Transcript
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The speaker opens with a dramatic boss fight against Sephiroth and uses it to introduce the game’s nostalgic appeal. He frames the main question: is this just recycled nostalgia, or does it have real substance?
In FF-Resonance , I ran into a boss : Sephiroth .Usually , in a game that relies on nostalgia like this , shouldn't he just join your party ?I figured , hey , let's just fight him , what could go wrong ?And then , Sephiroth wiped my entire party .I was frustrated , honestly .As a veteran who’s played every FF game , if word got out that I couldn't beat Sephiroth , people would die laughing .This was mid-game , so I thought , fine .I’ll grind for skills , rethink my party composition , study ability synergies , and challenge him again .Weakness ?Then I’ll just create one .With the right skills and party setup , my characters could pull off that classic FF5 or 6 style — Dual Wield and Flurry , landing 16 hits a turn , breaking his defense every single round until Sephiroth started
questioning his existence .I mean , he only became a villain because he started questioning things anyway .You and I both pushed him over the edge .At that moment , I realized something : I never thought I’d be playing the most traditional FF in 2026 .I was tearing up .Hello everyone , it's your gaming buddy , Ah Yang .FF-Resonance — let's just call it Resonance — repurposes content from the old mobile game FFBE into a console title .Looking at the airships , Chocobos , the familiar pixel art , and seeing characters from across the series together in HD - 2D , using a traditional turn-based system ...it’s clear Square is playing the nostalgia card again .Nostalgia is a double-edged sword .What we played as kids were masterpieces , but as adults , sometimes all we're really buying is the memory .
So , I was a bit worried about Resonance .I was worried it would be like * The After Years * , just a lazy recycling of mobile assets .We gamers are older , but we’re not blind .So the question is : is this a love letter to long-time fans , or just our youth repackaged , asking us to pull out our credit cards one more time ?Does this game actually have any substance ?Grab a chair , get your dinner , or bring your toilet paper — whatever you need .After this , it’s time to talk shop .Let's check it out .
This chapter explains the project’s origins, the producer’s background, and why the team chose to bring FFBE-inspired content to consoles. It also covers the long development process and the goal of creating a new traditional Final Fantasy rather than a simple remake.
Same old rules , let’s talk off-script .Since the game is based on the mobile title FFBE , isn't it just a phone game with a fresh coat of paint and a tweaked system being sold to us again ?That’s what I thought at first , but I may have underestimated them .This is the producer for this project , Kifumi Nakajima .Looking at his resume , he’s from the mobile games team and was a co-producer for FFBE .I thought , " Oh , this is trouble ; he hasn't made console games before .Can he really pull this off ?" Why would they want to make a console version ?Nakajima mentioned that the project , " War of the Visions , " was proposed as early as the end of 2020 .What Nakajima wanted to do was actually quite simple : let people who don't play mobile games experience the story and adventure of FFBE .
At that point , people were saying , " It's coming out next year , thanks to the microtransactions for letting us have a game to play ; flip a mobile game and sell it on console again ." Nakajima also felt that the classic Final Fantasy elements were present in the mobile game FFBE he made .His goal was to reorganize these classic elements into an RPG that can be enjoyed on consoles .That’s what this project is all about .But the question arises : if they wanted to make a traditional Final Fantasy , why not just remake FF1 through FF6 ?Isn't Dragon Quest doing exactly that right now ?However , in the interview , Nakajima avoided this topic .You guys get it , right ?There will definitely be remakes of the old ones ; he just can't talk about it .
