Final Fantasy Resonance features previous protagonists from other Final Fantasy games.
Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Resonance has come a long way. The turn-based HD-2D role-playing game is an adaptation of 2015’s Final Fantasy Brave Exvius’ first story arc Lapis, and is set to be the very first HD-2D game in the franchise. This pivot back to turn-based combat is not the only thing nostalgic about the new Final Fantasy game, as it also features the return of iconic characters from the franchise, like Cloud and Terra.
We played a roughly half-hour demo for the game at Tokyo Game Show 2026, and here are our thoughts:
Final Fantasy Resonance
Release date: 22 October, 2026
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Developer: Square Enix
Final Fantasy Resonance Tokyo Game Show 2026 demo impressions
Cloud and Terra are not the main characters in Final Fantasy Resonance, despite featuring heavily in its TGS 2026 demo. The game instead stars a colourful new cast of characters including Rain, Lasswell, Fina, and more, who were all playable in this demo. The party sets out to protect magical crystals scattered across the world from dark forces, and rope in the powers of Cloud, Terra, Noctis, and more to assist them in battle.
I jumped into a section of the game without very much context (although we did play an earlier-released demo), so it was difficult to grasp exactly what was going on. From what I understand, Rain and friends explored an underground series of floating crystal-powered platforms only to be confronted by a corrupted dragoon-like man, who seemed to bear a connection to Cid.
This was incredibly enjoyable, as both a huge fan of Final Fantasy and turn-based games in general. Its combat feels like a solid compromise for a franchise that has moved well into action-RPG territory with recent entries like Final Fantasy 16 (which I enjoyed, to be clear), while paying homage to its history. The music was fantastic, to the point that I was tempted to stay on the victory screen after each battle just to hear the extended fanfare.
The HD-2D visuals are a perfect fit for this franchise as well, though one concern I have is that the CG-animated 3D cutscenes that play out during summons and cameo abilities felt very ill-fitting within these aesthetic trappings. It was fun to watch Noctis pop up in full 3D glory the first time, but after that it grew old pretty quickly.
That being said, I'm down to play Resonance at launch; if only to see Lightning take the spotlight once again.
