Full English transcript of the live stream (in French) : https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2817539423
The other Interview live at Japan Expo Paris on July 10, 2026 : https://www.reddit.com/r/FFResonance_FFRS/comments/1uss2ec/ff_resonance_interview_live_at_japan_expo_paris/
Kayane :
Anyway, let’s now move on to the story of the game. We know that Final Fantasy Resonance will revisit the first major narrative arc of Brave Exvius for those who played it on mobile. But for those who have never played Brave Exvius, could you reveal the plot of this game to us?
First, I’d like to know — are there people among you who have already played Brave Exvius?
Yeah, there are quite a lot of you. Did you spend a lot of money on it?
Nakashima (via interpreter) :
For those who have never played, rest assured — and for those who have played, rejoice. The game’s scenario takes the base from the smartphone app and we have completely rewritten it to turn it into a proper console game scenario.
Kayane :
The crystal is at the center of the story. Why do these crystals exist in this world? What is their purpose? The truth behind them is the core of the scenario.
Nakashima :
At the heart of the scenario, we find a great classic: the crystals. We will discover why they exist, what they bring to the universe and its balance. The story will take us to different places to uncover what lies behind the world.
The story progresses with several main characters, the first three being Rain, the protagonist, assisted by Laswell, the cool handsome guy of the group, and the mysterious Fina, who has the ability to commune with Espers. That’s a very important power.
Kayane :
Even for Brave Exvius veterans, will they also be able to discover new things compared to the original games?
Nakashima :
Yes, I think fans of the original will be very happy because the game will include about 44 new side quests, most of them focused on the characters’ pasts. We’ll learn more about the original characters, and this will allow both those who know them and those who don’t to become attached to them and know them better.
Kayane :
Are there also quests that strengthen the bonds between characters?
Nakashima :
Yes, there are those too.
Kayane :
I think I’m going to spend a lot of time on these side quests.
Let’s now talk about the combat system. We find the classic turn-based combat that marked the first episodes of the Final Fantasy series, and personally, it’s a combat system I’m very fond of. I spend a lot of time on strategy trying to beat enemies by exploiting their weaknesses as best as possible. It’s important today to modernize it because older turn-based games can sometimes feel a bit slow. So, I know the team has reworked it to modernize the experience — can you tell us more?
Nakashima :
Obviously, the combat system we’re using this time is turn-based, but the two most important points for me were: first, fun and satisfaction. Players needed to feel very satisfied with their actions. And second, strategic depth in team management.
To illustrate these two central points: regarding player pleasure and satisfaction, there are Break systems that, under certain conditions, allow you to trigger extremely satisfying super attacks because they are both effective and very beautiful.
And alongside that, for the strategy part, I wanted to evolve the classic Final Fantasy job system you may already know. There will be a whole bunch of abilities to unlock and combine together to create even more powerful skills.
Kayane :
And I understand that Nakashima-san is a huge fan of Final Fantasy V, which explains the system in Re:sonance.
Nakashima :
That’s right. FF V is my favorite, and it’s the first game I ever played. But I also love XVI and VIII because they’re very beautiful, and I love the battles.
I love all Final Fantasy games. For example, Final Fantasy XVI — I admire the special effects and how the super attacks play out. I take the best from every Final Fantasy, but yes, I have a soft spot for 5.
Kayane : It’s true that not many players usually say they started with Final Fantasy V ? (speak to public)
Nakashima : You will find many characters such as Tidus or Cloud, and we made sure they play in a turn-based style but in the way we already know them from their previous iterations. Moreover, the characters are treated with extreme respect because they were approved by the directors of each original game. So even if you haven’t played the older Final Fantasy titles but only the more recent ones, you’ll still find plenty of enjoyable things.
Kayane :
I think even people who haven’t played the older games will be quite impressed by the combat system in Resonance.
Anyway, we’ll reveal more about the combat system during the gameplay session later. But before that, I think you have some little surprises for us.
We can now see the additional content. I see mini-games, the Colosseum, the Armory Chamber. I imagine in the Colosseum we’ll face a good number of bosses. Can you tell us more?
Nakashima :
Indeed, since we created a very complete game system that allows you to customize and make your team extremely powerful, we needed to put challenging content in front of it. That’s why in the Colosseum you’ll be able to fight incredibly powerful bosses, some of which have been completely reworked graphically to evoke those traumatic moments. For example, the dragon Shinryu in the top right, which traumatized many Final Fantasy V players.
Kayane :
Do we have any idea of the approximate number of possible bosses?
Nakashima :
There are between five and ten monsters, maybe. I can’t give you an exact number.
Kayane :
Do we know when we’ll get access to the Colosseum? Is it at a certain point in the game, or fairly early?
Nakashima :
Around the middle of the adventure. At the beginning of the game, the Colosseum is destroyed, and as you progress, it gets repaired. When you reach about halfway through the story, you gain access to it, with multiple difficulty levels to extend your playtime even further.
Kayane :
Next, there’s the Armory Chamber. Can you explain what that is?
Nakashima :
The Armory Chamber is a special place where you’ll also have to fight extremely powerful enemies. But these powerful enemies serve a purpose: they allow you to upgrade the weapons you already have. When you defeat a particular boss, that weapon will evolve and become a legendary-class weapon. That’s where you’ll obtain the best equipment in the game.
Kayane :
Are there possibilities to fuse weapons as well?
Nakashima :
They evolve.
Kayane :
Next, we see mini-games. Earlier we talked about quests — about forty new ones compared to the original. Are the mini-games included in what you call quests, or are they separate?
Nakashima :
Some mini-games can be part of a quest, others simply exist on their own. I imagine some of you still remember the lightning-dodging mini-game in Final Fantasy IX.
Kayane :
Raise your hand if you completed it. Were you patient enough?
Nakashima :
The mini-games have several difficulty levels. Since people know these Final Fantasy mini-games, it felt important to include some in Re:sonance too — like finding a Moogle, catching Moogles, or finding cats.
Kayane :
There was also something I loved in the old Final Fantasy games: access to the world map. Will we have the chance to see the immensity of the world waiting for us with a classic-style world map?
Nakashima :
Yes, there is a world map this time.
Kayane :
It looks truly magnificent. I see some question marks. What do they mean?
Nakashima :
The question marks are there so players have the chance to discover something wonderful. There might be hidden bosses, strange dungeons, or important items to collect.
Kayane :
And besides these question marks, are there also secret areas not marked on the map?
Nakashima :
Of course, there are many. Also, when you can move freely, some places might be too dangerous at first and you’ll die instantly. You’ll have to come back later when you’re better prepared.
Kayane :
Anyway, I can’t wait to travel through the world of Final Fantasy Re:sonance.
Nakashima :
Adventure is the most important point for me. You’re right to emphasize it, because for us it was really important to capture that spirit of adventure in this new Final Fantasy Resonance.
Kayane :
I think we’ve had a lot of information so far. Let’s move on to the gameplay session, controller in hand, to see what the game really feels like.
(Gameplay session begins)
Nakashima :
I wanted to give you a little treat. The game isn’t finished yet, but I brought a ROM straight from Japan so you could see it. This is the Water Capital, which has never been shown before, even in Japan.
Kayane :
It’s really beautiful. Robin, go ahead and show us around.
Nakashima :
As you can see, this is a calm and peaceful city thanks to the protection of this majestic being…
(Jump rope mini-game, with laughter and audience encouragement)
Nakashima :
That was just the first level. The difficulty increases as you progress.
What I wanted was for players to recapture the feeling of exploring the map in classic Final Fantasy games, but without stressing out modern players too much. So there will also be fast travel.
We kept the traditional Chocobo music, remixed for this title.
If you bought the digital deluxe edition, you’ll get a Magitek armor instead of the Chocobo. We worked really hard to recreate it in 2D.
The theme of this dungeon is water. The goal is to solve crystal-based puzzles that lower the water level so you can descend deeper.
Here’s the battle screen. The gauge at the top left is the time gauge, showing the order in which characters will act. Enemies have two gauges: HP (red) and Break gauge (yellow). When an enemy is surrounded by a red aura, it’s preparing a powerful attack. The goal is to deplete its Break gauge to prevent it from acting.
In addition to the four heroes, behind them are famous characters from Final Fantasy history. Their presence allows you to use their signature techniques, like Cloud’s. These are called Visions.
Kayane :
Do we know roughly how many Visions there will be?
Nakashima :
There are 26 in total. Sixteen are dedicated to the protagonists of each mainline Final Fantasy. The remaining ones are well-known characters from the Brave Exvius universe.
When all enemies are Broken, each character in your party gets an extra action. The Resonances are the super attacks of the Visions. There are different types: damage, buffs, healing. You have to choose the right one for the situation.
When you equip a Vision, it gains experience along with the character. It unlocks Masteries that you can equip and keep. Just like in Final Fantasy V, you can combine different abilities from different characters. The possible combinations are practically infinite.
My favorite Visions are ones like Shantotto or Scowl, specialized in group attacks. It’s very satisfying to wipe out multiple small enemies at once.
Today I also want to show you the summonable Espers. There will be about ten in total. Once summoned, they stay for three turns and then unleash a super attack. They act on their own, which adds a bit of randomness to combat.
We put a lot of effort into recreating the airship in pixels. With the airship, you can travel everywhere and really enjoy exploring the map.
Scattered across the world, you’ll find sanctuaries like this one. This is where you obtain these famous Visions.
In this sanctuary, you resonate with the crystal of memories of a character (e.g. Noctis). The crystal speaks of their memories and asks you questions to put you in their shoes.
Kayane :
Wasn’t it difficult to find the right balance between celebrating beloved characters from previous Final Fantasy games and also giving space to the new characters like Rain and his companions in this original story?
Nakashima :
That was one of the difficult points, but the scenario writer has been working on the Final Fantasy saga for a very long time and has the full trust of the teams.
Kayane :
For the community questions: Between a linear storyline and the freedom to get lost in dungeons, what will the game’s pace be like?
Nakashima :
If you only do the main story, you can finish in 30 to 40 hours. If you explore everything and do side quests, it will be more like 50 to 80 hours.
Kayane :
The choice of an HD-2D aesthetic reminiscent of the Super Famicom era — do you think it could be a barrier for attracting new players who don’t know the series yet?
Nakashima :
Even though it’s pixel art, we enlarged the character proportions so emotions and expressions are more readable and modern. It’s accessible and pleasant to look at.
Kayane :
Does this mean that stat enthusiasts and optimization fans will have a lot of fun?
Nakashima :
Yes, there are tons of builds possible. However, we don’t want to leave anyone behind. The system is deep but remains approachable. Basic combinations are easy to understand.
(closing words):
We are really proud of what we’ve made and have full confidence in the quality of the game. We hope you’ll soon be able to experience it too. This is a game where we put everything we find powerful and fun about Final Fantasy. If you already know the series, you’ll feel right at home. If you’ve never played Final Fantasy before, you’ll discover a whole new universe.
Kayane :
The game releases on October 22. Thank you very much, Nakashima-san!
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