As soon as I saw Final Fantasy Resonance sporting a 2.5D pixel art aesthetic, it instantly shot up in my most-anticipated list for this year. The new spin-off, a sort-of remake of a mobile game, is delivering on the retro-inspired ideals I've been hoping to see from the franchise for some time, and it appears the response to this may decide how quickly we see more of them.
During a question-and-answer section of a recent shareholders meeting, Square Enix responds to an inquiry over the scale of its remakes and remasters. Essentially, could we expect more smaller projects like Resonance, with games that update an older title's visuals but retain traditional combat systems, unlike the huge open-world, action-driven Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy? The answer isn't fully committal in either direction.
"As part of our market-in approach, we engage in trial and error to establish what is best for contemporary customers based on current market needs and trends," the company says, per a transcript. "In doing so, it is extremely important to us that we strike the right balance between our approach and the expectations of players who loved the original works."
This all makes sense – the higher-ups are watching what sells, and what kind of feedback any given release garners. "While specific titles may call for specific mechanics, we will continue our development efforts by assessing what truly resonates within the current market environment for both original titles and new remakes," the answer finishes.
If something is popular, they'll make more of it, seems to be the gist here. Resonance isn't the only game to test the market here, we also had Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles last year, which maintained the isometric visuals of the original.
Square Enix has already embraced the beauty of 2.5D with Dragon Quest, where we've seen several of the early entries be remade in this style. They are gorgeous looking, and seem to have successfully allowed the property to find multiple generations of new fans.
The same could be true for the early Final Fantasy games, while the 17th mainline game and whatever other remakes forge forward in terms of triple-A development. Wouldn't that be nice? I know I'll be picking up Resonance to do my part. Will you?
