Preview: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
It would be an understatement to say that Square Enix enjoys milking its most popular cash cow, yet sometimes it’s important to take a step back and try and accept it for what it is – a critically acclaimed series of RPGs, telling epic tales of brave warriors, powerful magic and downright evil foes. As a result, it seems obvious why Square Enix made the decision to create a title for the 3DS, a game telling the story of… what? A rhythm-action game? Alas, my ears had not deceived me. Indieszero, the developers behind Electroplankton, would work on a rhythm action based solely on the Final Fantasy universe, featuring everyone’s favourite characters, a mix of famous scenes from the games, and a sweet collection of tunes. Being a fan of the Final Fantasy soundtracks, this grabbed my attention almost immediately
Utilizing songs and scenes from Final Fantasy I, all the way through to the FF XIII, Theatrhythm has three different modes of play: battle mode, event mode and field mode. Whereas all have the same simple premise – flick, tap, slide and hold the stylus in time with the onscreen prompts – each has a slightly different style.
Battle mode leaves you in charge of a party of 4 characters, with the aim to take down as many enemies as possible and as such gain the highest score. This is done, as previously mentioned, with a combo of simple gestures, sliding across the top screen along 4 separate bars, each corresponding to the actions of a single character. The most important aspect however, is keeping this in time with the music. In the demo version, we are treated to the FF VIII classic ‘The Man with the Machine Gun’, summoning Ifrit to wipe out a few foes if everything goes to plan. As notes are missed, your character’s HP drops. Hitting zero ends the battle and sadly results in a fail.
Additionally, playable in the demo was Field Mode’s ‘Sunleth Waterscape’ from FF XIII, where instead of 4 rows of commands, we are given a single row but with the added challenge of sliding the stylus up and down in order to collide with the markers rushing across the screen. Personally this felt much more natural to me, and although I enjoyed the battle mode I felt my foot tapping away to this, much of its own accord.
Finally, there is Event Mode, which plays in a similar manner to Field Mode, except the timing marker is on a looping track instead of a straight row, and as commands are completed, a scene from the series plays out in the background (predictions for the Aeris and Sephiroth scene anyone?)
At the end of each song, you are given a rating and a score depending on how accurate your timing was, the length of your hit-chain and other variables. It wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy game without RPG elements though, would it? Luckily, depending on your score, your party is given EXP, allowing them to level up and improve their traits. Players also have the ability to switch and swap their party members and equip them with abilities to aid in sticky situations, such as damage boosts or curing spells for when HP is low.
All in all, Theatrhythm looks like a Final Fantasy fan’s dream come true. It’s an interesting blend of great music and traditional role-playing elements, which as a drummer and RPG nerd excites me greatly.
Theatrhythm is set to release on 3rd July (NA), 6th July (EU).