Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

 3DS
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 127 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 95 out of 127
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 127
  3. Negative: 14 out of 127
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  1. Venusaur
    Jul 10, 2012
    7
    This is a good game, just not a great game. Dont believe these 9's or 10's, and this is from a Final fantasy fan. The good things : Cool cartoony Graphics, Lots of characters, Cards to collect, The Music itself is awesome, Great pick up and play value, Levelling up and new abilities is cool. Unlockable Movies and music player is awesome. Nostalgia! The bad things : A lot of tracks left outThis is a good game, just not a great game. Dont believe these 9's or 10's, and this is from a Final fantasy fan. The good things : Cool cartoony Graphics, Lots of characters, Cards to collect, The Music itself is awesome, Great pick up and play value, Levelling up and new abilities is cool. Unlockable Movies and music player is awesome. Nostalgia! The bad things : A lot of tracks left out for DLC, No online play (Co-op would have been so easy to make) Having to grind (a lot) songs to get other hidden songs, Not being able to play some main themes (This is my biggest issue, people count them in the track listing but some of the best songs are only available to play in a little "Mini game" kinda thing. For example zanarkand, you can only "Play" it on that little crystal bubble mode, instead of the full challenge mode which is the main gameplay!). Some missing songs (Jesters of the moon?). Short with no reward when you complete the "Boss". It's a fun game with a decent amount of tracks, what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. As a Final fantasy fan I dont regret my purchase, especially as it seems to have a lower RRP price than most other games.… Expand
  2. Kenmei
    Jul 10, 2012
    6
    This could have been a really good game, probably even one of the best rhythm games ever. However, the biggest problem in this game is the fact that most, if not all, of the songs in the game are incomplete. The first time I heard One Winged Angel from FF VII or Saber's Edge from FF XIII not complete and miss some of the best parts of the songs, I was pretty upset. I bought this game toThis could have been a really good game, probably even one of the best rhythm games ever. However, the biggest problem in this game is the fact that most, if not all, of the songs in the game are incomplete. The first time I heard One Winged Angel from FF VII or Saber's Edge from FF XIII not complete and miss some of the best parts of the songs, I was pretty upset. I bought this game to experience some of the best music the FF series. Not to have them cut off at the best parts. It will really ruin what should have been a great experience. However, the game isn't completely bad. The amount of songs on here is decent, with more promised over DLC in the future. That being said though, till they fix the issue with some of the songs cutting off before they are supposed to start looping back again, this game will never reach the plateau set by some of the previous rhythm based games like Elite Beat Agents.… Expand
  3. therationalpi
    Mar 13, 2014
    5
    As a long time rhythm gamer and lover of final fantasy music, this game seemed like a perfect fit for me. Unfortunately, the gameplay is much simpler than a game like Elite Beat Agents, so I found myself feeling rather bored pretty quickly. Also, the game's RPG features are really light and extremely passive. There's no interaction with your character's abilities, which is incrediblyAs a long time rhythm gamer and lover of final fantasy music, this game seemed like a perfect fit for me. Unfortunately, the gameplay is much simpler than a game like Elite Beat Agents, so I found myself feeling rather bored pretty quickly. Also, the game's RPG features are really light and extremely passive. There's no interaction with your character's abilities, which is incredibly disappointing. What's worse, you are actually encouraged to completely forego the RPG elements by playing in "Stoic mode," which is the only way to get a perfect score!

    The game is everything it claims to be: a rhythm game with final fantasy music. But the overly simplistic gameplay and squandered RPG elements make this little more than a minor diversion. Probably not worth a retail purchase, but maybe worth buying used.    … Expand
  4. Magejutsu
    Jan 25, 2013
    7
    A very fun distraction. People who have played many Final Fantasy games will enjoy it most obviously, but some will find good songs from the games they haven't played yet. Although player beware some of the songs are accompanied with background cut scenes from the games and may include spoilers.
  5. cidgrad01
    Nov 26, 2014
    6
    I am on the fence about this game. On the one hand, it can be pretty tedious and ultimately pointless. On the other, it is a fun, nostalgic trip through the world of Final Fantasy and unlocking new characters, songs & other items is addictive. It seems that for every good thing about the game, there is a mitigating, negative factor.

