Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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Skinypupy
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Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

Post by Skinypupy »

One of the best "hidden gems" on the 3DS were the awkwardly named Theatrhythm games. It's a rhythm game that focuses just on the music across all the Final Fantasy games, as well as other Squeenix properties. It was an absolutely brilliant game that combined music, RPG's, character building, and exploration. I would consider a must-play if you're at all a fan of the FF series or game music in general.

The newest version comes out on Feb 16 for Switch and PS4. I was initially quite skeptical as the 3DS game was played with a stylus and the new version is controller only. The demo dropped today and I was quite surprised to find out...it's even better now. The game is HUGE, with over 365 songs and 100+ characters covering all the FF games and multiple other series, including Chrono Cross, The World Ends With You, Live A Live, Nier, and others. It takes a bit of getting used to (the stylus controls were seared into my brain), but I can already tell this new version is going to play just as well.

It has a cutesy, chibi art style that works perfectly with the theme, and there's a surprising amount of abilities, items, summons, and skills that you'll need to keep a close eye on in order to succeed.

My initial skepticism has vanished entirely and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the full version in a couple weeks. My only minor gripe is that they locked some of the song packs behind a "Season" pay wall, but I'm seriously considering dropping the $100 for the full version so I have access to everything. Can't remember the last time that happened.

If you enjoy Final Fantasy or rhythm games in general, this is another absolute must-have game.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

Post by Eel Snave »

I played both of the Theatrhythm games and had a great time. I'm excited!
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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Read that demo progress carries over to the full release. So I may have unlocked all 30 songs, competed them on the first two difficulties (and started the third), and leveled all the characters from FF VII and FF XIV up to the demo cap (30). :oops: It did make me realize how completely unremarkable the music for FF XV was. I’ve played that game twice, and didn’t remember any of the five songs they used in the demo.

Also did a preorder for the full package, which now includes 502 songs. :shock: This…may keep me busy for a while.

My only gripes are that it can sometimes be difficult to see the green track over the green background, and that the stupid double thumb stick trigger just breaks my brain. Other than that, it’s brilliant.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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Definitely ready for this to release. I "finished" the demo this morning (for me, anyways), beating all the available songs on the first three difficulty levels and maxing out all characters to 30. That fourth difficulty is still way out of reach for me, and isn't available for all songs anyways. That should give me a good head start when it drops on Thursday with all the songs and stages. Early reviews are coming in extremely positive, currently sitting at an 87 on Switch.

It's still a little crazy to me that the demo for this game is over half the size of the entire first game. Can't wait for this.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

Post by baelthazar »

Skinypupy wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 1:28 pm It's still a little crazy to me that the demo for this game is over half the size of the entire first game. Can't wait for this.
Probably because it has like a 10 minute video that plays showing off the rest of the game as you are trying to quit it.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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baelthazar wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 2:59 pm
Skinypupy wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 1:28 pm It's still a little crazy to me that the demo for this game is over half the size of the entire first game. Can't wait for this.
Probably because it has like a 10 minute video that plays showing off the rest of the game as you are trying to quit it.
Yeah, that was a bit excessive.

One quick tip for anyone transferring over from the demo. Even though you have a key, you can't unlock another series until you've completed the entire quest path (the demo only took you halfway through). So jump into one of the ones you did in the demo, finish it out, then you can unlock another. Took me a minute to figure that out.

I played a bunch of MP games today, it's pretty fun. Even if I found out I'm not nearly as good at this as I thought I was. :lol:
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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I put a bow on this one, getting the "Played all songs" and "Cleared all songs" achievements tonight. Took just over 37 hours to get through all 500+ songs, clear every Series stage, and unlock all the characters. Had about half the roster to level 99 by the time I finished. Cleared every song with at least S level on Expert, getting through about half of them at Ultimate. Never did beat a Supreme...those are absolutely nutso.

I'll certainly go back to it as the DLC comes out. It's a stellar rhythm game, right up with Rock Band as one of the absolute best. When you hear so many of the songs lumped together like that, you come away with a newfound appreciation for FF music, Uematsu especially. The incredible music that guy was able to coax out of the NES and SNES is truly amazing.