That's understandable .The producer mentioned that he got into the series through Final Fantasy and is a big fan of the fifth and sixth games .So , what he wanted to create was : suppose the series had continued to develop with pixel art instead of shifting to 3 D — what would a Final Fantasy game look like today ?Okay , so their goal was set , but then a problem emerged : what art style should they use to present it ?Something like Romancing SaGa ?Or maybe like Octopath Traveler ?In the end , they chose HD - 2D .How to make character animations fluid , how to utilize camera work and effects — they spent two years just researching this .With the visuals and art style decided , they spent another four years crafting this work , because another problem appeared : the assets from the mobile predecessor , FFBE , were not as easy to use as they had
imagined .As players , we might think , " Well , just copy and paste it ; how hard can it be ?" But the development team had to design the combat system , revise dialogue , even adjust the sequence of some plot points , and add side quests and more background descriptions for the characters .Their goal wasn't to simply remake a classic entry , but to create an all-new Final Fantasy .From the initial concept to completion , six years have passed .That is a really long development time .The most interesting thing about this game's production team is twofold : one part is the original FBE developers , and the other is a team with extensive HD - 2D experience .From the start , this wasn't just a low-effort cash grab like Octopath , recycling mobile assets for consoles ; rather , these guys tried to reimagine our familiar traditional FE as a parallel world " if " scenario ,
or perhaps an FE17 , and that’s how this title was born .But honestly , nostalgia might get us to buy in once , but whether the game is actually fun is the real deciding factor .Moving on .
The speaker reviews the game’s graphics, comparing the demo and final version while praising the HD-2D style. He highlights the unusually cinematic cutscenes and explains why the pixel art presentation feels so impressive.
Let's talk about the visuals I saw at first ; the game had a demo for the first chapter , and I thought , " What the hell ?The graphics are terrible .Are you guys reusing mobile assets again ?" Then , when the full version came out , I wondered , " Wait , why can't I carry over my save data ?" After another " what the hell " moment , I just restarted it , and suddenly the graphics looked pretty good .Turns out I had downloaded the Switch 1 version for the demo ; the joke was on me — the visuals on the NS2 are actually perfectly fine .But that’s not the biggest factor , though I do think it's okay .Anyway , as I mentioned , the game’s core visual framework is the HD - 2D style everyone is familiar with .
Characters retain pixel art , while environments are 3D , using modern lighting , depth of field , and post-processing effects to create a sense of depth between foreground and background .Having gone through years of HD - 2D games — from Octopath to 2R , DQ 1 through 3 , Triangle Strategy , and Eiyuden — wow , I’ve basically bought every one of them .I’m sure you’re all familiar with this HD - 2D style , but previous games tended to stick to isometric angles ; while this game uses HD - 2D , it’s different from those others .How so ?Look at the cutscene camerawork : zooming in and out , panning , tracking , and crane shots — I’d describe it in one phrase : cinematic pixel presentation .Typical pixel RPGs have characters standing still to talk with a few effect animations before jumping to the next scene , but this game actually animates the whole sequence : a character draws a sword and charges , they clash
, and the camera follows the action , rotating and switching angles throughout .In the past , pixel characters were basically paper dolls , but now , watching the performance in this game , it doesn't feel stiff at all ; we can clearly see the poses and interactions between characters .The game clearly features meticulous adjustments and redrawing of character pixels to prevent them from looking unnatural when the camera rotates .But there’s a problem here .With so many zoomed-in shots , and since this game is coming to consoles and will be played on TVs , am I supposed to just ruin my eyes watching these pixelated enlargements on a 55 - inch 4K screen?But everyone , is that all it takes to get upset ?It’s not jarring at all , and it’s actually completely acceptable .How on earth did they pull it off ?
These are pixels , after all !I didn't get it , so I was genuinely curious and did some research on it .What’s pretty impressive this time is that they created something called " cinematic pixel ." The cutscenes we see were first crafted with complex movements , camera angles , and large-scale scenes , then converted into a pixelated visual style , allowing them to showcase dynamics that traditional pixel animation struggles to achieve .Hey , this is an incredibly extravagant case of " dimensional strike " by Square Enix !Using top-tier production technology for pixel art is like using a legendary dragon-slaying sword just to kill a chicken !But I honestly never imagined that pixels could be used like this .I’ll give a quick conclusion on the visuals : it’s the best HD - 2D available today , pushing the limits of pixel art presentation even further .
