It's been pretty quiet on the rhythm action front here at Everybody Plays towers recently. With plastic guitar button mashers Rock Band and Guitar Hero having both gone the way of the dodo, we've been left playing infinite repeats of the Wii's perennially under-rated (and insanely fun) Rhythm Heaven - but come this September, there'll be a new game sucking up every last second of our spare time.
The upcoming Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy Curtain Call, a sequel to 2012's Theatrhythm, is a music game which takes the famously epic songs from the equally epic Final Fantasy series of role playing games, and wraps them up in a totally different style of play. Rather than picking moves and casting magic to topple baddies, you'll be swiping and tapping the screen in time to a range of the series' most iconic tunes. While we've known about the sequel for a while, Square Enix have recently announced that the game will be hitting these shores on the 19th September (North America on the 16th). And it'll be available in two special editions, too.
Tap-holllllld-tap-swipe!
Boasting over 200 songs to play and 60 characters to create a party from - including almost the entire tracklist of the first Theatrhythm as well as its downloadable extras, making it perfect for newcomers to the series - the game also comes packing two new game modes, a Quest Medley mode where you play the various Field and Battle themes while working your way through a series of quests, and a Versus mode, where you compete against other players over local wireless. While it's not yet clear whether your friends will each need their own copy of the game, or whether it'll be one of few titles to support single card download play, it'd certainly be a nice touch.
For those who prefer the finer things in life, publisher Square Enix has also announced there'll be not one, but two special editions of the game available, with each up for grabs in a slightly different way. Pre-ordering the game from what Square Enix describe as "preferred retailers" (so, GAME and ShopTo, then) will net you a free "Limited Edition" upgrade, which contains the game, a special 3DS pouch adorned with a variety of Final Fantasy characters in the adorable art style that the games are known for, and a soundtrack of five remixed tunes from the game. Priced at £29.99/$39.99, this is a pretty cool offer - and if you want to go one better, the UK Square Enix store is also offering a Theatrhythm Sticker Stylus for pre-orders of the Limited Edition.
The Collector's Edition in all its glory. Can we resist? We're not sure we can...
Going one up from the Limited Edition, a Collector's Edition (priced at £44.99/€54.99) has also been announced, although somewhat frustratingly, it's going to be exclusive to the Square Enix online store. Coming complete with the exclusive 3DS pouch and soundtrack CD from the Limited Edition, this one also bundles another soundtrack CD containing 20 tracks from the 221 featured in Curtain Call, five Premium Collectacards, based on the collectible cards that are unlocked in game (which also come with passwords to unlock these cards within the game) and a limited edition slip case for the game box. Note, though, that the Square Enix store does take the money when you place your order, rather than on dispatch.
If that wasn't enough Final Fantasy music goodness, Square Enix have also released their E3 trailer for Curtain Call, which shows off gameplay, a variety of both returning and new songs and characters, as well as the two new modes. The game, in all three versions launches on the 19th September. Enjoy!
