'Fantasian,' by Creator of Final Fantasy, Now Available on Apple Arcade

[MacRumors]

Fantasian, the latest turn-based role-playing game by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, has just been released exclusively on Apple Arcade.

Set against a backdrop made from over 150 handmade dioramas that blend physical environments with 3D characters, Fantasian sees players assume the role of "Leo," who awakens to find himself lost in a strange land with only one remaining memory.

The tale begins in a realm governed by machines. Within this multi-dimensional universe, the balance of "Chaos and Order" becomes a key factor in the struggle for these realms and the machinations of the gods who wish to control them. Players will assume the role of protagonist, Leo, who awakens from a massive explosion only to find himself lost in a strange land with only one memory left to him. As players set out on a journey to reclaim Leo's memories, they will unravel the mysteries of the bizarre mechanical infection slowly engulfing all that is known to mankind. The captivating story is written by Sakaguchi and is complimented by a sweeping soundtrack by celebrated Final Fantasy composer, Nobuo Uematsu.

The game includes new battle mechanics including "Dimengeon Battle,", which allows players to send previously encountered enemies into a separate dimensional dungeon to streamline combat and maximize exploration.

The soundtrack to the game is by Nobuo Uematsu, known for his work on the Final Fantasy series and other titles such as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon.

According to an interview given to the LA Times, Sakaguchi found inspiration for the game by replaying Final Fantasy VI, which offered a number of reminders and lessons for modern mobile game development.

"Back in the day, everything was done in tiles," said Sakaguchi "Your character would move one tile at a time. That introduces puzzle-like elements, in which you might see a treasure tile that you can't access. But if you walk around the building and go through the back door, you might be able to reach that chest.

"When the player reaches the ending, it feels like they have seen everything this world has to offer. That desire — that craving that humans have — we're trying to re-create."

Hironobu Sakaguchi appeared in a recent Apple Arcade video "Meet the Creators"​

Fantasian is available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. ‌Apple Arcade‌‌‌‌ is priced at $4.99 per month, and that price point allows the whole family to play games without ads or additional in-app purchases.

Article Link: 'Fantasian,' by Creator of Final Fantasy, Now Available on Apple Arcade

 

[mazz0]

You had me at Nobuo Uematsu.

 

[frou]

That's impressive. Pretty nice the quality of developers/games they're attracting to Arcade.

 

[amartinez1660]

You had me at Nobuo Uematsu.

That requires multiple emoticon reactions.
Final Fantasy creator and music composer? FFVI as some inspiration?! Signing myself up!

This will be for me the first Apple Arcade game that I’ll finally play, been paying the AppleOne family bundle but both News+ and Arcade have been just sitting there.

 

[msp3]

I'm floored by how beautiful this is and how much care went into it. Just subscribed to Apple Arcade, and my mind is blown over how high quality their catalog is. Is this the future of gaming? A business model of all you can download for some monthly fee instead of free junk full of ads and incremental buy-ups designed by psychologists and economists (yes serious developers hire them) to revenue maximize the user to some unknown degree...

 

[LeeW]

That is stunning to be fair. Apple Arcade is not my thing but have to hand it to Apple, the quality of many titles is fantastic.

 

[chucker23n1]

Haven't really seen much mention of Apple Arcade lately. It's a bummer; I think their heart was in the right place: prevent the race to the bottom and shift to consumable IAPs by doing subscription gaming.

 

[brock2621]

Just started playing and about an hour in; the story structure of the beginning dungeon is giving me FFVII intro feels while the content of the narrative is def FFVI.
Most importantly, I cannot describe how refreshing it is to not see ads pop up to purchase more “jewels” or “diamonds” to continue progression! I forgot what it was like to play a “fully realized, non-gotcha” type mobile game!

(To be fair though, this doesn’t feel like a mobile game, it feels like a classic console RPG)

 

[chucker23n1]

I forgot what it was like to play a “fully realized, non-gotcha” type mobile game!

Speaking of, does someone know a decent paid-up-front RTS? Dungeon Keeper Mobile is really obnoxious that way. I'd happily spend $8 just for the nostalgia, but no, they had to IAP-infect it.

 

[ArPe]

Clever handmade backdrops made me think this was ray traced graphics.

