definition of what you feel a final fantasy game should be like, comes to mind. For me,

the best games were on the Super Nintendo. And a lot of fans want to go back to those

style of games. Just look at how many version of Final Fantasy 4 are out there. If you're

one of those who prefer the old-school Final Fantasies of the Super Nintendo days, then

break out your smartphone: this is Final Fantasy Dimensions, on the iPhone.

Dimensions is, all in all, a very faithful old-style Final Fantasy game, bringing back

the concept of light vs. darkness, wars fought over the powerful Crystals, and the young

bands of heroes that seek to save the world. Dimensions follows two groups of heroes, one

led by a young, slightly too energetic boy named Sol, and the other by a young, more

cold and quite boy, Nacht. Sol and his friends are set to defend a Crystal in the kingdom

of Lux from Imperial invaders, who happen to be Nacht and his friends, serving as slaves

of the Empire. The crystal explodes and the parties get mixed together, forcing would-be

enemies to team up to find their friends, and learn more about the Empire's evil plot

involving the crystals, and their destiny as the Warriors of Light and Darkness. It's

a pretty safe and simple story for Final Fantasy, but the overall presentation for Dimensions

really sets it apart, and characters are a lot more fun and interesting than some of

the older game’s main cast. Nacht is cold, distant, and seems like a very troubled character,

while Alba is fun, goofy, and has the best lines in the game.

Controlling characters on the map is simple, a d-pad that can appear anywhere your finger

touches the display, or set to be in a fixed position. It's a little slippery to get the

hang of for someone like me who just got an iPhone a few months ago, but since this isn't

a precision focused plat former, it works nicely.

It wouldn't be a Final Fantasy game without a great battle system though, and Dimensions

doesn't disappoint. All the great staples of a Final Fantasy games are here, from the

Active Time Battle system to the stat changing magic spells and abilities, the battles feel

perfectly at home, and veterans of the series will immediately pick up on familiar monster

and boss tactics. The menu options are nice and big for your fingers to tap to select

options and commands, and the fact that you do you have to tap twice to confirm your selection

may seem a little annoying at first, but since it's their to make sure you don't accidently

cast Curaja when you meant to cast Holy or something is very handy. The overall difficulty

is with some of the bosses, so there is going to be a little grinding involved, but I didn't

find it that annoying. Final Fantasy Dimensions also features the

best Job system the series has seen yet. Each of the two parties gain different jobs as

the story progresses, and characters allocate job points to increase the max level of each

job. While you can't allocate AP for certain abilities and must stick with the planned

progression of each jobs states and ability growth, the system is very easy to use and

master. The combinations are fun, and fans of Final Fantasy 5 or other games will feel

right at home with the Job system. The biggest drawback for Dimensions is the

investment. And not just with time; you can buy the whole game for about 30 dollars, or

try it out in chunks, buying each separately. By around Chapter 3, I had spent about 18

hours in the game, with still a lot more to go. It may seem like a lot of cash, but considering

Dimensions is a fully fledged old-school final fantasy game, I think it's worth the Gil.