Theatrhythm Final Bar Line

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Developer(s)	indieszero
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Director(s)	Tetsuya Nomura Masanobu Suzui Tsukasa Okayasu
Producer(s)	Ichiro Hazama
Artist(s)	Mika Okauchi
Composer(s)	Featured composers Nobuo Uematsu Masayoshi Soken Masashi Hamauzu Takeharu Ishimoto Naoshi Mizuta Hitoshi Sakimoto Yoko Shimomura Mitsuto Suzuki Kumi Tanioka Takahito Eguchi Noriko Matsueda Yasuhiro Kawakami Ryuji Sasai Tadayoshi Makino Yoshino Aoki Keiichi Okabe Yoshitaka Suzuki Tsuyoshi Sekito Junya Nakano Yasunori Nishiki Yasunori Mitsuda Ryo Yamazaki
Series	Final Fantasy Theatrhythm
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4
Release	February 16, 2023
Genre(s)	Rhythm
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is a rhythm game developed by indieszero and published by Square Enix for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. It is the fifth entry in the Theatrhythm sub-series, following Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (2012), Curtain Call (2014), Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (2015) and the arcade-exclusive Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All-Star Carnival (2016). Its gameplay is mechanically similar to prior entries in the series, involving players timing inputs to various pieces of themed music. However, the assortment of music has been expanded to encompass various Square Enix franchises outside the flagship Final Fantasy series. It was released on February 16, 2023.

Gameplay[edit]

Final Bar Line follows to the basic mechanics of rhythm games, where notes flow in tracks towards trigger marks. In sync with the rhythm of the songs, players must press buttons and flick joysticks on beat.^[1][2] The game features three types of notes: a red note demands a single press of any button; a yellow arrowed note necessitates a directionally stick flicking; and a green bar note requires a sustained hold.^[3][4] As a home console title Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, Final Bar Line no longer supports touchscreen control, which did by its Nintendo 3DS predecessors;^[5] instead, some new patterns, such as dual-button presses, were introduced.^[6]

Similar as previous titles in Theatrhythm series, songs—referred to as Music Stages^[1]— are designed into three types: BMS (Battle Music Stages), FMS (Field Music Stages) and EMS (Event Music Stages).^[7] The experiences in BMS or EMS are similar to those in Guitar Hero or other classic rhythm games, with notes scrolling from left to right or top to bottom along four fixed linear tracks.^[3] Like BMS, notes in FMS also moving from left to right. However, FMS features its special bar notes,^[8] which shift up and down and require players to manipulate the joystick to follow these movements while simultaneously holding down the button.^[4][3] In BMS and FMS, the backgrounds display Chibi-style characters and enemies, while EMS features a video clip from the corresponding Final Fantasy title.^[5] Each song has three or four difficulty levels: while Basic, Expert and Ultimate are for all songs, Supreme, the most challenging level, is available only for around a third of tracks.^[9][10] In addition to the Standard gameplay style, players can to choose from two alternation: the Simple style, flip and simultaneous press elements were removed, and the Pair style, where notes can be shared between two players.^[11]

Final Bar Line also incorporates light role-playing game elements,^[8] similar to those found in Final Fantasy titles. Before playing a song, players can edit their party by assigning up to four characters from Final Fantasy titles. Each character has their own type (such as physical, magic and healing), level, statistics, and can be assigned up tp three abilities. During stages, the party automatically battles enemies when notes are triggered, and damage is depended on how accuracy the players hit the note;^[8] while missed a note will cause the character to be attacked and lose HP. If all characters lose all their HP, the player fails the stage and the track is aborted. On the other hand, if the song is cleared, the party members earn experience points, and the player may receive various items that can aid in battles, as well as a collection card featuring characters, enemies or scenes.^[6][9]

