Final Fantasy Resonance Celebrates the Franchise’s History with Plenty of Familiar Faces

Square Enix is really going all out for Final Fantasy ahead of the franchise’s 30th anniversary next year and one of its big titles just in time to close out 2026 is Final Fantasy Resonance. An upgraded adaptation of the 2015 mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, the game returns to the series to a classic turn-based RPG adventure, complete with a vibrantly rendered pixelated presentation. Set to launch on virtually all major modern gaming platforms on October 22, we got a chance to play a preview build of the game at Tokyo Game Show 2026 provided directly by Square Enix.

Final Fantasy Resonance primarily centers its narrative on a trio of heroes, Rain, Lasswell, and Fina, as they set out to stop the sinister Veritas of the Dark from destroying elemental crystals around their world. Other heroes can be recruited into the party and, in one of the biggest highlights of the game, players can summon visions of characters from past classic Final Fantasy games to assist them in battle with their signature attacks and techniques. Yes, this absolutely includes Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII but we also got to see Visions of Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI and Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV back in action too.

The preview of Final Fantasy Resonance that we tried out really did feel like we were playing something like the classic Final Fantasy IV all over again, complete with dungeon-crawling and random enemy encounters giving way to turn-based combat. The battle menu was as intuitive and easy to follow recent Square Enix RPG remakes and, even with a turn-based combat system, we were thoroughly engaged every time we found ourselves leaping into the next skirmish. This comes from subtle refinements to the tried and true mechanics from past Square Enix RPGs but also the game’s striking 2D-HD art style that’s become a fixture in Square Enix’s recent output.

The game is the first official 2D-HD game in the Final Fantasy series, a presentation that retains the pixelated character sprites that many of Square Enix’s celebrated RPG franchises are known for, while juxtaposing them in 3D environments and revamping them for high-definition. Square Enix had previously employed these art design sensibilities to its well-received remakes of Dragon Quest and Romancing SaGa and that approach suits the wider Final Fantasy franchise well. This presentation strongly evokes the Super Nintendo era of the series but without feeling dated or that it’s treading entirely on 16-bit nostalgia.

All in all, I only put in about 30 minutes into Final Fantasy Resonance, which was as long as my preview window allowed for, but I got a pretty good idea of how the full game will shake out when it launches next month. The combat mechanics are clearly displayed, including how to select targets and when a stun is imminent. Seeing the Visions becoming active is always a treat and we were mixing up which Visions got to provide their respective blast from the past next, consistently closing out a battle in a triumphant fashion that’ll feel familiar to anyone who played the games that these returning characters starred in.

That means for anyone who grew up playing games like Chrono Trigger or Romancing SaGa, Final Fantasy Resonance will feel like an especially cozy RPG; the closest that the genre gets to comfort food. I’m curious how younger gamers will react to the presentation but, if recent hit games like Sea of Stars and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have taught me anything, it’s that turn-based RPGs are still very much alive and well in 2026. Final Fantasy Resonance recognizes that, harkening back the franchise’s roots while incorporating elements as recent as 2023’s Final Fantasy XVI, including a Vision of that game’s protagonist Clive Rosfield, subtly breathing new life into gameplay in a true love letter to all things Final Fantasy.

Between Final Fantasy Resonance coming out in October and Final Fantasy VII Revelation coming out in April 2027, Final Fantasy fans are going to be eating real good over the next several months. When it comes to Resonance, more specifically, the game is a clear celebration of the entire Final Fantasy franchise, from its 1987 origins to the iconic property’s latest adventures all couched within the warmly familiar context of a pixelated, turn-based adventure with plenty of fan-favorite faces joining the fray.

If you’re a big Final Fantasy fan, Final Fantasy Resonance feels like a must-play for how extensively it covers the entire franchise’s history and just feels great to play. It’s always nice to see whenever a long-running series embraces its roots and Resonance certainly does so for Final Fantasy, offering comfortably familiar thrills with all the characters that us fans have grown to love.

Developed and published by Square Enix, Final Fantasy Resonance releases October 22 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC.