Official Site: http://www.theatrhythm.com/
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
Developer: Indies Zero
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: Jul 3, 2012
Genre: Music Rhythm
Pros:
-Easy to learn, but challenges the most hardcore players
-Has great replay value through its RPG elements and harder difficulties
-Aesthetically pleasing and nostalgia inducing
-It's a Final Fantasy based off some of the most memorable songs from the series!
Cons:
-There aren't as many songs as one might have hoped for from an entire series
-They didn't take advantage of the RPG elements and push it to its full potential
-Way too many DLCs that should've been in the game in the first place
-Despite the replay value, the core game is really short
Although it is an obvious attack on the nostalgia of long-time Final Fantasy fans, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy manages to deliver an engrossing music rhythm experience that's relaxing, exciting, and nostalgia inducing all at the same time. The core concept of the game is rather easy to pick up, but the difficulty of the later challenges turns the simple mechanics into really crazy patterns that makes it that much more fun as the player becomes more familiar with the game. The RPG elements and character swap is a nice addition to the tapping and swiping of the rhythm part of the game, but it doesn't really do much other than keep the player alive longer in the harder difficulties and give more points. The main part of the game is fairly short and easy to get through, but it's the harder difficulties that make the game truly shine. Hearing all those slashes and attacks when landing those taps and swipes correctly during battle mode is really satisfying. My biggest complaint about the game isn't within the game, but the lack thereof. Since its launch earlier this month, it has already received 20 DLC songs that could've easily been in the game in the first place but was instead held back to be sold to the player. Still, the game's a riveting experience that music rhythm fans would enjoy and would appreciate even more if they are familiar with the entire Final Fantasy series.
Aesthetics
It was odd to see all the characters in chibi form the first time they were revealed; however, it only made sense to find one cohesive style for all the characters of the series to follow. And since the developers were going for a more whimsical theme for the game, they couldn't go for a more edgier look like the characters had in Final Fantasy Dissidia. Much of the game's graphics consists of chibi forms of the main protagonists from the main series Final Fantasy, 3D rendered backgrounds and characters, and footages from the actual main series games. The menu is easy to navigate through and the user-interface is simple and clean (did anyone get that? No? Never mind...). The tap pads are easy to understand and fairly important to be able to interpret immediately, especially on those fast songs. Besides the main Crystal Theme used for the title of the game, none of the songs were remixed or touched at all. This was probably for the best, but possibly most appreciated by fans of the series and not by non-Final Fantasy fans (unless they don't mind the chip tunes). Sound effects is also vital in the gameplay as it gives feedback to the player to let them know they hit the pads right on time and whether they're hitting too early or too late. It would've probably been better if the clips of pre-FF7 games with text in them were taken from the English version for the Western version of the game as all the clips retains its original Japanese language. Overall, the graphics and audio are pretty solid for this game. Also, chibi Lightning is freaking adorable. Aesthetics: 10/10
Buttons
Everything in the game is essentially controlled with the stylus on the touch-screen. The game includes a special stylus that's longer and easier to handle for the largest hands and most frantic songs. As mentioned before, the menu and user-interface is comprehensible and facilitates navigation throughout the game. In terms of in-game controls, I already knew it wouldn't be perfect. For the field mode, the "holds" that require moving up and down don't have a 1:1 ratio in movement and will take some adjusting to. In battle mode, some of the diagonal, horizontal, or vertical swipes won't be read accurately and count as a miss. Turning off the 3D effects will actually prevent these happening as often as the 3D effects does slow down the processes of the contact and readings of the game. For the most part, the controls actually work rather well and reads them pretty accurately. Battle mode can get rather crazy, but I find those challenging songs the most entertaining out of the game. Buttons: 9/10
Concept & Content
The game is played much like Elite Beat Agents (or Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! for those who played the Japanese version) from the NDS. Cues following the beat/rhythm of the song will have the player tap, slide (swiping), and hold their stylus on the touch screen to match up with the track. The game has three modes: Series Mode, Challenge Mode, and Chaos Shrine Mode. In series mode, the player goes through the Opening theme, Battle theme, Field theme, "Emotional" theme (a memorable scene from that game), and Ending theme. Challenge mode allows the player to choose between the battle theme, field theme, and emotional theme of a series to practice, gain more experience points, and play harder difficulties. Battle themes are generally faster paced with 4 rows of pads coming from the left ending up at the right that is reminiscent of traditional battle in the Final Fantasy series where the characters defeat as many enemies as possible. Field themes show the character chosen walking to the left as a series of pads are shown above the scenery and requires moving up and down during holds. Emotional themes have pads show up in different parts of the screen and the player just needs to follow them with their eyes and tap to the rhythm. In Chaos Shrine mode, tracks consists of a field theme and battle theme and the "dark notes" are randomly generated. There's a decent amount to do in the core game, but there are tons of songs that I (and many fans) would have loved to have seen in the game. Well, there are more songs, but they require $1 each. There were around 8 songs available at launch and barely a month has passed as it reached 20 songs now. 20 songs that could've/should've been in the game in the first place was withheld so that they could be sold to the player. If they're going to charge $40 off the bat for a handheld game, they should have the decency to deliver a full package. Most Final Fantasy fans already knew this game was a ploy to attack the nostalgia, and it seems Square-Enix wants to take full advantage of that with as much DLC as possible. The core game is really fun and works well; however, I didn't like the DLC shenanigans they decided to implement. Also, I wonder why they didn't add any of the songs from FF14. Nobuo Uematsu actually had some really good tracks in that game! Concept & Content: 8/10
Duration
The main game is pretty short and anyone could probably get through it in one day. The sustainability from the game (at least for me) comes from playing the harder difficulties, leveling all my characters, and getting a higher grade. It'll eventually get to a point where there's nothing else to do in the game but replay it. Of course, Square-Enix (and every other publisher in the industry) says that the replay value can be extended by purchasing DLCs so that there is more to do. Why couldn't it have been in the game in the first place? Well, they wouldn't be able to make extra money otherwise. Despite my bitterness towards DLCs and the industry performing such shenanigans, the game did last a good amount and holds up pretty well in replay value. Duration: 8/10
Fun
I was drawn right in the second I started playing the game. I love music rhythm games and I love the work of Nobuo Uematsu and what he has contributed to the series, so Square-Enix's diabolical plan worked like a charm (except for the DLC part, I hate DLCs enough to even resist against Final Fantasy music). The satisfying feeling I get from landing every note and doing insane chains is tiny little rewards that keep on giving as long as you keep landing those notes. Leveling up the characters and getting better grades got me going back to the game. The game was fun, but I had hoped for more (and that more came in the form of DLCs). Fun: 9/10
Overall
Although a bit pricey ($40) and loaded with DLCs ($20), the game holds up as a really fun music rhythm game using the music from past Final Fantasy games. The game looks and sounds nice, the gameplay is addicting and rewarding, and the replay value will keep you busy for quite a while before it runs out of things to do. If it ever does a "Game of the Year Edition" kind of thing like all other big publishers do, then perhaps it'll be even more worth it then. So if you're a music rhythm fan or fan of Final Fantasy, then yes I recommend getting this game for whatever rhythm tapping, nostalgia driven reason you may have. The DLCs on the other hand depends on whether you feel is worth purchasing them or not. Overall: 8.8/10
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