Update: We’ve now got a full list of the tracks in the base game!
Original post:
It feels like a new Theatrhythm has been a long time coming. It’s been eight years since Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call landed on 3DS in 2014, and while the series has had some ongoing support in the form of the arcade-only All Star Carnival, the lack of a new console game—or even just a port of All Star Carnival—has been disappointing. But the long wait finally comes to an end next February, when Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Final Bar Line comes to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, sporting a track list of 385 songs at launch (and more than 500 with DLC!).
The idea behind Final Bar Line is much the same as it’s always been: an arcade-style rhythm game set to Final Fantasy music, with a light RPG system layered over it. Press and hold buttons in time with the music, according to notes on the screen, with more accurate timing resulting in more damage dealt by your characters in cartoon-style battles that play out in the background, in turn resulting in loot to unlock new songs, characters, abilities, and so on.
Though not marketed as such, Final Bar Line does look like it’s based on All Star Carnival, if not a direct port. It’s got a near-identical interface, and the same gameplay tweaks that the arcade game introduced—most notably, dual button presses. The original Theatrhythm games were designed around playing with the 3DS stylus, and therefore only had solo triggers; Final Bar Line and All Star Carnival are instead built around a two-button, two-joystick control scheme, allowing simultaneous triggers and much more complex beat maps. Final Bar Line also features local co-op play, an online battle mode, and a roster of a 104 characters to unlock and form your party from.
The million dollar question: what songs are included? Square Enix hasn’t released a full track list yet for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Final Bar Line yet Here’s the full list! The base game will feature 385 Final Fantasy tracks, with further songs (including from other Square Enix games) available as DLC. Digital Deluxe editions of the game will come with 27 additional tracks, and three Season Passes, each containing 30 songs, are planned for release after launch—adding up to just over 500 tracks, once all the DLC is released. By contrast, All Star Carnival (which is no longer receiving new updates) has 366 songs—so even if we assume Final Bar Line will include all of those, there are still a lot of new additions, too.
The tracks that are confirmed in the initial announcement include:
- Final Fantasy – Opening Theme
- Final Fantasy III – Eternal Wind
- Final Fantasy V – Battle at the Big Bridge
- Final Fantasy VI – The Decisive Battle
- Final Fantasy VI – Grand Finale
- Final Fantasy VII Remake – J-E-N-O-V-A – Quickening
- Final Fantasy VII Remake – Hollow
- Final Fantasy VII Advent Children – Advent: One-Winged Angel
- Final Fantasy IX – Not Alone
- Final Fantasy IX – Melodies of Life (Digital Deluxe)
- Final Fantasy X – SUTEKI DA NE (Isn’t it Wonderful?)
- Final Fantasy X – Zanarkand (Digital Deluxe)
- Final Fantasy XIII – Blinded By Light
- Final Fantasy XIV – Who Brings Shadow
- Final Fantasy XIV – Triumph
- Final Fantasy XV – Veiled in Black
- Final Fantasy Type-0 – We Have Come
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition – Sound of the Wind (Digital Deluxe)
- NIER – Song of the Ancients / Fate (DLC)
- Octopath Traveler – Decisive Battle II (DLC)
- Chrono Trigger – Corriders of Time (DLC)
- Legend of Mana – Hometown of Domina (DLC)
- Romancing SaGa – Minstrel Song – Ardent Rhythm (DLC)
We’ll share the full track list for Final Bar Line once its announced. Until then, enjoy the excitement of knowing there’s a new Theatrhythm on the way, and it’s not too far off! Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Final Bar Line comes to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on February 16, 2023.
