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It's not often that a game with an online service gets any attention after the servers are shut down, but there was something special about Final Fantasy Brave Exvius It was more than just a mediocre gacha RPG with the Final Fantasy branding stuck on it. It offered a completely original story with unique characters, a well- thought-out world, and that same inimitable Final Fantasy spirit. So when Square Enix announced Final Fantasy Resonance, a full-fledged single-player remake of part of the Brave Exvius story, it caused quite a stir. Former Brave Exvius players could revisit their favorite world, and those who hadn't played could enjoy the story without the hassle of gacha. However, converting a game with an online service and
gacha monetization into a single-player project is not an easy task. But Square Enix clearly felt that the legacy of Brave Exvius was worth the effort. And while Final Fantasy Resonance does a great job of retelling the saga of Reyn and the battle against Veritas, it has a few flaws that keep it from becoming the next great Final Fantasy epic. Resonance takes us to the world of Lapis, where the eponymous brothers Rain and Laswell perform routine tasks for the knights of the Great Shogun. However, events quickly escalate. The pair encounter a mysterious armored warrior strong enough to shatter the kingdom's Earth Crystal before setting the castle on fire. After a near- fatal encounter and rescue by a mysterious girl, Rain and Laswell
learn that other armored sentinels are seeking to destroy the remaining crystals that support the world in order to settle old scores. Thus begins a grand adventure with unexpected twists, secrets, revelations, and an ever-growing group of companions-the classic FF formula we love so much. For the most part, it follows the original Brave Exvius plot with some deviations and additional explanations along the way. In many ways, Final Fantasy Resonance is seen as a tribute to the older games in the series. In terms of plot and progression, Resonance is more reminiscent of the 16-bit Final Fantasy games.
Mostly linear, with the option to deviate from the route if you so desire. The narrative pace is fast, though it takes time to reveal individual character arcs, such as the rivalry between Rain and Laswell, Nicola's sense of duty to his family, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Rain's father, Reagan. There are also nice little things: side quests that give more insight into the characters and the world, as well as dialogues in locations where characters joke with each other. The places you visit hide trinkets and treasures if you're willing to explore suspicious corners and stray from the main road, making exploration exciting. The HD-2D graphics also feature frequent references to the pixelated Final Fantasy games, which will delight
the most attentive nostalgia fans. The soundtrack is excellent, offering both new versions of classic Final Fantasy songs and its own set of unique musical themes. Thanks to this design, Resonance is easily perceived as a kind of lost " link" between the pixel and polygon eras in FF. For the most part, the game is a true visual delight. The detailed sprites have smooth animations, and the environments are full of artistic refinements. The water city of Aldor and its surroundings are my personal favorites. The cinematic scenes also attempt to utilize action and camera work in a style not yet seen in Square Enix games in HD-2D. When it works, it looks great, but sometimes the odd pixel art composition in the background or the clunky animation throws it
off-kilter. Still, it's hard not to respect the effort put in, even with a fair amount of reused assets from Brave Exvius. So, how is Resonance different from the mobile game it's based on? First of all, the gacha mechanic element in the game has been completely removed. The concept of visions- character sprites that aid the heroes with their unique abilities- remains, most of them based on classic Final Fantasy installments. In Brave Exvius, these visions were earned and leveled up through gacha-random rewards for in-game currency that could be purchased with real money. But in Resonance, you get them by visiting shrines hidden throughout the world and upgrade them with "magicite" items.
Among the visions are both familiar faces and original characters. Although I was disappointed that only the " main" characters of each FF and one favorite villain received visions, while Brave Exvius was full of fan favorites. Whereas in Brave Exvius, visions were separate units, here they act as modular skill sets that can be equipped and modified to enhance a character's standard abilities. Each vision skill set is unique, and by increasing combat proficiency, characters can learn and use individual vision skills without even equipping them directly. For example, once fully mastered, Terra's vision grants a passive skill that
allows you to exceed the damage limit of 9999 units, and Zidane grants the owner the "steal" command. character's abilities menu after learning. This system allows for interesting character customization, giving you the opportunity to tailor them to your liking. The only problem is that characters who join the squad later have fewer options, simply because they come without the innate Vision skills. Combat is another area where Resonances departs from its Brave Exvius roots. The mobile game's often chaotic hybrid of turn-based systems, menus, and quick taps has been completely replaced with turn-based battles that resemble a mix of Persona, Octopath Traveler, and Final Fantasy XIII. Enemies have two
scales: a health scale and a stun scale. Hits with weapons or magic reduce health, but also deplete their stun gauge. The amount of stun damage depends on your stats, various boosts, techniques used, etc. Enemies typically have one or more weaknesses, and hitting them not only deals increased health damage, but also significantly more stun damage. Stunning enemies is important because it not only cancels all their future actions in that round, but also significantly lowers their defenses, opening the way for the most powerful attacks. Characters who caused the stun also get a bonus turn at the end of the round. If you manage to stun all enemies on the field, you activate the Full Stun status, which grants bonus moves to the entire party and allows you
to use the super technique of one of the equipped Visions to end the round. If even one enemy survives the round, their stun gauge is reset and the cycle begins again. The benefits of stunning are huge, so it 's important to find the best way to throw enemies off balance-almost always through their weaknesses-while protecting your own team from their attacks. It's an interesting combat system, which is why it's so annoying when battles turn into a slow and tedious routine. Even with the speed boost, you'll face fights that last forever, as enemies often have a lot of health and you actually have to stun them to deal any real damage. There is also
no autofight. I understand the desire to make players interact with the mechanics, but combined with the inevitable random skirmishes, it means you're often just selecting commands from the menu to hit weak spots, hoping for a full stun to summon Vision, clear the field, and move on. What makes the situation worse is that a significant portion of the fights are simply not very interesting. Battles with features that force you to deviate from the basic strategy of " hit the stun bar heal as needed, then use expensive skills with high damage and repeat" are rare, and many of them are optional or found in the later stages of the game.
These battles are great, they demonstrate the level of strategic challenge that this combat system is capable of. More often, though, Resonance offers " damage sponge" enemies that require nothing more than patiently pressing their vulnerabilities over and over again. This means that inadvertently entering certain battles without the necessary skills turns into a real nuisance. Because you can't change visions or squad members during combat. At least you can load saves straight from the battle. But for all of Resonance's flaws, the game ultimately gave me exactly what I wanted. A way for everyone to re-experience the story, characters, and world of Brave Exvius. I can only hope that this is Square Enix's first step towards reviving
some closed mobile games in a format that will allow them to be played in the future. Especially since Brave Exvius has a lot of plot that goes beyond the events of this game. As a remake and as a standalone experience, Final Fantasy Resonance has far more advantages than disadvantages. The hidden arts of the most optimal tactics will lead us to victory. My move.
