Final Fantasy Resonance is going to end up an interesting case study, I think. It’s a game that ultimately began life on mobile platforms under the name Final Fantasy Brave Exvius – which subsequently remained in limbo when it ceased operations in October 2025.

Nearly a year later, Square Enix is dusting things off and priming it for release under the Resonance banner, along with offering a full overhaul for contemporary platforms.

It’s an ambitious undertaking, and one that I was a little hesitant to embrace at first. Because yes, this was going to be a HD-2D game, but the foundation was still something developed for smaller platforms.

Not only that, but we’ve already seen other remasters where the bones of the previous version shown through – Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion comes to mind – so my thoughts were certainly somewhere around there at the beginning. 

But then, as I sat down to play it, I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong. That is to say, Final Fantasy Resonance is a game that pulled at me right from the start in all the best ways and didn’t let up until the very end. 

The story narrows in on a kingdom known as Grandshelt and its knights – Rain, and his childhood friend Lasswell, who are tasked with investigating the nearby Earth shrine. It’s there that the pair encounter a figure in black armor who defeats them and shatters the Earth crystal in the process. 

Things don’t stop there – the armored man, known as Veritas of the Dark, has brought his might to the city of Grandshelt and laid it to siege. At that point, Rain and Lasswell realize they must protect the remaining crystals across the land.

They’re joined by a girl named Fina, who insists on helping them on their journey and who has a mysterious past of her own. 

There are a lot of other characters Rain and company meet along the way too, and they each have their own personalities and contributions to both the story and the party depending on their needs. 

One of my favorites is a scruffy gunslinger named Jake who isn’t afraid to speak his mind, but he’s got heart where it counts.

As with the vast majority of RPGs, Final Fantasy Resonance lets you set a party of four, so the ability to mix and match is there at leisure. With that in mind, Final Fantasy Resonance doesn’t leave anyone out when it comes to telling the story to the point where it never feels superficial.

I’d argue that the narrative is one of Final Fantasy Resonance’s strongest assets, which isn’t something I was expecting to come away with when I first booted up the game.

It does well to hook you from the beginning, and then there’s this sort of strong build towards each location and goal that feels natural, even with new characters tagging along with most chapters.

Final Fantasy Resonance is split into eight chapters, with each one carrying a hefty length. They never felt disconnected, though, and I found that this format was appropriate for the story they were trying to tell.

There’s enough breathing room throughout the dramatics that take place, and most importantly – the chance to become emotionally invested in Rain and Lasswell’s story.

It ultimately is about them – their struggles, their triumphs, their relationships. Each of these things is laid out with proper care, and by the end I felt wholly satisfied having gone on their adventure and shared those moments. 

There’s a whole lot added in the side quests too, so it’s worth checking out those even if they’re not required for the main story. Not to mention, there are worthwhile items hidden away that will prove useful when it comes to battle.

Battles in Final Fantasy Resonance are the flip side of the coin here, equally as fulfilling as the narrative is. It’s a traditional turn-based system, albeit with its own unique twists on the formula. 

Each character takes their turn with actions accessed from the menu system. At the top of the screen is the order of enemies and allies alike, which is useful for planning and directing the course of battle. 

For example, if the enemy’s icon is red, that means they’re going to unleash a big attack, so you can shore up your defense or set specific targets as need be. 

Part of what plays into these strategies is the stagger gauge. Under each enemy there’s a bar – or stagger gauge – that can stagger them once it’s chipped away at. What this means is that, by triggering this gauge, it acts as a deterrent.

Enemies will then cease action on their turn while staggered and make it easier to deal damage. It’s important to note that taking advantage of the enemy’s weak point, or their elemental weakness, will get the bar down faster.

When multiple enemies in a fight get staggered, this triggers what’s known as a sweeping stagger. Sweeping staggers allow for an extra action per character in a special bonus phase.

Coming from its life as Brave Exvius, Final Fantasy Resonance has incorporated the Visions system as a sort of guest party member that gives your existing characters more abilities to control. Each of these are based on classic Final Fantasy series heroes – you’ve got Warrior of Light from the original Final Fantasy, all the way through Clive from the more recent Final Fantasy XVI – and can be obtained by frequenting Sanctums of Light scattered all over the world.

There are even a few extra characters related to Final Fantasy Resonance itself that can be picked up. But equipping these Visions can be swapped around at will as they level with Rain and co. and unlock even more abilities by awakening them.

There’s an especially fun bit during battles that never gets old – following a stagger of all enemies in a turn, Visions can perform a Resonance that will deal a massive attack complete with a special animation.

It wouldn’t be Final Fantasy without its pantheon of summons either. Espers such as Siren, Shiva, Ifrit, and even Bahamut are back, and they’re plenty powerful elemental forces. Once obtained, each one can be summoned during battle and stick around for a total of three turns. 

As they leave, they’ll unleash their ultimate attack, so it’s important to try and factor that into strategy if you’re having a particularly tough time.

While enemies in Final Fantasy Resonance aren’t too tricky, there are some that take a lot of effort to bring down. Of course, you can up the challenge by changing the game’s overall difficulty. 

I found that focusing on establishing each target’s weakness went a long way, and that’s really the meat of how much freedom there is when it comes to sorting out the party and prioritizing who works best given the situation.

There are a lot of little things worth micromanaging too, like items needed, tents for recovering MP and HP in dungeons or on the field, etc. It’s all very satisfying in a way that evokes the classic Final Fantasy experience.

The transition from mobile to console frames Final Fantasy Resonance with crisp visuals and one of the best-looking HD-2D games to date. We’ve come a long way from the early days of Octopath Traveler, and it feels like Square Enix has polished this style to a comfortable sheen.

The music and English voice cast are great too, although I do wish the side quests were fully voiced. It’s a minor grievance in an otherwise fantastic game front to back.

Final Fantasy Resonance is going to be one of those games that I see a lot of people latching onto. While yes, there is the whole nostalgia appeal to a turn-based Final Fantasy, it’s everything else about the game that stacks up and elevates it beyond truly great. It's very rare that I don't want to put a game down, and Final Fantasy Resonance was that and so much more.

---

TechRaptor reviewed Final Fantasy Resonance on PlayStation 5 with a code provided by the publisher. All screenshots were taken over the course of 45 hours of gameplay.