Pixel-art graphics, random battles, turn-based combat, an overworld map, crystals, espers, airships, chocobos, magitek — this is quintessential FINAL FANTASY for the new age! FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE captures the essence of early FF games while bringing modern quality-of-life improvements, like voice acting, fast travel, variable combat speeds, and a tactical stagger system.
It’s actually a from-the-ground reimagining of mobile game FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS, not that you’d know that in isolation. The game has been rebuilt from the ground up for consoles and PC, removing the free-to-play gacha system, taking a more classic approach to gameplay, and focusing on a self-contained single-player story.
Crystal-Clear
Believe it or not, RESONANCE is the first FINAL FANTASY game to be given the HD-2D treatment, and it looks phenomenal. The detailed spritework, elaborate animations, dynamic lighting, cinematic camera, and expert use of depth of field all come together to cement HD-2D as one of the best visual styles ever. To top it off, the painterly portraits that accompany dialogue boxes are nothing less than stunning; bringing more detail, personality, and expression to characters in the story.
There’s also the occasional 3D cinematic when summoning espers or unleashing a Visions’ resonance attack. The high-detail cutscenes bring another aspect to combat, with Japanese voice lines and English subtitles, which was a unique choice that I loved. I also really enjoyed seeing my favourite characters in both high-resolution and pixel-art forms.
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High Fantasy
The story of FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is nothing less than I have come to expect from the series; a high tension tale that only gets better as it goes on, with cracker side quests that you won’t want to skip.
The main story follows brothers Rain and Lasswell, knights of Grandshelt, who fall into a quest to save the world. While investigating a disturbance at the Shrine of Earth, the pair run into a Dark Knight so strong he easily defeats the brothers. After destroying the earth crystal, it’s revealed that he is but one of many; the antagonists, the Sworn Six of Paladia, are on their own mission to destroy the world’s crystals.
Not ones to let an ass-kicking discourage them, Rain and Lasswell set off on a trip around the world to save the remaining crystals and enact justice on the group that attacked their homeland. Along the way, they pick up an assortment of colourful allies, helping them with their own problems and conflicts. The great thing about having a team of incredibly strong antagonists is that the tension remains high and the threat ever-present, with the heroes constantly clashing with the Six in their race for the crystals.
The games’ plot can go to some unexpected places, too, with a few shock twists and a fantastic boss-run ending. Excellent voice acting brings characters to life on both sides of the conflict, each with their own motivations and hurdles to overcome. The ‘bad guys’ are well rounded and have understandable motivations, and there’s a bit of a love triangle that I definitely wasn’t expecting.
Side-quests in RESONANCE are so good that I never felt like I was wasting time or being distracted from the main plot. Whether you’re collecting monster parts to enhance a robotic chocobo, curing the ailments of a sick child, defeating a rampaging fiend, or following cryptic rumours that lead to a new esper; every quest has a meaningful story and rewards tied to it that make it worth the effort. My favourites were the character specific quests that offered insight into their past and rewarded you with a boost in stats and a unique accessory for that character.
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Swords, Spells, and Summons
At its core, combat is a pretty classic turn-based JRPG offering, jazzed up with a tactical stagger system and the use of Visions. Enemy design and combat animations are fantastic; with signature moves, spells, and limit gauge attacks flashing before your eyes in a kaleidoscope of colour and pixels.
The stagger system is straightforward but essential in high-level combat. You chip away at an enemy’s stagger bar, and once depleted, it becomes stunned for a round and takes substantially more damage. Exploiting an enemy’s elemental weakness is the easiest way to do this, but there are other factors that can increase the amount of stagger damage you deal.
At the end of a round is the bonus round, where characters that have staggered an enemy get an extra attack. A ‘Sweeping Stagger’ is when you stun all enemies in the same round, allowing all characters to attack during the bonus round. It also triggers a ‘Resonance’, where you pick one of your equipped Visions to attack with their ultimate.
Playing on normal difficulty, I never felt the need to grind to become more powerful, just to get through the story — though I was still fighting plenty of battles for fun. Not to say the game is easy, there is still plenty of challenge, but I never felt like I was butting my head against a wall. There are plenty of optional encounters that will kick your arse if you’re unprepared or under-levelled, and some that were still too much for me at endgame. My one disappointment in myself was not being able to defeat and unlock the Sephiroth Vision before the final battle… But I’ll get him eventually!
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Vision Quest
Visions are the essences of legendary heroes from other worlds — like Squall Leonhart and Terra Branford — that need to be found and equipped to a character, similar to a job system. They bestow unique attacks, skills, and passive abilities onto your characters while fighting alongside them in battle.
Through combat, a Vision will level up the bond they have with their equipped character and can also be awakened with rare crystals, unlocking their true power. But when a Vision is removed, most of its powers go with it, replaced by those of the next Vision you equip, so you have to be tactical about which Vision is equipped to which character. You can spend points to keep some abilities you’ve already unlocked, but they’re mostly passive — you can’t pinch unique attacks like Cloud’s ‘Braver’.
Going into the game, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about there being characters from different games — usually, that sort of thing feels out of place to me. But having Cloud, Tidus, Noctis, and Clive on screen at the same time was just so bloody cool! Now, having finished the game, I’m only wishing there were MORE cameo heroes.
Should I play FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE?
Riding a chocobo around a simple overworld map, Odin swooping in and one-shotting an enemy to save my ass, holding my breath as I push my luck and rush to a save point before the next random encounter… Just a few of the things that have given me big sentimental twangs while playing this game.
FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE isn’t a groundbreaking video game, it’s a comforting nostalgia play. It takes the best of the games I grew up with and polishes it for a modern audience, but importantly, doesn’t buff out its retro charm. I love modern FINAL FANTASY and want Square Enix to keep pushing the envelope for its numbered entries, but these throwback games are equally as important and needed.
With an engaging story, gorgeous HD-2D graphics, and a battle system that’ll have you walking down memory lane; I can confidently say that if you have a soft spot for any FINAL FANTASY between I and IX, then you’re going to really… Resonate with RESONANCE.
Quest Daily Scores FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE:
9/10
FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE releases on October 23rd for both Nintendo Switch consoles, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Access to FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE was provided by the publisher.
