3 Final Fantasy Games Worth Playing If You Loved FF Resonance

Square Enix has finally released Final Fantasy Resonance, the first HD-2D entry in its long-running RPG saga, on consoles and Windows PC. The game is a heartfelt tribute to the series, packed with cameos and nods to heroes from every era. Once you’ve finished this new journey, you may feel the pull of the classics, or want to catch up on a recent entry you skipped. These three games make up a compact Final Fantasy retrospective that covers several chapters of the series’ history.

1. Final Fantasy 6

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X

It’s disappointing, but a full remake of Final Fantasy 6 is unlikely to happen. In 2024, director Yoshinori Kitase estimated that a reimagining of the SNES classic in the style of FF7 Remake would take roughly two decades. We would gladly settle for an HD-2D version, though Square Enix doesn’t seem interested in making one. Until that changes, the Pixel Remaster is an excellent way to experience the game.

FF6 sets itself apart by skipping a single central hero like Cloud or Noctis. Instead, the story is shared among a sprawling ensemble cast. Add a stunning mid-game twist, one of the franchise’s most memorable villains, and an unforgettable score from Nobuo Uematsu, and it’s easy to see why many fans consider it the high point of the 16-bit era.

2. Final Fantasy 9

Where to play: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One

Long before Resonance arrived, FF9 was already a celebration of the series’ past. It deliberately turns away from the contemporary settings and brooding leads of FF7 and FF8, favoring a lighter mood and a classic high-fantasy world. The hero is Zidane, a cheerful thief who launches the adventure in spectacular fashion by kidnapping the spirited Princess Garnet. (Fortunately, she’s perfectly happy to be taken.) The unlikely duo and their companions are soon caught up in a war started by Garnet’s wildly unhinged mother, Queen Brahne of Alexandria.

Back in 2000, series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi told IGN that this entry came closest to his vision of what Final Fantasy should be. Come for the whimsy and stay for Vivi, a young black mage grappling with an existential crisis, who ranks among the best supporting characters the franchise has produced.

3. Final Fantasy 16

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X

Resonance shows that Final Fantasy is always reinventing itself. The teams at Square Enix keep looking for ways to evolve the franchise so it can keep pace with, or even steer, the biggest trends in the industry. If FF9 is the most quintessential Final Fantasy, then FF16 may be the least.

Rather than a turn-based RPG, it’s a story-driven action game with a lot in common with Devil May Cry and God of War. It traces Clive Rosfield’s fall from nobility and his rise as a freedom fighter defending an oppressed community of magic users. A Cid, chocobos, and an airship all make an appearance. The game also includes heavy profanity and a fair amount of sexual content, which earned it the series’ first mature rating. Does it represent the next decade of Final Fantasy? Almost certainly not, but it’s a fascinating experiment all the same.

Source: Polygon