Ever since the first Japanese role-playing games launched on the NES in the 1980s, developers have been trying to put their own unique spin on the genre to stand out. Now it seems Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the original Final Fantasy, is putting his team at Mistwalker on the task of doing something so adorable it might even appeal to those who aren't fans of the genre.
Fantasian is a turn-based JRPG where each background is hand-crafted, with over 150 of them appearing throughout the game. The character models and special effects are computer-generated, but the scenes themselves will be taking place within real miniature worlds.
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This filming technique is referred to as "Tokusatsu," and was most popularly used in the original Godzilla series of films, where an actor would don a costume, destroy miniature environments, and the filmmakers would shoot it as if it were taking place within the real world. They'd also often create digital special effects for stuff like his Atomic Breath.
The game is being developed by Mistwalker; a small studio Sakaguchi founded in 2004 primarily focused on the creation of mobile games. It will feature tracks composed by Nobuo Uematsu, who has been creating music for Final Fantasy since the very first title launched back in 1987.
The game will feature turn-based strategy elements, similar to how the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games operate. However, with Fantasian, players have the ability to temporarily put off random encounters by tossing them into an alternate plane. This will seemingly allow players to battle them all at once later on.
Fantasian doesn't have a release date yet, but we do know it's exclusively coming to Apple Arcade, available through Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and computers operating on Mac.
