FANTASIAN PS5 UPDATE
FANTASIAN PS5 UPGRADE
FANTASIAN PS5 FULL

Ez’s story in the first half of the game set up an interesting party member connection, and then the second half bizarrely chooses not to mention this connection and doesn’t even let him interact with said party member. Tan suffers from joining the party too late - he’s only a temporary guest for a few battles in Part One - and his character development feels stunted as a result. But other characters, like Ez and Tan, kind of get shafted. Some characters, like Cheryl, Kina, and Zinikr, get interesting plot points that wrap up their story arcs. Not only does the story feel discombobulated because of Part Two’s non-linear nature, but character development and interaction is all over the place. Uematsu’s music is clearly so awesome that it permeates the multiverse! There are absolutely some standout moments, but only a few and only for some characters. But because they’re all optional and self-contained, the overall story feels disjointed and awkward.

Some of these side quests add much-appreciated lore or a bit of character development, while others feel pretty superfluous.

FANTASIAN PS5 UPGRADE

Along the way, you pick up a plethora of optional side missions you can complete that unlock and upgrade each character’s growth map (think FFX’s sphere grid or FFXIII’s Crystarium) or give you access to their ultimate weapons.

FANTASIAN PS5 FULL

You get your friends back (or not you actually don’t have to gather a full party), fight your way to the big bad, and save the world. The thing is, that is quite literally the extent of the “main” story in this half of the game. He makes a new friend (the scientific and literal-minded Valrika) and is reunited with the robots he met at the beginning of the game (who are now known as Prickle and Clicker), but now he must journey to find the rest of his crew so they can stop an insane god called Jas from destroying the multiverse. Main character Leo has been separated from his friends following a battle against an enigmatic antagonist and a jaunt through a tumultuous wormhole. Not on a cliffhanger per se, but the story beat immediately after it. The first half of Fantasian ended in an interesting place. So let’s get into what’s changed and what you can expect from the conclusion of this charming little RPG. It’s not all bad, though, and depending on what you liked and didn’t like about the first half, Part Two might very well be more enjoyable for you than it was for me. It’s still the same game, with the same characters, battle system, and “save the world” story, but the focus has shifted from a mostly linear experience to a mostly non-linear one, and I’m honestly not sure I like it nearly as much.

FANTASIAN PS5 UPDATE

Now that second half is out (plus a third update that adds a post-game dungeon and new game+), and I find myself conflicted. I didn’t want it to end and eagerly awaited the second half that would conclude the story. The first half of Fantasian was a wonderful and nostalgic experience that really captured the magic of classic Square RPGs and the legacy of Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.

Fantasian ps5