Timeless Legacy

It’s hard to overstate the importance of music in gaming.

In fact, just to demonstrate exactly how important it is, go ahead and boot up one of your favorite games and turn off the music entirely. Play it just for a few minutes and it will be made all too clear even in that short amount of time.

The mileage may vary of course based on the genre and creative direction of a game, but for RPG series like Final Fantasy, it is absolutely essential.

While I might not remember all names of the characters in Final Fantasy 6 off the top of my head, I can still remember each and every note of tracks like “Searching for Friends” and “Cele’s Theme”.

On top of that, I have a fondness for rhythm games dating back to the PSP generation with the DJ Max series so when one was created specifically with Square Enix games in mind on the 3DS in the form of “Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call”, it was just up my alley and I sunk over 80 hours into it. However, it felt like a series that was going to remain exclusive to the 3DS for the foreseeable future so when they finally announced that a new Theatrhythm was coming out on both the PS4 and NSW, I was thrilled at the prospect.

Some people do not like the chibi art style presented but I for one find them to be charming.

MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: PS4/5, NSW
Played on: PS5
Played: 15 hours

As a rhythm game, there isn’t really any overarching story or plot to follow, instead, most of the progression is done by simply playing through songs in a series where additional keys are given to unlock more series.

It was nice to be given the choice to be able to choose which series I wanted to unlock first as that also unlocked the appropriate characters to be used in the party. As the combined HP pools of all the characters served as my life points, leveling them up and unlocking new abilities served as the bit of light RPG element in what was otherwise a very straight forward rhythm game.

As for the gameplay, there were a few different types of notes or “triggers” as they call it here and outside of having to press them at the right time, I had to also pay attention to notes that required being held in conjunction with using the analog stick directions. I was a little concerned at first as I mostly used the touch controls on the 3DS so I was unfamiliar with the controller method but I found the transition to be smooth and the notes were satisfying to hit.

The main star of the show here is the massive tracks list of over 300 songs and it warmed my heart to even see entries from Final Fantasy Record Keeper, a little known FF based mobile game that I played for years before it was shut down. There’s a season pass with more DLC songs incoming for additional cost but it’s hard to complain when the main game provides a wealth of content to begin with.

They managed to capture some of the most iconic moments in these special FMV songs.

While I have very little complaints in terms of the content on offer, I was disappointed to see that the “Quest Medley” did not make it back to this entry. Quest medley was like little mini-dungeons that were generated by collecting map pieces with varying difficulty/rewards. There is an endless dungeon mode that unlocks after the credits roll which randomizes the songs to be played while slowly ramping up the difficulty which is nice but I still would’ve preferred a variation on the quest medley.

Also, I noticed that there were a handful of songs that would cut off entirely too early before the song could even get through its core melody. Being excited to play through the iconic “Dancing Mad” and seeing the song end before it has a chance to really begin was disappointing.

It’s strange because there are other songs that run much longer than a regular song just to allow it time to get its groove on so it felt like an oversight that some tracks weren’t given the same attention.

Outside of the standard modes of play, there was also a “Pair Play” that allowed for couch co-op and an online multiplayer mode that allowed me to play alongside three other players around the world to compete for the best score. While it was a bit difficult to understand all the various “Burst” effects that were being generated by other players to hinder my play, once I got the hang of them, I was holding my own against other players with much more time played than myself. Even though I’m more of a solo player when it comes to rhythm games, there was a certain excitement going head to head with other players so I can easily see myself playing that mode whenever I feel like getting a little competitive.

Competing against other players for the top score is usually not my cup of tea but here, I found it to be pretty fun and challenging.

Just in time for the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy, THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE impresses with its wealth of content and feels like a true celebration of its timeless legacy. Whether you are a beginner who has never played a rhythm game before or a veteran of the genre, if you like Final Fantasy music, this is one title you don’t want to miss.

Fun Tidbit – This is one game that I would have purchased the season pass for knowing what songs are to be released later (Nier, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears!) but thankfully, they were generous enough to provide us with the key that includes it.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.