"We truly feel this demo will dispel any kinds of uncertainty or concerns that people may have had" - Final Fantasy Resonance Director & Producer on the audience's positive reception after finally being able to play it
At PAX West 2026, I had the chance to speak with the Director and Producer of Final Fantasy Resonance , Hiroto Furuya and Keisuke Nakashima. The interview was conducted the day after the demo came out, so we got a chance to hear their thoughts on the demo releasing and the audience's reception since its release.
If you're curious how FF Resonance is performing across multiple platforms, Mikhail did a comprehensive platform comparison on how its demo is running across several systems. If you're interested in seeing more of the game beyond its demo, Adam has been covering all the extensive media kits we've been receiving from Square Enix about the title.
Final Fantasy Resonance launches on October 22 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). Square Enix provided details on the game's soundtrack release, as well.
Please enjoy the interview with Hiroto Furuya and Keisuke Nakashima on Final Fantasy Resonance!
RPG Site: Thank you for meeting with me today, Nakashima-san and Furuya-san. Final Fantasy Resonance has been getting a lot of attention since its reveal, and everyone finally got a chance to try it out with the release of the demo yesterday! (Editor’s note: This interview was conducted a day after the FF Resonance demo was released.)
I’d like to know how the both of you are feeling from all the recent info that’s been shared, and the reactions from players so far.
Hiroto Furuya (Director of Final Fantasy Resonance): After finally having the demo released yesterday, I’m very happy to see the positive reactions from fans and players of the demo. I, myself, am a huge fan of classic RPGs, and we’ve really packed in the fun of those titles into Final Fantasy Resonance.
It really makes me happy to see that the demo has been received very well. I consider other JRPG fans to be my comrades. In that sense, it feels like I have more friends and comrades by my side.
Keisuke Nakashima (Producer of Final Fantasy Resonance): As the producer of the game, I’m truly relieved and happy that we were finally able to release the demo.
Whenever we had the opportunity to meet with the media or talk with other people prior to the release of the demo, we did hear voices of concern or uncertainty regarding Final Fantasy Resonance. This was due to the fact that there were questions around whether there are gacha mechanics or its nature as a title originally based on a mobile game.
But we truly feel this demo will kind of dispel any kinds of uncertainty or concerns that people may have had. In that sense… yeah, I’m really relieved and happy.
I’d like to know how the both of you are feeling from all the recent info that’s been shared, and the reactions from players so far.
Hiroto Furuya (Director of Final Fantasy Resonance): After finally having the demo released yesterday, I’m very happy to see the positive reactions from fans and players of the demo. I, myself, am a huge fan of classic RPGs, and we’ve really packed in the fun of those titles into Final Fantasy Resonance.
It really makes me happy to see that the demo has been received very well. I consider other JRPG fans to be my comrades. In that sense, it feels like I have more friends and comrades by my side.
Keisuke Nakashima (Producer of Final Fantasy Resonance): As the producer of the game, I’m truly relieved and happy that we were finally able to release the demo.
Whenever we had the opportunity to meet with the media or talk with other people prior to the release of the demo, we did hear voices of concern or uncertainty regarding Final Fantasy Resonance. This was due to the fact that there were questions around whether there are gacha mechanics or its nature as a title originally based on a mobile game.
But we truly feel this demo will kind of dispel any kinds of uncertainty or concerns that people may have had. In that sense… yeah, I’m really relieved and happy.
RPG Site: I got the chance to try out the demo myself and was very impressed. I already can’t wait to play more.
What immediately stuck out to me was the high fidelity of the pixel art in the character models and the environment. Tell me a bit about the process of creating these assets for more powerful hardware, relative to when they were originally created for Brave Exvius on mobile devices.
Keisuke Nakashima: The quality bar that is expected or desired from a mobile game versus a console goes without saying that it differs - not amongst just our players, but also internally within Square Enix. Expectations for a console game are much higher.
Considering that we are releasing Final Fantasy Resonance close to a full price console game, we did reassess the assets. For example, the 3D models for the background were created from the ground up. Then with regard to the pixel art of the main characters, there are some we are utilizing from the mobile game.
However in terms of quality, there were certain characters that may not have met the bar that we were aiming for. Therefore, we had to replot their dots, their pixels, and redesign them. That kind of work went into the assets creation.
At the same time, placing 2D pixel art on 3D backgrounds is not an easy task. For example, to ensure that those 2D images don’t appear like they’re floating, we obviously needed to blend it in with the background in terms of adjusting the shadows, the lighting, and such. Through that work, we feel like we were able to achieve that high fidelity for the graphics.
What immediately stuck out to me was the high fidelity of the pixel art in the character models and the environment. Tell me a bit about the process of creating these assets for more powerful hardware, relative to when they were originally created for Brave Exvius on mobile devices.
Keisuke Nakashima: The quality bar that is expected or desired from a mobile game versus a console goes without saying that it differs - not amongst just our players, but also internally within Square Enix. Expectations for a console game are much higher.
Considering that we are releasing Final Fantasy Resonance close to a full price console game, we did reassess the assets. For example, the 3D models for the background were created from the ground up. Then with regard to the pixel art of the main characters, there are some we are utilizing from the mobile game.
However in terms of quality, there were certain characters that may not have met the bar that we were aiming for. Therefore, we had to replot their dots, their pixels, and redesign them. That kind of work went into the assets creation.
At the same time, placing 2D pixel art on 3D backgrounds is not an easy task. For example, to ensure that those 2D images don’t appear like they’re floating, we obviously needed to blend it in with the background in terms of adjusting the shadows, the lighting, and such. Through that work, we feel like we were able to achieve that high fidelity for the graphics.
RPG Site: Another thing that stuck out to me was the lighting. Bahamut’s Megaflare, for example, turns its model to different shades of blue as it’s charging up its attack. The sun’s light will also dynamically brighten a character’s pixel model when it’s emerging from a passing cloud.
What were some of the challenges you faced when creating the lighting for Final Fantasy Resonance? Are there any specific sequences that proved to be a huge obstacle to overcome in this regard?
Hiroto Furuya: The opening cutscene where the man clad in armor and the mysterious mage go head to head against each other is one of the most representative battle sequences that you’ll find in Final Fantasy Resonance. That was very much a challenge to bring to life.
For example, there’s these kind of intense scenes within it when their weapons clash with one another. In order to realize that, we needed to adjust the placement of the pixels, or adjust the angle of the pixels, and so forth.
But not just that. When the weapons hit each other, there are effects that are displayed on screen; then alongside that, there are sound effects and and the effects also impact the background. So there were constant adjustments to the syncing of all those factors down to the milliseconds by these highly talented craftsmen in our development team that worked on these cutscenes.
What were some of the challenges you faced when creating the lighting for Final Fantasy Resonance? Are there any specific sequences that proved to be a huge obstacle to overcome in this regard?
Hiroto Furuya: The opening cutscene where the man clad in armor and the mysterious mage go head to head against each other is one of the most representative battle sequences that you’ll find in Final Fantasy Resonance. That was very much a challenge to bring to life.
For example, there’s these kind of intense scenes within it when their weapons clash with one another. In order to realize that, we needed to adjust the placement of the pixels, or adjust the angle of the pixels, and so forth.
But not just that. When the weapons hit each other, there are effects that are displayed on screen; then alongside that, there are sound effects and and the effects also impact the background. So there were constant adjustments to the syncing of all those factors down to the milliseconds by these highly talented craftsmen in our development team that worked on these cutscenes.
RPG Site: I’m interested to learn more about the level design in Final Fantasy Resonance. In Brave Exvius, the starting dungeon was also the Earth Shrine but due to its structure, it was a series of fights until the Belmodar boss.
Meanwhile in FF Resonance, it’s now an explorable area with random encounters and treasure chests to find. How difficult was it to turn Brave Exvius’s numerous environments into explorable spaces? Was there any previous reference material for Brave Exvius that helped you in mapping out its world setting?
Hiroto Furuya: There really weren’t any previous reference materials with regards to the gameplay experience of Final Fantasy Resonance. We were aiming for an RPG, and one of the fun elements of RPGs is the dungeon exploration experience. This includes progressing through the dungeons and finding hidden paths to find treasure chests, and such.
