Final Fantasy Resonance PC Demo Preview

Of the many heavy hitters coming out this year, Final Fantasy Resonance turned into one of my most anticipated releases. I loved the story of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius when I played it, so finding out that Square Enix was turning the story into a non-Gacha-based single-player RPG was exciting. Now, having played through the demo, I am even more excited to see the full game when it releases in October.

Final Fantasy Resonance tells the story of Rain and Lasswell, two knights of the kingdom of Grandshelt who find themselves thrust into an adventure to protect the 8 crystals. The crystals are under attack by a mysterious foe, one that threatens the very world they live in.

Now, having played Brave Exvius, I have a few ideas about the plot and its development. However, the opening cutscene sets a few things in place that suggest players of Brave Exvius may not know the full length of the story that is being told. A few of the ideas are there, but this is a reimagining of some sort.

It is also important to note that the development team has mentioned that they only adapted the first story arc (with bits of information from Brave Exvius as a whole) to create the story of Final Fantasy Resonance. Additionally, this demo only covers the first chapter, roughly 10-ish hours or so depending on how deep you invest in its systems.

Before we get into the gameplay itself, I want to note something about the HD-2D visuals in Final Fantasy Resonance. I have not (to this point) seen a game with HD-2D visuals that used them to such stunning effect. The in-game cutscenes blend the HD-2D Sprites with small 3D elements, creating stunning set pieces that make battles feel visceral and exciting. The particle effects are also gorgeous, setting Resonance apart even from The Adventures of Elliot, which released earlier this year.

The sprites are expressive too, giving the animated cutscenes and dialogue an emotional weight that feels solid. The English voice acting is well done as well, though I did notice that the “Resonance Skills” for the vision characters such as Cloud, Warrior of Light, Terra, etc, were only in Japanese. I’m wondering if that will change at launch, or if that is an intentional choice.

Combat in Final Fantasy Resonance feels strategic. The Visions work similarly to personas, augmenting each character’s abilities. Each of your characters has a set loadout of skills that expands as they level. As such, equipping different visions to them and increasing their mastery, fills out each character even further. It’s almost a mix of the classic Job system, along with the Persona style of character building.

The demo also gives you a glimpse into the progression systems at work. Not only will you level both your characters and your visions, but you’ll be able to “Awaken” your visions to expand their skill sets as well. There is a wide variety of options available, and the challenges in the demo allowed me to experiment and try different things, which I really appreciated.

Overall, the demo for Final Fantasy Resonance has me even more excited about it. We don’t have long before its October 22^nd release date, but I’m already really invested. It seems that the developers have done more than just stripped away the gacha elements and ported Brave Exvius. We’re getting a solid JRPG with a heartfelt story that may put it on par with some of the classics.