Final Fantasy Resonance Review: Turn-Based Final Fantasy is Back and Better Than Ever

I’ve played a lot of incredible JRPGs over the years, but every once in a while, a game comes along that makes a lasting impression and has me thinking, Do I need to update my top 5 JRPGs of all-time list? Yes, Final Fantasy Resonance is that good and yes Mags, you should play this game!

Going into this adventure, I already had pretty high expectations. I’ve always loved traditional turn-based Final Fantasy games, I’ve been a huge supporter of Square Enix’s HD-2D art style, and the idea of bringing these elements together in a new console JRPG was incredibly exciting.

But there’s a difference between a game that looks like everything I want and one that actually delivers. After finishing Final Fantasy Resonance, I can confidently say that it exceeded my expectations in nearly every way.

The combat is exceptional, the characters are fantastic, the storytelling kept me invested throughout the adventure, and visually, I genuinely believe this is the best HD-2D game Square Enix has ever created.

More importantly, Final Fantasy Resonance doesn’t succeed only because it reminds me of older Final Fantasy games. It takes the qualities that made those adventures special and builds upon them with thoughtful mechanics and modern presentation.

The result is one of my favorite games of 2026, and an experience I consider worthy of a perfect score.

I’ll be keeping this review spoiler-free because there’s plenty here that’s worth discovering for yourself.

Traditional Final Fantasy With a New Identity

Final Fantasy Resonance takes the world and characters originally introduced in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and reimagines them as a complete, traditional fully single player JRPG. If you’re familiar with Brave Exvius as a mobile game, don’t assume this is simply a prettier version of that experience.

Final Fantasy Resonance is a substantial reworking of its source material, offering a full-fledged adventure built around exploration, character progression, side quests, dungeons, and strategic turn-based combat.

The story follows Rain, Lasswell, and the companions they encounter as they become involved in a growing conflict surrounding the world’s crystals and the conflict surrounding them.

Along the way, you’ll encounter plenty of recognizable Final Fantasy elements, including chocobos, moogles, airships, espers, and familiar characters from across the franchise, but what impressed me most is that these recognizable elements never feel like the game’s entire identity.

There’s a genuinely enjoyable adventure underneath all of that familiarity, with an interesting world to explore and plenty of reasons to experiment with your party. This is the kind of Final Fantasy experience I’ve wanted to see more of, and Square Enix has done an outstanding job bringing it to life.

An Excellent Story With Characters Worth Caring About

While the combat and visuals initially caught my attention, the story quickly became one of my favorite aspects of Final Fantasy Resonance. The adventure begins with a relatively familiar fantasy premise, but it develops into something far more interesting as the central conflict expands and the characters begin uncovering the mysteries surrounding their world.

What I really appreciate is how much attention the game gives its cast. They could’ve allowed the larger conflict to overshadow everyone involved, but Final Fantasy Resonance consistently makes room for meaningful character development and smaller interactions that help establish the relationships within the party.

Rain and Lasswell provide an excellent foundation for the story. Rain’s outgoing, determined personality contrasts nicely with Lasswell’s quieter, more reserved demeanor. Their shared history gives their relationship an authenticity that makes their interactions feel natural.

Fina brings another interesting perspective to the group, while characters like Lid introduce additional personalities and dynamics that make traveling together consistently entertaining. The writing does a wonderful job giving these characters their own motivations and perspectives, allowing their relationships to develop naturally throughout the adventure.

One feature that helps considerably is the Active Time Chat system, which introduces optional conversations during exploration. I love mechanics like this because they provide opportunities to appreciate characters outside of major story sequences. These smaller exchanges help establish their personalities and make the group feel more connected.

The voice acting is also excellent. The performances bring warmth and personality to the cast, while handling the story’s more emotional moments with the care they deserve. I admittedly shed tears during some of the emotional story moments of this game and a large part of that is thanks to the phenomenal performances on display here.

By the time I reached the conclusion, I genuinely didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters, and for a story-driven JRPG, I think that’s one of the greatest compliments I can give.

The Best HD-2D Has Ever Looked

I don’t think there’s any question about where I stand on Final Fantasy Resonance’s visual presentation. This is the most impressive implementation of HD-2D I’ve seen. Square Enix has continued refining this artistic approach through games like Octopath Traveler and the Dragon Quest HD-2D remakes, but Final Fantasy Resonance feels like another substantial leap forward.

The combination of pixel art characters, richly detailed environments, sophisticated lighting, and dynamic camera movement creates a remarkably cohesive world.

One of the challenges with this visual style has always been making the characters feel like they naturally belong within their environments. Here, I think everything comes together beautifully. Towns are filled with intricate details, dungeons have distinctive atmospheres, and the lighting consistently enhances the environments.

The game also uses 3D character models rendered with a pixelated appearance during certain cinematics, allowing for more elaborate scenes without abandoning its visual identity. It’s a fantastic approach that makes me wonder what Final Fantasy might have looked like if Square Enix had continued developing traditional pixel-based entries with modern technology.

