Reviewed on:
Switch 2
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC
Publisher:
Square Enix
Developer:
Square Enix
Release:
Rating:
Everyone 10+
RPG publisher Square Enix has been doing the Lord's work lately by rescuing their discontinued mobile games and rehydrating them into full-fat RPG experiences. Last year's Octopath Traveler 0 is one such triumph, and it's safe to say Final Fantasy Resonance is another victory for reusing assets instead of throwing them in the garbage. More importantly, it's a great RPG experience with a fun cast and character customization options that will make fans of the Final Fantasy V job system rabid with delight.
Resonance is based on the first season of the now-defunct Final Fantasy Brave Exvius mobile game, which ran four chapters in total from 2016 to 2025, but Resonance is no mere port. For starters, it received an HD-2D injection that gussied up Exvius's already-impressive sprites. Resonance wears the HD-2D aesthetic confidently; Square Enix has obviously listened to past criticisms of its beloved graphical style, and it paid off. Resonance is an HD-2D game, but its highly detailed character sprites and occasional jaw-dropping pixel-based "cinema" scene differentiate it from the Octopath Traveler series and the Dragon Quest HD-2D remakes.
Resonance's distinctions are its greatest strength, in fact. It's easy to assume at first blush that its story about a boy and his best friend is nothing but a table to prop retro Final Fantasy references upon. It's true that a key part of Resonance's gameplay involves summoning "Visions" into battle, said visions being projections of characters from other Final Fantasy games.
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