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Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call Discussion (Nintendo 3DS) [game]
 
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call on the 3DS
8.36/10 from 5 user ratings

Welcome to the official discussion thread for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call on the 3DS!

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The sequel to the first Final Fantasy rhythm/music game, Curtain Call improves over the original in every way with new gameplay modes, over 200 songs, and 60+ characters. Featuring music that reaches across the entire Final Fantasy franchise (yes, it includes Mystic Quest and even Crystal Chronicles). You tap along on the 3DS touch screen (or face buttons, if you prefer...or a hybrid mix of the two control styles) to the classic tunes as the highly stylized, chibi-like characters walk, battle and venture through the wide multiverse of Final Fantasy.

Over 20 titles are represented in this game, featuring the incredible music, amazing visuals, and even the role-playing elements that made the franchise the behemoth it is today. This is the ultimate music package for gamers - now get to playing some jams, you spoony bards!



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09/27/14, 16:23    Edited: 09/27/14, 16:40
 
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@GameDadGrant Yeah, I don't think I made my point clear. I wasn't talking about the content of the game, just the gameplay itself. I used the term "seems" because I wasn't saying it definitively, as I don't play phone games, I've only heard what people say about them and this kind of gameplay sounds similar. To me, content doesn't really change much about shallow gameplay. This stuff is arguable: quality, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. And yeah, I'm also not singling the game out or anything, there have been plenty of games that shouldn't have been at the full $40, but just because other games have done it doesn't excuse any one game from doing it.

That said, I won't deny I'm a harsh critic. But I'm okay with that because it helps me save money.

That that said, I didn't know this game added an online mode. If that's true, I'd be curious to hear how that works. That would add some value for me, I may have to try getting this game this holiday.
09/28/14, 21:57   
Jargon said:
@GameDadGrant

Yea, this game does not seem like a $10 iPhone game, that's just silly. That's not to say I'll personally pay full price for it, but anyone who did would be getting their money's worth clearly.

Word. Though technically, we were discussing the original Theatrhythm, not the sequel that just came out. But either way, I don't feel like either of them are equivalent to a $10 game on a phone.

Coincidentally, I actually only paid $7 for Curtain Call after I sold a handful of old games. (!)

@Mop it up

From what I can tell, the online mode has you battle another player in a "BMS" sequence, and whoever scores higher wins. At least, that's what I gather so far. I'm going to see if I can get some games in with some randoms online...I'll report back on how it is.
09/28/14, 22:14   
Edited: 09/28/14, 22:24
I love the gameplay in these games; it's elegant in its simplicity and the music is generally very good. Except some of the FF12 songs, they kinda stink for this type of game.

I'd be down for some online multi, Grant! Only problem is that I can't really schedule any times right now; this week is the final week of BitF (!) so I'm working overtime on that. But I have done battles with strangers a couple times and it's good fun!

Mop it up--The way the online works in this is essentially a score competition. You and your opponent both pick any of the BMS (not field or event) songs, it randomly chooses one, and you both play the same song at the same time, with the highest score getting the win, an increase in rank, and a couple of CollectaCards (which now can also boost your characters' stats). The loser gets a single CollectaCard, but it can often still be a good one. Losing all your HP in battle takes a huge chunk out of your score instead of killing you outright.

There're also things called EX attacks (or something) that sabotage your opponent in a number of ways, either by making their beat targets move a lot quicker, or shrinking down, or making them take more HP damage, etc. You can choose to have these on or off; I kinda like them, but they make it nigh impossible to play well on a song that you DON'T know that well, so for starting off, you may just want to play with them off.

So far, I've enjoyed the online head-to-heads. But Theatrhythm players out there sure know how to play well; victory can often be lost due to a single Bad or Miss, you gotta be on top of your game.
09/28/14, 22:19   
@TriforceBun

Ah, cool! Thanks for the explanation! And yeah, PM me sometime when you're available to play online. I have a feeling I'll be destroyed, but it still could be fun just the same!
09/28/14, 22:27   
@TriforceBun Thanks, sounds like it could be interesting. Do you use your own characters, or is everyone's characters defaulted to a certain level? If you do use your own character set, does it seem like anyone with supremely leveled characters would have a slight advantage?
09/29/14, 05:27   
@Mop it up

You use your own characters and abilities. Levels have a little advantage, but not as much as you might think. Since you're graded on your score, and your score is only determined by accuracy (not by monsters killed), then even a level 1 party can beat a high party with good playing. The only downside is if your team gets killed (via low HP)--you get revived, but you lose a ton of points as a penalty. So if you're not a great player (i.e. can handle Ultimate level songs), higher level teammates would work a little better to stave off death and the loss of points that come with it. That aside, it's pretty balanced.
09/29/14, 05:57   
Edited: 09/29/14, 05:58
If anything, skills really play a bigger role if you have EX Burst activated. Since you want to avoid dying, defensive or healing skills are a good way to go. I believe killing enemies faster will charge up your EX Burst meter quicker as well but it doesn't seem to be all that much quicker to sacrifice good defensive skills.