My only big gripe was around FF XIV. I don't mind that it was represented so much more than the other games (32 songs as compared to 10-15 for other games), as it has a staggering amount of amazing music. The problem is that while there are so many brilliant songs they could have chosen from it, they instead went for the "deep cuts". I've played nearly 2,000 hours of FF XIV and I didn't recognize about half of the songs they used in Theatrhythm. That's disappointing, considering how much wonderful music that game has.

Other than that, no complaints. An A+ game through and through.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

Post by baelthazar »

I went all in for this one and I have to say - it is addicting and manages to be both exciting and relaxing at the same time. My daughter loves watching me play as well, because of the cool backdrop and the amazing music. All around an excellent buy for a game that I can jump in, play one or two (or 10 or 20) as a final (fantasy) game before bed.

I haven't yet gotten any of the vertical courses like they showed in the demo video. Maybe those are with the upcoming DLC? I am also looking very much forward to The World Ends With You music. That always had some really fun stuff in it.

I also dabbled a bit in the multiplayer battles. They are pretty fun, basically playing a solo song but against the other players.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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baelthazar wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2023 10:01 am I went all in for this one and I have to say - it is addicting and manages to be both exciting and relaxing at the same time. My daughter loves watching me play as well, because of the cool backdrop and the amazing music. All around an excellent buy for a game that I can jump in, play one or two (or 10 or 20) as a final (fantasy) game before bed.
My kids have never played a FF game, but they absolutely love this one. And yes, it does induce a somewhat zen-like gaming state. :)
I haven't yet gotten any of the vertical courses like they showed in the demo video. Maybe those are with the upcoming DLC? I am also looking very much forward to The World Ends With You music. That always had some really fun stuff in it.
They unlock after you beat the Series of stages for each game. You then go back into the Music Stages menu to find them, and they're usually listed at the top with a blue video icon (instead of the red Battle or green FMV).
I also dabbled a bit in the multiplayer battles. They are pretty fun, basically playing a solo song but against the other players.
I tried it for a couple hours and mostly just came away annoyed. The random power-ups that you throw at others Mario Kart-style isn't really my type of gameplay.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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The Nier Automata DLC was released yesterday. With all the truly incredible music in that game, those are the songs they chose? 2 of the 5 are absolutely awful...one of them I honestly hope to never hear again.

The DLC has honestly been quite disappointing. The song selection has ranged from poor to dreadful, the stage backgrounds are meh, and they don't really add anything new (i.e. new characters, skills, etc.). In the case of Live A Live, I thought the music was SO bad that it has actually put me off buying the game entirely (it's been on my "maybe" list for a while). Quite disappointing, really.

Still, I keep plugging away at getting through all the songs on Ultimate and getting the entire character roster to level 99. I'm a little over halfway through the songs now, and only have 16 more characters to level to max. Still having a blast with it, just wish the DLC was better. :(
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

Post by baelthazar »

In general, I agree with you. That said, the The World Ends with You DLC is the gem that stands out in otherwise "meh" offerings. I really love the song "Calling" and will play it over and over. The remix versions, which are more metal, aren't great, however.

I don't think we are getting Kingdom Hearts DLC, are we (for obvious mousey reasons)? That would really be icing on the cake.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

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Yeah, the TWEWY songs have been the best of the DLC so far. I didn't play the games (tried a few hours of the first and didn't like it) but those songs aren't terrible. Two of the Nier Automata songs are ok, but the note charts are pretty meh.

No Kingdom Hearts DLC. Looks like the Season 1 DLC is Nier, a couple SaGa packs, TWEWY, and Live A Live. I actually thought Season 1 included Chrono Series and Xenogears songs (the main reason I bought it), but apparently that's reserved for Season 2 and 3. Bummer. :(

My crowning achievement so far happened yesterday. Perfect Chain, SSS on a Level 10 Ultimate. 8-)

Image

After 700+ songs, I still have yet to get a Perfect Critical.
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Re: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (Final Fantasy rhythm game)

Post by Skinypupy »

OK, now I'm finished with this game. All 465 songs completed on Ultimate difficulty and all 100 characters leveled to 99 (with a couple up up to 2-Star). Just under 64 hours, which is more time than I've spent with any other game so far this year.

Although there are a few of the series quests that I haven't quite wrapped up yet... :think:
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