Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is the third Theatrhythm title to take Final Fantasy music and turn it into a charming and hard-to-put-down rhythm game. The series thus far has been primarily stuck on the 3DS, The recently released demo has given us a taste of what we can expect from the biggest title in the series yet, and thankfully, it’s looking good.
I’m not sure there’s a single other franchise with the insane catalog of iconic, memorable, and brilliant songs that Final Fantasy has. Even the limited selection of tracks in this demo contains some of the series’ most brilliant tracks, yet there are dozens upon dozens of masterpieces still waiting in the full release.
The demo lets you unlock one game’s soundtrack from a limited pool, though completing a few songs from one game lets you unlock another until you’ve cleared all the demo songs. This gives you a taste of the different types of stages and lets you unlock a good deal of beloved characters to play around with. The fact that you can unlock Final Fantasy VII right off the bat is a bit surprising but obviously welcomed.
“The gameplay loop is perfectly crafted to keep you playing just a bit longer, which I both appreciate and fear.“
Some are understandably concerned about the lack of stylus/touchscreen controls in this new home console version, but as someone who has played using the buttons since the first Theatrhythm, I was glad to see that Final Bar Line still controls quite accurately without touch. Hopefully, others will be able to adapt as well, as it’s quite a versatile control scheme once you get used to it.
As with previous games in the series, Theatrhythm Final Bar has you constantly unlocking content as you tap and swipe your way through tracks. It feels as though you’re always earning something new, be it abilities for your characters to make runs smoother, trading cards, or usable items. The gameplay loop is perfectly crafted to keep you playing just a bit longer, which I both appreciate and fear.
Theatrhythm Final Bar seems like it will be an incredible addition to the already stellar Theatrhythm series. I can already see myself losing quite a few hours to it, just bopping through my favorite Final Fantasy songs while unlocking just enough each time to keep me on the hook for a good long while. Given that the save data from the demo carries over to the full game, I’m excited to get the full meal deal soon enough.
