Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - Review

The previous Theatrhythm title, Curtain Call, felt sadly final. But given it is a Final Fantasy title, it shouldn’t be a surprise the series continues on! After a main Final Fantasy title or two and plenty of spinoff titles happening since the last game (not counting the arcade version), they’ve gone and packed as much music into Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. 

Theatrhythm is all about playing Final Fantasy (and other Square music) through button prompts as your team of Final Fantasy characters fight their way across the level in the background. Previously there was a sliver of a story, Final Bar Line has given up and just gives you the music. There’s music from not only the 15 mainstream titles (including both online games), but also the spin-off titles, from Crystal Chronicles and Dissida to Chocobo’s Dungeon and Record Keeper. The game digs deep for a lot of great songs to play.

If this isn’t your first Theatrhythm, you’ll feel at home with how the game still plays. The song count has increased to a whopping 385 songs, and that’s excluding the DLC that came out on launch. By the time the currently-announced waves of DLC have finished there’ll be just over 500 songs to play. To even play through the included songs at least once you’ll be spending many many hours with this game, but then there are four difficulty levels available to master for those super nimble to keep up with the chaotic note prompts. If you just want to enjoy it at a more manageable pace, there are also settings to make it a little easier so you aren’t locked into the timing. If you prefer to enjoy the songs and stay on the less intense difficulty, everything still unlocks just the same. 

Theatrhythm is a music game, but as with previous games, there is an RPG element to it. You gain experience for your team as you complete songs, levelling up your characters and gaining new moves to assign to them. You even unlock different Moogles to travel along with your party, and a summon to help with the fights that go on as you tackle the notes.

If you want to unlock all the CollectaCards or to beat the extra objectives then you’ll need to pay attention to your party and how effective they are. Otherwise, you can generally ignore that element and play through the songs. I’m admittingly someone who will still try and level up all of the characters and will mess with the RPG part of the game whilst working through all of the different Final Fantasy games.

The structure for Final Bar is different from the previous two games. Songs are now arranged into their series as Series Quests, grouping each Final Fantasy game into its own quest. This mode requires you to unlock each game's collection of music, and you’ll need to play through a few tracks to collect another key to unlock the next series of your choosing. At first I found it a little annoying - I was looking forward to going and picking out my favourite songs amongst the different games, only to find out I was going to have to make some tough decisions if I wanted to dabble across the games. Fortunately, the game doesn’t make you jump through too many hoops to get the next key to unlock the next game. Initially, it does leave the Music Quest area feeling a bit empty. 

Music Quests is where you can go and play through the unlocked music and DLC in any order you like. The unlockable movie songs will also be there, as the scrolling notes now move vertically on the screen as video from the relevant game plays in the background. The movie songs are great for showcasing the long-running series' amazing visuals and exciting music. You can also just watch these videos without the button prompts or having to do anything other than enjoy some Final Fantasy for a few minutes. It’s the same with most of the music, you can listen to it in the museum to your heart's content. 

There’s also Multi Battle - go up against others online with burst techniques to throw your opponent off their game, trying to keep going as they return fire. The main goal is to get the highest score, with the scale from first to last getting their choice at the CollectaCards to add to their collection. When I went to pick a lobby I found they would pop up often enough to find something. When I made my own lobby I managed to get people joining too. There is also the option to have a private lobby if you just want your friends to hop in. With the sheer amount of music with all of the songs and characters to unlock I never felt drawn to the Multi Battle, but for the competitive players out there it will likely be somewhere to return to. 

The series retains the cartoony, almost toy-like versions of the characters. This stylised take on familiar characters is now extended to even more Final Fantasy characters. Since the original game, there have been those who don’t like the art style, it’s cute and all of the enemies get the same makeover too. The background environments often feel like a collection of generic Final Fantasy backdrops. It’s a shame there isn’t more to make them feel more game-specific, although it’s also something you won’t be paying attention to while trying to time your button presses as you wrangle the note slider. 

While the 3DS had button and touch controls, touch controls felt like the best choice, especially with the long and winding field-level notes. With the Switch, it’s button controls only and I’ll be honest that it took time to get the hang of following those same winding notes with the joystick. The button controls work perfectly fine, and on higher difficulties the bigger challenge will be keeping up with how many notes the game can throw at you.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is not only a joy for returning fans but it’s a must for Final Fantasy and even Square Enix RPG enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys a good rhythm game. This entry features the biggest playlist yet, covering most current Final Fantasy games (with the exception currently of the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI) and an expanding roster of other great music which goes beyond Final Fantasy. With the size of the playlist already being so large it might actually be the Finale this time so make sure you don’t miss this celebration of great music.

The Score

9.0

Review code provided by Square Enix

The Pros

+There is so much music! enough to keep you playing for longer than a Final Fantasy game

+Doesn't mess with a good formula, unashamedly Theatrhythm

The Cons

-No touch controls even when undocked

-Having to unlock each game’s songs makes for some tough decisions early on