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09-14-2011, 10:50 PM
<span class="articleText">Square Enix hasn't announced Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (http://www.evilavatar.com/games/nintendo3ds/theatrhythm-final-fantasy) for U.S. release yet, but I hope it makes its way west. It's a stiff challenge for musically challenged people like me, but the adorable visuals and great music combine to make it a fantastic audio-visual experience. That being said, Theatrhythm -- or at least the version on display at Tokyo Game Show -- isn't quite ready for prime time.
The problem, unfortunately, is that it's a just a bit unpolished. That's to be expected from demos, and I'm happy to give the game the benefit of a doubt. But the things that I love about it also create some minor issues that make it feel a little sloppy and unfinished. Again, demo. I get it.
Let's start with the music. Theatrhythm is a Final Fantasy music game, and it uses the original game soundtracks. That means when you play tracks from the original Final Fantasy (http://www.evilavatar.com/games/nes/final-fantasy), you're hearing NES chip tunes. When you play "One Winged Angel," you're hearing Final Fantasy's VII (http://www.evilavatar.com/games/ps1/final-fantasy-vii)'s compressed samples and cold PCM. That's cool. The problem, however, is that those tracks were meant to loop, so they don't have a natural conclusion. And rather than fading down where they would on an original soundtrack compilation, they just fade after an arbitrary amount of time. So that NES theme loops several times, while "One Winged Angel" doesn't even complete a single cycle. Much as I love the authentic, original renditions of the music, the game would probably work better with arranged versions that end properly and embellish some of the more simplistic older tunes with added variety and improvisation.
More... (http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3185650)
The problem, unfortunately, is that it's a just a bit unpolished. That's to be expected from demos, and I'm happy to give the game the benefit of a doubt. But the things that I love about it also create some minor issues that make it feel a little sloppy and unfinished. Again, demo. I get it.
Let's start with the music. Theatrhythm is a Final Fantasy music game, and it uses the original game soundtracks. That means when you play tracks from the original Final Fantasy (http://www.evilavatar.com/games/nes/final-fantasy), you're hearing NES chip tunes. When you play "One Winged Angel," you're hearing Final Fantasy's VII (http://www.evilavatar.com/games/ps1/final-fantasy-vii)'s compressed samples and cold PCM. That's cool. The problem, however, is that those tracks were meant to loop, so they don't have a natural conclusion. And rather than fading down where they would on an original soundtrack compilation, they just fade after an arbitrary amount of time. So that NES theme loops several times, while "One Winged Angel" doesn't even complete a single cycle. Much as I love the authentic, original renditions of the music, the game would probably work better with arranged versions that end properly and embellish some of the more simplistic older tunes with added variety and improvisation.
More... (http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3185650)