The plot description for Square Enix's upcoming 3DS rhythm game, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, goes beyond the regular "suspension of disbelief" requirements. According to the game's official site (as translated by Andriasang), "the space between the gods Chaos and Cosmos is known as 'rhythm,'" and as "the forces of chaos have disrupted the peace" the music-controlling crystal birthed by the aforementioned space ("Rhythm") is losing its luster. If that weren't enough, it seems that in order to return that shine "the music wave 'Ripzo' must be increased." Okay Square, you win! We give up!
In a related but significantly less confusing bit of news, the game is apparently being developed by indieszero, best known for its work on Electroplankton and Retro Game Challenge. Gameplay still hasn't been defined in the strictest sense, but it seems that players will be able to choose characters from Final Fantasy I through XIII in stages based on the baker's dozen of primary FF titles released over the past quarter century.
Each stage is said to be divided into three distinct pieces ("field," "event," and "battle") with three unique gameplay systems, though those systems have yet to be explained. Long time FF fans will be happy to hear that the four-person party system of past titles will return in Theatrhythm, and "major songs" from the series' history will accompany the gameplay. "The Sunleth Waterscape" from FFXIII and "One Winged Angel" from FFVII are specifically named, among several others.
Beyond that, well, there's a chibi Behemoth (seen above). We've dubbed him "Purpular," mostly because he's adorable, but also, ya know, he's purple.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy coming from Electroplankton devs, features characters from I - XIII
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Reader Comments (40)
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 9:58AM Andrew12h said
Erm...
What?
What?
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 11:34AM foxhound said
@Andrew12h
Purpular. He's the protagonist of the new kids show, "PURPULAR FOR PRESIDENT". He teaches kids that anyone with a gimmick or catchy phrase and paid supporters(read: shifty conglomerates & "idiots with deep pockets")can go anywhere they damn well please in life. I'd watch it, but they still haven't given DEAD SPACE GIRL a television show on FOX TV for a season.
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Purpular. He's the protagonist of the new kids show, "PURPULAR FOR PRESIDENT". He teaches kids that anyone with a gimmick or catchy phrase and paid supporters(read: shifty conglomerates & "idiots with deep pockets")can go anywhere they damn well please in life. I'd watch it, but they still haven't given DEAD SPACE GIRL a television show on FOX TV for a season.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 10:00AM CaptainProtonX said
Is there a gamer's guide yet on how to pronounce that title?
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 10:02AM Mike Kelehan said
If they make a hidden dungeon that's all Chrono music, I'm in.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 10:23AM baby sea tuna said
Anecdote: Recently my 2 young-ish cousins came to visit and I noticed that they'd foregone the their DS's for iPod touches, and looked at me like I was some crazy old man when I broke out my 3DS. I was riding the OoT train at the time so I figured it was them, and not me, that was being crazy.
But now, the more games I see announced for the 3DS that are going to hit shelves with a $40 price tag, especially the ones like this that look like they could easily run on iOS (and cost a fraction of the price,) the more I begin to understand why the kiddies are jumping ship for their iPods.
But now, the more games I see announced for the 3DS that are going to hit shelves with a $40 price tag, especially the ones like this that look like they could easily run on iOS (and cost a fraction of the price,) the more I begin to understand why the kiddies are jumping ship for their iPods.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 10:29AM mrantimatter said
@baby sea tuna
Honestly having played an iphone for years, I can't see giving up a dedicated handheld for it. It's nice for simple time waster games, but you really can't do any serious gaming on it, the games just aren't designed for it, and the controls leave much to be desired.
This does look like a iOS game, at least form the screenshots. I'm not seeing anythign that screams 'this needs the abilities of the 3ds'.
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Honestly having played an iphone for years, I can't see giving up a dedicated handheld for it. It's nice for simple time waster games, but you really can't do any serious gaming on it, the games just aren't designed for it, and the controls leave much to be desired.
This does look like a iOS game, at least form the screenshots. I'm not seeing anythign that screams 'this needs the abilities of the 3ds'.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 12:29PM baby sea tuna said
@Nergy
Uh, if you'd actually read what I wrote, you'd know that in this story, I WAS the one having fun with my dedicated handheld. However, my cousins were also having just as much fun playing a game that cost literally 1/10th of what I paid for Zelda on their machines that also do email, videos, and a host of other things that the 3DS doesn't.
I'm not saying that one is flat out better than the other, but I am saying that Nintendo (and Sony) has a right to be nervous this handheld generation.
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Uh, if you'd actually read what I wrote, you'd know that in this story, I WAS the one having fun with my dedicated handheld. However, my cousins were also having just as much fun playing a game that cost literally 1/10th of what I paid for Zelda on their machines that also do email, videos, and a host of other things that the 3DS doesn't.
I'm not saying that one is flat out better than the other, but I am saying that Nintendo (and Sony) has a right to be nervous this handheld generation.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 6:55PM xxxsam said
@baby sea tuna
I agree and I think it's more Nintendo that needs to be nervous than Sony. The reason is in your anecdote - the fact is, kids' games on DS were mostly crap cash-in titles; many kids weren't bothered by the crapness; and kids rarely finish games anyway.
So why fork out for a full-length high quality game when kids will probably be entertained by a crap game for $5 as long as it has a licensed character or something?
Only thing stopping this happening is that the companies that make crap licensed kid games probably like the opportunity to make $40 for it instead of $5...
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I agree and I think it's more Nintendo that needs to be nervous than Sony. The reason is in your anecdote - the fact is, kids' games on DS were mostly crap cash-in titles; many kids weren't bothered by the crapness; and kids rarely finish games anyway.
So why fork out for a full-length high quality game when kids will probably be entertained by a crap game for $5 as long as it has a licensed character or something?
Only thing stopping this happening is that the companies that make crap licensed kid games probably like the opportunity to make $40 for it instead of $5...
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 10:28AM Alex Trebek said
Lightning needs to eat a sandwhich... heck they all do.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 11:09AM Zertoss said
Chaos and Cosmos? So this is an off-shoot from Disiddia, the off-shoot from Final Fantasy? Did Xzibit just put a spinoff in your spinoff so you can be confused while you're confused?
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 12:01PM yomachaser said
@Zertoss Well played, enjoy your + you've earned it.
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Posted: Jul 11th 2011 11:17AM MCricket said
The character designs are basically the avatar icons from Dissidia 012. Guess they've been planning this for awhile.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 11:18AM Faceless Troll said
Why even bother with the pretense of a plot? What's wrong with "Here's a rhythm game with FF characters."
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 11:33AM baby sea tuna said
@Faceless Troll
And end it with "and it costs $10-15" and you've got yourself a deal!
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And end it with "and it costs $10-15" and you've got yourself a deal!
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 11:29AM foxhound said
So, this is the Squ'enix answer for ridiculously long development time & flawed final releases of the FF series, huh?
Pardon me while I go spend my money elsewhere. I can't support shilled shovelware like this with fuel prices being so damned high.
Pardon me while I go spend my money elsewhere. I can't support shilled shovelware like this with fuel prices being so damned high.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 11:51AM mietha said
I don't suppose if I keep trying to ignore this, it will go away, huh?
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 12:09PM Gibbeynator said
So, the first Final Fantasy for the 3DS is NOT a remake of 6, but a rhythm based Dissidia spinoff...
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 12:16PM TCJJ said
It'd be okay if it didn't look so childish and cost as much as every other 3DS game. I'll pay full price for Mario and Zelda, but this? I may as well go buy Wii Music. On second thought, I'd actually rather have this Final Fantasy rhythm game than another music game from Nintendo.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 6:58PM xxxsam said
@TCJJ
Because cute character designs somehow make the game worth less? No.
This story actually makes me a bit more positive about the game - aside from the cute designs, which are great, it still looks like a pretty crappy game... but hey it's by the Electroplankton people? Neat. Maybe they do know what they're doing. Let's see.
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Because cute character designs somehow make the game worth less? No.
This story actually makes me a bit more positive about the game - aside from the cute designs, which are great, it still looks like a pretty crappy game... but hey it's by the Electroplankton people? Neat. Maybe they do know what they're doing. Let's see.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 12:50PM ShadowXIII said
Can I ask if anyone here asked for this? Cause I sure as hell didn't.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 12:54PM Helghast102 said
Why so much negativity? It looks like a fun game, and the title pronunciation really isn't difficult unless your English is your second language.
The-ah-try-thm
wow, so hard
The-ah-try-thm
wow, so hard
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 2:43PM gatotsu911 said
@Helghast102
Because everyone and their grandmother is sick of FF spinoffs, especially as the main series has jumped the shark.
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Because everyone and their grandmother is sick of FF spinoffs, especially as the main series has jumped the shark.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 3:02PM Helghast102 said
@gatotsu911
When did the main series do that? I remember them all being great games, yes, even XIII.
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When did the main series do that? I remember them all being great games, yes, even XIII.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 3:10PM gatotsu911 said
@Helghast102
Popular concensus is that the series jumped the shark after X, or more generally after Sakaguchi left. I'm inclined to agree. What I've played of XII and XIII wasn't terrible, but definitely left me cold compared to IV-X.
More importantly, it's hard to be excited by a new Final Fantasy game when SquEnix pumps out like 10 of them a year, with inconsistent levels of quality, and it's hard not to be resentful when hardly any of them compare favorably to the franchise in its prime.
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Popular concensus is that the series jumped the shark after X, or more generally after Sakaguchi left. I'm inclined to agree. What I've played of XII and XIII wasn't terrible, but definitely left me cold compared to IV-X.
More importantly, it's hard to be excited by a new Final Fantasy game when SquEnix pumps out like 10 of them a year, with inconsistent levels of quality, and it's hard not to be resentful when hardly any of them compare favorably to the franchise in its prime.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 2:43PM RedRaptor82 said
...still makes more sense than FF VIII
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 5:52PM therandomizer said
@RedRaptor82, No, I think you meant to say "still makes more sense than FFX-2". At least the FFVIII soundtrack was made by someone who can actually compose music and has a real plot instead of singing sluts.
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Posted: Jul 11th 2011 2:48PM serialsleeper said
Good job Square Enix! This should improve your reputation immensely....
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 3:43PM TheShaper said
So they're using that messy (and somewhat boring) Dissidia plotline and keep tying up the different universes together? I know many dreamed about that for years but... Like this? Why'd you keep doing it to us, SE?
Man, I used to love Squaresoft...
BTW: Love Dissidia gameplay, but the plot is as pointless as it gets.
Man, I used to love Squaresoft...
BTW: Love Dissidia gameplay, but the plot is as pointless as it gets.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 4:38PM FancyCat2008 said
A Rhythm game... with Final Fantasy music? Aren't some of the best, most memorable FF tunes soft, slow, symphonic scores? That doesn't exactly scream "fast paced button-mashing music game" to me.
Unless they're all just going to be techno remixes, in which case no thanks, I'll just go to OCRemix for that.
Unless they're all just going to be techno remixes, in which case no thanks, I'll just go to OCRemix for that.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 7:56PM Helghast102 said
@FancyCat2008
"Aren't some of the best, most memorable FF tunes soft, slow, symphonic scores?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CMTXyExkeI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usf3-SD4XyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGrTvlE_DO0
You tell me
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"Aren't some of the best, most memorable FF tunes soft, slow, symphonic scores?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CMTXyExkeI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usf3-SD4XyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGrTvlE_DO0
You tell me
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 8:26PM FancyCat2008 said
@Helghast102
Obviously, I said *some*. For me the best FF tunes are songs like Aeris' theme from FF7, the Opera from FF6, Dancing Mad, Celes' theme, (okay most every song from FF6)... sweeping, emotional stuff. But I guess the battle music works too. Even most of those, I wouldn't call danceable. Though, I admit that may be a matter of personal taste.
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Obviously, I said *some*. For me the best FF tunes are songs like Aeris' theme from FF7, the Opera from FF6, Dancing Mad, Celes' theme, (okay most every song from FF6)... sweeping, emotional stuff. But I guess the battle music works too. Even most of those, I wouldn't call danceable. Though, I admit that may be a matter of personal taste.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 10:40PM Andrew12h said
@FancyCat2008
What about remixes like this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPqIOHAXtkM&feature=related
I can see myself dancing to that...
Then again I am me.
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What about remixes like this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPqIOHAXtkM&feature=related
I can see myself dancing to that...
Then again I am me.
Posted: Jul 12th 2011 9:07AM blahblah55 said
Guitar Hero Final Fantasy Edition.
...you know you'd buy it.
...you know you'd buy it.






