Sq. Enix’s HD-2D art style has captivated the hearts and eyeballs of RPG followers since 2018’s Octopath Traveler, and now the corporate is bringing the aesthetic to its marquee franchise for the primary time with Final Fantasy Resonance. The sport pulls inspiration from the Closing Fantasy Courageous Exvius cell recreation, which ran from 2015 to 2025. However Resonance eliminates all of the gacha and microtransaction components that existed within the free-to-play model, whereas including a 16-bit-inspired overworld map and turn-based fight that calls again to the Closing Fantasy sequence’ early video games.
June’s The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales was Sq. Enix’s most up-to-date foray into retro-style RPGs, mixing hack-and-slash motion with Zelda-like exploration. That recreation’s sitting at a solid 78 on Metacritic, and it looks like Resonance is assembly a hotter welcome as critiques trickle in. The PlayStation 5 model of Closing Fantasy Resonance is at the moment sitting at a rating of 85 (with 30 critiques), whereas the Nintendo Swap 2 model will get a barely decrease common rating of 82 (after 24 critiques). Here is what the critics are saying about Closing Fantasy Resonance.
A beautiful artwork model
Just about throughout the board, of us who reviewed Closing Fantasy Resonance liked the best way the sport appears to be like. Game Informer’s Nadia Oxford wrote, “Resonance wears the HD-2D aesthetic confidently; Sq. Enix has clearly listened to previous criticisms of its beloved graphical model, and it paid off. Resonance is an HD-2D recreation, however its extremely detailed character sprites and occasional jaw-dropping pixel-based “cinema” scene differentiate it from the Octopath Traveler sequence and the Dragon Quest HD-2D remakes.”
In his review for IGN, Michael Higham additionally pointed to the sport’s mashup of 2D and 3D artwork kinds as a spotlight of the expertise. “Now, it often takes greater than spectacle to win me over, however Closing Fantasy Resonance is an exception,” he wrote. “When it issues most, the strongest moments are uplifted with a few of the greatest cutscene work in HD-2D, wielding digicam motion in a 3D aircraft successfully as character sprites and pixelized particular results coalescence by way of fluid animation that conveys emotion dialogue would not have the ability to seize alone. The artwork model might have been born out of nostalgia, however Resonance proves that we’re previous that time and it might probably result in new, evocative methods of making worlds and elevating tales past the sum of their elements.”
Whereas Resonance‘s diorama-inspired aesthetic might look terrific, the sport’s mounted digicam just isn’t all the time conducive to thorough exploration. In his review for Shacknews, Ozzie Mejia factors out that “wandering by way of cities will repair the digicam at a static angle and it will not all the time be clear which approach you are going. Some set items can get in the best way, particularly for those who’re attempting to search for hidden treasure chests. Navigating cities should not be the low level of a recreation like this, however the mounted digicam was not an amazing selection.”
A light-weight story
Whereas reward for Resonance‘s visible presentation has been near-universal, reviewers as a complete have been much less impressed with the sport’s narrative. Eurogamer’s Dom Peppiatt notes that Resonance feels extra like a collage of the sequence’ highlights reasonably than a particular entry in its personal proper: “Resonance, puffing up its chest because it stands in line subsequent to its esteemed siblings, tries laborious to slot in, however in doing so picks up all these tropes with out actually understanding why they (kind-of) work in these different video games. So that you’re left with a grab-bag of nonsense.”
Elsewhere, VGC’s Dave Aubrey notes that the brand new solid usually takes a backseat to longtime franchise favorites, even in what’s purported to be their very own story. “Other than one main exception, most of your social gathering members are downplayed by the plot previous the chapter by which they’re launched,” he factors out. “They’re practical social gathering members that offer you extra choices in battle, and infrequently greater than that.”
These sentiments had been shared by Polygon’s own Willa Rowe, who famous, “When Resonance’s narrative sometimes finds its rhythm, it might probably provide some great emotional catharsis. A standout second facilities round an Aerith/Yuna-like priestess who balances the burden of responsibility with the need to reside for herself. Too usually, nevertheless, the tendency to deliver different Closing Fantasy video games to thoughts solely results in comparisons that aren’t in Resonance‘s favor.”
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