I would like to see Dragon’s Lair remade with this style.

 

[Taz Mangus]

I would like to see Dragon’s Lair remade with this style.

I remember playing Dragon’s Lair n the arcade when I was younger. That was a fun game to play. Spent many hours and many quarters on it.

 

[Cheesehead Dave]

Clever handmade backdrops made me think this was ray traced graphics.

I would like to see Dragon’s Lair remade with this style.

There was a game like this that came out a few years ago that was similar (whose name I can't remember); the devs made sets out of paper and filmed all the camera movements needed, then the game's sprites were superimposed over it. A really neat concept if done right like this.

 

[Cheesehead Dave]

I was scrolling through the Apple Arcade titles to find this and noticed a couple of things: There's a bunch of basic board and card games available that look really nice and simple, and there's a bunch of older games that have been rereleased into Arcade with a "Plus" moniker, like Monument Valley, Cut the Rope, Mini Metro, etc. Not sure if there is anything new in those, or if they're just in Arcade now to squeeze a few more eyeballs on them.

EDIT: Nevermind... I just found this PR release from Apple that announced the "Timeless Classics and App Store Greats" categories in the Arcade store.

 

[Edsel]

"The tale begins in a realm governed by machines. Within this multi-dimensional universe, the balance of "Chaos and Order" becomes a key factor in the struggle for these realms and the machinations of the gods who wish to control them."

Finally, a game about the corporate I.T. industry!

 

[FightTheFuture]

I'm floored by how beautiful this is and how much care went into it. Just subscribed to Apple Arcade, and my mind is blown over how high quality their catalog is.

Yeah I’m going to start a trial this weekend just to try this out.
There’s a $10 Target gift card with $100 Apple gift card purchase right now if anyone’s looking for a deal.

 

[ian87w]

Wait, I cannot purchase it standalone? 🙁

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Really nice this is. Love it how the quality is high for full games. And such great value for money.

Wait, I cannot purchase it standalone? 🙁

LOL There is always one. Where have you been hiding for the last few years 🤣

 

[Antes]

I’ve been playing since yesterday and no complaints so far- it’s actually a pretty good RPG.

 

[cal6n]

Well, it's a perfect long weekend for some JRPG distraction. Time for a free trial of Apple One...

 

[NotTooLate]

How long is it to download?! its been over an hour reaching 1/4 of the total only 🙁 , i tried to download some other games and they fly in comparison..... eefffff

 

[chronos1919]

How long is it to download?! its been over an hour reaching 1/4 of the total only 🙁 , i tried to download some other games and they fly in comparison..... eefffff

It depends on your connection speed and possibly how many others are trying to download it at once. It only took me a few minutes to download it an hour ago.

 

[uuaschbaer]

LOL There is always one. Where have you been hiding for the last few years 🤣

What’s so weird about not wanting to rent games? I would prefer to purchase it too. In fact, what I’d really enjoy is a physical copy.

 

[The_Gream]

Added this game this morning after work - so far got like 3+ hours in. So far it is very very beautiful and I do enjoy the way the story is being told. I am currently playing on my 2018 Mac Mini and jumping between using Nimbus+ controller and keyboard with zero known issues. It took a moment to figure out how some of the combat systems/controls work but once I did 😮😍🥰😍🥰🥳🥳.

 

[kcslc]

I tried gaming on the Apple TV with a PS4 controller. There was so much input lag. I turned it off and continued playing on real gaming systems.

 

[macdogpro]

I tried gaming on the Apple TV with a PS4 controller. There was so much input lag. I turned it off and continued playing on real gaming systems.

That’s too bad, I was just thinking to get an Apple TV just to play Arcade titles. I’m currently played over 3 hours of Fantasian, and it’s been great on iPad Pro 2020 with PS4 controller. I hook it up on my TV to get bigger screen than my 11 inch iPad.

The game delivers my expectations as an old time classic Final Fantasy turn based JPRG fan. It has some twist on the battle and dungeon mechanics so that it doesn’t feel outdated yet still feels nostalgically classic. Old school characters, magic world and all JPRG goodness are all here as well. So happy this game came up just when I started my free Arcade subscription.