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Our Verdict
Final Fantasy Resonance is both a breath of fresh air and a throwback, with a presentation that looks very 1990s but ideas that bring it well into the modern day. Plus, it has Squall.
The disrespect shown to Final Fantasy 8 is unacceptable, especially considering it’s the best FF game. Remakes are being thrown around left and right, and there’s never a shortage of “FFIX is amazing, actually” nonsense spoken in not-so-hushed circles. Finding a crystal containing Squall gave me joy, and for that, I thank Final Fantasy Resonance.
FFR, as it shall be known, is a spin on Final Fantasy Brave Exvius – a gacha-adjacent mobile game. Brave Exvius was an RPG, like the rest of the games in the series, where you could pick up characters from other games to help fight the imminent evil. FFR takes some of the story and the characters from the mobile game, transforming it into glorious HD2D, and makes a proper game out of it.
Final Fantasy Resonance feels more traditional than other more recent FF endeavors; it may even border on basic for those used to FF7 Remake’s frenetic combat and jumble sale aesthetic. You are a force for good; there are crystals; there’s a bad group looking to inflict bad stuff on the world. That’s about it.
I kind of love it, though. It’s a throwback in the best way. There’s a pure rhythm to everything that reminds me of when I used to really enjoy this type of thing – have a wander, find a city, enter a cave. Progression is steady – a drip feed of things to explore and new, beautiful locations to set my eyes on.
The combat is familiar, to a point, for those with an RPG mentality. Attacks, spells, items: they’re all here. Enemies have a stagger bar below their health that, when depleted, makes them vulnerable to extra damage for the rest of the turn. Breaking enemies awards extra turns for my characters, too, so I can be tactical about when I attack for the most efficient burst.
The real difference with Resonance is with its Visions. Think of it kind of like a job system in any other game, only with a lot more nostalgia thrown in. I can unlock characters from other games (Cloud, Squall, etc.) who can be attached to my characters to act as an extension of their abilities.
Cloud, for instance, has his Braver attack, utilizing lightning to devastating effect. A bond grows between Cloud and whichever character he is attached to, unlocking new abilities and passive buffs as they gain XP together. Collecting these classic Final Fantasy characters is the selling point for Resonance, and I loved building out my collection like a bunch of human-shaped Pokémon.
Each of these visions has its own ultimate attack, or Limit Break, if you will. This is one of the few gripes I have with the system overall. Every time I use one of these attacks, an animation plays – it isn’t in the style of Resonance; it’s a high-fidelity cutscene of whoever doing whatever, and it sucks. It pulls me right out of everything, and I think it looks bad. From weird cutouts of the characters before they launch into whatever planet-killing blow they’re about to execute, to the strange fact that all of these animations are in Japanese, despite Resonance having charming English VO.
You can skip these animations, but only partly. The beginning and end still play. Every. Time. It got to the point where, if possible, I’d avoid using these attacks because I didn’t want to see the same thing over and over. Even more baffling is that these visions then play a delightful animation of the attack on screen after the FMV – just do that! Do that first! Only do that!
Mild annoyances aside, Final Fantasy Resonance is pretty wonderful. It’s chill, it respects my time, and it has Squall – what’s not to like? Whether you’re a FF aficionado or just love old-school RPGs, it’s definitely worth a look.
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