Last year there was an event that could have gone unnoticed by many, and that is the 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy franchise, that could be because no games in the saga came out beyond Crisis Core. However, it seems that 2023 is shaping up to be that cycle where there is surprise after surprise, that includes Final Fantasy XVI, some preview of the remake and of course, Theatrhytm Final Bar Line. Surely the most seasoned to the Nintendo 3DS will remember the Theatrhytm saga, rhythm games that made us relive the most popular melodies in the entire history of the franchise, or at least until the most recent main game of that time. Two titles came out for the portable console and after that there was no trace of the franchise. Fortunately, that changed a few months ago when a Nintendo direct mini was held, in which only third-party video games that would reach the hybrid console were shown. This as part of making the biggest musical tribute to the most popular RPG franchise, and it looks like it might just be the tribute fans are needing.
Fortunately, fans are just a few weeks away from receiving Final Bar Line, which will arrive in a couple more weeks for Nintendo and PlayStation consoles. Fortunately, we were able to play an early demo where we explored everything we could, with songs full of nostalgia and magic ranging from the earliest titles to the newest, so we’ll talk a bit about this version.
Remembering different eras of the franchise
As already mentioned, Theatrhytm Final Bar Line is a rhythm game that takes a lot of inspiration from the games released on 3DS, only now that there are no touch screens involved (Switch has it, but it’s really not used for much of anything) controls have had to be adapted, and that translates to the use of buttons like in the Hatsune Miku games.
Basically all the buttons on the controller can be used, including the sticks as well. Through a screen they will drop colored icons that lead to a circle in which they must fit, so just when they are inside you have to press our controls depending on the situation. For example, the red ones are to press once, the yellow ones are to move the stick in some direction and the green ones you have to keep pressed until you reach the end of the note.
Those are basically the controls, very similar to those of the 3DS, only the touch screen is not used here, something that I appreciate in a certain way, since I have seen several laptop screens undone by touch controls. And in fact I think I find it more practical that they are used in this way.
In the scenarios we will have at our disposal four heroes of the Final Fantasy franchise, once unlocked they can be used to the user’s liking. So we can combine characters from across the franchise. These will level up as we win the scenarios and use their abilities.
And yes, you can use character powers to have a better performance, although it is useless if our rhythm control is lousy, so there are difficulties that fit our understanding. Learning the controls is not difficult at all, but it will take a couple of songs to master them.
There are two types of game, the main missions in which we are going to go through the different sagas of the Final Fantasy franchise, and others where we can play more calmly and practice or break personal records. To that is added that there is multiplayer, which unfortunately I could not test in this demo.
I was also only able to test about 30 themes, which come from the following installments: FFII, FFV, FFVII, FFXIII, FFXIV and FFXV. For a test version it’s not bad, but I would have appreciated if they removed some of the 14 to put the IX. They are not all unlocked from the start, you have to open them with special keys that are obtained by finishing the stages.
Something I also want to talk about quickly is the use of items, since they can be used to heal life, gain double experience or increase certain attributes. They cannot be used at will, it only happens if we are very low on life or at other specific moments. Also the summons add to the party the summons that can defeat enemies according to their weaknesses to classic elements of the saga.
The gameplay delivers in terms of fun, as it doesn’t really innovate when it comes to rhythm games. Yes, it has the part to customize the characters with spells but that was already in the previous installments. Of course, the multiplayer I do not remember if it is new, but I can’t wait to try it online, since you can interrupt your opponents to take advantage of them.
A presentation that is still beautiful
As for the graphics that this video game has, I must say that this chibi and cute style that has been used for some time is something that has aged for good. Which is why there is no reason for them to make such a drastic change, personally seeing those miniature fights is something I love, so we take away a bit of that serious side that is used in the main games.
This does not only go for the main characters and enemies, but also with the settings that will remind us of specific moments in the video games and that make us think that it would be worth making remakes with this very particular art style. Particularly if they do it with the titles that go from 1 to 6 none of the fans would have any problem.
Something I must emphasize is that the intro that we are shown before we even get to the title screen is beautiful, a segment in which the characters play different instruments. And it also gives a look at all the warriors that will be able to be unlocked, according to the commercial promotion of the demo it indicates that there will be 100, so any fan of a particular installment can use their favorites.
In the same way, there is talk of interesting DLC packages, with songs from various Square Enix video games, including Chrono Trigger, the Nier saga, Live A Live, Frontier Saga, Octopath Traveler and even The World Ends With You. Yes, the sad thing will be that additional outlay that must be made in the future, but surely for the most fans it will be worth it.
Of course, also what would a celebration be without a gallery section, and here we can have access to different illustrations of all the main Final Fantasy games. These are unlocked as rewards for progress in the game, and beware, they also serve to give bonuses to the characters.
Nor can we leave behind the turntable option, which will simply let us listen to the different songs without having to press buttons or something similar. You only have to complete this piece of music once in the missions and it will be unlocked so that we can contemplate them in their absolute fullness.
What a desire to celebrate the full anniversary
What I have played so far of Theatrhytm Final Bar Line seems to be the worthy celebration that this RPG saga deserves, and as we have already seen with future DLC, it seems that they want to go a little further. That makes me hopeful that one day Dragon Quest will also join in the form of songs, although Square Enix does not mention anything about it.
It is worth remembering once again that the game is released on February 16 for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. For now there is no talk of versions for Xbox consoles and neither on PC, something that could be announced a little later. And obviously, we will have a more in-depth analysis when we can test the full version.
#played #Theatrhytm #Final #Bar #Line
