Final Fantasy Resonance offers a compelling combat system and impressive visuals, but its narrative shortcomings and pacing issues prevent it from reaching true greatness.
A Tale of Two Halves
Final Fantasy Resonance, a game that rose from the remnants of the mobile title Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, presents a fascinating dichotomy. While its ambition in reimagining classic Final Fantasy elements is commendable, the execution results in a title that excels in some areas while faltering significantly in others. The most striking contrast lies between its innovative battle system and its underdeveloped narrative.
The series' legacy is a heavy burden, and Resonance grapples with it differently than its recent mainline predecessor, Final Fantasy 16. Instead of rebelling against tradition, Resonance attempts to emulate and integrate its heritage, a pursuit that brings its own set of consequences. A core pillar of the Final Fantasy series has always been its storytelling, often characterized by complex, sometimes outlandish plots involving amnesia, time travel, and interdimensional conflicts. Resonance, however, struggles to capture this magic. Its plot feels like a grab-bag of familiar tropes—mages with unclear identities, conflicted swordsmen, stoic loners, and mercenary heroes—assembled without a cohesive understanding of what made them effective in previous entries. This results in a story that feels shallow, lacking in character chemistry and impact. Plot points occur with little room for emotional resonance, such as an entire city being flooded and then inexplicably restored with little lasting consequence, a far cry from the impactful events seen in titles like Final Fantasy VII or VIII.
This perceived shallowness is partly attributed to Resonance's origins. Its story elements were stripped from the first season of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and adapted, alongside altered graphics and mechanics. While the visual and mechanical improvements are noticeable, the narrative remains its weakest facet. The story does improve around the 30-hour mark, but given the game's total length of 30-40 hours, this late-game uplift does little to compensate for the initial tedium and overwritten dialogue, which relies on superfluous vocabulary without substance.
Combat Innovation
Where Resonance truly shines is in its battle mechanics. While many consider story to be the series' backbone, the evolution of its combat systems has been crucial to its longevity. Resonance draws inspiration from the synergy and stamina mechanics seen in Final Fantasy XIII, XV, and the VII Remake series, blended with a more traditional turn-based approach reminiscent of Octopath Traveler. Enemies feature both HP and stamina bars. Depleting HP defeats them, but emptying their stamina interrupts attacks, triggers a 'stagger' state that makes them more vulnerable, and grants the player party an additional turn. During this bonus phase, certain skills gain enhanced effects, culminating in the option to summon a 'Vision'—a historical character from the Final Fantasy universe—for a powerful attack.
Although this system sounds complex, Resonance gradually introduces its interlocking elements over the first ten hours, allowing players to master them organically. Standard enemies are manageable, while bosses provide a consistent challenge, requiring engagement with the stagger and 'Vision' mechanics. The latter half of the game, particularly the boss encounters that conclude each of its eight chapters, are highlights. These fights remain challenging even when overleveled, demanding strategic use of buffs, debuffs, and the unique character abilities. The game's producer, Keisuke Nakashima, has cited Final Fantasy V and VI as combat inspirations. The 'Visions' system acts as a proxy for FFV's job system, while individual character abilities echo FFVI's diverse cast. This fusion creates a compelling strategic depth that warrants hope for future Final Fantasy projects.
The World Opens Up
As is tradition in many Final Fantasy titles, the game truly opens up upon acquiring the airship. The world map becomes genuinely explorable, and side quests, which were initially arbitrary fetch quests, gain significance. Exploration is rewarded with intriguing lore, powerful new weapons, and puzzles related to hidden Espers. The full roster of characters joins the party, and their intended roles and synergies with various 'Visions' become clearer, evoking the sense of discovery found in classic entries like Final Fantasy VIII's Ragnarok or FFVI's Blackjack.
Despite a story that struggles to gain momentum and some frustrating dungeon design, the latter half of Resonance becomes a thrilling experience. The escalating boss fights are consistently interesting, and the game culminates in a strong final act. The world feels open, the threat of impending doom is distant enough to appreciate the ambiance of a world on the brink, and each party member has settled into their tactical niche. This final stretch is so satisfying that players may find themselves reluctant to reach the point of no return.
Final Fantasy Resonance is a solid game and an interesting experiment in realizing a pixel-art Final Fantasy for the modern era, showcasing impressive visuals for the HD-2D style. Its combat mechanics are worthy of the series' legacy. However, underdeveloped world-building, a forgettable story, and pacing issues prevent it from being truly great. It feels as though Resonance might have been more successful had its origins in Brave Exvius been entirely excised, replaced with a narrative more aligned with its full-release RPG aspirations. Those seeking emotional storytelling and memorable characters may be disappointed, but players looking for engaging, challenging combat puzzles will find much to enjoy. Ultimately, Resonance is a game that doesn't quite manage to be more than the sum of its parts.
A copy of Final Fantasy Resonance was provided for this review by Square Enix.