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Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call |OT| Once more, with feeling!

Petrie

Banned
Have the collectors edition preordered but this seems like a perfect digital game I'll always want around. So turn. Ugh!
 

ss-hikaru

Member
Yay an OT! I've had the game since April-ish (Japanese version) and I still haven't played all the songs even though I've sunk a lot of time into it. Quest mode was fun at first, but I don't like how they 'up the difficulty' in higher level Quests by adding the 'status effects' from versus mode :| Sure it makes it harder, but not really in a skill based way -_- It's more a 'have you played the song enough times to have partially memorised the beat map' test and most of the time I'm playing the song for only the first or second time...

I miss the funky catchphrases from the first one. :p

Although some of the expressions of the characters that replaced it is pretty funny. My onion knight made this face once -> >:3

lol

I missed the catchphrases too at first, but since I've got the Japanese version it's probably worked out for the best, I probably wouldn't be able to read the quips fast enough!
 

Robin64

Member
Every time I watch a YouTube video I play along with my finger. Don't tell anyone but I'm more excited about this game than Smash.
 

bobohoro

Member
Every time I watch a YouTube video I play along with my finger. Don't tell anyone but I'm more excited about this game than Smash.

Don't worry, you're not alone.

Still undecided if I should go with buttons or stylus control, especially with FMS. BMS felt easier with buttons, but the wavy green lines in FMS seemed rather unresponsive with the circle pad. Didn't try it yet, but is it possible to use both control schemes at the same time or are you locked in after the beginning of a song?
 
Got my Collector's Edition on Saturday, been playing the crap out of it ever since. Digital River really came through this time!

It's so fun. It's better than the original in every way, and the original was already very good. There's so much to do it's almost overwhelming, but it plays just beautifully. I find the button controls kinda wonky and prefer playing with the stylus (I can SS most Ultimate Scores no problem with the stylus, but the button controls feel imprecise enough that I almost can't pass some Ultimate Scores outright), but I'm glad the option is there for those that can make better use of it than I.

Also played a Versus match against a guy in Japan, and it was super smooth - no lag, stuttering, or anything of the short. I can see myself getting a lot of mileage out of Versus Mode once I figure out how to play with EX Bursts off.

I've unlocked the capability to download DLC, but I investigated and, unsurprisingly, nothing's up yet (you just get an error message and get kicked back out to the main menu).

Having customizable trigger sounds this time around is REALLY COOL, and there are so many! There's a lot more to unlock this time around in general, which is fun. Characters are also much easier to unlock than in the last game (no ridiculous note grinding), which I appreciate.

I think my only real complaint at this point is how sluggish the menus are and the longish loading times, but that was an issue in the last game too, so it is what it is.

Still can't believe how fun Maybe I'm a Lion's Ultimate Score is - no song so lame to just listen to has any right to be so fun to play.

Anyone have any questions? I'll answer them to the best of my ability.
 
Played the demo for a while and I don't know if it's just me, but the music is too quiet. No bass, even with decent headphones. Started the demo of the first Theatrhythm afterwards and there everything is fine. In the system settings you see that the the demo of Curtain Call is only half the size of the first demo. Did they reduce the sound quality for the demo, so it's smaller? The IGN review says there's no audio compression although there are three times as many songs as in the first game.
I think the music is smaller in curtain call. Maybe the Nintendo bcstm codec improved between them or has weird properties like quieter music compresses better.

I hope it didn't get music bumped down to 24KHz from 32KHz though (that is as high as Nintendo go formats go for some reason). I'll investigate and report back if I find anything.

Edit: I was completely wrong it seems that for tracks that were in the first game and are unchanged here the files used are completely identical (the naming is different as might be the game play).
 
Is the music also softer in the full game? Can anyone with both games confirm? The demo drives me nuts. It's too quiet even with headphones.
 

Tathanen

Get Inside Her!
This game (and Smash Bros) really are review-proof for me. There's literally nothing a review could tell me that I don't already know, nor is there an opinion that could be conveyed that would affect me whatsoever. I know exactly what I'm getting into with both, and couldn't be more ready.
 

