*Note*: Theatrhythm veterans may want to jump to the article's 10th paragraph
Out of all the wonderful traits the Final Fantasy series brings to the gaming world, its music is quite arguably its most influential. From the menacing beats of "Final Fantasy VII's" "One-Winged Angel" to "Final Fantasy V's" carefree "Mambo de Chocobo," the franchise has always used an emotion-rich soundtrack to seat players closely to each installments' protagonists.
While "Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call" might not be the first to use these songs to create a rhythm game that draws in series fans, it is certainly the title that did it best.
Curtain Call is the second(and last Theatrhythm according to producer Ichiro Hazama) to grace the Nintendo 3DS screen, as the first title dropped in 2012 to mark "Final Fantasy's" 25th anniversary. The premise is simple enough as it has the player assemble a team of their four favorite FF characters in order to collect enough "rhythmia" to stop the evil forces of Chaos, a villain who made his debut in the Dissidia franchise. The only way to earn this mysterious power comes from playing and beating the songs in the game, which originate from well-known FF titles like "Final Fantasy VII" all the way to lesser-known iterations like *gasp* "Final Fantasy Mystic Quest."
Songs are played by tapping the screen with a stylus to the beat of each song and on-screen indicators will tell you how to groove. Either you will perform a tap, slide or hold the stylus to the screen. After you understand and are comfortable with the basics of performing the actions, you can start effortlessly collecting rhythmia. Even if you're not that great, players of all skill levels can join in as basic, advanced and ultimate difficulties cater to all skill levels while still engaging each crowd.
Not only does rhythmia help you rid the world of evil, but it also allows you to level up your characters, obtain rare items and unlock more songs and characters. It's basically a big game of win-win situations as not only are the songs incredible and a blast to play, but they give you the tools to make your experience infinitely more enjoyable.
The more you level up characters, the more enemies you're able to defeat in each song which yields better item drops. These items act the same as they would in any FF game as they can heal, teach abilities to and multiply experience for your characters. It's a nearly never-ending cycle of entertainment as even when your characters reach level 99 they can have their level reset in exchange for more points to equip better abilities. If that's not good enough for you, the option to throw together a new team of all-stars to level up is a great way to experience the game in a new way.
Not since Kingdom Hearts have I been this excited to see Squall and Cloud on the same screen.
However, even if the combat becomes stale, players are still able to experience songs in two other ways. Songs are broken up into three categories: battle music sequence, or BMS, is the most common and has the player squaring off against recognizable baddies. Event music sequences show cutscenes of the game the song represents and are the rarest in the game, and field music sequences show one character in the party traversing FF terrains, gaining speed and finding treasure the better the song is performed. BMS and FMS yield treasure, rhythmia and experience wile EMS only gives the latter two.
In this, Theatrhythm creates a sturdy base that will keep players furiously tapping their screens for hours. Curtain Call, however, takes this addictive idea and takes it miles further. Not only does it bring more songs, enemies, items, playable characters, environments and general content to the table, but it adds a much needed wi-fi multiplayer feature and quest mode. Wi-fi mode is great as it allows Curtain Call tappers from across the globe to face off with their best teams and exchange information. It also allows players to give each other "inherited" maps which can be then played in the single player portion.
Moogles will occasionally bring you treasure in FMS mode, kupo!
This brings up quest mode. In quest mode, the same four-man squads will travel across a map populated by different songs to eventually beat a final boss. The maps vary in size, difficulty and rarity of treasure drops. So, if you found a map that had you fighting a specific type of enemy that dropped a rare item, you could then transfer the same map to a friend who was in desperate need of said item. This is a great way to bring together players not only for competitive, but cooperative reasons as well.
*Theatrhythm veterans can start reading here*
Without spoiling too many of the game's surprises, there is a ton packed into this $40 game. Theatrhythmers(I had to try) can customize their team, abilities, online profile and even the sound their taps make when they touch the screen. So much was upgraded from the first installment that it's very obvious Square Enix listened to the fans when they made Curtain Call. Songs can even be played differently as the title offers the use of the buttons, joystick and left shoulder button without having to switch any type of control settings. There's a one-handed mode for players bold enough to text and tap! No idea was left on the cutting board for this one!
All returning players will be happy to know that there are several more characters to choose from and almost three times the amount of songs there was in the first game(more than 70 to more than 220). The only downside to this is that some DLC songs from the original Theatrhythm come free in this game , so it will leave a somewhat sour taste in the mouth of those who potentially ponied up an additional $40 in the original game only to realize the exclusive songs they bought now come at no extra charge. DLC options have also expanded in this game as there has already been 50 songs and 7 characters released to Japan so far. There are even songs from outside of Final Fantasy as the Romancing Saga series has received four.
You're never safe in the cold, harsh world of online Theatrhythming!
The only somewhat complaint I could muster up is that songs are somewhat quiet coming out of the 3DS's speakers when there is any type of outside noise. This can make accurate tapping a bit of a pain, but nothing that a pair of headphones can't solve.
Bottom line is, if you've never touched this franchise, download the demo and give it a try. If you like it to any degree, you'll love it in its entirety.If you owned the first and liked it, you probably already have it and agree with most of if not all that I've written. If not, for the love of Mog go pick it up! This is the complete and total fanservice package from Square Enix. Don't let it pass you up!
This game get a solid 9.5 out of 10. All of the magic, mystery and intrique from Final Fantasy wrapped up in a neat, soulful, little package.
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