Theatrhythm Final Bar Line – Review
The Final Fantasy IP has known a lot of spin-off titles over the years, ranging from the PVP action in the Dissidia games or the high-speed racing action in Chocobo GP to dungeon exploring in Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY! or the hack-and-slash combat in Stranger of Paradise. Another of these spin-off titles was Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, a rhythm game in the same vein as Guitar Hero, albeit with typical Final Fantasy elements thrown in the mix. This title spawned a few sequels but the games have faded to the background in more recent years. Now, however, with the release of Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, which contains nearly 400 tracks, it seems that this franchise is more alive than ever. With nearly all Final Fantasy music bundled into one game, we were definitely in for a treat.
Story
While you can choose between a plethora of different Final Fantasy titles, you will not truly experience a story when playing through the songs of the different games. You will see many familiar faces and monsters, but that’s basically it. Perhaps a few short story segments would have been nice, but we didn’t really miss the absence of a story in this massive collection of Final Fantasy music.
Graphics
Graphically the game looks a bit simplistic, but that’s certainly okay for a rhythm-based title. In this case, all well-known characters from the Final Fantasy IP, as well as the monsters and enemies, are given a chibi makeover. This works well to create one big whole with all the different games’ characters. The backdrops during levels can get a bit crowded at times, but the button prompts remain clearly visible. Only during so-called summons did we experience a slight visual overload making certain prompts a bit less visible. As a whole, everything looks quite cute, and we did enjoy seeing all the different famous characters in their chibi forms.
Sound
As this is a rhythm game, it’s only natural that the sound design should be superbly handled. For Theatrhythm Final Bar Line this is very much the case. With the standard edition of the game, you’ll already be treated to nearly 400 different tracks, which means the audio library of this game is massive. The game consists of tracks from all mainstream entries of the Final Fantasy series, but the music of many spin-off titles is also present. We loved the different styles of music present, as some tracks were in an old-school chiptune style while others were complete orchestral pieces.
Gameplay
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is a rhythm game with very mild RPG elements. Those RPG elements are what sets this game apart from other titles in the genre. For the most part, the game is still about playing through the different song levels while timing your button presses, making sure you press the right button combinations, and even moving the joysticks around in the right direction. You’ll have traditional levels in which you’ll have to press one button (or multiple buttons at the same time), sometimes hold said button(s), and flick the sticks in the right direction when the game prompts you to do so. Then you have other levels in which you’ll have to follow the ‘flow’ of the song with the stick as well. For the latter, we did notice that the controls were a bit more finicky. That being said, both options play very similarly, but switching the stick mechanics up does provide a nice change of pace.
For the most part, the game is very straightforward. Not all content will be unlocked from the start, so you’ll have to play through the songs in succession in order to add more titles to your song library. Stages you have completed can easily be revisited later, and you can even make playlists if you simply want to listen to the music that’s present in the game. Those who are looking for a challenge can up the difficulty settings or even duke it out online. These options all add a lot of replay value to the mix, but you’ll already have you’re work cut out for you as the game features a whopping 385 tracks. Outside of that, there’s also a season pass that will add even more songs, and these extra songs are not limited to Final Fantasy tracks. You’ll be able to experience the music from Romancing SaGa – Minstrel Song – Remastered or Octopath Travelers (not yet released).
We mentioned that this is a rhythm game with RPG elements. For every song, you can compose your party of four iconic Final Fantasy characters. These characters will level up as you play through the game, they will unlock new skills, collect items, unlock new ‘summons’, and so on. Thanks to this you’ll have a massive roster of characters to choose from, all with their specific strengths. During the tracks themselves, you’ll see your party battle against monsters and bosses, and they’ll deal more damage the better you do. The better you perform will also allow your characters to trigger their special skills or you could even perform a summon that deals even more damage. At the start of the stage you’ve selected you’ll see the requirements for special quests but also what the weaknesses and resistances of your foes will be. This means that you’ll have to adapt your party to the situation allowing you to complete quests or simply defeat bosses before the track ends. Don’t fret though, quests are optional and just beating the stage is already enough to progress, even if you don’t beat the boss.
Conclusion
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is an amazing homage to the impressive song collection that the Final Fantasy games have provided gamers with over the years. While the RPG elements were a bit simplistic, we absolutely loved playing through all the songs that were featured and we did enjoy unlocking more and more content as we progressed. If you’re a fan of rhythm games and you love the Final Fantasy IP, then this is an easy buy. This is probably one of the best rhythm games we have played in a very long time.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - Review,
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