Dinsun Review
Dinsun here. It feels like 1997 again, and for once, that’s a good thing. Fantasian is exactly what I want when I say I miss the 'old' Final Fantasy. Sakaguchi hasn't lost his touch. The diorama backgrounds are a stroke of genius—they give the game a sense of scale and physical presence that even the most advanced 3D engines can’t replicate. It feels like playing inside a miniature museum.
Mechanically, the Dimengeon system is a godsend. It solves the biggest problem with the genre—repetitive random encounters—by letting you bank them for a massive, strategic battle later. The difficulty in the second half of the game is notoriously brutal, which I actually appreciate; it requires real mastery of the systems rather than just grinding. My only complaint is the story—it’s a bit 'amnesiac hero saves the world' by the numbers. But with Uematsu’s music in my ears and these visuals, I’m willing to forgive a lot of tropes. This is the best reason to have Apple Arcade.
Overall Stats
Pros & Cons
- Stunning handcrafted diorama environments
- Innovative Dimengeon battle system
- Legendary soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu
- The story is very derivative of classic RPGs
- The second half features a massive difficulty spike
- Hidden items can be hard to spot in the static backgrounds
Technical Report
Performance: Surprisingly smooth on mobile; diorama backgrounds keep GPU load manageable.
- Subtitles
- Cloud Saves
Audience Fit
Buy if: You love classic turn-based JRPGs and appreciate high-quality art and music.
Skip if: You want fast-paced action or get frustrated by high difficulty in the late game.
- Final Fantasy VI
- Lost Odyssey
- Bravely Default
Reviewer Context
- Reviewer: Dinsun, 40-year-old conservative gamer
- Hardware: iPad Pro M2
- Playtime: 55 hours
- Status: Finished Story and many side quests
