00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're looking at everything you need to know about Square
00:04Enix's latest 2D HD RPG, Final Fantasy Resonance.
00:11The Gacha Funeral
00:18Final Fantasy Resonance isn't a remake or remaster of a traditional Final Fantasy game.
00:23In fact, it's an adaptation of the gacha mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius's
00:27first season reimagined as a single player campaign.
00:30Since the original game shut down after 10 years, Resonance is built using a brand new
00:35turn-based system, an explorable overworld map with a heavily altered script rewritten by
00:40the original writer, along with full voice acting, just minus all the microtransactions
00:44and gacha elements.
00:49Most diehard Final Fantasy fans skipped Exvius due to its predatory practices synonymous with
00:54mobile games, but with Resonance, a once-ignored Final Fantasy game is getting resurrected as
00:59a proper Final Fantasy epic.
01:06The first HD 2D Final Fantasy
01:18Ever since Octopath Traveler pioneered the nostalgic HD 2D art style, many long-time fans hoped for
01:24a return to the classic pixel art style that dominated the early days of the series.
01:28However, Resonance is taking things a step further than just simply adopting the pixel art style.
01:39Labeled as Cinematic Pixel, Resonance utilizes a 3D camera and uses a dynamic camera during
01:45cutscenes elevating above the series' former static presentation.
01:48Paired with hand-painted character portraits and the previously mentioned voice acting, those
01:52unaware of Resonance's mobile past could easily believe this is a return to classic Final Fantasy,
01:57with fresh HD 2D pixel style.
01:59Pure nostalgia at its finest.
02:09Familiar Battle Mechanics
02:20Modern Final Fantasy games have largely moved away from the traditional turn-based combat that
02:24was a series' staple for many of the mainline entries, but Resonance is bringing it back
02:28with some important changes and updates.
02:30The traditional active time battle gauge is replaced with Final Fantasy X's timeline order
02:35that lets you plan your attacks better by knowing whose turn is coming up next.
02:38And while Final Fantasy XIII might have overall been divisive, its combat style still managed
02:43to bring some important improvements that Resonance is taking advantage of, specifically the stagger
02:48system.
02:55Basically, the more often you hit an enemy, especially with their elemental weakness, their
03:00stagger gauge depletes until they become vulnerable and break, allowing you to unleash your resonance
03:04nuked to completely turn the tide of battle.
03:11Visions.
03:12Resonance also makes changes to the traditional equipment, with players now able to equip Visions,
03:17or crystallized versions, of protagonists from previous mainline Final Fantasy games.
03:23Visions.
03:28Each of these Visions will have different abilities that fill a traditional job role from the series,
03:32and players can use the Visions' special abilities to unleash cinematic CGI-style cutscene resonance
03:37attacks.
03:38There are 26 collectible Visions featuring characters from every mainline Final Fantasy,
03:43as well as some entirely original ones that can be found and equipped through the story
03:47or specific side missions.
03:55Yes, the CGI cutscenes are a bit jarring, but we love them anyways, and it's great to see
04:00so many beloved characters in one game.
04:11As a knight of the realm, you set out on a journey to protect the crystals.
04:17Rather than expecting players to explore some sprawling, unending epic, Final Fantasy Resonance
04:22will clock in around 30 to 40 hours of traditional playtime.
04:25That's not to say Resonance doesn't have a wealth of additional content and distractions
04:28for players who want to stay in its world a little longer.
04:33100%ing the game will bring the total playtime up to 60 to 80 hours, with side missions, a
04:38Colosseum, a Chamber of Arms where players can battle bosses sealed in weapons, as well
04:43as the traditional Ultima weapon hunt.
04:45Resonance looks to provide enough content to keep players locked in for as much or as little
04:49as they like until the credits roll.
04:58Free Roam
05:04The open world of the Final Fantasy franchise has been a series staple since the earliest
05:08days, allowing players to explore the world and visit other locations along their journey.
05:12The original Final Fantasy Brave Exvius didn't have an open world due to its mobile format,
05:17instead opting for nodes players would jump between, but for Resonance, the true open
05:21world experience returns.
05:23Explore fantastic lands.
05:29Players will be able to freely roam an open map, visiting fully explorable locations such
05:34as Dolmagea and Zoldad along with other towns and shops, taking on side quests and finding
05:39hidden treasure.
05:40Alongside the improvements to the game's combat, this is the update we're most excited for,
05:44because a Final Fantasy without exploration just doesn't feel like the complete experience.
05:49We're looking for a ship that'll take us to Deornado.
05:51Everything just feels so exciting!
05:54Collabless.
05:55Given Brave Exvius was a mobile gacha title, it naturally had quite a few collaborations that
06:00didn't always make sense within the Final Fantasy universe, with one of the most notable
06:04being Ariana Grande.
06:10Thankfully, these eccentric cameos aren't making their way back into Resonance, as the
06:14devs stated they didn't fit the vibe.
06:16However, that didn't stop some long-time fans from reintroducing nearly all the collaborations
06:21back into the game's demo within only a week of release, with Kingdom Hearts Sora and
06:25Year Automata's 2B being the most popular collaborations players modded back into their
06:29teams.
06:33Considering both of those titles are from Square, there may still be hope they could
06:37be properly added back in at a later date.
06:46Rarity Removed.
06:47One of the most welcome updates to the game's systems involves the visions themselves.
06:52Originally, each of these summonable allies came with a power score attached to a rarity
06:55of the pull, meaning, naturally, some of these visions were much more powerful based solely
07:00on their star rating rarity.
07:09Resonance does away with all these shortcomings and completely overhauls the power scale of
07:13the visions.
07:13This way, no matter who your favorite vision is to use in battle, their power is now more
07:18balanced and tied to elemental and job roles, adding deeper strategic depth to your selection
07:22of heroes.
07:28This also means the game can be difficult by design, rather than due to a bad pull from
07:32the gacha storefront.
07:39Staggering Resonance.
07:49Speaking of the visions, they're not something automatically in your inventory.
07:53Instead, players will need to track down the majority of them by exploring the world and
07:57visiting Sanctums of Light.
07:58However, you can't simply use them by finding and equipping them.
08:01The only way to unleash the true power of the visions is by staggering the entire enemy
08:06team on the same turn, which sounds easier than it is.
08:17This requires specific timing and strategy, and only then will you get to watch the flashy
08:22CG cinematic of your favorite Final Fantasy characters raining hell down on your enemies.
08:27It can be tough, but oh-so satisfying.
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08:48Are you not entertained?
08:50Recycled Brave Exvius CGI.
08:59Even though most of the game has been rebuilt and redesigned from basically the ground up
09:03to offer players a true HD 2D Final Fantasy experience, that doesn't mean everything from
09:08its mobile days has been left on the cutting room floor.
09:10Even though the animation, world, characters, and combat have all been updated, those flashy
09:15CG cutscenes where you call down the Vision Thunder are left over from the Brave Exvius.
09:19Days, which is also why they look so jarring compared to the new HD 2D visuals.
09:28These leftovers are especially obvious when most of them don't even have English VO when
09:33the rest of the game does.
09:34In the end, the Vision cutscenes do more than bring the big damage numbers.
09:38They pay homage to Resonance's origins.
09:45Are you looking forward to Final Fantasy Resonance?
09:47And would you like to see more HD 2D Final Fantasy games?
09:50Share your thoughts in the comments.
