Dragon Quest fans got to see the first three games in the legendary franchise remade in Square Enix’s wonderful HD-2D art style. While a Final Fantasy equivalent will hopefully happen someday, fans are getting Final Fantasy Resonance in the meantime. An enhanced adaptation of the mobile game Brave Exvius, the first FF HD-2D game looks incredible and is a ton of fun to experience thanks to an in-depth battle system that brilliantly updates the traditional turn-based gameplay.

Resonance makes a phenomenal first impression with its prologue, showing just how gorgeous the game is. HD-2D has never looked better, with the world bursting with style and sprite work as strong as the backgrounds. Some of the battle effects look truly wondrous. The presentation matches the visuals, with a soundtrack full of catchy tunes and much of the dialogue fully voice-acted. It’s an impressive start, and that production value never drops throughout the game’s massive adventure.

There is a layer of nostalgia in the combat, which is turn-based. Traditional Final Fantasy skills are available, and you’ll get a lot of fun gameplay combinations to play with as your party expands over time. However, there have been some smart changes, such as a battle timeline at the top of the screen that shows who will attack next. This allows for an additional layer of depth and strategy, as you can anticipate attacks and go for risky plays if you think you can kill a foe before they get a chance to counter.

That’s not all, there’s also a fun stagger system that lets you trigger special attacks after weakening an entire party of enemies. It reminded me a bit of Persona’s all-out attacks, since they can be game-changing in a tough fight. However, it also ties into the game’s vision system, which pairs your current heroes with warriors from other realms and lets you use their magic and abilities.

This is also where the game’s gacha systems show up, since that is how you used to get these playable visions. Now you unlock them through quests and story progression, so those who don’t care for mobile games won’t be put off. Some of this is clear fan service; However, nothing is cooler than fighting alongside Cloud Strike in the game, so I’m not above it. It works for me, and Resonance feels like a celebration of Final Fantasy’s past and present.

Your vision characters also level up, and you can unlock more abilities as they grow. It all comes together to create a really thorough and enjoyable gameplay loop. Summons also unlock over time, which fight alongside you for three turns, and these can be a real turning point for some of the more difficult boss fights. While I entered Resonance slightly skeptical due to its mobile game origins, I rarely gave it a second thought while playing and was completely won over.

Final Fantasy Resonance (PS5) Review: Final Verdict

Final Fantasy’s HD-2D debut is a winning celebration of what made gamers fall in love with the franchise in the first place. While its mobile origins sometimes show, it’s been fleshed out into a wonderful role-playing game with fun fan service and plenty of depth. The brilliant turn-based battle system on display keeps Final Fantasy Resonance engaging from start to finish.

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Disclosure: The publisher provided a digital copy for our Final Fantasy Resonance PS5 review. Reviewed on version 1.000.001.

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