When asked what defines the series he created, Hironobu Sakaguchi is reported to have said, “Final Fantasy is Final Fantasy if it has a blue window with text in it.” It’s a tongue-in-cheek answer that speaks to the certain je ne sais quoi of Square Enix’s legendary RPG franchise. There is, however, something far more important that defines it: crystals. By that barometer, Final Fantasy Resonance is not only a Final Fantasy, it is the most Final Fantasy.
Resonance, co-developed by Square Enix and Lancarse, is so overtly an homage to every other game that bears the Final Fantasy name. It is packed to the brim with Easter eggs, references, and illusions to what came before it. This is largely a holdover from the game's source material, the now shuttered mobile title Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
Much like Octopath Travel 0 before it, Resonance seeks to strip away the predatory gacha mechanics of the game it was built on and offer up a more streamlined big box title complete with a fresh coat of paint. This, however, only highlights the core issues of the base experience, namely how much of it relies on reminding the player of games that came before it. Nostalgia may have succeeded in getting Brave Exvius players (of which I myself was one for a couple years) to spend real world money on beloved characters, but it falls flat in Resonance.
The game is not only in the shadow of the series' past, but also the shadow of more qualified modern successors to the throne that don't have the luck of bearing the all-important franchise name. It is a game with several flaws that franchise fans will likely be able to overlook to appreciate the handful of moments that manage to work just right. That too is quintessentially Final Fantasy.
Resonance begins as so many early games in the legendary RPG series do. The world’s many magical crystals are threatened by a great evil and a gang of plucky heroes must put a stop to it. Along the way they’ll laugh, cry, and learn that the greatest power of all is love; a mission best accomplished by going on a sick road trip with your best buddies.
The proper nouns of the story are new (the protagonist is named Rain, a weather-appropriate spiritual successor to Cloud and Lightning) but the overarching strokes are familiar. So many plot beats can be directly traced to similar moments from past entries in the series. Two knights that lead an airship?
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