If Dissidia Final Fantasy and Osu! had a baby, then Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is that baby! I recently picked the title back up after having it collect dust for a few years, and remembered that the game is an excellent way to experience one of the things that makes the Final Fantasy franchise so great. The music! From the melodies that begin the games, to the battle themes, and all the way to the ending songs, this game is wonderful in that it focuses on the music of the iconic series.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy came out way back in 2012, and it follows a story that somewhat resembles that of Dissidia. The heroes from the Final Fantasy franchise are brought together by the power of the goddess Cosmos to bring harmony to the world, which was thrown into chaos by the god, Chaos (heh heh, I made myself laugh there).
You use the stylus and touch screen to fight, and that gives your party the ability in battle. By tapping, swiping, and dragging the stylus across the screen, the strength of the attacks varies depending on how accurate you are with the movements. Naturally, a hit or swipe in perfect time with the song will do more damage than landing it off the beat or missing it altogether. The more songs you complete, and how well you perform the songs, gives your party experience points, which are used to level up the characters and make them stronger or even give them abilities they can use in battle.
The characters used in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy are the protagonists of each of the first thirteen games of the main series (Final Fantasy XIV and XV weren’t out yet). From the Warrior of Light from the original Final Fantasy to Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, you fight and journey together to earn Rhythmia, which is used to increase the strength of the crystal. And at certain levels of Rhythmia, you gain shard of crystals that can unlock other characters you can use in battle. My main party during my playthrough of the game was Firion from II, Zidane from IX, Tidus from X, and Lightning from XIII.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy has three modes of play: Series, Challenge, and Chaos Shrine.
During Series Mode, you play through each game’s prelude, a battle theme, a traveling or map theme, a cutscene theme, and finally the ending theme of each game. Series Mode is like the story of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, if you were to compare it to other RPGs.
Challenge Mode is just that, a mode that challenges you with specific songs in the game. It features the travelling, battle, and cutscene themes of each game. And as you complete each song, it opens up more difficult versions of the songs to help give you that challenge. And the Chaos Shrine is where you play a select number of songs with a high difficulty level that can earn you Dark Notes. These Dark Notes can be shared with other players through StreetPass and connecting with friends.
The game also features a multiplayer mode, but having no one to play it with (the curse of living in the middle of nowhere), I never used it. I don’t even think I passed anyone with it when I would take my 3DS with me anywhere. Oh well, huh?
All in all, I really like Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. I appreciate a video game’s music as much as their story, so to have a game solely about the music featured in a game series I enjoy so much, is a wonderful thing. There is little story in this game itself, but if you’ve played the games the music comes from, you can almost relive the stories in those games. The iconic battle themes you grew up listening to, the tunes that played when a beloved character died, the jaunty melodies that got stuck in your head when you hopped onto a chocobo. All are featured here in this game, and made me relive all of those memories playing the games. I would highly recommend getting the game yourself and playing it.
What are your thoughts on the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy? Do you agree with me, and enjoyed the game as well? Or do you disagree, and have a different opinion? Let me know down below, or in the thread in our forums site!