Those who live and breathe Final Fantasy music—but honestly who doesn’t—no doubt know the popular rhythm game series focusing all on the franchise, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Akin to the Hatsune Miku Project DIVA series. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy has now produced several titles spanning the long-running Final Fantasy—and Dragon Quest—franchises by allowing players to use their favorite FF characters and play through hundreds of the songs the series is most famous for! Each game has given us here at Honey’s Anime fond memories of both newer and older titles but beyond even that, we’ve loved trying to master the simple, albeit, tough rhythm system.

Now we have entered another entry in the series dubbed THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE—dropping the Final Fantasy title which was a bit peculiar—and you know we put on our best headphones and pumped the volume to the max. Is THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE another smash hit or is this where Square Enix should look for a new group? We find out in our review of THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE for the PS4!

Let’s assume for a second you somehow missed out on the prior THEATRHYTHM games and are entering THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE blind. Players are allowed to choose from 1 of the numerous FF games—and spin-offs—to enter their tales and play various songs from said game. Like the Final Fantasy JRPG elements, players will take the characters from said series and embark through a pint-sized version of that game’s story and try to beat each song. THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE continues the trend from the previous entries by combining several different rhythm themes where you might try to hit notes with one button and analog sticks at just the right time for maximum points or try to follow a line and hit notes/directions as songs play.

Honestly, the line rhythm game is our least favorite—kind of always has been—but we still love watching the chibi FF characters run across various locations and hit beloved enemies from their series. The main gameplay hasn’t really changed much in THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE but there are some new challenges and additions for just a bit of flair.

Oddly enough, THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE isn’t just a rhythm game but a JRPG/RPG. As you beat songs and fulfill challenges, you’ll level up your party and gain new methods of taking on the harder modes each song presents. Items can take a slight edge off harder “battles” though we rarely used them as they kind of diminish the rhythm game feel like in Project DIVA. Don’t expect a typical high-end JRPG affair while playing THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE as this is a rhythm game first and foremost but it's nice to feel as if you are making progress as you progress just like you would in FFVII or FFXIII.

Ever thought Vincent could look adorable or see Tidus looking less heroic and sillier? That’s the beauty of THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE as once again, the chibi versions of our beloved heroes/villains returns but now on a more polished scale. The original THEATRHYTHM game was on the Nintendo 3DS and while it looked pretty good for a 3DS game, seeing our favorites in their adorable new designs on the big screen is a great gift. We know Tonberrys are the scariest FF enemy a player can run into but seeing them tiny and cute still makes us smile. The same can be said of seeing various backdrops being reduced to extremely colorful and miniaturized creations that never failed to delight us here at Honey’s Anime!

Did you worry that THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE wouldn’t have one of your favorite songs or even characters? Well don’t worry, there are 385 tunes in THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE—yes almost 400—and over 100 characters to make your party from! If you get the Digital Deluxe or Premium versions you can even get more songs from series like NieR, SaGa, and Octopath Traveler! Honestly, that’s a lot of content and for most, we doubt you can unlock each song in less than several weeks! There’s plenty of replayability to be had whether you try to unlock every song alone—or with a friend as there is a co-op mode—and even play online with others to see who is the best rhythm master! For $49.99, THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE has a lot of games and we still can’t believe how many songs have been included!