It’s not that there isn't any sense of unnatural jarring , though .During combat , when each legacy protagonist uses an ultimate move , it triggers an animation , and suddenly you get these ultra-detailed CG scenes .Switching back and forth between pixels and CG does create a kind of surreal , otherworldly vibe , and that might be the reason why .For example , when Tina uses her ultimate , the level of detail made me think it was live-action .It's like you're halfway through a bowl of plain noodles , and the owner suddenly takes your bowl away and replaces it with a beef noodle soup — it's such a shock .Suddenly , the restaurant that didn't have great food starts tasting absolutely amazing .But honestly , besides the nostalgia , seeing the clothes from the older titles , Squall’s cool gunblade , and Lightning’s pink hair — which is both tough and sexy — it really is just cool and beautiful .
It gives you that sense of being " old school ." The FF series has always had this signature trait : every generation strives to break the technical limitations of its time .Like moving from 2D in the past to pursuing cinematic realism later on , now they’ve flipped the script .They’re using 3D to pursue pixels , continuing to chase larger scales , more complex movements , and more immersive camera work within a pixel-art framework .Wow , I can't find any faults .Square Enix , you've done well !
This section dives into the Visions/Mirage system, party building, and the turn-based combat mechanics. The speaker explores powerful skill combinations, difficulty balance, and how the game can become both deeply satisfying and overly routine.
Next , let’s look at the combat system , specifically the featured " Visions " system .Has anyone here played the mobile game FFBE ?Let me vent a little — I don't play many mobile games , but how could I miss FFBE ?But I quit that game pretty quickly .I remember back then , I tried pulling for Lightning , but my luck was terrible .I didn't get her , so I called it trash and quit immediately .If you can’t pull the characters you like , what’s the point of playing ?But this time , you can use them all .I mean , let’s say it costs 1,350 to pull one protagonist ; you can use all the protagonists from FF 1-16 .If you do the math , that's over 20,000 bucks to collect them all .How much does this game even cost ?
1,490 ?Damn , that’s such a steal , right ?Also , watching those Visions join your party brings up scenes from their past games one by one — wow , I’m tearing up ; that was my youth .The eponymous Vision system is arguably the most attractive design in the entire game , but nostalgia is one thing , and gameplay mechanics are another .The smartest part of this system is that it turns nostalgia for past characters into " stand " spirits ." I'm not your Lightning , I'm your cholesterol !" Hey , that's a Vision you're talking about !You can equip characters like Cloud , Tifa , or Terra as Visions to your party members , letting your characters learn different skills .This system is brilliant .By equipping these Vision " stands , " you can use their abilities .
That’s no problem , it's very intuitive .But you can also gradually unlock more skills , and some learned abilities can still be used even after you swap out the Vision .So , it all comes down to how you mix and match .Visions aren't just for selling nostalgia anymore ; they've become real tools for researching builds .At first , I just wanted to make my characters stronger , but later on , I started researching if this skill combined with that passive ability could create an even better combo .Wait , hold on — this is literally turning the protagonists of past games into a job system !It feels like the job system from FF3 and 5 , or the equipment proficiency skill learning from FF9 .That old-school feeling is coming right back ; isn't that the most charming part of traditional Final Fantasy ?
I’ll talk more about what I’ve leveled up in the combat section later .Of course , while this system is fun , it’s also pretty time-consuming and kind of ridiculous .It's quick to level each Vision to level 4 to get those AP-boosting passive abilities , because the more AP you have , the more abilities you can equip .Man , after every battle — the fight itself doesn't last long — I end up spending way more time just looking at my characters .Wait , did I level up this Mirage yet ?What about that one , did I train it ?I’m there fiddling with the menus and clicking around , probably longer than I actually spent fighting .It’s just like going to the gym with a friend .We want to lose weight , lift a few times , but end up spending more time calculating calories to burn or mapping out our next meal .
