Although Final Fantasy VII Revelation stole the spotlight during last month's Summer Game Fest showcases, Square Enix pleased JRPG fans with the announcement of Final Fantasy Resonance, a new turn-based HD-2D game based on the mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Everything the Japanese publisher is doing with the game seems to be hitting the highest notes, as the game is setting out to be one of the most stunning HD-2D games to date, judging from what producer Kiseki Nakashima revealed during a recent panel at Japan Expo 2026.
"We did a lot of experiments, including voxel representations (3D cubic pixels). We also tried superimposing 2D effects on other 2D effects," said Nakashima-san during the panel as transcribed by Reddit user Confident-Line 5916. "But ultimately, we felt that HD-2D - this fusion of dots and 3D - was the most suitable way to represent both the challenge of new expressions and a cinematic game experience. We wanted to go further in representing things. We played with scale for enormous creatures like Bahamut or airship arrivals, and we also played with camera work, which we didn’t think was possible in 2D."
While current technology made it easier for the Final Fantasy Resonance development team to push the boundaries of HD-2D, crafting the game's visuals while capturing the specific spirit of Final Fantasy I through Final Fantasy VI was still a massive undertaking.
"A major difficulty was blending 2D and 3D. Adjusting the camera even slightly could break the 2D look, so we had to adjust everything pixel by pixel. It was real craftsmanship," Nakashima said in answer to an audience question about the development challenges.
A Balancing Masterclass
Bringing back turn-based combat to the series in Final Fantasy Resonance also proved to be a challenge for Nakashima-san and the rest of the development team, as a modernization of the classic formula was needed.
"I obviously wanted to keep the traditional side of turn-based combat, but I also wanted to modernize it, so we added two key concepts. The first was satisfaction and fun. I want players to pick up a battle and immediately feel great about how fluid the actions are and how you can chain super attacks. The second important point for me was team building. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan of Final Fantasy V and its job system. That’s why we made the system of customizing your team very deep and detailed so you can create unique abilities."
In terms of character customization, Visions representing 26 characters from across the historical Final Fantasy series act as the centerpiece of the combat system. This diverse roster also presented some significant balancing challenges for the team.
"There are 26 Visions, all beloved characters, and we couldn’t have any of them feel weaker than the others. Every single one had to be interesting and well-balanced," said Nakashima-san. This is great to hear, as fans of certain legacy characters will not feel shafted or threatened as second-class players just by liking characters that are not considered very popular in the larger community.
Regardless of how the minutiae of the Final Fantasy Resonance visuals, gameplay, and composer Noriyasu Agamatsu's musical score are being handled, the game sounds more and more interesting by the minute. Hopefully it will be as fun to play as it looks in the footage shared so far when it finally debuts on PC and consoles like the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 22.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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