    A perfect example of what I mean is with the graphics    I am on the fence about this game. On the one hand, it can be pretty tedious and ultimately pointless. On the other, it is a fun, nostalgic trip through the world of Final Fantasy and unlocking new characters, songs & other items is addictive. It seems that for every good thing about the game, there is a mitigating, negative factor.

    A perfect example of what I mean is with the graphics & scenery during levels. It is fun to spot well-known villains from the series during battles as well as to see the many inside references to areas during the “field music” stages, where one character will be walking past lots of stuff scrolling in the background. Like spotting two moons in the FFIV sky, the airship from FFVI, the City of the Ancients in FFVII, etc. Unfortunately, you are going to be far too busy watching the action icons to pay much attention to any of this, especially on harder difficulties. Also, none of these touches will mean anything to you for the FF games you’ve never played or didn’t care for.

    The good news is that it’s fun to play. If you have fond memories of a lot of this music like I do, you will enjoy playing these levels combined with the RPG elements thrown in. The bad news is that you need to pace yourself because it is easy for burnout & boredom to set in. While there are a plethora of things to unlock, you probably aren’t going to care about unlocking most of them and the ones you’ll want to unlock the most (extra characters & challenge songs) are the biggest pain to get.

    One mode of play is called the “Chaos Shrine” and it consists of playing through levels called Dark Notes which consist of one field music & one battle stage. Depending on fast your character goes through the field stage & how well you do during the battle, you will fight one of three bosses who are the only enemies that drop crystal shards, which are used to unlock characters. The problem is that if you find one boss who drops, say, black shards, you will need to keep playing that same Dark Note over & over again and hoping he drops the shard you want, b/c each boss has three different item drops. And each character takes 8 shards to unlock, which is a lot.

    Unlocking special songs to play in Challenge Mode is a nice touch and the trading cards you get are kind of neat to flip through. The unlockable movies and listening-only songs are strange, though. The movies are montages that play during a certain point in the Series Mode of play and while they are fine for that, I would not care about simply watching them by themselves. Likewise, I already have all the FF music I like on MP3. I don’t see myself ever firing this up on 3DS just to listen to unlocked tracks on the game’s music player.

    Two final points: you will have to be a real Final Fantasy junkie to appreciate this game, and even so I would not recommend paying more than $30 for it. If you are a FF junkie, you are going to spend at least $10 on DLC tracks b/c you’ll find the supplied tracks to be rather thin. The first 13 games are represented (minus FFX-2) but that is a double-edged sword. I’d gladly cut out everything from XI, XII and most especially XIII if it meant we could have more music from IV, VI, VII, VIII, & X. Also, I would not recommend buying a 3DS just to play this game no matter how big of a FF fan you are. If you already own one, though, then go ahead & pick it up.    … Expand
  6. hector_bcn98
    Nov 4, 2022
    7
    Joayaza para los fans de Final Fantasy. Afortunadamente, después sacarían el mismo juego ampliado y con muchos más modos de juego, por lo que este se queda pequeño en comparación.

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best 3DS Game of 2012
8
#8 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2012
37
#37 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 60 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 60
  3. Negative: 0 out of 60
  1. GameCritics
    Feb 13, 2013
    60
    Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy starts off as a celebrated adventure through the musical history of the long-running Final Fantasy series, and the fanservice is apparent and appreciated. However, after only a few hours, the nostalgia wears off and the experience loses its luster. There's just too little to drive this title forward, and without more substance, even the best fanservice in the world will start to lose its appeal.
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  2. Gamer.no
    Oct 27, 2012
    80
    Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a surprisingly solid rhythm game that both Final Fantasy fans and general video game music enthusiasts should try.
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  3. D+PAD Magazine
    Oct 3, 2012
    80
    Watching the cute little characters cutting down cute little enemies, using familiar abilities and items, exploring old themes… It's done something I never thought possible. It's made me nostalgic for Final Fantasy games. Even Final Fantasy XIII. Again, I love the idea of the Final Fantasy saga, and this allows me to explore it and remember all the things that made it great, all while having a great rhythm game, to boot. There are enough unlockables to keep you going back for 'just one more song'.
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