Please Square Enix, make a Disney Theatrhythm game…

The long-running Final Fantasy series just recently passed its 35th anniversary, and one of the hallmarks of this groundbreaking RPG series is it’s always had some pretty memorable and fantastic music in pretty much all its entries. Square Enix is celebrating this by releasing the latest game in its Theatrhythm series, Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line, for both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation platforms this week. If you are not familiar with the Theatrhythm series, it consists of rhythm-based gameplay where you time button and stick actions to music, and the games usually highlight the best and most interesting tracks.

There have been games featuring music from both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, which are two of Square Enix’s biggest franchises. Do you know what else has a long history of memorable music that should be featured in a game? That’s right, Disney.

For a company whose memorable musical numbers and even just memorable instrumental themes are so beloved and celebrated, Disney seems like a very natural fit for music games as a whole, and while there have been a handful in gaming history, none have really been that memorable and certainly not a comprehensive look at the musical history of this entertainment company that is now celebrating its 100th anniversary.

We got just a small taste of what such a game might look like with the 2020 release of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, but not only was the gameplay in that title a tad underwhelming, it was really focused on original music from the Kingdom Hearts series, only having three tracks that were actually Disney songs despite the many worlds based on animated Disney films filled with memorable songs.

But a simple music game simply would not do. We need something that celebrates the history and the music in a fun and engaging way and provides some fun remixes of the classics as well and that is right in the wheelhouse of the Theatrythm series. It’s pretty easy to imagine say the trio of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy going through famous Disney songs and trying to keep to the rhythm. It would actually be somewhat reminiscent of the Philharmagic attraction at Disney Parks, which is one of my favorites.

Unlike several previous blogs where I proposed a company makes a Disney game that seems like a natural fit, this is the one that really seems like both a no-brainer and within the realm of possibility. Disney seems very open to game developers in ways they weren’t several years ago and Square Enix still has a good working relationship with Disney or frankly, Kingdom Hearts IV probably wouldn’t be happening. So let’s get the right people together from both Disney and Square Enix to sit down and work out how to make Disney Theatrhythm a game that exists, please?

That’s pretty much it for today, but I do have a couple of ideas in mind for later in the week so expect a new blog entry this coming weekend and see ya real soon!