Final Bar Line featured three modes: Series Quests, Music Stages and Multi Battle. Series Quests is the basic approach mode which players unlock new elements.^[4] There are 29 items corresponding to various Final Fantasy titles, which including main titles to Final Fantasy XV with their sequel like X-2, along with several spin-offs and mobile titles.^[4] Each title contains multiple, mostly with a dozen of, stages.^[12] Each stage offers its own rewards, which players can obtain by accomplishing specific tasks, from including certain characters in their party, to reaching target scores, and defeating bosses. Tasks may require tactical strategies, such as positioning a magic-type character to exploit the boss's weak points.^{[12][2][5][9]} By clearing stages, players can unlock songs and characters, and obtain a key to access other unlocked titles.^[4] Songs unlocked then can be freely played in Music Stages mode, where players aim to achieve the highest scores.^[13][7] Another mode is Multi Battle, where up to four players can be accommodated per room to achieve the highest score.^[4]

Music has been added since All Star Carnival from Final Fantasy XIV, XVI and the VII Remake in addition to the mobile Mobius Final Fantasy and Record Keeper.^[14] In addition, music from other Square Enix games is available as paid downloadable content. Specifically, music from SaGa Frontier was available on release day, with packs to be released including music from Live A Live, The World Ends with You, Octopath Traveler, Nier, Xenogears, the Chrono series and the Mana series.^[15] There are totally 46 titles.^[16]

Development and release[edit]

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is developed by indieszero. As with previous titles in the Theatrhythm series, Ichirō Hamuza, a staff of Square Enix, serves as a producer, while Masanobu Suzui, the president of indieszero, assumed the role of director.^[17][18] The project was commenced in early 2021, which was around the finishing of the Windows version of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory. The development period was approximately two years, which was followed indieszero's typical development cycle, though they made some preparations.^[18] The title Final Bar Line was determined in consultation with Tetsuya Nomura during the initial stages of development, as it was inspired by the design of the user interface (UI) which features a five-line staffs.^[18][19] As the symbolization of the title, the finale of the Theatrhythm series, developers aimed to create a title of culmination and hoping it would endure that it "can be enjoyed for a decade".^[18][17] Following Nomura's suggestion, the "Final Fantasy" was omitted to keep the title with multiple "final"s. Furthermore, despite predominantly featuring songs from Final Fantasy, they believed that it was time to establish Theatrhythm itself as a brand.^[18]

The developers noticed that there is a engagement from players with the 2014 Nintendo 3DS title, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, particularly in its versus mode, also the team received petitions from players who requested a home console version of Theatrhythm. Recognizing that an arcade has benefit in showcasing rhythm elements but is weak at support role-playing experiences, the team drew from their experience with the 2016 arcade game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All-Star Carnival and their achieve on Melody of Memory. They had also gained proficiency in developing rhythm games using the Unity engine during the creation of Melody of Memory. Consequently, the developers concluded that it was time to develop a home console title of Theatrhythm.^[18] While positioned as a sequel to Curtain Call, the new game also designed to appeal hard-cored players of the arcade title. To ensure enjoyment for both novices and enthusiasts of rhythm games, the difficulty of the musical scores were designed to span a wide range. Initially, the charts created by the team tended towards challenging due to their familiarity with rhythm games. However, during the later stages of development, team members less experienced in rhythm games highlighted this problem. Consequently, the developers reviewed and revised the charts accordingly.^[20] The developers aimed to enrich the role-playing elements of the game. This enhancement allows players who is less skilled in rhythm games to progress by strengthening their character party and pairing the skills of their characters. ^[18]

Curtain Call featured a dual-control-method as utilizing either touchscreen or button to play, while the arcade version and Melody of Memory supported button control exclusively. There was an initial consideration for Final Bar Line that retain to feature touchscreen, though the idea was dropped: unlike the pressure-sensitive touchscreen of the 3DS, it is a challenge to distinguish between touch and swipes in Nintendo Switch's capacitive touchscreen.^[18] In its predecessor on the Nintendo 3DS, the circular in EGM mode follows variable-speed movement like conductor's wand, which received criticism. For Final Bar Line, developers drew inspiration from gameplay elements in Theatrhythm Dragon Quest and Melody of Memory. This led to a design where notes flow outward from the bottom to top, synchronized with video game clips.^[21]

