Theatrhythm Final Bar Line Doesn't Work On Leap Years, Apparently

The Final Fantasy fandom has its eyes firmly focused on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which launches today on PlayStation 5. Those who aren't immediately jumping back into Cloud's adventures may be looking for another FF experience to fill the void, but be warned: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is apparently taking the day off.

Per Australian site Vooks, players who have tried to boot up the Final-Fantasy-based rhythm game have found themselves in a loading loop, as the game will not connect to Square Enix's servers. We launched the game on PS5, and we can back up this claim; after the title screen, we were also stuck in a loading loop as pictured below.

The issue has been isolated to today's date--February 29, the leap year--as changing the console's date to something else allows the game to boot properly. Square Enix provided GameSpot with the following statement when contacted for comment:

"The dev team is aware and working on resolving it. It should be live and playable as usual tomorrow, but feel free to keep an eye on the support page for any updates."

Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line first launched in February 2023, with regular downloadable music packs featuring games outside of Final Fantasy following the launch. GameSpot's 8/10 review called it the "apex of the Theatrhythm spin-off franchise," saying that its "vast and varied library of music is a nostalgic thrill."

Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line is available now on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.