPG from two Final Fantasy legends is secretly Nintendo's best announcement of the summer

Jul. 1, 2024

Opinion | Fantasian Neo Dimension is finally escaping Apple Arcade

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June’sNintendo Directwas jam-packed with major announcements. We were shown a new 2D Zelda game – with the titular character taking the lead role for the first time since the CD-i – along with our first real look at Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, a brand new Mario & Luigi title, and much more. Yetarguably the biggest announcement might not be what you’d expect: Fantasian Neo Dimension, which Apple Arcade users have been clamoring about for the last three years. Can you blame them? After all, it’s the latest RPG from Final Fantasy veteran Hironobu Sakaguchi and features what is likely the last full soundtrack from legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Fantasy dimensions

Ironically enough, it may have been what Sakaguchi’s been up to in his “retirement” – playing Final Fantasy 14 like a full-time job – that could have led to the game’s release on other platforms, asSquare Enix’s own Creative Studio 3 is helping with the new release.

It goes without saying that Sakaguchi returning to working with Square is a major deal. There’s something poetic about them coming together to ensure that what might be the father of Final Fantasy’s last project won’t end up in purgatory. To make things even better, it sounds like the game will benefit from more than just being playable: improved resolution and visuals, voice acting, and a new difficulty mode are all on the way.

Even at its release, I lamented that Fantasian was a game that felt doomed to an audience much smaller than what it deserved. While I loved the difficulty present at its release, and never had any particular issues with how it ran or looked on a then-current Apple TV 4K, it was undeniable that a core portion of the game’s potential fans would never give it the time of day without an eventual port and a few balancing tweaks.

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Now, that port has finally arrived – and in a state where I’m sure the wider RPG-playing public might finally give it that chance. There were plenty of heavy hitters at the Nintendo Direct, but as far as I’m concerned, none were as important as Fantasian finally seeing the light of day. I’d almost lost hope it would ever happen - and the true weight of the game’s legacy is still up in the air. While it’s unclear whether he feels the same now, at the time of the title’s release Sakaguchi famously calledFantasian his last game.Moreover, Nobuo Uematsu maintains that his work on the soundtrack will likely remain hislast full project as a composer. To see the game finally come to other platforms, and with the help ofSquare Enixno less, feels like a minor miracle.

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