Final Bar Line featured a collection of 502 tracks, which includes 385 tracks for all version, 27 exclusive tracks in the Deleux edition, and an additional 90 tracks available for download.^{[needs update]} Compared to Curtain Call, Final Bar Line introduces 167 new tracks.^[22] The compilation predominantly features music from the main Final Fantasy series, alongside tracks from spin-offs like mobile games and other Square Enix titles such as Nier and Chrono.^[23][17][24] The team compiled an extensive list of tracks and subsequently deliberated on selecting the track library. Factors such as popularity, singability, and inclusion in concert programme lists were taken into account during the selection process. Compatibility with the music itself and its suitability for rhythm gameplay was also an important consideration.^[20] Additionally, the team referenced survey data from the arcade title.^[21] Final Fantasy XIV, an MMORPG with a decade of operation featured a bunch of tracks, significantly contributed 33 tracks to the song library.^[25] Due to the worldwide release of Final Bar Line, copyright concerns were considered. Negotiations for the copyright of "Eyes on Me", the Final Fantasy VIII theme song by Faye Wong, spanned a year,^[20] while some other tracks had to be excluded due to unresolved copyright issues.^[21]

Characters and monsters in Chibi style are drawn by Monster Octopus, the veteran character designer of the Theatrhythm series.^[26] The design process for the enemy character Ardyn in Final Fantasy XV left a strong impression on him. Understanding the structure of Ardyn's clothing was challenging, while to balance the visual impact of the character and his weapons took a amount of his time.^[27] While the logos of previous Theatrhythm titles were designed by Monster Octopus, the logo for Final Bar Line was illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, the primary logo designer for the Final Fantasy series. Developer requested a logo featuring a Moogle violinist, surrounded by characters playing various instruments, along with the backdrop of a five-line staff with musical notes, and they received the finished product after several months. ^[28]

Final Bar Line was revealled in Nintendo Direct in 13 September 2022, and was scheduled to be released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 16 February 2023,^[29] while the date is the anniversary of the original Theatrhythm.^[17]

Reception[edit]

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, while got a 95% critics recommend by a statistic from OpenCritic.^[30][31][32]

Reviewers praised the track libaray in Final Bar Line, noting its extensive collection of over 500 tracks from Final Fantasy spin-offs to other Square Enix games, make it the "culmination" of the Theatrhythm series.^[37][38][39] Critics also found that remixes and adaptations of Final Fantasy songs are worth playing.^[13] However, there are criticism regarding the commercial means that including notable tracks like "To Zanarkand" are Deluxe edition exclusive.^[39][12][4]

Reviewers also praised the game's control mechanics and chart design. They believe that the transition from touchscreen to button was handled successfully. The new gameplay elements, such as simultaneous operations along with combinations of tapping, holding, and sliding, was utilized the features of the new platforms.^[37][13][39] While some players liked the touchscreen control,^[38][40] critics appreciated the innovative gameplay experiences brought by the integration of button and joystick controls, and the overall gameplay experience was enjoyable though some challenging tracks are somehow crappy.^[37][13][39] Reviewers also highlighted the game is for both newcomers and hardcore players: beginners could easily clear songs in "Simple Style", while dedicated players could take on the newly introduced "Supreme" difficulty.^[37][13][39]

Nintendo World Report enjoyed the large amount of content present in the game: "The massive track list, fun gameplay, and cute aesthetic help keep me absorbed and have proven to be a dangerous catalyst to me, saying "one more song" over and over late into the night".^[33] Destructoid wrote that it made them appreciate each song more: "Everything in Final Bar Line feels so good because it's apparent that the game wants you to experience the music through a new lens, not to play it on an instrument, but simply to understand the finer intricacies of the piece".^[12] While praising the title's new difficulty, IGN criticized the lack of a wider narrative: "The only letdown of the Series Quest mode is that besides unlocking songs and characters for other modes, there isn't a story or anything beyond the music itself to keep you hooked".^[13]

The Nintendo Switch version of Theatrhythm Final Bar Line was the sixth bestselling retail game during its first week of release in Japan, with 11,565 physical copies being sold across the country. The PlayStation 4 version sold 3,610 physical copies across Japan throughout the same week, making it the sixteenth bestselling retail game of the week in the country.^[41]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website