Final Fantasy has seemed eager to hit every genre possible over the last few years, but most of the spinoffs haven’t come close to being as enjoyable as Theatrhythm, the rhythm title that blended RPG elements with touch based music mashing to the beat of the best themes to come out of the legendary series. Now with a sequel on the horizon, Square Enix is hoping doing everything they can to make sure Curtain Call is bigger and better in every way, and based on their E3 showing, they’re on track to do just that.
If you’ve played the original, then game play will be immediately familiar. After creating a party of four characters spanning the entire Final Fantasy series, your team then attacks monsters to the beat of the music. Tapping, swiping the stylus or sliding it along paths depending on the prompt will build up successful combos, which makes your group stronger and results in bigger, better bonuses. Also making their return are the Field Music and Event stages, which involve the character traveling to a new area or tapping to the tunes of popular cutscenes respectively.
While I didn’t get a chance to try them in the brief demo that I played, new features will include a Vs. mode, an Airship Field Music mode, (like the original field stages, only with the fantastic airship music in the background), and a new Critical Hit Trigger power up, which increases the chances of getting critical hits during battle. Think Star Power in Rock Band, only with monster smashing!
With multiple new modes, over 60 playable characters and 200 songs, is there any reason NOT to be interested in the upcoming sequel? If you loved the first one, missed it, but love the music of Final Fantasy, or you’re a rhythm gamer who needs a solid fix, this one is looking like more and more of a no brainer by the day. The Square Enix Store even has an exclusive limited edition for the hardcore fan! But regardless of which version you get, it’s looking like Curtain Call will surpass its predecessor in every way. What more can you ask for?
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call will release exclusively for the 3DS on September 16th.