That said, I'm not a huge fan of EX Burst as there's one which is HP switch that can be really punishing if it's used at the wrong moment. I was playing against the AI and died while the AI was also almost dead. So upon revival, the AI switched HP with me which immediately killed me once again I guess it doesn't happen quite often and like Mario Kart, the randomness of it is what's fun at times I suppose Maybe.

If anyone's up for some online matches though, let me know. Hyrule Warriors is kind of consuming my play time these past few days but I wouldn't mind switching it up a bit.
09/29/14, 06:23   
09/30/14, 00:05   
@VofEscaflowne The EX stuff does seem like an interesting way to mix things up, so I might want to play with it on. But I would probably play the game enough to assemble a good team, so it may not be an issue. I might just have to wait until after delving into the offline stuff before going online.
09/30/14, 01:50   
12/22/14, 23:31   
@GameDadGrant

Whoa, cool! Thanks for letting us know.

I don't think I'll be able to resist some of those Bravely Default tracks. Curtain Call is a very complete package as is, but Bravely Default's soundtrack is one of its strongest points.

I really hope Bravely Second can fix Default's shortcomings.
12/22/14, 23:58   
Edited: 12/22/14, 23:59
@GameDadGrant I don't even know the first two but CHRONO TRIGGER!

I'm a little confused about this series... does Curtain Call have completely different tracks than the original game? If so, does it end up missing some of the "iconic" ones that they surely used in the first game?
12/26/14, 10:06   
@Zero

Curtain Call has ALL of the songs from the original Theatrhythm, plus like 100 more. And new DLC songs.
12/27/14, 03:15   
@Zero It's a little complicated, but the best way to sum it up would probably be to say that Curtain Call is the "director's cut" version of the original. I wouldn't call it a sequel myself since it contains most of the same content plus more.

To go into more detail, the game contains the 70 or so tunes of the original, plus it contains all of the tunes that were DLC in the original, and then it contains more tunes on top of that, for a grand total of 221 tunes in the package. Most, if not all of the new music is for the spin-off games instead of the mainline series. There is also still more DLC available as well, mostly for more FF games but also some other games such as these recent additions. It also contains the same characters from the original plus new characters for a total of 60, and I believe there are also DLC characters for purchase. The returning characters have been tweaked slightly, having slightly different stats or abilities. The new mode is the versus mode which can be played locally or online, or can also be played against a CPU opponent. ProfiCards (your profile, the game's StreetPass feature) can now be exchanged with any opponent you meet online. You can now use buttons to control the game instead of just the stylus, and you can even use both at once if you prefer.

BUT there are also some changes as well. For example, the 13 "event" music stages, or EMS, have been changed into battle or field music stages, known as BMS and FMS. The "Dark Notes," which were semi-random inputs for the tunes, are gone now, replaced by the Quest Medleys which are similar in theory but no longer semi-random, and instead are the same as they are in the normal stages except are often at 1.5x speed. A Quest Medley map can be attached to your ProfiCard to exchange over StreetPass or online. The "stoic bonus" has been removed; you can now achieve the highest score even if you use abilities and items. The series mode is gone, and nothing has taken its place; this means the starting and ending crystal bonus tracks are no longer present.

Rhythmia cap was raised from 99,999 to 999,999. Crystal shards are easier to earn for unlocking characters. Characters who reach lvl 99 can be reset to 1 a total of ten times to increase their max CP each time, for a total of 99 max CP (CP is used to equip abilities). CollectaCards can now be used to boost the stats of characters; an unlimited number of cards can be used on a character for a stat max of 999 (and 9,999 HP).

I may have missed something but I think that's everything.
12/27/14, 03:48   
Edited: 12/27/14, 03:49
@Mop it up
Good summation. I'd personally call it a sequel (I'd say it's at least as much one as the Guitar Hero follow-ups), although it doesn't quite reinvent the wheel or anything.
12/27/14, 19:32   
@TriforceBun Honest question, did the Guitar Hero games contain all of the tracks from the previous game in addition to new tracks? I have played only one GH game so I don't know. Since at least half of the content in Curtain Call is stuff from the original game and its DLC, that's the main reason I call it an expanded sort of version and not a sequel. But I s'pose this is just getting into the semantics of what makes a sequel.
12/29/14, 23:31   
Usually I download all of my 3ds games. I really wanted this game but I wasn't willing to pay $40 for it with the backlog I have. I was in GameStop to check out amiibos and I saw this used for $20. I picked it up and I'm having a blast just like the original. I'm even picking up on ultimate mode where I left off!
02/10/15, 04:25   
Apparently, starting Thursday two of the DLC tracks will be available free until the 1st.

Birds In The Sky, Fish In The River (Live A Live)
Shadowlord (NieR)
03/18/15, 00:41   
Neat! I'll take a couple of free songs. Why not.
03/18/15, 01:41   
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