Kouriozan

Member
Hope Amazon.fr will dispatch it tomorrow (or Hyrule Warrios please).
I have free express delivery with Premium so I guess they'll start dispatching those Wednesday. I got Mario Kart 8 day -2 but that's because day -1 was an holiday.
 
Here's my ticket, lemme on this hype train!

Still kind of torn on buttons vs. stylus for FMS tracks. The only way I can seem to reliably hit arrows at the end of a hold note with buttons is to release the circle pad a split second before the arrow, then hit the arrow. This is fine for Basic, at least for the demo songs, but I'm pretty sure it'll be unworkable for anything more intense. On the other hand, I dislike using the stylus and have a tendency to flick in slightly the wrong direction, which obviously screws me up. Buttons are great for BMS, though!
 

Yasumi

Banned
Wow, Bestbuy got my copy to my house today. Only thing is I won't be able to get home for another 10 hours. It's sitting there, taunting me.
 

suzu

Member
Got my Collector's Edition on Saturday, been playing the crap out of it ever since. Digital River really came through this time!

It's so fun. It's better than the original in every way, and the original was already very good. There's so much to do it's almost overwhelming, but it plays just beautifully. I find the button controls kinda wonky and prefer playing with the stylus (I can SS most Ultimate Scores no problem with the stylus, but the button controls feel imprecise enough that I almost can't pass some Ultimate Scores outright), but I'm glad the option is there for those that can make better use of it than I.

Also played a Versus match against a guy in Japan, and it was super smooth - no lag, stuttering, or anything of the short. I can see myself getting a lot of mileage out of Versus Mode once I figure out how to play with EX Bursts off.

I've unlocked the capability to download DLC, but I investigated and, unsurprisingly, nothing's up yet (you just get an error message and get kicked back out to the main menu).

Having customizable trigger sounds this time around is REALLY COOL, and there are so many! There's a lot more to unlock this time around in general, which is fun. Characters are also much easier to unlock than in the last game (no ridiculous note grinding), which I appreciate.

I think my only real complaint at this point is how sluggish the menus are and the longish loading times, but that was an issue in the last game too, so it is what it is.

Still can't believe how fun Maybe I'm a Lion's Ultimate Score is - no song so lame to just listen to has any right to be so fun to play.

Anyone have any questions? I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

I don't have any questions, but thanks for posting your impressions.

I have a feeling I'll be sticking to stylus.
 

daydream

Banned
I will probably get destroyed in VS. mode but I'm still looking forward to it.

If only we were playing Rhythm Tengoku instead..
 
So does this new game have any of the videos from the first game or any new ones?

Definitely new and EMS videos are reassigned to different songs. For example, Aerith's Theme is now a BMS while One Winged Angel (Advent Children version) is an EMS. Moon Waltz is also no longer an EMS and is now an FMS....
 

LuuKyK

Member
I didnt like the button controls that much tbh. Those long up and down lines are much easier to control with the stylus.
 

Pangya

Member
I didnt like the button controls that much tbh. Those long up and down lines are much easier to control with the stylus.

I find it easier to use the slide pad for wave hold lines. As long as you hold up or down on the slide pad in the correct direction, you'll never stray from the line path. Hitting the directional note at the end of a wave hold line can be a bit tricky, but you'll eventually get used to how it's done.
 

Stuart444

Member
I've gotten used to the button controls for FMS stages now. The only bit that gives me issues is the up/down/whatever at the end of the long green lines. If there is no direction at the end of the lines, I usually do it without any issues.

Still I'll probably use both buttons and stylus a lot with the full game. Options are fun :)
 

Roubjon

Member
I definitely like the touch controls more after playing the demo. I feel like I have more control, which is odd because I thought it'd be the opposite. It's more enjoyable to play with the touchscreen in general as well. Hitting one button and sliding the pad isn't as fun.
 

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
Status: Delivered!

