Final Fantasy dips back into the SNES golden era with Resonance
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Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Resonance brings the series’ first HD-2D entry to players, pairing pixel art with detailed 3D visuals and classic turn-based role-playing. Its world map, random encounters and familiar town shops evoke the SNES-era games, offering a gentler, nostalgic alternative to the series’ more action-heavy modern titles.
The review finds that the story follows a well-worn formula: hero Rain and his friend Lasswell set out after a magical crystal is destroyed, with amnesia among the familiar plot devices. Modern conveniences include enemy health and stagger bars, faster battles, fast travel and dungeon teleporting. Players can also equip recruited “Visions” of characters such as Terra Branford and Cloud Strife to unlock battle abilities; the game adapts the first story arc of the mobile title Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, which ended service in 2024.
- Final Fantasy Resonance is the series’ first HD-2D game.
- Its turn-based combat and world map recall classic Final Fantasy.
- Modern features and guest-character abilities add convenience and variety.
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Final Fantasy is a long-running series of role-playing games from Square Enix. Many earlier entries, including the Super Nintendo games of the 1990s, used pixel art, turn-based battles and journeys between towns and dungeons.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius was a mobile game set in the same broad franchise, with a story centred on Rain and Lasswell. Its “Visions” feature let players call on versions of characters from other Final Fantasy games, including Terra and Cloud.
The series has since explored more action-focused combat, while still drawing on familiar characters and ideas. This game combines a retro-inspired presentation with newer visual effects and conveniences, and retells the opening part of Brave Exvius for players who may not have played the mobile original.
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The case for
Resonance offers a thoughtful return to the qualities that made classic Final Fantasy appealing: turn-based battles, a world map and a sense of discovery, presented with modern visual detail and conveniences. Its familiar story and nostalgic tone may be welcome for players who prefer a gentler, more traditional role-playing experience to action-focused entries.
The case against
The same reliance on familiar conventions may make Resonance feel derivative, especially with a predictable plot and recognisable devices such as amnesia. Its nostalgia and references to past characters may offer less for players seeking a more original story or a bolder evolution of the series.