Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

I don’t play a whole lot of rhythm games.  Generally, the music in the games isn't my cup of tea, whether it’s dance music, classic rock or whatever.  Since I am, however, a big fan of Nobuo Uematsu’s music, Theatrhythm (stupidest title ever?) piqued my interest and I got the game to play on my shiny new 3DS.  All in all, I enjoyed Theatrhythm, but it’s no masterpiece.  This game is only for Final Fantasy fans, and that’s pretty obvious.

Theatrhythm consist of various music challenges, but effectively they are all the same.  You hold down the stylus on green notes, tap quickly on red notes and tap directions on yellow notes.  There are some items and abilities you can use to make the game a little easier on yourself, adding an RPG touch that I enjoyed but didn't feel necessary.  To get the highest scores, you’re going to have to play without that stuff anyway.

Unfortunately, that leads me to my main criticism of Theatrhythm.  It’s too hard.  I appreciate the difficulty curve for most of the game.  It’s neat really hammering away at some of the more complex battle songs for a while and improving, but there are some instances where enough is enough.  My fingers simply cannot move the stylus fast enough to win at the Ultimate difficulty levels on certain songs consistently.  I did manage to clear all of the base songs, but I can’t be bothered to go further because I might break my 3DS’s touch screen in frustration.  After multiple failures, the slow experience gain and menu transitions start to grate, and before too long I tired of the game.

Theatrhythm is a pretty fun rhythm game while it lasts.  It’s not a genre I care a whole lot for, and certainly not one I’m skilled at.  If you like Final Fantasy music, dumb fan service, and are up to the challenge, give it a go.  I don’t regret playing at all, even if it was somewhat frustrating.

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