When Final Fantasy Resonance was first announced during the June Nintendo Direct, I was immediately hooked. The first HD-2D Final Fantasy game that brings the RPG series back to its retro roots? Sign me up! However, in August, I had the incredible opportunity to visit the Square Enix offices and play it. I can safely report that Final Fantasy Resonance is not only as great as it looked, but it’s already shaping up to be a Game of the Year contender.
Final Fantasy’s First HD-2D Game
As a child of the ’90s, I can’t help but feel nostalgic for the original 2D pixel Final Fantasy games. Don’t get me wrong, I love the series’ modern 3D titles, such as Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XV. But a part of me has always yearned for Final Fantasy to return to its turn-based RPG roots. Final Fantasy Resonance is that dream game we’ve all wanted for years.
During my hour-long preview of Final Fantasy Resonance, I got to see the new HD-2D engine in action, and it’s gorgeous. In my opinion, it’s even an improvement over the Octopath Traveler 2 engine, as Square Enix has masterfully blended 3D cutscenes with the retro pixel-art style, and it just works so well. There are even new 2D-3D story sequences that are absolutely mind-blowing.
My Final Fantasy Resonance preview session mainly centered around a Wind Temple section of the game. However, before tackling the dungeon, Square Enix allowed me to run around the overworld. The Resonance map is packed with caves, cities, and various hidden locations to explore.
While the overworld is presented in the classic 2D style, it also has dimension to it, with layered locations you can reach. And yes, you can summon a Chocobo with the press of a button to quickly traverse the world whenever you want.
Final Fantasy Returns to Its ’90s Roots
Like Octopath Traveler, you are randomly thrown into enemy encounters as you travel across the map. Final Fantasy Resonance has a turn-based combat system that pits your team of four party members against groups of enemies. At the top of the screen, there is an action tracker that shows the order in which everyone’s turn will begin.
I loved this feature because it allows you to be strategic. For example, if you know an ice enemy is attacking next, you can use a Fire spell to stagger or stun it, knocking it out of the turn rotation. Final Fantasy fully returns to its classic-era roots here, as you use elemental spells, sword attacks, and defensive tactics in these exciting turn-based battles.
That said, Final Fantasy Resonance adds a twist to its classic combat system with the new Vision mechanic. In Resonance, Visions are classic Final Fantasy heroes, such as Cloud or Noctis, who can be recruited and equipped to each member of your party. These Visions can then be selected and used as powerful spells or abilities against your foes.
The goal in Final Fantasy Resonance is to stagger every enemy on the field so you can enter an all-out attack bonus phase, where your entire team gets to unleash damage consecutively. If you pull it off, you can even trigger a Resonance attack, which is an insanely powerful ability from one of the Visions you have equipped to a character.
There also a separate Limit Break meter that slowly fills up in battle. Triggering a Limit Break in Resonance then triggers a stunning 2D pixel cutscene sequence, that has your character unleashing their full power. These sequences are just as cool as the Vision attacks and are a visual feast.
Final Fantasy Resonance Visions Are Awesome
I can’t gush enough about how cool Visions are in Final Fantasy Resonance. While it would be easy to write them off as simple fan service, the way these characters are implemented is really cool. For example, to unlock Visions, you have to visit special Sanctuaries hidden across the map. However, Square Enix went even further and created a neat system where you then have to attune to their crystal.
During my playthrough, I unlocked Noctis, which triggered a montage of cutscenes from Final Fantasy XV that showcased a quick recap of the prince’s journey. A mini quiz then appeared on my screen, and I was asked to answer three questions about Noctis, which bonded him with my character. It’s a loving homage to both the character and the original game he comes from.
Visions are also almost treated like weapons, as they are equipped to characters through the menu system. However, what really surprised me was that after several battles, I discovered a separate XP menu specifically for Visions.
With every new level your Vision reaches, you unlock a new power, stat buff, or ability. Given that there will reportedly be over 26 Visions in Final Fantasy Resonance, I love that the game encourages you to level them up and regularly swap them out.
A Fully Fleshed-Out World
This might sound dorky, but I care a lot about cities and NPCs in my RPGs. One of my favorite things about Final Fantasy Resonance is its fully fleshed-out world. During my preview, I stumbled into a steampunk city. While the hub had the usual merchants and NPCs, I was impressed by its multilayered design.
There was even a newspaper stand that gave me hints about events happening around the world. I can also confirm that NPCs have side quests in the game. One citizen in the town I visited had a questline that sent me to a location on the other side of the map. All of this is to say that, based on the small region I got to explore, Final Fantasy Resonance is already shaping up to have a massive, fully explorable world.
Final Fantasy Resonance Offers a Satisfying Challenge
If you are one of those RPG fans who has been yearning for the more challenging difficulty of ’90s-era games, then Final Fantasy Resonance might be the game for you. This isn’t to say that the game is brutally difficult or inaccessible to casual players. However, its boss fights are big, epic, and require a lot of strategy to overcome.
If you played some of the more challenging boss quests in Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler 2, then you won’t feel too out of your depth. However, my Final Fantasy Resonance preview ended with the Wind Temple boss. The battle took me over 35 minutes to complete, as the boss was an absolute tank with a massive amount of HP.
What I discovered pretty quickly was that brute-forcing my way through the battle wasn’t going to work. To overcome the fight, I regrouped and swapped out my Visions for ones that had elemental attacks the boss was weak against. You also have to pay close attention to the attack order, as your entire team can be decimated if you don’t stun or interrupt a major attack that is being powered up. In the end, I managed to overcome the fight, and it was so much fun.
Final Fantasy Resonance Is Already a Game of the Year Contender
After spending an hour with Final Fantasy Resonance, I walked away feeling like I had only scratched the surface of what could be one of the year’s best RPGs. It feels like a classic Final Fantasy game brought to life for a modern audience, complete with strategic turn-based combat, a large world to explore, memorable cities, challenging boss fights, and an exciting cast of heroes from across the franchise.
The gorgeous HD-2D graphics make its retro-inspired world feel both nostalgic and completely new, while the Vision system adds meaningful progression and plenty of fan service without feeling like a gimmick. Most importantly, Final Fantasy Resonance feels like a genuine return to the series’ turn-based roots while still introducing enough new ideas to establish its own identity.
Of course, I have only played an hour of the game, and there is still a lot I haven’t seen. But if the full adventure can maintain the same quality as my preview session, Final Fantasy Resonance won’t just be one of the biggest RPGs of the year, it could be a serious Game of the Year contender that every Final Fantasy fan should keep an eye on.
Final Fantasy Resonance releases on October 22, 2026 and launches on Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
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