And then there are the combat animations. Powerful spells fill the screen with incredible effects, special attacks have a satisfying sense of impact, and some of the larger abilities transition into spectacular cinematic sequences. I regularly found myself appreciating the presentation even after spending dozens of hours with the game. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

Some of the Best Turn-Based Combat in Final Fantasy

As much as I enjoyed the storytelling and presentation, the combat might be my favorite part of Final Fantasy Resonance. This is easily some of the most enjoyable turn-based combat I’ve experienced in the franchise in years.

At its foundation, the game uses traditional turn-based battles. You select attacks, spells, abilities, and items while considering the strengths and weaknesses of the enemies you’re facing. However, several interconnected mechanics give the system an incredible amount of strategic depth.

The first is the turn-order timeline. Unlike the Active Time Battle systems used in several classic Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy Resonance clearly displays when your characters and enemies will act, including upcoming turns. That information becomes essential when planning your approach.

This game is built around turn order and its stagger system. Enemies have stagger gauges that can be depleted through attacks, with elemental weaknesses playing an important role in breaking their defenses.

Once an enemy becomes staggered, its defense is reduced and it loses its scheduled action. Suddenly, combat becomes about much more than dealing the highest possible damage. You might deliberately choose a weaker attack because it can stagger an enemy before it has an opportunity to act giving you the opportunity to save MP for stagger phases where you’ll want to use your most powerful abilities.

Then there’s Sweeping Stagger, that leads into an Extra Phase where your party receives additional opportunities to attack. It’s an incredibly satisfying mechanic that rewards careful planning and understanding how your party’s abilities work together.

Visions Are an Incredible Addition

One of the most distinctive features of Final Fantasy Resonance is its Vision system. Visions are echoes of characters from across Final Fantasy history, including familiar faces like Cloud, Terra, Noctis, and the Warrior of Light. Instead of just having them join your party as additional playable characters, these heroes can be equipped to your existing party members.

Each Vision provides access to different abilities, allowing you to customize your characters and expand their roles in combat. Some offer elemental magic, others provide healing or defensive capabilities, and certain combinations can dramatically change how effectively your party exploits enemy weaknesses.

Because the stagger system rewards having access to different types of attacks, Vision selection becomes a meaningful strategic decision. You’re not going to want to just equip your favorite Final Fantasy character for nostalgic reasons. You must consider what they contribute to your party.

Visions are discovered through locations called Sanctums, with some encounters involving questions connected to the characters and their histories. Importantly, this replaces the randomized character acquisition associated with Brave Exvius. You’re earning these characters through exploration and gameplay rather than a gacha system. I absolutely love that.

Visions also feature their own progression system, allowing you to use magicite shards to increase their star levels and unlock more powerful abilities. This creates another enjoyable layer of party customization.

But my favorite part of the system is undoubtedly Resonance attacks. After triggering the appropriate Extra Phase, you can unleash a powerful Vision-specific ability accompanied by an elaborate cinematic animation. These attacks look absolutely spectacular, but they’re also mechanically meaningful.

And that’s before considering traditional Limit Breaks and espers, which can join your party temporarily before unleashing powerful finishing attacks.

There are so many systems working together here, yet everything feels remarkably intuitive. The more I experimented, the more I appreciated how thoughtfully the mechanics were designed. Even regular encounters remained entertaining because there was always another combination I wanted to try or a different approach worth exploring.

For me, that’s the hallmark of an exceptional combat system.

A Complete Experience

One of the things I value most about Final Fantasy Resonance is how consistently enjoyable the entire adventure feels. I’ve played plenty of JRPGs with fantastic stories but combat systems that eventually become repetitive. I’ve also played games with outstanding mechanics where I struggled to remain invested in the characters or narrative. Final Fantasy Resonance never presented me with that problem.

I enjoyed exploring its world, discovering new Visions, developing my party, and experiencing the story and when I wanted to challenge myself further, optional content provided additional opportunities to experiment with the combat. That sense of cohesion is what ultimately elevates Resonance from a great JRPG into something truly special.

Verdict: A Modern Final Fantasy Masterpiece

Final Fantasy Resonance is everything I could have wanted from a traditional Final Fantasy adventure, and somehow, it managed to exceed those expectations.

The story is engaging, the characters are unforgettable, and the HD-2D presentation is some of the finest Square Enix has produced to date, but it’s the combat that truly pushes this experience into exceptional territory. The combination of turn-order manipulation, staggering, Visions, and Resonance attacks creates a battle system that’s both immediately enjoyable and consistently rewarding.

What I appreciate most is that Final Fantasy Resonance doesn’t need to rely on nostalgia to succeed. It takes the foundations of classic Final Fantasy and demonstrates just how much potential this style of of game still has.

I don’t believe Final Fantasy needs to abandon its modern direction or exclusively return to turn-based combat. There’s room for different interpretations of what makes this franchise special.

But Final Fantasy Resonance is a powerful reminder that traditional Final Fantasy still has an incredibly bright future. This isn’t just one of my favorite JRPGs of 2026. It’s one of my favorite games, period.

And it’s an experience I won’t soon forget.