Why do we spend more time talking about food than actually lifting dumbbells ?This Mirage system is a massive gathering of legacy characters .Cloud shows up and hands over his skills , Tifa shows up and does the same .It’s hilarious — are they here to save the world or run a vocational training center ?It’s turned into a giant skill-training academy .But overall , Mirages aren't just there for me to watch legacy characters pull off a flashy finisher and call it a day .The characters in the game are your foundation , while Mirages decide what those characters actually become .The design is great and all , but my biggest fear is that only a few will actually be worth using — and honestly , that’s exactly how it feels .I told every — I started the game on Hard mode , but I found the mob fights take forever .
Long boss fights are fine , as this series is built on strategy and trading blows , but normal enemies take way too long too .It’s not that Hard mode is impossible , but for a working person , there just isn't time to waste on mobs .You work an eight-hour shift , stop by the shop for a chicken bento on the way home , ready to eat and have a good time gaming , but the shop owner says they’re still out back killing thechicken and you have to wait .Who could put up with that ?I couldn't wait ; I wanted a thrilling boss fight , so I just switched to Normal difficulty .Wow , taking down mobs is so much faster now , so I'll just stick to Normal .The combat system overall has that familiar feel of a traditional RPG turn-based system , while adding mechanics like elemental weaknesses and a turn-order break system .
Of course , this break system is the core thrill of combat — we figure out the enemy's weaknesses , go all out on their weak spots , and once the break succeeds ...The enemy gets stunned for a turn , their defense drops , and we get an extra turn to act .Hey , as they say , if you’re " borrowing " from your own people , it doesn't really count as plagiarism , right ?We are obviously familiar with this process , and it feels great , so this entry adds a feature where if you time it right , you can not only trigger an extra turn for the whole party against allenemies , but also follow up with a Resonance Limit Break from your party members .It's easy to trigger Resonance against one enemy , but against multiple , it becomes a puzzle of how to arrange each turn to break their defenses simultaneously .
That feeling of breaking everyone at once and climaxing the battle is really well done ; it's like playing Big Two , throwing out a two , following up with a straight , then throwing out a King , andfollowing up with another straight .You tell me , how satisfying is that ?Anyway , never mind how much damage it actually does ; the flashy ultimate animation has to be shown , right ?OK , so I just played along and leveled up the party members ' skills as I went .I had the long-haired Laswell build rapport with the protagonist from the second game to learn " Double , " and I had Cid follow Squall to learn " Double Action ." It took a while to master , but now both can attack twice per turn , which is great ." Double " lets you act twice , which is fun , but it consumes so much MP .
Where would I get that much MP early on ?Squall's " Double Action " lets you pick two physical skills to use , which is awesome and doesn't cost MP .Now that's useful .So I had the long-haired guy go build rapport to learn " Double Action " too .After learning it , wait — turns out you can use " Double " and then pick " Double Action ." Doesn't that mean 2 times 2 , for four hits ?Normal difficulty was no longer a challenge , so I switched straight to Hard .Later , when the protagonist from the fifth game joins with his " Magic Sword " move , any enchanted weapon skill can hit twice .Characters like Cloud , Lightning , and Clive have many such enchanted weapon skills , so I thought , could I multiply it by two again ?
It turns out it really is 2 times 2 times 2 ; you can hit eight times in one go !Damn , I've mastered the ultimate technique !What kind of enemy could possibly be a match for me now ?Well , there are some .If the equipped party member's skills don't happen to match the enemy's weakness , and you're on Hard difficulty where enemy HP is 1.5 x and the break gauge is 1.6 x , the fights can still take a while.That's when the Machinist girl and the Soldier guy need to step in .The Machinist's skill can add a new weakness to the enemy , making it easy to break them .Even Bahamut gets blown away by me before he even gets a chance to move .Pair that with the Strategist , and it gets even crazier .