In order to bring this to life, we did approach level design from the ground up. Everything was built from scratch in that regard.
Meanwhile in FF Resonance, it’s now an explorable area with random encounters and treasure chests to find. How difficult was it to turn Brave Exvius’s numerous environments into explorable spaces? Was there any previous reference material for Brave Exvius that helped you in mapping out its world setting?
Hiroto Furuya: There really weren’t any previous reference materials with regards to the gameplay experience of Final Fantasy Resonance. We were aiming for an RPG, and one of the fun elements of RPGs is the dungeon exploration experience. This includes progressing through the dungeons and finding hidden paths to find treasure chests, and such.
In order to bring this to life, we did approach level design from the ground up. Everything was built from scratch in that regard.
RPG Site: I imagine many players who’ve previously played Brave Exvius will be playing FF Resonance. Are there any specific story sequences or moments in FF Resonance that you’d like those returning players to pay special attention to?
Keisuke Nakashima: Within the demo, players may have seen the side quests for Rain and Lasswell. In a similar manner within the rest of Final Fantasy Resonance, we have side quests for other Brave Exvius characters such as Nichol, Jake, and Lid. That’s something we’d like for people to pay attention to.
Through these side quests and beyond that, we do depict the background or past of those characters. We also go into depth of how these various characters’ relationships evolve, and so forth. These are aspects that weren’t depicted through the Brave Exvius mobile game. So, I believe that Brave Exvius fans would be able to enjoy those newfound elements.
Keisuke Nakashima: Within the demo, players may have seen the side quests for Rain and Lasswell. In a similar manner within the rest of Final Fantasy Resonance, we have side quests for other Brave Exvius characters such as Nichol, Jake, and Lid. That’s something we’d like for people to pay attention to.
Through these side quests and beyond that, we do depict the background or past of those characters. We also go into depth of how these various characters’ relationships evolve, and so forth. These are aspects that weren’t depicted through the Brave Exvius mobile game. So, I believe that Brave Exvius fans would be able to enjoy those newfound elements.
RPG Site: You just announced that Sephiroth will be appearing in FF Resonance. His introduction showed a 3DCG scene similar to the Visions from the other crossover FF characters, and some sort of fight against him.
Will players be able to recruit Sephiroth and summon him as a Vision?
Keisuke Nakashima: That’s an aspect that we would love for players to discover for themselves. We’ve been avoiding mentioning either/or if that will be the case.
Will players be able to recruit Sephiroth and summon him as a Vision?
Keisuke Nakashima: That’s an aspect that we would love for players to discover for themselves. We’ve been avoiding mentioning either/or if that will be the case.
RPG Site: In a previous interview with another outlet, you mentioned there are a total of 26 Visions in FF Resonance. Of course, Brave Exvius had many, many more characters.
Aside from the main protagonists of the Final Fantasy series, what was the selection process when deciding which Brave Exvius original characters should be included in FF Resonance as Visions?
Keisuke Nakashima: There are various reasons that went into the selection. One of them being that during the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius days, we had conducted popularity votes for the characters - both for domestic players and overseas players.
We did reference those rankings to ensure that we are kind of selecting from the more popular characters of Brave Exvius.
Of course, we didn’t choose by popularity alone. We did want to ensure that they were interesting characters to play within Final Fantasy Resonance. This includes the depth that they add from a story aspect and whether we can add more interesting elements from the narrative perspective.
Also, there was the game balance standpoint. Who would be the optimal choice when you consider all these elements? These are all factors that played into the selection process.
Aside from the Visions, there are various Brave Exvius characters that will make an appearance even through the side content, like the side quests. For example in one of the trailers, Verun appeared alongside Lid. For Brave Exvius players, they’ll recognize these character appearances.
Aside from the main protagonists of the Final Fantasy series, what was the selection process when deciding which Brave Exvius original characters should be included in FF Resonance as Visions?
Keisuke Nakashima: There are various reasons that went into the selection. One of them being that during the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius days, we had conducted popularity votes for the characters - both for domestic players and overseas players.
