What better series to make rhythm games from than Final Fantasy? Each game offers a unique array of songs that experiment with different genres or styles complete. Final Fantasy Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (phew what a long name) has decided to celebrate each and every main line game, and spinoffs, too.
While the majority of the songs are approachable for those who are new to the rhythm series or those who have been playing since the inception of the first game on 3DS, some songs are worth being called the hardest by everyone who dares give them a try. Which ones made the cut?
9 A Long Fall - Final Fantasy 14
Starting with a banger! A Long Fall, a theme belonging to The Twinning Dungeon, is a fan favorite from Final Fantasy 14, and it does not disappoint here. Keeping up with the upbeat tempo of the dungeon theme’s bass line while simultaneously trying to keep your rhythm at around 170 beats per minute can be challenging, especially on harder difficulties.
The hardest part of this song though is trying not to jam out while you play. The way the song pulls you into where you can’t help but dance is strong, and after a while, the notes themselves start looking like dance steps that you are meant to follow.
8 Battle To The Death - Final Fantasy 6
The Battle to the Death is relentless in both tempo and button placement, from beginning to end, and it doesn’t let up until the last note is played. The frenetic speed at which you have to press each prompt hardly gives you time to react, let alone Bob your head to the music.
In that way, Battle To The Death acts in line with its origin of being a boss battle song in Final Fantasy 6, because you are in for a damn hard challenge, even on the basic difficulty. But, if you are familiar with rhythm games, or just want to see the next stage of the story, you’ll overcome it easily.
7 What Angel Wakes Me - Final Fantasy 14
If you were to only listen to this Shadowbringers expansion Trial song, you would probably get a visual of a whimsical, easy-going song that plays during an event or a cutscene. To those of you who are in the know, though? No, that isn’t anywhere near the case. The trial was chaotic and unpredictable.
That chaotic essence is ever present on the map as well. The arrows almost feel as though they are dancing as if they are in a frenzy up and down the bar line in cascading patterns. Popping up in between the melody of the red standard notes as if they were playing hide and seek. It represents King Titania's desire to play after being alone and driven to isolation for so long.
6 The Chase - Final Fantasy 7
The Chase from Final Fantasy 7 succeeds in conveying one singular thought your party shares among themselves: you have to get the hell out of there! It translates perfectly into the note layout by making the beginning of the song invoke the feeling you are running for your life while trying to find your way out of the situation.
A combination of dots and slides can feel like there’s a little bit of an overload of things to keep track of, and that’s not wrong, but if you’ve got a good sense of rhythm and the timer calibrated, you will be able to get the hang of it after a few tries.
5 Force Your Way - Final Fantasy 8
Conversely, Force Your Way leans its map in the opposite direction. While it does have several hold notes, the majority of them happen so fast that they are closer in tempo to the red tapping notes. Sure you have a long hold note here and there, but they only occur during the ‘chorus’ of the song.
The sense of urgency runs high here, giving you the sense that you are indeed forcing your way through to the end through dangerous double steps and arrows. Somehow, the combination of the song’s mood and the number of notes on it does an excellent job of making you feel you are two steps away from failing the song.
4 Heroes - Final Fantasy 14
The Knights of the Round comes to mind when someone mentions the words ‘Final Fantasy 7’ and ‘summon’ in the same sentence of the simple fact they are the absolute strongest summon in the game. The hardest to obtain, too, but that’s for another day. So, when they showed up in Final Fantasy 14 as antagonists, it was both exciting and terrifying to be on the receiving end of their attacks.
The song isn’t the fastest in the game, but since when did knights care about that? Power, not speed, is what matters to a knight at the table. After the orchestral opening, a flurry of red notes immediately introduces you to what you are really about to face. The only downside to this song is that it's not long enough.
3 One Winged Angel - Final Fantasy 7
Instead of focusing on being an overly complicated map, One WInged Angel instead becomes a battle of attrition with a runtime of over six minutes. Depending on how you play on your controller, you might want to take a few moments to stretch your hands before tackling this marathon.
That doesn’t mean that you can just breeze through with ease, it’s still a challenge to play, but the slower speed is the saving grace that might get you through to the finish line if you stay on your toes.
2 Let The Battles Begin - Final Fantasy 7
It feels that there's a little too much FF7 on the list, which is fair, but the game can’t help if it has good music, right? In general, the battle themes provide you with a sense of fighting an actual battle, and Let The Battles Begin fits that mold to a tee. Each not feels like you are dodging and attacking and lobbing attacks back out of your outside what your characters are doing on screen.
The song doesn’t front-load tons of notes at you. Instead, it spreads them out at a greater distance which contradicts the fast-paced feeling of fighting the songs give. The pattern almost feels deceptively easy, but that’s what it wants you to think while giving you trick arrows to throw you off. Tricky, tricky.
1 Battle At Big Bridge All-Star Carnival Arrangement - Final Fantasy 5
Listen, The Battle At Big Bridge deserves respect for its name. A monstrous speed beast who is relentless in its attack. Even on its easier difficulty, this is still one of the harder titles to play, giving both new and veteran players a run for their money. Every song on this list is some of the most challenging songs to play to date, Yet, this piece stands tall above the rest.
The song throws one-sixteenth notes at you the whole way through and forces you to hit three and sometimes even four buttons at the same time while shoving diagonal arrows in the way as well. Battle At Big Bridge earns its reputation for being the hardest sequence in the game. A king, if you will.