Tap and slide your way through 26 years of music in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call

By Will Fulton June 3, 2014

theatrhythm final fantasy curtain call collectors edition — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Longtime fans of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series have always cited the games’ excellent music as one of their many selling points. Gamers of a certain age only need to hear a few bars of a Nobuo Uematsu classic to put them right back in the halls of Figaro Castle. Square capitalized on this nostalgia with Theatryhythm Final Fantasy for the Nintendo DS in 2012, which fused the long-running series with a rhythm game approach. Now that game is getting a sequel in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call.

Like most DS/3DS rhythm games, the Theatrhythm series’ mechanics utilizes the stylus and touch screen to swipe and tap along with a the soundtrack by following on-screen cues. The first game offered three types of stages: Battle featured fast-paced music as the cues slide toward you, a la Dance Dance Revolution; Field stages take a more languid pace as you drag the stylus along a continuous, flowing line; lastly, Event stages utilize the entire screen, demanding the most attention. The upcoming sequel adds a head-to-head battle mode to the others, allowing for some friendly competition.

Visually, the game unites the disparate visual styles of the venerable RPG series by shrinking the characters down into neotenous chibis. Over 60 characters and 221 tracks will be playable from the across the series’ history, including spin-offs like Final Fantasy Tactics or the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children film (though presumably not The Spirits Within, of which we do not speak).

As a pre-order incentive, Square announced that they will be selling 5,000 copies of a special Collector’s Edition, which includes:

3DS Collector’s Pouch
5-track Theatrhythm remix CD
20-track Best of Theatrhythm CD (a sort of second-order best of the best of Final Fantasy)
5 premium Collectacards (real world versions of the game’s collectible rewards system, including passwords for their exclusive in-game manifestations)

There is also a simpler Limited Edition for any preorders that includes a free copy of the remix album. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call will be available for Nintendo 3DS on September 16 for $40 and is now available for pre-order.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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The best ways to farm Gil in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Cait Sith dances in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Some say it's the Lifestream that makes the world go round in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, but we all know the real answer is Gil. Cloud may be on a quest to save the world from Sephiroth, but he's still a merc who wants to get paid for his efforts. Plus, there are a ton of expensive items to gather up on your journey, such as Materia, Accessories, Armor, and Queen's Blood cards. You'll need some very deep pockets if you want to buy everything that catches your eye, but Gil isn't the easiest thing to come by. We've done all the odd jobs and activities around Gaia to give you the best ways to grind for Gil in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.
Best ways to farm Gil
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth introduces a ton of new activities, minigames, and quests that didn't exist in Remake. That means there are a lot more ways to earn Gil than ever before, but also a lot that are a waste of time compared to others.
Get your steps in

Even when you get yourself a Chocobo to ride around on, there's no getting around how much running you will be doing. Whether it's in one of the dungeons or towns where you can't take your mount, part of a quest that keeps you on foot, or if you just like exploring the old-fashioned way, Cloud will be getting more than his fair share of steps in. So why not get paid for your efforts? The Pedometer Pin is an accessory that automatically pays you 1 Gil for every 100 steps taken. Now, that doesn't sound like a lot, but that number will build up fast when running around. Plus, it's free money you'd otherwise be leaving on the table. The best part is you don't need to sacrifice a valuable accessory slot on Cloud, or even anyone in your active party, to get the benefits. So long as the person who has it equipped is available to be in your party, not necessarily currently in it, you reap the rewards.
Sword for hire
Sidequests pay well in Rebirth for the most part. There aren't a ton of them compared to most open world games, so they all tend to be worth your while in one way or another. Visit every new town's notice board and snag all the requests whenever possible. You won't know exactly what reward you're going to get until it's said and done, but you should expect at least a couple thousand Gil for your efforts in most cases.
Get crafty

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Queen’s Blood tips and tricks

Queen's Blood

After Fort Condor arrived in Final Fantasy 7: Remake Intergrade, you may not have expected an entirely new minigame to be introduced in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. However, after the opening hours, when you're let loose in Kalm, you will automatically be given your very first deck of Queen's Blood cards. While this minigame is entirely optional after you play your first game to learn the basics, you would be missing out on a ton of content and secrets, let alone fun, by ignoring it. Still, we understand if you feel you didn't sign up for a strange new card game in your Final Fantasy adventure. Plus, there is a lot more depth to the game than is properly explained. If you want to rise up the ranks and be a Queen's Blood champion, but are unsure how to start, we'll show you the ropes.
The basics

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Cloud from FFVII

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I get the desire to do it all, I really do. In the critically acclaimed sequel, we're finally let loose outside of Midgar. Square Enix has laid a huge, lush set of biomes to stretch our legs in after being stuck in the cramped hallways and tunnels of the drab city. Despite most of the world activities in Rebirth being standard open-world fare (activating towers, scanning points of interest, and hunting down specific monsters), there's an undeniable novelty to doing it with Cloud and the rest of Avalanche. What I wish I had known before starting was just how easy it was to burn out on that feeling.