Do you remember your first Final Fantasy? Perhaps you journeyed alongside the Warriors of Light as they quested to defeat Garland. You could have shared travels with Cecil and Kain. You might have saved Terra and her friends from the maniacal Kefka. Mayhaps you helped a certain spiky haired youth wield his large sword against numerous foes. You may have crossed paths with oddly named adventurers called Squall, or Rinoa, or Zindane, maybe Yuna or Tidus, or Vaan. You might even have met strangers named Lightning or Snow. You may not remember all the names, or the places, but the one thing that probably stuck with you if you’ve played one or more Final Fantasies, is the music.
Since the earliest incarnations of the genre, one of the defining qualities of a Final Fantasy game is its music. From the creepiness of the Temple of Fiends to the lush greenery of the Sunleth Waterways, the music in these games is as much about emotion, as much about storytelling as any narrative, and Theatrhythm is not only a celebration of, but also a tribute to, that music.
When you start the game, you are tasked with creating a new profile. This will keep track of your trophies unlocked, time spent playing as well as the amount of rhythmia you earn. Rhythmia or RM can be considered a form of in game currency, yet you don't actually use it to buy anything, per se. As you complete songs, you’ll earn RM, for a number of different factors, such as how well you performed, and bonuses for different aspects too, from successful chains of notes to having all male or female members in your party. Gaining RM is the easiest way to unlock various items in the game, such as bonus music, colored shards which represent “pieces” of hidden characters and new options for your profile card, in addition to unlocking more game modes.
The one area of the game that is lacking, especially for a title bearing the name, “Final Fantasy” is the story. There is a semblance of a story here, featuring the forces of good and evil, but ultimately, its just a device to get your feet wet with the game, as the official story ends when you collect around 10,000 RM, while successive unlocks come in at every 500 RM or so. It takes much more than this to unlock everything, so if you want all the characters and music, you’ll be collecting RM for awhile.
Starting off, you’ll have the option to select “music play” or “museum”. The museum option is where your records featuring stats are tracked, there’s a card album for unlocked trading cards featuring some of the FF franchise’s most memorable heroes and villains. There’s also a theater option for viewing unlocked scenes from various FF games and finally, a music player for you to hear some of your favorite music tracks that you’ve managed to unlock. All of these, save for the records option are locked at the start of the game, but progressively become unlocked and fill up at regular intervals.
Hitting the music play option begins you on your journey. You are first tasked with creating a party of four members, featuring a number of recognizable FF franchise characters. Your team will earn experience or xp from successfully completing songs and level up individually, periodically learning new skills. These skills range from healing you as you perform, to stealing rare items from boss class monsters you encounter. These skills don’t have a tremendous impact on gameplay as a whole, but instead provide useful little bonuses here and there, when you may need them, for example, on a challenging song.
Equipment works in much the same way as skills. You will come across various types of equipment, but since you are performing songs and not actually fighting baddies, the equipment you select isn’t a huge game changer either, rather more providing you with small attribute boosts or new skills, than letting you easily overcome foes.
At the onset, 13 characters will be available for you to choose from (one from each of the FF series’ core games), with plenty more available to be unlocked. Character differences, in terms of skills and stats are pretty minimal at best, so just choose your favorites. One nice touch is characters do learn skills that are character specific from their previous core games.
The gameplay revolves around three different types of stages, the first, BMS, which are battle music stages, which look a lot like the classic FF 4 party battle mode. In these stages, notes will come from the left to the right of the screen in each characters’ zone and using the stylus, you have to either tap the note, swipe the direction that the note is pointing or hold the note from its start to its end point. These three types of triggers make up the core gameplay in Theatrhythm, and all of its stages. This stage emphasizes quick reflexes over anything else and on the harder stages, notes come flying at you so quickly that you’ll think you’ve died and gone to the New York Philharmonic. There are monsters here on screen as well, and your damage to them is based on how well you deal with notes, but you aren’t actually fighting them, your main goal is to successfully complete notes, so their presence is a bit confusing, as they don’t even need to be there. They serve as an indicator for how well you’re performing, but since your life bar usually manages that function, the monsters’ on screen presence seems to be more for completeness than anything else, as it would look very odd if you were just in a battle with nobody.
The second type of stage is the FMS, or field music stage. This is meant to simulate the walking in the overworld that the FF franchise is known for. These often feature the calm, peaceful overworld music from the core games and presents a nice contrast to the often hectic battle music stages. Where the BMS emphasize quick reflexes, the FMS is more like a leisurely stroll. One nice touch is that whatever core game you are playing the FMS in, you’ll have the pleasure of seeing some highlights in the background, as you are walking and performing the song. Notable sights include Figaro Castle, Balamb Garden, Alexandria, etc
The third type of song is EMS or the event music stage. These revolve around significant events in the core games. Played against a backdrop of important scenes, you “trace” your stylus along the screen and deal with any notes that pop up. Successfully completing these often earns you extended music from some of the franchise’s best known and well loved classics.
Once you complete a few levels in the series mode, you’ll unlock challenge mode. This is where you can play all of your successfully completed songs in any order, to increase your score or ranking. Completing basic level songs on the highest rank unlocks expert level songs, which in turn unlock ultimate level songs.
The last unlockable mode is the Chaos Shrine. In here you play “dark notes” which are sets of stages that are more difficult than the other two modes. Completing these often earns you shards and rare items. While there is no true multiplayer option, the street pass aspect of the 3DS can find people nearby who have completed or acquired dark notes and share them with you. This is a nice touch as well.
Gameplay wise, there is definitely a learning curve, however, the game does a pretty good job in showing you what to do in the beginning. Once you’ve gotten accustomed to how the game works, and start playing on expert stages and higher, going back to the basic level stages can sometimes feel like you’re playing the game in slow motion, however.
Graphically, the game is quite nice looking. The chibi inspired characters are at once charming and adorable and the various stages are bright and colorful. Interior simulated stages are awash with alternating dark and light textures, punctuated by torches on the walls, while stages like FF13’s “Sunleth Waterscape” are bathed in sunlight and lush greenery.
Its also worth noting that the game is extensively supported by about 75+ DLC songs, which can be purchased for 99 cents each, in case you’ve had your fill of the in game music.
With charming graphics, engaging gameplay, and a soundtrack that drips with nostalgia, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy may be one of Square’s most exciting new properties in years.