Early Access: Theatrhythm FF Curtain Call

[APZonerunner]

I've just published a large chat I had with Ichiro Hazama, the creator of Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, over on Mognet's sister site, RPG Site. Recommend a read: http://www.rpgsite.net/interview/3849-musical-magic-a-chat-with-theatrhythm-final-fantasy-s-creator

Beyond that, though, I figure I can start something of a trend here on Mognet. Although this game has been out in Japan for a while, I've had access to a full English-language version for a couple of weeks now, and @Kagari has had access as of today, too. The embargo has now lifted, too, so I'm actually allowed to talk about it.

So... we've got early access, so, what d'you all want to know? If people like this idea, I can do 'Early Access' threads across the board for a range of games as I go through them.

We'll have a review on RPG Site in the next day or two, and then later one on Nova Crystallis, but in the meantime... yes! Ask away.

 

[Joshua]

Does this style of game work - i.e. tapping on screen to sounds? Do the taps match up to beats or motifs within the tune you are listening to?

Is there anything in the original that is not in Curtain Call or is this basically version 1.5 where it included everything from before and builds on it?

 

[APZonerunner]

Does this style of game work - i.e. tapping on screen to sounds? Do the taps match up to beats or motifs within the tune you are listening to?

Is there anything in the original that is not in Curtain Call or is this basically version 1.5 where it included everything from before and builds on it?

Does it work? Absolutely, I think. Something that I think benefits the DS version is the stylus - some of the music there is pretty tough and hectic on harder difficulty levels, and a stylus really helps for that stuff. It allows you to be accurate. If you haven't played the original, it's basically Guitar Hero with a FF and RPG twist at a base level. It works.

Regarding the content, it's basically 1.5. Some modes, such as the chaos shrine thing, have been removed but replaced with improved or different versions of those pieces. Everything else, including old DLC, is in there. There is one cute exception - Somnus, from FF15, was in the original game as DLC as a sort of teaser. That's gone from this release.

 

[Joshua]

Thanks Alex.

One other question - are all songs available to start or are they gated behind modes and objectives?

 

[APZonerunner]

@Wazi the pa It's a great little nostalgia trip, really. In particular, some of the new backgrounds they've added tickles a nostalgic itch in a very fun way - seeing even more classic locations evoked in that simple style rocks, really.

Thanks Alex.

One other question - are all songs available to start or are they gated behind modes and objectives?

The way the game works is a bit weird. You pick 4 party members to start with from the lead characters of the 14 main FFs. Initially, you only have music from the FFs your four picks came from to play, and in the generic 'play now' mode. When you've played a few levels to get used to the game, the game rewards you with EXP that eventually unlocks music for every main line FF and the spin-offs in the game. It also unlocks the Chaos Shrine levels, which are RPG-like quests of Short, Medium or Long length consisting of a number of levels and boss fights. The basic list of music here is extensive.

A very small number of tracks remain gated behind EXP objectives over time, however.

 

[Kaii]

Exciting times! A couple questions:
1. In the interview, Hazama mentions that they had to compromise about the amount of story in Curtain Call. Do you agree with Hazama that the game might have been better with less?
2. Are there any new RPG elements that weren't in the first game?

 

[APZonerunner]

Exciting times! A couple questions:
1. In the interview, Hazama mentions that they had to compromise about the amount of story in Curtain Call. Do you agree with Hazama that the game might have been better with less?
2. Are there any new RPG elements that weren't in the first game?

There's really very little story to speak of and they could've dispensed with it entirely, I agree with Hazama there. The story is more or less the same overarching thing as Dissidia, which brings the various characters together, and is told via a text scroll, basically. At an arbitrary point - after reaching a certain amount of points globally - a final boss pops up, and then the credits roll.

To question two - yes and no. The same item/leveling up stuff returns. I can't remember if you could do this in the original, but you can now reset a character to level 1. It's like Prestiging in Call of Duty or whatever, so by doing that, your character gets some perks (basically, more ability points) as you level back to 100. You can do this more than once. There's more items to teach characters skills and things like that.

The Chaos Shrine mode has been replaced by individual 'quests' with maps that sort of look like the traditional 2D Mario overworld. So there's some branching paths and stuff there; optional items, optional bosses, etc. Other than that, it's largely the same.

 

[Myrodis19]

Simple question. How long does it take to unlock Vivi for FF9?

 

[APZonerunner]

@Myrodis19 Ahh, he's a member of my party that I use. love him. The way you unlock characters is through 'shards'. These are unlocked periodically through just playing, and also through defeating bosses in the quest mode. Different sets of characters are unlocked through different shards. Say Vivi and five other characters are 'orange shard' characters, that means every six orange shards you unlock, you can pick one of those characters and unlock them. So if you figure out what color Vivi is, you can grind for those shards to get to him quick.

The character unlocks aren't super obvious and are a bit obscure, but I'm sure a few days' after release the fastest route and what shards you need for each character will be made plain online.