Theatrhythm Final Bar Line on PC

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line on PC

An unofficial native PC runner for the PS4 version of Theatrhythm Final Bar Line.
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It runs the game's own code natively on Windows and Linux, with a Vulkan renderer, keyboard and gamepad controls, and display settings of its own. No game files are included: you need a decrypted dump of your own copy of the game (PS4, version 1.00).

Features

• PC display settings: windowed, borderless or fullscreen, at your desktop's resolution.
• Keyboard and controller: Xbox-style mapping for controllers, with the game's button hints redrawn for keyboard and Xbox. DualSense works too.
• Easy setup: point the installer at your dump, and it can add a desktop shortcut (on Linux, an application menu entry).

Supported languages

All of the game's own languages are available (it asks which one on first boot). English is the one played most with this runner so far.

• ✅ English
• ✅ Japanese
• ✅ French
• ✅ German
• ✅ Italian
• ✅ Spanish
• ✅ Korean
• ✅ Chinese (Traditional)
• ✅ Chinese (Simplified)

Download

From the latest release:

• Windows: theatrhythm-fbl-pc-<version>.zip
• Linux: theatrhythm-fbl-pc-<version>-linux.tar.gz

Requirements

• Windows: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Python and other tools come with the release: you don't need to install anything else.
• Linux: x86-64 with glibc 2.39 or newer (SteamOS 3.7, Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 13, Fedora 40 or newer, Arch) and Python 3.10 or newer (python3, which most distributions have) for the setup.
• A CPU with AVX
• A GPU with Vulkan 1.3 and an up-to-date driver (on Linux, Mesa or the NVIDIA driver)
• A decrypted dump of your own copy of the game: the folder with eboot.bin, sce_module, sce_sys and Media

Tested on

Part	Model
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
RAM	64 GB
OS	Windows 11 Pro

That's far more than the game needs. It was made for a PS4, and the runner adds little on top, so a much more modest PC should play it fine: any reasonably recent CPU with AVX and a GPU with a current Vulkan 1.3 driver. Lower-end machines haven't been tested yet, so if yours works (or doesn't), please say so in an issue.

The Linux version is new: it has been run on Ubuntu 24.04 in WSL (software rendering, from setup to the game's first screen) and checked on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Arch, but not yet played on a Linux PC with its own GPU or on a Steam Deck. If you try it there, please report how it goes.

Install and play

1. Unzip the release anywhere, for example C:\Games\Theatrhythm.
2. Run theatrhythm-setup.exe.
3. Choose your game folder (the dump) and a save folder (by default save inside the release folder), then press Install. Setup prepares the game from your dump in a few seconds and offers a desktop shortcut. Your dump is only read, never changed.
4. Press Play Game. Later, start theatrhythm-fbl.exe or the shortcut.

Run theatrhythm-setup.exe again any time to change the game or save folder. It offers to copy your saves when the save folder moves.

On Linux

1. Extract the release anywhere you can write, for example ~/Games/Theatrhythm: tar -xzf theatrhythm-fbl-pc-<version>-linux.tar.gz -C ~/Games
2. Run theatrhythm-setup: open it from your file manager and it asks with dialogs, or run ./theatrhythm-setup in a terminal and it asks there. It also takes --game <dump> [--save <folder>] on the command line.
3. Pick your game folder (the dump) and keep or change the save folder. Setup prepares the game in a few seconds and offers an entry in your application menu.
4. Start the game from the menu entry, or run ./theatrhythm-fbl.

On a Steam Deck, do this in Desktop Mode; then Add a Non-Steam Game in Steam lists the menu entry. Shader caches are kept in ~/.cache/theatrhythm-fbl.

Updating

Unzip (on Linux, extract) the new release over the old folder, then run the setup once more (the game asks you to). Your folders, saves and settings are kept.

Settings

Setup writes settings.ini next to the game. It holds the window mode and size, monitor, vsync, frame limit, audio volume and speaker layout, vibration, the dialog confirm button and control remapping, each with a comment explaining it.

In the game, Options > Display Settings (an extra button below Streaming Rules) changes the window mode, resolution, vsync, frame rate limit and render resolution. Changes apply at once and are saved to settings.ini when you leave the page.

Render resolution is 4K by default (render_resolution=4k in settings.ini): the game renders at 3840x2160, as on a PS4 Pro, and the picture is filtered down to your screen (the desktop resolution, as the game opens borderless by default), so it's sharper on any screen. On a weaker GPU set it to 1080p, as on a PS4. It applies the next time you start the game.

Controls

The game sees one DualShock 4. Any gamepad works, mapped by button position: on an Xbox pad A B X Y are Cross, Circle, Square, Triangle; LB/RB are L1/R1, LT/RT are L2/R2, Menu is Options and View clicks the touchpad. The keyboard and mouse work alongside a gamepad. In rhythm play any button taps a trigger and either stick slides, so each hand gets a stick and taps:

Keys	PS4
W A S D / I J K L	left stick / right stick
arrow keys	d-pad (menus)
Space, Enter	Cross
Escape, Backspace, ;	Circle
F / H	Square / Triangle
Q, Page Up / O, Page Down	L1 / R1
E / U	L2 / R2
X / M	L3 / R3
Tab, P	Options
T	touchpad click

Keys are physical positions, so they're the same on AZERTY or QWERTZ keyboards. To change them, edit key_map and pad_map in settings.ini, e.g. key_map=cross=G,cross=Mouse Left: the first mention of a button replaces its defaults, the next ones add more, and =None unbinds it.

On-screen button prompts follow the device you last used: PlayStation icons for a DualShock or DualSense, Xbox icons for other gamepads, and key names for the keyboard. Set button_icons in settings.ini to ps4, xbox or keyboard to keep one set.

Issues and suggestions

Found a problem? Open an issue and attach theatrhythm.log from the log folder in your save folder. Any suggestion, just open an issue too.

Building from source

See docs/building.md for the toolchain, building, tests and packaging, and docs/development.md for how the runner works and how to work on it. Every push is built and tested by GitHub Actions, and tagging a version publishes a release.

Credits and license

GPL-2.0-or-later, see LICENSE. The loader, runtime and GPU shim are derived from SpartanPort by Felipe Prado and contributors (GPL-2.0). The video core and parts of the runtime follow shadPS4. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is a trademark of Square Enix. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Square Enix or Sony Interactive Entertainment.