To evoke the classics is also to hold yourself to the high standard set by them. With Final Fantasy Resonance bringing the venerated series back to its origins with turn-based combat, and wielding Square’s HD-2D art style to modernize nostalgia for the pixel art era, it plucks at something long-desired by those who grew up in the SNES generation. While Octopath Traveler series entries have been lauded, Final Fantasy has crystallized into something meaningful over decades. But as much as Resonance looks like a torchbearer for classic RPGs, it also goes for a style of storytelling that often rings hollow, making it a game of moments: when a genre-fusing boss theme graces your ears, when you execute a turn perfectly and watch all your spells fire off with big damage numbers, and when a cutscene brings HD-2D to life in a way never seen before.
Resonance adapts the story and characters from the now-shuttered mobile game Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius by packaging them into the structure of a traditional RPG, foregoing gacha mechanics and microtransactions. This approach is similar to Square Enix's treatment of Octopath Traveler, offering a brilliant way to bring existing stories into a more accessible format. The game features an overworld with towns representing each region, random encounters, an airship for free roaming and discovering secret areas, and full voice acting throughout the main story.
It largely sticks to the events of the first season of Brave Exvius, which follows knights Rain and Laswell from the Kingdom of Grandshelt, the mysterious magical girl Fina, and their friends on a quest to stop the armor-clad Sworn Six from destroying the world's crystals. Added dialogue and interstitial events flesh out the journey, which took approximately 45 hours to complete, including side quests and optional minibosses. While chunks of Resonance's story aren't particularly riveting, the production value makes it easy to forget its mobile game origins.
Gameplay retains concepts and mechanics that work well as an engaging turn-based combat system. This is not an ATB system with an active element, but a straightforward turn order along a timeline. Planning accordingly based on unit order or manipulating it to your advantage allows for strategic depth comparable to games in the Trails series or Octopath Traveler.
Elemental affinities and staggering enemies are key in Resonance. Each party member has elemental magic spells or imbued physical attacks, and equipping Visions, inspired by Final Fantasy V's Job system, provides flexibility in party composition. This allows players to cover all elements or focus on a specific type to overpower bosses. Hitting enemy weaknesses is crucial, as all attacks chip away at their stagger meter.
This system offers a duality: swapping Visions between party members to change their movesets is flexible, but it can sometimes trivialize combat. For instance, in a water-themed boss fight, an electric build becomes the optimal strategy, making it less about deep thinking and more about exploiting a specific element. The foresight to anticipate the right element before a fight isn't always as rewarding as being pushed to scheme with the available tools. This contrasts with Octopath Traveler's boost and break system, which offers more dynamic and free-flowing tools even with elemental affinities, encouraging greater creativity.
Resonance's combat system still provides enough puzzle-esque tactical thinking for a good turn-based RPG. Party members level up alongside their mastery of equipped Visions, and manually ranking up Visions to apply passive perks and support spells allows for buildcrafting that adds depth for challenging fights. Capturing the satisfaction of attacking a staggered enemy with powerful spells is enhanced by the visually impressive animations that deliver emphatic impact.
Visions are enjoyable to experiment with, as most are avatars of star characters from past Final Fantasy games. Their movesets recall specific spells and signature attacks from their respective titles, celebrating the series' history in a way integral to Resonance's gameplay. Staggering an enemy grants extra turns in a bonus phase, and staggering all foes leads to a sweeping stagger phase where all party members can attack. This concludes in a Resonance attack tied to a chosen Vision. While transitioning from HD-2D visuals to CGI cutscenes for Resonance attacks can be jarring, some are quite impressive, like Shantotto hurling dark energy or Clive preparing a powerful move. Wonderful pixel art accompanies these, with characters like Lightning receiving full animation sets.
Each Vision is obtained by visiting shrines scattered throughout the overworld and engaging in a quiz-like dialogue sequence recounting their stories, which may contain major spoilers for other Final Fantasy titles. This feature, initially perceived as cheesy, evolved into a welcome reminder of each entry's enduring impact. Discovering which shrine belongs to which character, accompanied by their iconic music, can be a grin-inducing experience, particularly when a familiar theme evokes strong emotions, as seen with "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" and Y'shtola's story from FFXIV Shadowbringers.
Final Fantasy's lasting appeal stems from its storytelling, and this is where Resonance presents a mixed experience. The core narrative of crystals powering magical worlds and defeating evil is solid, but the execution and exploration of themes are inconsistent. Resonance occasionally reaches the series' storytelling highs but often suffers from long stretches of underwhelming narrative.
Retooling Brave Exvius' story and expanding upon it was a worthwhile endeavor, but much of the added dialogue feels akin to middling young adult fiction. While fantasy stories need not be Shakespearean, much of Resonance's script lacks punch, being overly verbose and relying on a contemporary, twee tone and mustache-twirly villains. Despite an affinity for melodrama, lengthy cutscenes, and friendship tropes, these elements don't truly shine until late in the game.
However, the journey with characters overcoming unbelievable odds remains enticing. Protagonist Rain and his brother-in-arms Lasswell, though simple, possess a bond that draws players towards the conclusion. Fina develops into more than just a character with a mysterious past, adding a compelling layer to the magical storytelling. The tactician Nichol and mage Sakura are better-written characters who fit the RPG mold, with Nichol's emotional arc displaying genuine depth. Conversely, the Sworn Six often have their importance undersold through dialogue, and Dr. Lazarov serves as an annoying, throwaway mad scientist character.
Resonance also struggles with narrative momentum due to a pervasive vagueness that hinders engagement rather than drawing players in. It leans more on regional societal issues like environmental tragedies, government revolt, or exploitation of the underclasses. While these stories are adequately presented individually, thematic coherence arrives late, and their connection through magic proves predictable, if functional.
While spectacle alone doesn't always suffice, Final Fantasy Resonance is an exception. Its strongest moments are elevated by exceptional HD-2D cutscene work, effectively utilizing camera movement in a 3D plane as character sprites and pixelized effects coalesce through fluid animation that conveys emotion beyond dialogue. The art style, born from nostalgia, proves it can lead to new, evocative world-building and elevate stories beyond their components.
Music also contributes significantly to the positive reflection on Resonance. The soundtrack incorporates instruments that evoke the feeling of a brutal empire or a mystical sky city. From normal battle themes to varied boss tiers, Brave Exvius's excellent soundtrack is present, playing off many of the series' musical themes. Remixes of dungeon themes into electronic tunes and a particularly impressive boss theme fusing piano jazz with orchestral metal, double bass drums, and a Latin choir showcase unexpected harmony. Sometimes music resonates more powerfully than words, and it is one of the most memorable aspects.
Part of playing Final Fantasy Resonance involves examining why older RPG eras remain lodged in our psyche. While nostalgia can be strong, so too was the sharpness of their messages, and the most fondly remembered understood that simple did not mean shallow. This is the biggest hurdle Resonance couldn't quite overcome. Despite weaker dialogue in lengthy story stretches, the journey is still worthwhile. Resonance is special for its use of HD-2D as an art style, setting a new, higher standard beyond nostalgia. It adds flair to a solid turn-based combat system, making boss battles more satisfying, and paints its world as exciting, especially when a superb soundtrack backs each moment before a challenging battle theme. Though pieces of the storytelling are underwhelming, Final Fantasy Resonance's existence is a welcome revival of Brave Exvius and a testament to how old-school style RPGs can continue to raise the bar.