Game Rant recently spoke with series director and indieszero founder Masanobu Suzui, among others, regardingTheatrhythm Final Bar Lineand howKingdom Hearts: Melody of Memoryinfluenced its development. While on the surfaceTheatrhythm Final Bar Linemay seem like a straight-up rhythm game, a number of features add a refreshing layer of depth and engagement, and some of those were derived from theKHrhythm game.
Although it’s been some years since 2015’sTheatrhythm Dragon Quest,the studio’s recent titleKingdom Hearts: Melody of Memorywas an innovative rhythm game that leveraged the franchise’s beloved soundtrack, while also helping to summarize the series' notoriously complex storyline. Players progressed through the plots and soundtracks of eachKingdom Heartsgame throughKingdom Hearts 3using parties assembled from the playable characters in each game.Melody of Memoryenjoyed a solid reception and is considered to be a great way for Kingdom Heartsfans to brush up on the overall story.
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Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory’s Multiple-Input Triggers Led To Satisfying Gameplay
One of the most important elements of any rhythm game is a strong sense of feedback and participation in the music, andMelody of Memorydid an excellent jobof this by giving players control of three characters at once. This allowed for chord-like triggers in the gameplay requiring up to three simultaneous inputs, greatly expanding the potential for rhythmic complexity. Suzui says thatMelody of Memory’s multiple-input gameplay had a big influence onTheatrhythm Final Bar Line.
So in Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory, this was a type of game where three characters could be played and then there would be actions done using both L and R and that’s the gameplay that we focused on for Kingdom Hearts. Through creating Kingdom Hearts, we discovered the joy people feel through the dual input. We built on that to create Final Bar Line, and then we refined it to include the dual directions and pressing two buttons at the same time for the trigger, and found that players find this very satisfying and fun to do.
Final Bar Line’srhythm gameplay heavily uses multiple inputs to great effect. While some combinations are simple simultaneous button presses, particularly challenging sections also make use of directional input from the thumbsticks. These inputs often correspond to the melodic movement in the track, which leads to a strong sense of connectedness to the music almost as if the player is part of aFinal Fantasyorchestra. Multiple inputs also allow for rhythmic accenting that just isn’t possible when restricted to one button at a time.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line Uses the Unity Engine Like Kingdom: Hearts Melody of Memory
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memorywas built on thepopular Unity Engine, which has a solid reputation for having a user-friendly toolset and compatibility with multiple platforms. Based on that experience, indieszero went on to use the engine forTheatrhythm Final Bar Lineas well. As a result,Theatrhythm Final Bar Lineis the firstTheatrhythmgame to release on a traditional console alongside the usual handheld release.
As far as other technology, Unity was used to create Kingdom Hearts and this is also the case for Final Bar Line. This let us include very specific features and modes, and put a focus on the user being able to manipulate the settings for their desired type of gameplay. So this all encompasses and creates a refined way of enjoying this rhythm game that I believe we were able to accomplish.
Players have a variety of options they can tweak to tailor the game to their preferences. For example, while some players may enjoy the satisfying feedback the “chime” sounds provide when hitting a note on time, other players have the option to disable that sound effect if they’d rather focus completely on the music itself.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Linereleases February 16 on Nintendo Switch and PS4.
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