Theatrhythm series

The Theatrhythm series is a series of rhythm games that are generally part of the greater Final Fantasy series. Developed by indieszero in association with Square Enix, the series features tracks and characters from throughout the Final Fantasy franchise and related titles. One title in the series deviates from this, focusing instead on music and characters from the Dragon Quest series.

Concept and development

The first Theatrythm began conceptualisation as in 2011, when Ichiro Hazama approached Masanobu Suzui of indieszero with the proposal of making a rhythm game based on the Final Fantasy series. Initially titled "FINAL FANTASY is Music", the final "Theatrhythm Final Fantasy" was proposed by Tetsuya Nomura. The visuals of the characters is based on art done by Monster Octopus for Kingdom Hearts Mobile, further refined to appeal to fans of the Final Fantasy series.^[1]

Seeing that the series was meant to be a spin-off of an RPG franchise, when defining the gameplay the team decided to have represent represent the different aspects of RPGs through different mechanics for each pillar of the genre: Battle Music Sequences for combat, Event Music Sequences for story events, and Field Music Sequence for exploration. Additionally they designed the gameplay to allow less musically inclined players to still manage to complete stages through the usage of items and abilities and increasing levels.^[1]

Titles

Listed in order of release.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: The original game, released initially for the Nintendo 3DS, which established the 3 types of stages and featured tracks and characters from the first 13 numbered entries in the series, as well as a few DLC songs from other entries in the series.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call: A sequel to the original title released for the Nintendo 3DS, which expanded the selection of tracks and playable characters, as well as introducing a new competitive multiplayer mode, as well as introducing guest music from other Square Enix video games.
Theatrhythm Dragon Quest: A spin-off of the Dragon Quest series, featuring characters and music from the first 10 games in that series.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival: An arcade entry in the Theatrhythm series, which introduces a new input method using buttons and joysticks rather than touch controls, which changes the way tracks can be laid out, with double notes, and further expands the scope of the series, with more tracks from through the whole Final Fantasy franchise as well as many other related Square Enix video games. However, no Event Music Sequences were made available, and the Battle and Field Music Sequences's differences were made less strict, with combat featured in both.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line: Released to celebrate the Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary, Final Bar Line reintroduces Event Music Sequences while integrating the control methods of All-Star Carnival and even further expands the amount of tracks from other Square Enix video games and representation from the series proper, featuring over 100 player characters and over 380 tracks.

Related titles

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory: Developed by the same team as the Theathrythm series, Melody of Memory is a rhythm action game featuring tracks from the Kingdom Hearts series, featuring similar gameplay concepts and sharing some terminology with Theathrythm. Despite being fully 3D, interstitial screens show characters depicted in the same style as the Theatrhythm series.

Relations and guest appearances

The Theatrhythm series shares many concepts with the Dissidia series, being a cross-over celebration of the series, and sharing Ichiro Hazama as its producer.

The games feature tracks and stages from various Square Enix franchises, including Bravely Default, SaGa, Mana, Chrono Trigger, The World Ends With You, NieR, Live A Live, Xenogears, Octopath Traveller and even tracks originally produced for the Nintendo cross-over fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as well as featuring some outfits for characters based on their appearances in the Kingdom Hearts series. Additionally, the Theatrhythm Dragon Quest game focuses entirely on the Dragon Quest series.

Citations

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Suzui, Masanobu (2023, February 23). "The origins of THEATRHYTHM". From Square Enix Blog. Archived from the original on 23-02-2023.

[origins-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Suzui, Masanobu (2023, February 23). "The origins of THEATRHYTHM". From Square Enix Blog. Archived from the original on 23-02-2023.

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Theatrhythm series

Contents

Concept and development

Titles