macdonaldc

What cannot be denied about this game is the addictive quality of the levels. There came a point after about 5 hours of gameplay, where the realisation hit that realistically I was playing for upgrades that are essentially pointless; (in-game sound effects, new characters - which in truth have no personality). For a split second I was excited to have a decision, do I unlock princess garnet from Final Fantasy IX or Tifa from Final Fantasy VII? Once I had chosen, it was apparent that it didn't make the slightest difference to my playing. There is no criticism for the in-game content; much like a typical Final Fantasy game that can always be depended upon for plenty of game content. There are tracks to play from all the main games to date and even some of the more obscure spin-offs of the series. That being said, having to spend 89p to play some of the e-store tracks does seem rather exorbitant. Although the game definitely improves upon the original Theatrhythm, it doesn't have a big enough hook to make me want to play more than a few hours casually. I tried out the medley quests until I got bored of them and then played a few tracks from the recently added Final Fantasy XIII-3 but then I was ready to trade it in. + Masses of unlockable content + Improves upon gameplay elements of predecessor - Buying bonus content can get expensive - Replay value gets a little stagnant

So much content in this game, that and it's stunning graphics are where it really excels. Even the bonus levels have bonus levels. True to form in difficulty, simple at the beginning and more challenging as it progresses. Music in the game is charming and perfectly suited to level themes and characterisation is cute and better than ever on HD. Agree with Super Mario Galaxy comparisons, definitely fills that gap until the third game is announced. Would have gladly gave a score of 10 but felt the game lacked imagination on the bonus levels on the world map, highly simple fruit machine concept and power-up box chooser games. Look back at Super Mario Bros. 3 with the card pairing or the shuffle match-up games, even a game from 25 years prior had a touch more magic in that area.