Fans of the Final Fantasy series know that many of its games cover themes of belonging and sacrifice in worlds where there is constant struggle between man, magic, and machine. With sixteen main entries in the series, Final Fantasy has covered everything from Midgar's gritty dystopia in Final Fantasy 7 to colorful interconnected open-world biomes in Final Fantasy 12. Now, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi is taking on a different challenge. Partnering with acclaimed composer Nobuo Uematsu, Sakaguchi is working on a diorama adventure RPG titled Fantasian.
Fantasian takes place in a world governed by machines. The universe of the game is multi-dimensional, and there exists a constant struggle for balance and power between people and the gods. Players will start the game as Leo, a mysterious protagonist who awakens after an explosion to find himself lost and with only one memory. Leo will try to unravel his past while simultaneously confronting a sinister mechanical infection that is spreading throughout mankind. A new trailer for Fantasian introduces gamers to some of the game's key characters and its JRPG battle mechanics.
One of the most unique aspects of Fantasian is its diorama worlds. There are over 150 handmade dioramas in the game that blend physical environments with 3D characters and cinematic cutscenes. Players will travel though civilian populated areas and environments that monsters call their home. As shown in the trailer, when players encounter monsters in the wild they can either fight or send the creatures to a place called the "Dimengeon."
In Fantasian, the Dimengeon exists to give players options concerning when they want to fight battles. The Dimengeon can be turned on or off and has a maximum monster amount that can be stored inside it. If a player wants to fight a monster they can do so anytime they encounter one, and the battle system shown in the trailer looks very similar to turn-based battles of the Final Fantasy series. However, if a player does not want to fight a battle, they can simply send monsters to the Dimengeon to fight as a group at a later time.
This new trailer does not show if there is a way to increase Dimengeon capacity or which monster fights in Fantasian won't be transferable to the Dimengeon, but it does show off some cool potential bosses. This new system might be an excellent way for turn-based strategy game enthusiasts to pick battles on their own terms or stretch the limits of the system to see how many monsters they can beat at once. For Final Fantasy fans worried about the action game elements of Final Fantasy 16, Fantasian could be a great future option to enjoy a classic yet updated turn-based RPG experience.
Fantasian will release sometime in 2021 via the Apple Arcade subscription service for Apple TV, Mac Computers, iPhone, and iPad.