My best character doesn't even need skills , just load them with limit gauge boosters .With passive skills that start you with extra gauge and double or triple the charge , it’s basically like using an ultimate every single turn .The ultimate lets everyone act twice — what was eight hits becomes 16 , and magic users can cast at least eight times in a row .Even the tough bosses in the late game can be wiped out in just a few turns .Mana hungry , you ask ?Just stack crit rate with mana-on-crit recovery , and your MP never even drops .Figuring out this " two to the fourth power " strategy feels just like a department store anniversary sale .When you realize the formula — buy the second item at 40 % off , add member discounts , credit card rebates , and extra vouchers — suddenly , it’s basically free , right ?
Needless to say , it’s incredibly satisfying .That 16 - hit turn is just a classic , traditional feature .Though it’s incredibly satisfying to pull off — I love it — it is a shame that this game still has its flaws .Once you’ve mastered this god-tier strategy , combat becomes a fixed routine .Because it’s so efficient and easy , you just keep using it , and battles eventually turn into a mindless spreadsheet simulator .Identify or create enemy weaknesses , cast buffs , have everyone act twice , hit their weakness 16 times , and repeat the process .The game has special enemy mechanics , but not many .Things that counter this playstyle , like enemies that retaliate , are rare .Even if they exist , you just swap in a damage-nullifying skill ; there's no need to change strategies , just execute the familiar routine efficiently .
Which character is most efficient to swap in , and which skill combo deals the highest damage ?Even if you pick the hard difficulty , higher enemy HP doesn't necessarily mean the combat gets any harder .So , it slowly shifts from " Yeah !I pulled off a beautiful tactical combo !" to " Eh , spreadsheet simulation complete , job done ." After all , higher difficulty just means more HP and defense , which only pushes us to choose this most efficient playstyle ; otherwise , battles would just drag on forever .Plus , those ultimate attack animations — wow , the first time is great , the second time is moving , but the third time ?" Okay , this is getting a bit long , isn't it ?" I can only say this is a traditional , over-the-top , time-consuming performance .
The closing chapter gives the final recommendation, with a brief spoiler-free assessment of the story and the game’s overall appeal. The speaker concludes that it successfully turns nostalgia into gameplay and thanks viewers for watching.
Moving on to the final part — so , is it worth recommending ?Let’s skip the plot details this time around .To be honest , I didn't care much for the story this time ; my personal rating is average , just follow along if you like .But don't worry , no spoilers !Crystals to save , the world in crisis , companions joining along the way , villains with schemes , plus a few twists and turns for good measure — it's got everything you'd expect .The characters are interesting and playing it never feels boring , but the real question is , once you finish , does anything actually stay with you ?Like the freedom , bonds , and loss in V , the reasons to live in a dying world in VI , or human progress versus environmental destruction in VII — there's so much more .
I won't even mention the other entries ; I'm sure you all know them like the back of your hand , right ?I have to say , this entry's story isn't quite good enough to be compared to the series ' true classics .Although this title only covers the first season , does that mean all five seasons make for the complete experience ?I dropped the mobile game pretty early , so I'm not sure ; friends , feel free to chime in and add your thoughts .In this video , I want to talk about two things : first , are you willing to pay for nostalgia ?Second , aside from nostalgia , how is the game's system actually designed ?Nostalgia eventually runs dry , and without a solid system to back it up , once you're done , that's pretty much it .
Whether on console or mobile , so many games that bank on nostalgia end up this way .This title unexpectedly integrates nostalgia into its mechanics , and for that alone , I’m recommending it to everyone .My feeling is that they genuinely found a way to make that nostalgia a part of the gameplay experience .It's the best HD - 2D game I've played , and judging by the launch , it set a new record for concurrent players for a single-player FF title , with " Overwhelmingly Positive " reviews , proving that manyplayers still love traditional turn-based FF .Many players kept complaining that modern FF isn't like the old ones , but now that SE has delivered a classic turn-based experience , everyone is buying in .It turns out the Warriors of Light were always here ; they were just forgotten .
That's it for this video , thanks for watching .To all the Warriors of Light out there , what are your thoughts ?Leave a comment and let everyone know .See you in the next game , bye !Bye .M.