Final Fantasy Resonance proves HD-2D works. Now Square Enix must surprise us

When a publisher ships one game on PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC on the same day, it isn't taking a gamble. It's cashing in a recipe. That's how we read Final Fantasy Resonance, which is out today, and it's why we think HD-2D has quietly become Square Enix's comfort zone.

Resonance is the first Final Fantasy built in the HD-2D style. It rebuilds the story and characters of the now-shuttered mobile game Brave Exvius as a traditional console RPG, with no gacha and no microtransactions, as IGN's review describes. Digital Foundry notes that Square Enix "has established a successful formula" with HD-2D and that the game performs well across every platform.

The formula is a genuinely smart bet

Let's give credit first. HD-2D is a look that reads instantly in a trailer, and it sells nostalgia without the cost of a full AAA production. The reviews we have suggest the execution is excellent. RPGSite's reviewer was still impressed by the style after 40 hours. Push Square thinks it beats the "comparatively static" Dragon Quest HD-2D remakes thanks to its cinematic camera work.

The commercial logic is also clear. VGC reported in 2024 that Square Enix said Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 sales did not meet expectations, and that it would shift strategy. A cheaper, stylized, turn-based game on every platform is the logical answer. We think it's a sensible hedge, not a cynical one.

Recycling a mobile story is the quiet tell

Here is where we get less comfortable. Resonance isn't a new story. It is Brave Exvius, rebuilt. The reviews praise the rebuild, and IGN compares it to what Square Enix did with Octopath Traveler 0. But they also keep circling the same weakness. Push Square calls the plot "very, very predictable." RPGSite says the narrative sputters near the end and that the game "isn't really about anything."

That is a telling complaint. The series' best entries, in RPGSite's argument, had a unifying theme. A game assembled around the structure of a gacha roster, where each continent serves one character's arc, will struggle to have one. In our view, that is the real cost of the comfort zone. The look and the combat are solved problems. The idea is what's missing.

Comfort is fine, as long as it isn't the destination

The combat, by all accounts, is the exception. Both RPGSite and Push Square single out the stagger system and the Visions, which work like swappable classes and call back to past Final Fantasy heroes. IGN adds a caveat: with elemental weaknesses, the optimal build can be obvious, and the first half was easy. So even the best part plays it a little safe.

Our verdict: if you love 16-bit-era Final Fantasy, Resonance looks like an easy recommendation, and the strong technical results make it a fine pick on whichever platform you own. We'd steer clear of the Xbox Series S version, though, since Digital Foundry found its 720p image softens the pixel art distractingly.

For Square Enix, the lesson is different. HD-2D has earned its place, but a style isn't a story. The next time the studio reaches for this formula, we'd like it to come with a new world and something to say, not just a beloved format wrapped around old material. Comfort got Resonance this far. Surprise is what would make the next one matter.