We did reference those rankings to ensure that we are kind of selecting from the more popular characters of Brave Exvius.
Of course, we didn’t choose by popularity alone. We did want to ensure that they were interesting characters to play within Final Fantasy Resonance. This includes the depth that they add from a story aspect and whether we can add more interesting elements from the narrative perspective.
Also, there was the game balance standpoint. Who would be the optimal choice when you consider all these elements? These are all factors that played into the selection process.
Aside from the Visions, there are various Brave Exvius characters that will make an appearance even through the side content, like the side quests. For example in one of the trailers, Verun appeared alongside Lid. For Brave Exvius players, they’ll recognize these character appearances.
RPG Site: If FF Resonance is successful and there’s substantial demand from the fans, would you consider adding additional Visions in post-launch updates or DLC?
Keisuke Nakashima: As of now, there are currently no plans for additional Visions. We wanted to make sure our focus and all our resources were allocated towards ensuring a satisfying and fun main game experience.
If the reception is there and if it’s successful, it does open up possibilities. However, again, our focus is really the main game itself.
Keisuke Nakashima: As of now, there are currently no plans for additional Visions. We wanted to make sure our focus and all our resources were allocated towards ensuring a satisfying and fun main game experience.
If the reception is there and if it’s successful, it does open up possibilities. However, again, our focus is really the main game itself.
RPG Site: Once again, thank you so much for your time. Please give a final message to all the players around the world eagerly anticipating FF Resonance!
Keisuke Nakashima: Final Fantasy Resonance is jam-packed with all the elements that made Final Fantasy fun. Those who have loved the franchise are sure to enjoy those aspects of the game.
Resonance is a compilation of all the appealing aspects of a Final Fantasy game. For those who haven’t experienced Final Fantasy, they can easily gain an understanding of what makes a Final Fantasy game enjoyable through Resonance.
We do have a demo out, so we’d love for everyone to pick it up and give it a try.
Hiroto Furuya: Looking at the recent wave of things globally, it seems there’s a resurgence of turn-based RPGs and JRPGs. It is kind of like being re-examined once more.
We consider Final Fantasy Resonance as one aspect of that overarching wave or trend. I think there is something to note about the appeal of classic RPGs, and the fun of classic RPGs, really. We’re trying to capture that through Final Fantasy Resonance - but not stop at that.
We wanted to ensure that we’re delivering a new experience, a new title, to audiences all around the world.
If you play the game and enjoy it, we hope that it becomes a potential opportunity for you to reconnect with the friends that you once played RPGs with. Maybe like a reunion of sorts. We hope that you have fun and enjoy those moments where you’re able to chat about the game together. We just truly hope that it becomes that type of game for everyone.
RPG Site: I like that answer. Thank you so much for your time, Nakashima-san and Furuya-san.
Keisuke Nakashima: Final Fantasy Resonance is jam-packed with all the elements that made Final Fantasy fun. Those who have loved the franchise are sure to enjoy those aspects of the game.
Resonance is a compilation of all the appealing aspects of a Final Fantasy game. For those who haven’t experienced Final Fantasy, they can easily gain an understanding of what makes a Final Fantasy game enjoyable through Resonance.
We do have a demo out, so we’d love for everyone to pick it up and give it a try.
Hiroto Furuya: Looking at the recent wave of things globally, it seems there’s a resurgence of turn-based RPGs and JRPGs. It is kind of like being re-examined once more.
We consider Final Fantasy Resonance as one aspect of that overarching wave or trend. I think there is something to note about the appeal of classic RPGs, and the fun of classic RPGs, really. We’re trying to capture that through Final Fantasy Resonance - but not stop at that.
We wanted to ensure that we’re delivering a new experience, a new title, to audiences all around the world.
If you play the game and enjoy it, we hope that it becomes a potential opportunity for you to reconnect with the friends that you once played RPGs with. Maybe like a reunion of sorts. We hope that you have fun and enjoy those moments where you’re able to chat about the game together. We just truly hope that it becomes that type of game for everyone.
RPG Site: I like that answer. Thank you so much for your time, Nakashima-san and Furuya-san.