Final Fantasy Resonance is a competent yet mostly straightforward return for Final Fantasy in the classic realm, retrofitting a mobile game to a vintage style JRPG that will be comforting to old fans. Don't be fooled by the lack of number on the end of this game's title. In all but name, Resonance represents Final Fantasy at its most classic and vintage, returning the franchise to its pixelated, turn-based roots in a way that is both charming. But, perhaps for obvious reasons, can also at times hold it back. The good news is that, although originally starting out life as the first narrative arc of 2015 mobile title, Brave Exvius, you wouldn't know it to play it in this incarnation.
A Return to Classic Roots
In fact, what has survived of it in Resonance makes for some superb fan-service that sees it pays respect to certain beloved heroes of the past. However, despite its inherent charm and beautiful HD-2D presentation, Final Fantasy Resonance has a habit of playing it almost too safe. There were times while playing through Resonance that I couldn't believe it's taken this long to get a truly new pixelated Final Fantasy game on modern consoles. What with Square Enix focusing more on real-time action for both Final Fantasy 16 and its ongoing Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, the adventures of former airship commander Rain and his trusty party of heroes sees the publisher return to the turn-based, comfort food formula that worked well so many times in the past.
Unlike the Octopath Traveller games or even Triangle Strategy, however, this is a HD-2D title that doesn't want to evolve the combat forward too much. What's here by way of turn-based battles is engaging and well animated, of course, yet not especially surprising.
Story and Characters
The basic crux of this globe-trotting adventure sees you venture across different regions and continents in pursuit of an enemy group called the Sworn Six. With the population dependent on eight elemental crystals to keep the world at peace, it's their hope to destroy each of them one after the other, leading you and a squad of more scrappy heroes to try and stop them. As far as narratives go Resonance spins up a relatively straightforward one, then. However, much like the best stories the enjoyment comes from the journey as a whole rather than the ultimate destination, and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't great fun to be had travelling through this gorgeously rendered world, visiting underground hideouts, waterlogged cities, and neon-lit landscapes as your party grows stronger.
My main issue with Resonance's story relates to just how long Rain and crew are always kept on the back foot of proceedings, always just one step behind each member of the Sworn Six as you visit each locale since the adventure necessitates such. That said, Resonance excels a lot more when focusing on smaller character moments, such as how Rain's long-time warrior buddy Laswell has a fondness for aiding orphans or how airship mechanic Lid hopes to live up to her family's legacy. These micro-stories are when Resonance had me gripped in an emotional chokehold compared to the simple 'chase after the bad guys' storyline. It's these smaller beats that even help offset much of the fetch quest repetition found in a lot of side quests.
Vision System and Espers
Obviously, I imagine one of the biggest appeals with Resonance for diehard Final Fantasy fans (outside of the 2D-HD visuals, anyway) will be the Vision system. It's this that allows the gang to call upon the spirits of specific protagonists featured in past games, using their abilities in battle to help give you an edge. Speaking honestly, there is an inherent cool factor to calling the likes of Noctis, Tidus, Clive, and even Cloud into battle, using their unique elemental and combat abilities to enhance your existing heroes' move set to unleash some devastating combinations. However, for as well presented they are, really all these Visions are is a replacement for any classic JRPG's job system, except here in Resonance they're coated in the ultimate fan-service.
Visions and their battle-ending, Resonance attacks are a nice bit of dress-up then, but I did appreciate that they don't outright replace traditional summons, which are also here in the form of Espers. Summonable only once per battle, adding them to your squad is given a bit more pageantry than Visions in that they serve as mini boss battles littered across each region's map. These also tend to require a bit of legwork before accessing by completing a multi-part quest, being a heck of a lot better than how unlocking Visions is handheld, which boils down to walking into a Sanctum of Light and answering questions in a pretty pointless questionnaire. The first time you enter one doing so feels epic. But the 12th time? Not so much.
Combat and Presentation
Luckily, turn-based battles themselves benefit from a satisfying sense of flow and build up, as countering each enemy type's elemental strengths requires a solid degree of tactics and thought. All of which is amplified once you begin to layer in the boons provided by each Vision you want to equip to party members and Esper you choose to summon. I wouldn't say that I found any battle particularly difficult per se, but there were definitely a few choke points where I had to sit back and calculate my decisions better; usually when facing a designated member of the Sworn Six at whatever elemental Shrine they're looking to destroy next.
The combat mechanics themselves might adhere a little too closely to conventional turn-based Final Fantasy to appease a lot of modern fans, especially compared to, say, the rush you get from Octopath Traveller's Boost feature. However, thanks to a combination of amazingly rendered pixel animations, coupled with full 3D renders of Visions and Espers appearing whenever they're about to unleash an unprecedented degree of devastation, it isn't hard for battles to feel epic. I do wish that the English dubs were included for Visions in these moments, though, because it's these few instances of oversight where you can still see the joins of Resonance's mobile-based origins. Fortunately, they don't tend to crop up too often.
Following a raft of big-budget, AAA numbered instalments, Final Fantasy Resonance brings the classic JRPG series back to its familiar roots, using the beauty of Square Enix's HD-2D art style and a competent if not especially surprising turn-based combat system. Rain and the gang's journey to protect and restore the world's elemental crystals is a well-worn story, true, but it excels in the quieter narrative moments surrounding the edges. Simply put, if you want a reminder that vintage Final Fantasy can still sing against the modern JRPG climate this'll convince you. Just don't go in expecting a lot more than that. Rating: 3/5. Final Fantasy Resonance is set to release on PC, PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 this October 22, 2026.
