We like our music games here at Everybody Plays – whether it's some karaoke on one of the We Sing games, a blast on Rock Band or a stint on Rhythm Paradise, amongst many others that have appeared over recent years. Joining the ranks this summer is Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy for the 3DS, a musical spin-off based on the much-loved Final Fantasy series of role playing games - a series which is, thankfully, well known for it's music. So well known, in fact, that one of its tunes, Aeris' Theme from Final Fantasy VII, recently made it into the Classic FM Top 100 tunes at a respectable number 16, beating the likes of Adagio for Strings, and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony! You can have a listen for yourself here.
AND it has moogles!
While it features characters, scenes and songs from the series, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy is nothing like the original sprawling role playing games it's based on – gone are the turn-based battles, endless chatter with all and sundry, and exploration, instead replaced with a bit of rhythm action. Which is really just a fancy way of saying you press buttons and swipe styluses in time with the on-screen prompts – something which sounds simple, but generally proves to be incredibly addictive...
In Theatrhythm, you'll get to make a team of four of your favourite Final Fantasy heroes with which you'll play through your favourite music from the game, from battles themes to field music to special events and scenes from the games, gaining levels and becoming more powerful as you go. From the very first Final Fantasy game right through to Final Fantasy XIII, the game forms part of a 25th Anniversary celebration for the franchise and will be chock full of unlockable music, cut scenes and more.
So how do you go about playing? During the levels, a load of coloured circles appear on the screen, either passing from left to right along tracks in a similar way to Guitar Hero, or as part of random shapes – these circles serve as the prompts for what you need to do. Controlled entirely with the stylus, you need to either tap the Touch Screen in time (shown by a plain circle), swipe the stylus in the direction shown by the arrows, or hold it in place for circles linked together by coloured lines. Thankfully, there'll be a range of difficulty settings to play on, seeing as some of the levels shown in the trailer look a bit insane:
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy for the 3DS hits stores this summer, on the 6th July – and some retailers are now offering a special bonus for anyone who preorders it in the form of a themed stylus and a sheet of stickers with the most popular Final Fantasy characters on. So you better get in there quick!
