The best RPG you’ve never played is coming to Nintendo Switch

This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

Mistwalker’s Apple Arcade exclusive RPG Fantasian is making its way to consoles under the new title Fantasian Neo Dimension. Fantasian was originally released in two parts in 2021, and Fantasian Neo Dimension will contain all the game’s content when released on Nintendo Switch for the 2024 holiday season.

During the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, Fantasian Neo Dimension was revealed to be coming to Nintendo Switch in time for the holidays. Fantasian is a turn-based RPG featuring an amnesiac protagonist named Leo who awakens in a dimension known as the Machine Realm. In the Apple version, players would tap on locations to move Leo around the maps and engage in random battles. However, using the Dimengeon system would allow players to disable random battles against foes they already faced and store them in the titular Dimengeon to explore uninterrupted. There is a limit to how many fights can be stored, so players cannot avoid every fight in the game.

Fantasian received high reviews from critics at the time and was even named the Apple Arcade Game of the Year in 2021. Despite its praise and the pedigree of the team behind it, many console RPG fans missed out on this title because it was locked behind the Apple Arcade subscription. Some simply never knew it existed.

Mistwalker was founded in 2004 by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who had previously created the Final Fantasy series for Square Soft. The studio is best known for Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and The Last Story. Fantasian was written and produced by Sakaguchi, with a soundtrack from fellow Final Fantasy veteran composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game uses a mix of traditional graphics layered over handcrafted dioramas that were scanned into the game. Over 160 of these dioramas were created and scanned into the game, resulting in a uniquely realistic visual style.

• Everything announced at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct