Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

""I played Theatrhythm Final Fantasy for the first time today. Not too shabby! As I remembered various things from the past 20 years, I was reduced to tears. FF music fans should definitely play it. Won't you cry with me?""

- Nobou Uematsu

An... out-of-nowhere entry in the running-gag-reflex-inducing Final Fantasy series, this game's premise is relatively simple: bringing the "conflict of the gods" plot of Dissidia Final Fantasy to the Nintendo 3DS, but in the form of a Rhythm Game. In other words, it's Elite Beat Agents meets Final Fantasy, released for everyone to play in July 2012. An iOS version was released

Okay, time for a brief lesson in recent-gaming history for everyone: Dissidia Final Fantasy, when first released, caused many fans to wet their pants in excitement just for the fact that a fighting game featuring representative heroes and villains from the Final Fantasy series could only be justified with the words, Rule of Cool, on which the concept was basically built.

Then, the sequel (Dissidia 012 [duodecim] - Final Fantasy) was released, but this time around, sadly, the rejoicing (with Lightning joining the fight, among others) was foiled by the rather disappointing announcement that the game in question would be the last in the series, or at least, the last appearing in Fighting Game form.

Turns out, the next game in the Dissidia series is a Spin-Off for the Nintendo 3DS, a Rhythm Game featuring (as the logo above - a throwback to that of Dissidia itself - shows) the characters' avatar versions first seen in Kingdom Hearts coded.

The game follows the events of the gods Chaos and Cosmos, a similar plot to Dissidia Final Fantasy. The space between the two is called Rhythm, which gives birth to a crystal that controls music. Chaos causes the crystal to become disrupted, and the only way to return it to normal is to increase a music wave known as "Rhytmia".

The playable characters appearing in the game are the following:
 * Final Fantasy I: The Warrior of Light and Princess Sarah
 * Final Fantasy II: Firion and Minwu
 * Final Fantasy III: The Onion Knight and Cid Haze
 * Final Fantasy IV: Cecil Harvey, Kain Highwind and Rydia
 * Final Fantasy V: Bartz Klauser and Faris Scherwiz
 * Final Fantasy VI: Terra Branford and Locke Cole
 * Final Fantasy VII: Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough, and Sephiroth
 * Final Fantasy VIII: Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy
 * Final Fantasy IX: Zidane Tribal and Vivi Orunitia
 * Final Fantasy X: Tidus and Yuna
 * Final Fantasy XI: Shantotto and Prishe
 * Final Fantasy XII: Vaan and Ashe
 * Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning and Snow Villiers
 * Dissidia Final Fantasy: Cosmos

The game also feature enemies and bosses from the games ranging from the main villains like Garland and Sephiroth, mid-bosses like Xande, Black Waltz #3, Gilgamesh, Ultros and the Elemental Archfiends, mainstay monsters like tonberry, bombs and behemoths and even common enemies unique to each game like PSICOM enforcers and bangaa thieves all redesigned to fit the game's unique art style.

The game operates in three different styles of stages. Battle stages have the players chosen party occupying the right side of the screen like a classic Final Fantasy game and scores hits on the enemy by successfully hitting notes, by getting higher combos you can unleash stronger attacks like Summon Magic. Event stages which feature video montages from scenes of previous Final Fantasy games where the player has to tap the notes in rhythm with the music being featured in the scene. Field sequences are similar to event sequences but instead of video montages, they are represented by a chosen playable character strolling though a background scenery from the game they have chosen, by scoring higher combos you can call a Chocobo to give you a ride.

Additionally, there are three modes of play. There is the Series Mode, where you play the three style of stages in succession, along with intros and endings where the player can collect extra Rhytmia by tapping in a giant crystal. There is the Challenge Mode, where you can play any of the stages individually, as long as you have unlocked them in normal difficulty in the Series mode or purchased them from the eShop. And finally, there is the "Chaos Shrine" Mode, 99 levels that consist on one Field and one Battle and stage each, on a higher difficulty by default and with three possible unlockable bosses for level; this mode contents music that is not initially available in the other modes, and once unlocked.

A Expansion Pack Sequel titled Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call was released in 2014. This, along with increasing the number of songs available (including the DLCs from the previous version as available in the cartridge), added more unlockable playable characters (including, for the surprise of everyone, Benjamin from the much maligned Final Fantasy Mystic Quest) and added a new mode, called Medley Quests (where the players fight bosses and can unlock more characters), and a "Daily Feature" where the game presents a new random song that, upon playing, rewards with 50% extra Rythmia than if the song was played normally.

A version of the game based on the Dragon Quest series, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest, was released in 2015, but that one sadly remained in Japan.


 * Ascended Extra: From a Certain Point of View, this game is A Day in the Limelight for the Avatars.
 * Badass Adorable: They may be chibi-fied, but that doesn't change the fact they're still Kain, Gilgamesh, Sephiroth, etc.
 * Chibi: the game's use of avatars is bound to induce many fans to Squee (mostly fangirls).
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Square Enix themselves summed it up as a "Theater Rhythm Game". What that means, only time will tell.
 * Genre Shift: from Fighting Game to Rhythm Game.
 * Killer Rabbit: Staple monsters like the Behemoth and Ahriman appear. They've never looked cuter, but considering they're among the series's famous Demonic Spiders, they're probably still going to be a pain to fight.
 * RPG Elements: As the characters play and unlock stages, they earn levels, obtain abilities than can make playing the stage easier (like ectra attacks or less damage from missing notes), and collect crystals that let unlock extra characters.
 * Spin-Off: To Dissidia.
 * Rule of Cute: this game is to the Rule of Cute what Dissidia is to the Rule of Cool. Do the math.
 * Widget Series: and then some!
 * Word Salad Title: if you thought Dissidia was bad... well, think again - as this Portmanteau will prove you wrong. With a headache.
 * The Italian edition of the Nintendo Official Magazine basically made "we know you probably crossed your fingers while trying to type the title" its latest Running Gag.
 * X Meets Y: As stated above, it's Elite Beat Agents meets Final Fantasy.