Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is the fifth main entry in the Theatrhythm series, released on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on February 16, 2023. The rhythm action RPG features 385 playable songs, 104 playable characters and multiple modes with different playstyles.
A demo, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line Demo Version was released on February 1 2023, featuring 30 songs and 30 characters that cap at level 30, with progress able to be transferred to the main game.
Gameplay[]
As with previous entries in the series, the rhythm-based gameplay involves timed inputs of the triggers that appear onscreen; red circles indicate touch triggers via simple button presses, yellow circles with arrows indicate side triggers that require the correct direction through the analogue sticks on the controller (some inputs require two analogue sticks to input), green circles with green lines indicate hold triggers where a button must be held until the duration of the trigger ends, and a combination of green circles with green lines and arrows at the end that indicate held triggers with directional inputs at the end. Inputting a "Bad" or missing a trigger results in the parties' HP loss, and if fully depleted, the game is over.
The three main gameplay types include Field Music Sequence (FMS), Battle Music Sequence (BMS) and Event Music Sequence (EMS), the latter returning from Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call. FMS and BMS now have an amalgamation of gameplay features from previous instalments, while EMS is more simplified so that players can view the movies more easily during gameplay; the Feature Drive mechanic from the 3DS games have been removed. A maximum of four characters are present during the stage and directly fight against enemies encountered, with timed "Rainbow Criticals" triggering additional damage or increased movement speed in an FMS. Specific enemies can now inflict one of six status ailments at the party: Blind, Poison, Silence, Stone, Mini and Toad. These can be remedied by equipping the corresponding ability to cure them e.g. Poison can be cured via Poisona.
There are three main game modes in Final Bar Line: "Series Quests", where the player can play through a total of 29 titles throughout the Final Fantasy series whilst unlocking additional playable characters. "Music Stages" is where any song the player unlocked through Series Quests can be played freely and acquire high scores. And "Multi Battle", where up to four players can take part in online battles. Additionally, the "Museum" from previous entries return, where players can view any CollectaCards acquired and use them to boost character stats.
Characters[]
The game features 104 playable characters, all of whom return from Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival. Playable protagonists are acquired when unlocking a new title in the Series Quests mode via a Title Key, whilst most playable antagonists are acquired when the player clears all quests in a title.
- Characters in Italics are unlocked when clearing all missions in their respective Series Quests.
- Characters marked with an asterisk (*) have an additional playable form.
Songs[]
The game features 385 songs at launch, with additional music added via DLC, featuring tracks from other Final Fantasy games as well as Square Enix titles. A total of 27 Special Songs are included in both the Digital Deluxe edition and Premium Digital Deluxe edition, the former includes the first Season Pass containing 30 tracks totalling 442 songs, while the latter contains three Season Passes containing 90 tracks totalling 502 songs.
Behind the scenes[]
Development began in spring 2021 after indieszero finished the PC port of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory. The Final Bar Line name was suggested by Tetsuya Nomura to highlight that this is expected to be the final Theatrhythm game. In addition, Nomura suggested the omission of the Final Fantasy series name in order to keep the title short and to avoid two uses of the word "final". The team also felt it would be better to emphasise that this is a new Theatrhythm game rather than specifically a Final Fantasy one, as it would feature songs from other Square Enix titles as DLC.[1]
Production credits[]
Staff[]
| Creative Director | Tetsuya Nomura |
|---|---|
| Series Director (indieszero) | Masanobu Suzui |
| Director (indieszero) | Tsukasa Okayasu |
| Producer | Ichiro Hazama |
| Project Managers | Makoto Matsuura Shogo Kuramoto Tatsuya Nonaka |
| Marketing & PR Lead Planner | Yumi Katsuyama |
| Character Designer | Monster Octopus |
| Logo Illustration | Yoshitaka Amano |
Voice cast[]
| Character | Japanese Voice Actor | English Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Moogle | Sumire Morohoshi | Bailey Gambertoglio |
Gallery[]
