Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi "deeply moved to be back on Xbox" with Fantasian, 17 years after dropping his last under-appreciated Xbox 360 JRPG

(Image credit: Mistwalker)

Fantasian Neo Dimension marks a monumental return to Xbox consoles for Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, whose last game to release on a Microsoft platform came over 17 years ago when Lost Odyssey launched on the Xbox 360.

It's official - Mistwalker's recent JRPG Fantasian Neo Dimension has finally left its mobile jail to drop on consoles and PC. The game was previously an Apple Arcade exclusive, sitting on just the one storefront since its release back in 2021. It's a big day for the studio and for founder Sakaguchi, who explains why Fantasian Neo Dimension's move onto new platforms, particularly Xbox, is an especially significant moment in his lengthy career.

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Speaking in an interview with Famitsu, Sakaguchi describes how exciting it was to learn that the JRPG was branching out to consoles - and most importantly, the Xbox Series X|S. "When I found out that it would be released on Xbox as well as Nintendo Switch," says the lead, "I thought, 'Oh, they're aiming for the world.'" The legendary developer then references his last two games to launch on an Xbox, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.

"I made Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey on Xbox," describes Sakaguchi, "so I was deeply moved to be back on Xbox." Considering the number of years that have passed since then, it's not hard to see why Fantasian Neo Dimension's release is so important. Blue Dragon first launched in 2006 on the Xbox 360, while Lost Odyssey came a year later in 2007 - meaning that after 17 years, Mistwalker has returned to Xbox with another banger.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.