It’s easy to forget about Apple Arcade. With a sudden influx of gaming services in the past few years, Apple’s mobile gaming platform has never been top of mind for most gamers. The company has had to fight against a misguided, ongoing stigma that many still have against mobile as a legitimate gaming platform. Plus, it’s only available to players who own Apple products. Gaming is the one area where Apple still has to constantly prove itself. What’s funny, though, is that Apple Arcade has proven itself time and time again. The service has delivered a string of excellent games since it launched, from Grindstone to Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. The service has only improved in 2021 as well by adding classic mobile hits to its ever-expanding lineup. But when it comes to gaming platforms, players are programmed to look for one thing: The ever-elusive killer app. That’s the one exclusive game that’s so “can’t miss” it’s capable of selling a console or subscription through its own strength alone. If you’re looking for that game on Apple Arcade, it’s Fantasian.
Fantasian is a JRPG written and produced by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, with an original score by legendary game composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game drew attention before its launch due to its gorgeous art style, which uses real, handcrafted dioramas for its sets. That was an immediate entry point for curious players, but the real hook is its classic RPG systems, formula innovations, and intriguing world. The game half-launched on Apple Arcade in April as part of a strange release plan. Developer Mistwalker released the first part of the game, containing around 15 to 20 hours of gameplay. Part two wouldn’t hit the platform until August 13, piling another 40 hours onto the game’s runtime. In retrospect, it was a smart — though frustrating — strategy on Apple’s part. As a subscription service, Apple Arcade needs consistent subscribers to stay afloat. Through its lifespan, the service has gained a reputation for being something that players can subscribe to once every six months, cram in a bunch of short games, and unsubscribe. Fantasian’s odd release cycle gave players a reason to keep paying. Part two only had a vague 2021 release date attached to it, so players didn’t know when it would shadow drop. Its sudden August release came as such a surprise that I was left scrambling into my account to make sure it was still active. Part one was an excellent snippet of the game, but a bit of a tease, too. Rather than cleanly cutting off after a big boss fight, Fantasian suddenly cracks wide open. In its final hours, the game introduces an entire skill system that can be used to pick custom battle abilities. The most interesting location and characters are introduced just as it’s wrapping up. The story ended on a true cliffhanger as well, enticing players to keep their subscriptions running. Now that part two is here, we’re finally able to see the full scope of the game, and it’s even more impressive. The pace immediately changes with a more quest-based dynamic that lets players tackle multiple objectives in any order they choose. Opening the game’s party menu now gives players a message about how to swap out members, confirming that players will have control over which characters they bring along. Plus, the aforementioned skill tree significantly changes how players approach battles, adding a sudden shot of depth after 20 hours of play. Fantasian opens up in every way after part one.
Fantasian has only become more enticing, and that’s an existential win for Apple Arcade. For one, it’s a true exclusive to the platform. While games like What The Golf? and Dodo Peak have been ported to other platforms since launching on Apple Arcade, Fantasian is supposedly going to remain exclusive. Anyone who wants to play it will have to go through Apple in the same way that Ratchet & Clank fans need to snag a PS5. Heck, I’m even on the verge of upgrading my very outdated iPhone just to run it better. It’s not too hard of a sell, either. Expected to clock in at over 60 hours in total, Fantasian has turned into a full-fledged RPG. It’s not your average mobile game that’ll keep players occupied for a few hours. It’s a console-length experience that only costs $5 a month. For those who have long been skeptical about Apple’s service, Fantasian is the game that stands the best chance of converting cynics into believers. It’s an incredibly memorable JRPG that would be dominating 2021 gaming conversations had it widely launched on popular platforms like the Nintendo Switch. Now, it’s up to Apple to capitalize on that momentum and get the word out to the masses — something that the company still struggles to do, as it tends to market Apple Arcade as a whole as opposed to individual games. Apple has the modern-day Chrono Trigger sitting in its App Store. Now’s the time to brag about it.
Sometimes, you want a complicated game that’s going to break your brain and push your skills to the max. Other times, you just want to do a little puzzle on your phone. No studio understands that better than Lykke, a little known studio behind some of Apple Arcade’s best games. Lykke has become a go-to partner for Apple since the service’s launch thanks to creative puzzle games from Tint to Stitch. Now, gaming’s most consistent puzzle makers are back with a new game, Puffies, which joins a loaded month for Apple Arcade additions. While Katamari Damacy and Space Invaders might be more eye-catching to subscribers, Puffies is a the kind of go-to game you’ll want to keep on your phone. It’s another satisfying casual game from a studio that understands the platform it’s developing for better than anyone.
A new kind of jigsaw puzzle
Unlike its previous games, Puffies doesn’t invent a brand new genre twist. Instead, it’s Lykke’s take on a jigsaw puzzle. In it, players open packs of stickers and must assemble them onto a sheet. Each sticker has its own distinct shape, so getting each in the right spot is more about paying attention to the negative space on the sheet rather than using a grand picture to deduce what goes where. Each sticker snaps into place when I drag it to the right spot, with a a nice adhesive sound effect that gives each placement some satisfying tactile feedback. After a long drought, Katamari Damacy has finally returned to roll around planet Earth once more. On April 3, Apple Arcade subscribers will get an all-new game in Katamari Damacy Rolling Live. The iOS exclusive isn’t any sort of modern reimagining of a series that ran its course; it’s a very familiar sequel that picks up exactly where previous entries left off. It’s a treat for long-time fans who’ve just been craving more levels, wacky humor, and excellent tunes. Though as much fun as I’ve been having with it, Rolling Live is also a good reminder of why franchises like this tend to go quiet eventually: It’s easy to lose momentum when the original ideas slow down. In Katamari Damacy Rolling Live, the King of the Cosmos decides to become a live streamer. Why? I don’t know, the guy just does things like this sometimes. He tasks The Prince with once again rolling up stars for his live streams, helping him grow an audience of fans. I wouldn’t blame anyone who finds the concept a little cringe-inducing (especially as the King of the Cosmos drops dated slang like “YOLO”), but it’s kind of a genius premise. Katamari games are all about exponential growth. You start with a tiny ball and then make it bigger and bigger by rolling up objects. It’s a perfect metaphor for content creation, a profession that’s similarly about growing an exponentially larger following. Rolling Live gets the most out of its light satire by filling the right side of the screen with insatiable commenters — not unlike 2024’s The Crush House — demanding to see bigger stars. If you feel the urge to roll anything and everything into a ball and launch it into the night sky, great news: a brand-new Katamari Damacy game is coming to exclusively to Apple Arcade. Katamari Damacy Rolling Live is expected to arrive on April 3, 2025 for all compatible Apple Arcade devices, alongside five other games (including RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic+). The addition of Katamari Damacy is a welcome surprise. The franchise has been around for years, and it has never gotten any less quirky than when it originally started. The last new game was Katamari Damacy Reroll in late 2018, but with this new addition, you can roll on the go.
