Final Fantasy Resonance Launches Oct. 22 at $49.99 on Five Platforms

There's a particular kind of excitement that only a Final Fantasy launch week can stir up, and I'll admit it's been a while since a turn-based one gave it to me. On Thursday, Oct. 22, Square Enix releases Final Fantasy Resonance, the first game in the series built in HD-2D, that pixel-art-meets-3D look fans know from Octopath Traveler. The question I find most interesting isn't "is it any good?" It's "which version do I buy?"

Because here's the thing. The standard price is $49.99, there's a free demo that covers the whole first chapter, and the first review score is a glowing 36 out of 40. That is about as low-risk as a $50 RPG gets. The one place you can actually lose money is tucked into the Nintendo listings, where the Switch and Switch 2 versions turn out to be separate purchases.

One honest note up front: I haven't played the demo or the game. What I say about how it plays and runs comes from Steam's and Nintendo's listings and from outlets that did play it, and I name them as I go. The opinions, the version-picker and the price math are mine.

The launch at a glance

The mistake nobody's shouting about: two Nintendo versions

Nintendo's eShop lists two separate versions of the game. According to a Nintendo Everything roundup of the listings, the original Switch version is about 8.8 GB and the Switch 2 version is about 12.7 GB. That alone tells you they're different builds. The part that matters for your wallet comes from Nintendo's US store page, as summarized by RPG Site and GamerFuzion: there is no upgrade pack, and save data can't move from one version to the other.

Do the arithmetic. Buy the Switch version now, pick up a Switch 2 next year, and you've paid $99.98 for one game. I don't read that as Square Enix being sneaky. Separate builds for very different hardware is a normal choice. But it's the sort of detail that hides in a store listing while everyone argues about the art style.

All the performance notes above come from RPG Site's testing of the free demo, as summarized by GamerFuzion. RPG Site itself says the full game could change the picture.

My version-picker, by the way you play

Everything here rests on demo-build testing, so treat it as a strong early read, not a final ruling. This is how I'd choose.

Why the demo is the real review right now

With no English-language review scores yet, the free demo is the only evidence you can gather yourself. Square Enix released it on Sept. 3, and Steam says it contains the entire first chapter exactly as it appears in the full game, with some level restrictions. That's an unusually generous slice. It also carries over, which turns it from a sampler into a head start.

My one piece of advice is to play it on the device you'd actually buy on. A frame-rate hiccup that looks minor on a review video can feel very different in your hands. Here's the checklist I'd run through.

• Frame rate in battle. Watch fights and cutscenes, not just the town. That's where the original Switch dipped in RPG Site's testing.
• Loading times. If you hate waiting, this is where the platforms separate most.
• The Vision attacks. A Vision's big move briefly swaps the HD-2D art for a 3D cutscene. Critics split on it, so see which side you land on.
• Boss pacing. Hands-on previewers described a tough boss fight that tested the battle system. Ask yourself whether you wanted another round when yours ended.
• Whether you want to keep that save. If yes, you've just found your platform.

What the game is, in plain English

Resonance is a turn-based RPG and the first Final Fantasy in the HD-2D style. It adapts the opening story arc, called Lapis, of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, a 2015 mobile game that has since shut down. Square Enix has said it's been rebuilt rather than simply ported, per Restart's report of the announcement.

The battle system is built around two ideas. First, you exploit enemy weaknesses to stagger them, which breaks their defenses and earns extra turns. Second, you equip Visions, which Steam describes as echoes of beloved Final Fantasy characters. Previewers say most of them are series heroes like Cloud, Terra, Zidane and Noctis, and they work a bit like jobs, with their own skills and a signature Resonance attack. Party members also have Limit Bursts.

The world leans hard into familiar comforts: airships, crystals, espers, moogles and chocobos. Steam's page also promises hours of side content, including the wandering swordmaster Gilgamesh, a Colosseum, a Chamber of Arms full of sealed foes and a showdown with Ultima Weapon.

Do you need to know Brave Exvius? I found nothing saying so. It tells the first arc, so it's the beginning of that story. GameSpot's preview framed it as a way for people who bounced off the free-to-play original to finally see the narrative.

What Famitsu's 36/40 does and doesn't tell you

Famitsu's weekly cross review has four critics each score a game out of 10. For Resonance, all four gave a 9, which adds up to 36 out of 40. The published excerpts praise the art for anyone who loved the pixel-art era, the way Visions make customization interesting, and the break-then-Resonance rhythm of fights. One reviewer said the system, story, characters and music capture the essence of the series. The same coverage gives the length: roughly 20 to 30 hours for the story, and up to 70 with the extras.

It's a strong first signal. It isn't a verdict, and I'd say that about any single score. Outlets covering it have pointed out that Famitsu tends to score generously, and the English-language press hasn't weighed in yet. Square Enix hasn't announced an embargo date that I could find, and Metacritic's page was still empty on Oct. 19. So my read is: encouraging, not conclusive.

Where I'm still skeptical

The money math: editions, upgrades and bonuses

If you want the Deluxe pack, buy Deluxe up front. Standard plus the upgrade costs $4.99 more than going Deluxe on day one. The pack includes a Magitek Armor Key that changes your chocobo's look, an exclusive item that unlocks one character's Fel Meteor Limit Burst, a Mastery Ring and a stack of consumables. My honest take: unless you're a completionist, Standard is plenty.

Two timing notes from Steam's listing. The Magitek Airship & Squire Starter Pack was a pre-order-only bonus. And buyers get the Squire Kickstart Pack, which has a Blessed Cuirass that increases gil earned and a Mist Ether, if they purchase by Nov. 6 at 8:59 a.m. Pacific. Other stores' deadlines can differ, so check yours.

Storage and PC specs

Why I'm hopeful anyway

I keep coming back to how unlikely this project would have sounded a few years ago. A mobile game's first story arc gets rebuilt for consoles, wrapped in the pixel-art style that made people fall for the series in the first place, and handed out free for the first chapter, so nobody has to gamble. That's a studio showing its work before asking for your money, and I wish more launches did.

It might not land perfectly. The Vision cutaways could grate, and the original Switch version has real limits. Still, the opening is good, the demo is free, and the thing most likely to hurt you is something you can avoid by reading a store page. Play chapter 1, pick your platform on purpose, and go in with a clear head. That's my plan.

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