2/5 ★ – nekobot's review of FANTASIAN Neo Dimension.

With Fantasian, Mistwalker has proven that pedigree does not yield a relatively interesting or well built game. The story itself is relatively uninspired; One could say surface level in many regards - definitely lacking a depth its inspiring title (Final Fantasy VI) possesses. Outside of the aiming mechanic, the combat system is a pretty basic RPG combat system, focusing primarily on setting up buffs\debuffs and dumping damage. The encounter design largely feels, what can best be described as "padded" and/or overtuned; Many boss battles become a "figure out the gimmick and try again to win"; Bosses can require certain abilities to be turned off or requiring certain items equipped in order to not get into a drawn out war of attrition or quickly devolve into a straight fail state. Mistwalker also thought it was genius to have to time your attacks... in turn-based combat. I don't mean having to attack in a certain round, but literally having to press attack when an animation is in a certain position. This works and feels logical in an action RPG, but just feels stupid and time-wasting in a turn-based RPG. The finale is designed as a slog and waste player time, rather than anything fun, entertaining, or intelligent. It's obnoxiously designed and Mistwalker should be embarrassed for it. It effectively offers zero to the narrative. The dimurgeon mechanic seems smart, at first, but serves more as a "take your poison all at once" in terms of random battles and ultimately just becomes a larger game flow disruption during story progression. It's further made obnoxious by constantly shifting camera angles, during the flow of the battle, that really serve minimal purpose. In a lot of ways, it's clear that Mistwalker hasn't grown past the PlayStation era of RPGs, at best, outside of art direction. PlayStation RPGs playing the way they do is a thing of the era they were designed in, sometimes restricted by the limitations of the platform. Fantasian, however, came out over two decades later. RPGs decades older than it play better and are less obnoxious in design.