Final Fantasy Resonance: How Square Enix Turned a Dead Gacha Game Into a Must

I was genuinely excited when Square Enix announced Final Fantasy Resonance ($49.99), an upcoming RPG for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and Switch 2 boasting stunning Octopath Traveler-style graphics. That excitement took a hit, though, when I realized it was a revival of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, the defunct mobile title. How could Square Enix convert a gacha game into a premium console RPG without dragging along its predatory microtransactions and bloated design? More importantly, how could it translate passive screen-tapping into gameplay that satisfies classic RPG purists?

After a hands-on preview, I walked away once again excited. Resonance isn’t a sloppy cash grab or an asset flip; it’s a cleverly designed remake that preserves the original story while radically enhancing the gameplay mechanics. By distilling a decade of live-service fluff into a tight, unlockable roster, Square Enix has crafted a thoughtful console and PC experience that feels every bit like a mainline, classic Final Fantasy game.

From Gacha Bloat to FFV-Style Glory: The 26-Vision Job System

On paper, the math behind this adaptation is shocking. Brave Exvius ran for more than nine years and ballooned to more than 2,500 characters. It did this by churning out numerous duplicate characters (like five different Cloud Strife units), introducing hundreds of original units, and, of course, various crossover events with popular performers and brands, such as Arianna Grande, Deus Ex, and Fullmetal Alchemist. For Resonance, Square Enix is trimming the legacy lineup to a tightly curated, highly balanced roster of exactly 26 hero characters, called Visions. 

Losing fan favorites like Auron, Tifa, and Vivi will inevitably cause a stir, yet playing the game convinced me that this radical downsizing is precisely what gives Resonance its quality feel and gameplay depth. Instead of the characters taking up individual party slots like in the mobile version, the 26 Visions function as a deeply flexible and highly strategic Job System, much like the mechanics in the beloved Final Fantasy V. 

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The core demo party consisted of the game’s protagonists: Fina, Lasswell, Lid, and Rain. However, I could freely equip them with any Vision I had available to alter their stats, elemental affinities, and supplementary skills. For example, slapping Cloud on Lasswell gave the latter hard-hitting melee and lightning attacks, while equipping Lid with Zidane opened invaluable stealing and speed-based abilities.

Due to the newly condensed roster, the power creep that plagued the mobile game has been virtually erased. As a result, every unit has value and utility. And since the gacha elements are no more, I could acquire Visionsrather than the swipe of my credit card. This gave Resonance an exploration-driven reward system that took me back to the old Final Fantasy games

Rebuilding Combat: Timeline Turns, Staggers, and Brutal Boss Battles

Resonance’s combat loop is one of its most radical changes. The mobile game’s screen-tapping play system has been replaced by a deliberate, timeline-based turn order that captures Final Fantasy X’s intense, tactical weight.

Firstly, Resonance uses a stagger meter. This mechanic has become a staple in modern Final Fantasy titles, and it works the same way here. With it, all attacks do a certain amount of stagger damage, which depletes the gauge beneath the enemy’s health bar. When the stagger gauge empties, the enemy enters a stun state, loses its upcoming turn, and becomes vulnerable to attacks. Targeting elemental weaknesses and using special heavy attacks rapidly deplete the stagger gauge, so there’s a strategic advantage in capitalizing on vulnerabilities to dominate the field. The character that staggered the enemy receives a bonus turn, too, giving you an extra advantage on the field.

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(Credit: Square Enix)

Unique to Resonance is the Sweeping Stagger system. Depleting the stagger bars of all enemies on the battlefield during the same turn triggers this state, which creates a bonus attack phase that lets your party unleash unique and powerful finishers. This felt like a direct nod to the Valkyrie Profile series’s Soul Crush mechanic. To trigger the finisher, you tap the corresponding directional button to chain together attacks from each party member. During the demo, Sweeping Stagger added a dynamic, action-like element to an otherwise entirely turn-based system. I found it tremendously rewarding to use it and every possible advantage to shut down the opposing enemy party so they can’t take turns. 

My demo session peaked with a brutal dungeon run through the Wind Temple, where I squared off against a boss, Veritas of the Heavens. Veritas didn’t pull punches; he routinely summoned minions and pummeled my party with potent wind-based attacks. In fact, a Square Enix rep started that my party had been overleveled because Veritas was so brutal; Japanese players who got their mitts on it before me couldn’t finish the fight. Still, with efficient use of the Sweeping Stagger system when minions were on the field, I ultimately prevailed. 

Final Verdict: A Defunct Mobile Title Transformed Into a New Classic

About Our Expert

Gabriel Zamora
Senior Writer, Software
Experience

In 2014, I began my career at PCMag as a freelancer. That blossomed into a full-time position in 2021, and I now review email marketing apps, mobile operating systems, web hosting services, streaming music platforms, and video games as a senior writer. I’m a graduate of Hunter College, a hard-core gamer, and an Apple enthusiast.

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