Can't wait to get home and give this another go! From what I've read, this new control scheme should be right up my alley!
 
Is the music also softer in the full game? Can anyone with both games confirm? The demo drives me nuts. It's too quiet even with headphones.

Seconded, demo was super quiet.

I too thought the demo was way too quiet, but I've been playing a ton of the full game and haven't noticed the same issue. It still helps to be in a relatively quiet location with headphones just because the 3DS's overall sound output is so much lower volume-wise than, say, the Vita's, but the full game definitely seems louder to me than the demo.

I don't have any questions, but thanks for posting your impressions.

I have a feeling I'll be sticking to stylus.

No problem! And yeah, I'd say that's the safest choice.

Is that Maybe I'm a Lion by The Black Mages?

With the spoken English at the beginning?

Nope, it's the original version from FF VIII. Just as in the original Theatrhythm, every song is directly taken from its source game; none of the playable songs are rearrangements or remasters (aside from a couple of Curtain Call-specific bonus arrangements and rearrangements that are taken directly from a games like Dissidia and Dissidia 012).
 
Random thing.


I got an Email from Amazon this morning saying I was charged and I didn't know why. Looked into the email further and saw it was for this game that I must have pre-ordered a long long time ago. Not sure if I will keep it or send it back yet. Surprised I forgot about it.
 

Jeels

Member
I definitely like the touch controls more after playing the demo. I feel like I have more control, which is odd because I thought it'd be the opposite. It's more enjoyable to play with the touchscreen in general as well. Hitting one button and sliding the pad isn't as fun.

I too thought the demo was way too quiet, but I've been playing a ton of the full game and haven't noticed the same issue. It still helps to be in a relatively quiet location with headphones just because the 3DS's overall sound output is so much lower volume-wise than, say, the Vita's, but the full game definitely seems louder to me

Happy to hear this. This is the perfect game to play in short bursts but I was concerned with how quiet things sounded.
 

Bazooka137

Neo Member
I've put quite a few hours in since I got my CE in on Saturday. I can say as someone who put more than my fair share of hours into the first Theatrhythm, this is the definitive game. The general play mode is a lot more friendly being able to pick and choose your songs, and the new Chaos Map system is certainly an upgrade to the Dark Notes in the first game. And sooo many unlockables between characters, hitsounds, and songs. :D

The only complaint I've had so far is that the versus mode is kind of plagued by RNG with how powerful, or weak, the EX Burst skills that activate so often are. They can be as powerful as forcing you to hit exactly in the circle, or as weak as switching your health with the enemy when they have less health than you. However, the joys of having multiplayer as an option is worth it enough to overcome that minor issue.

Overall, I'm having so much fun playing this game. The Touch and Button controls both feel responsive and satisfying, although I prefer to stick to the Touch controls from the first game. There is so much to play around with in this game, and I would definitely recommend a buy. I can't see myself playing another 3DS title, other than Smash 4, more this year. Get hype.
 

Zhao_Yun

Member
I've put quite a few hours in since I got my CE in on Saturday. I can say as someone who put more than my fair share of hours into the first Theatrhythm, this is the definitive game. The general play mode is a lot more friendly being able to pick and choose your songs, and the new Chaos Map system is certainly an upgrade to the Dark Notes in the first game. And sooo many unlockables between characters, hitsounds, and songs. :D

The only complaint I've had so far is that the versus mode is kind of plagued by RNG with how powerful, or weak, the EX Burst skills that activate so often are. They can be as powerful as forcing you to hit exactly in the circle, or as weak as switching your health with the enemy when they have less health than you. However, the joys of having multiplayer as an option is worth it enough to overcome that minor issue.

Overall, I'm having so much fun playing this game. The Touch and Button controls both feel responsive and satisfying, although I prefer to stick to the Touch controls from the first game. There is so much to play around with in this game, and I would definitely recommend a buy. I can't see myself playing another 3DS title, other than Smash 4, more this year. Get hype.

Thanks for your impressions!
Is it possible to play versus without the EX Burst Skills or are they mandatory?
 
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