Review: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F

Warning: the review you are about to read is very bright and colorful. If you hate bright neon and colorful things, well.. you have been warned 😉

So it’s finally happened, a Hatsune Miku game has been translated to English and released in the Western hemisphere. Is the Project Diva series as good as people say it is? Read on to find out how I have experienced my first Hatsune Miku game.

Beginner Tips

The first time you play Hatsune Miku Project Diva F you are going to feel really overwhelmed at first if you are new to Project Diva games, trust me on this! So here is some advice for new players.

• Play the Tutorial Mode
  I highly recommend playing tutorial mode if you are new to the game. It explains the game mechanics very well.
• Adjust Input Lag Settings
  If you want to do well at this game, this setting is essential, or if your TV has a game mode that might work too.
• Concentrate on the Beat of the Music
  Keep an eye on the screen, but also listen to the beat of the music. The screen gets really busy sometimes (more on that below) and listening to the music can help you out.

Gameplay

The core gameplay of Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F is of course the rhythm gameplay. There are four difficulty modes, the default being normal. What you need to do is hit the correct button/s on the controller when it is indicated on screen. Sometimes these indicators can go by really fast or really slow, depending on the song.

All I know is that I was really overwhelmed when I first turned on the demo. I was failing so bad. I’m much better now, but not amazing by any means. So don’t feel bad if you have to start on easy mode. Practice makes perfect! Successfully completing a “chance time” unlocks a bonus ending on the song you’re playing. Basically, you want to keep chaining combos as much as you can, that is what gets you the big points.

Oh, and the screens get insanely busy at times; it might not look so bad in screens, or even on Youtube, but when you’re playing it in person it’s quite overwhelming if you aren’t used to such a thing. Bright colors flashing all over the place and background objects moving really fast. It’s quite nice once you get used to it though! I’ve seen some people say that there should be no background videos, but I disagree. The crazy background videos are what make Project Diva, well… Project Diva. It’s got an unique charm that no other rhythm game has.

The game also allows you to buy outfits/accessories that you have unlocked for the vocaloids. It’s a feature I thought I would have no interest in, but some of the songs really seem much better when played with certain outfits. Was quite surprising to me. It’s all personal opinions though as to what you prefer, so just experiment and have fun if you are into playing dress up. 😛

More Gameplay Features

“What, there is more to this game?!” Yes… yes there is. This game has a surprising amount of features, most of which are sure to please people who really get attached to their anime/manga.

There is of course the store to buy items in, which is where you buy outfits and accessores. There are much more than outfits in the store though; you can also buy room themes, room items, and gifts.

There is also the vocaloid rooms, where you can interact with the vocalaids and build relationships with them. Yeah, you read that right, you can build a relationship with Hatsune Miku if you really want to! There is also a live stage mode where you can look at Miku from many different camera angles and take pictures. I personally don’t find these features very interesting, but I wanted to look at them so I could talk about them in the review.

Among the more cool features is the ability to create your own songs, complete with custom backgrounds and everything. I looked at the feature really quickly and left, it just looked really confusing and in-depth! Not for me, but seems like it’s a great feature for anyone who wants to invest the time into it.

SEGA Fan Service

There’s some SEGA fan service in the game. There is Dreamcast and PSO references. Not much to say about it, just thought it was worth a mention!

Presentation

The presentation of Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is pretty good overall. The menus are slick. The game graphics are really colorful and sharp. One thing to mention is that the game does have a ton of loading screens, so if you buy the phsyical version you should definitely install it on your PS3 to cut down on the load times. Also the loading screen backgrounds are really colorful random pieces of Hatsune Miku fan art.

Audio

The audio is how you would expect a vocaloid to sound. If you don’t know what a vocaloid sounds like watch the video I have embedded. Also when playing the musical stages, the sounds the buttons make when pressing them are really satisfying. When you are doing really badly in a song the vocaloid stops singing, which is a good way to let you know you are doing badly! Sometimes the screen gets so busy you might not notice otherwise.

Overall

Overall Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is an awesome game and definitely lives up to the hype it has been given. At $50 it might seem a bit expensive, but it’s definitely worth your money if you are a fan of anime and/or music games. You won’t feel ripped off, there is a lot of content to keep you busy. I’m so addicted to this game!

Also note, I haven’t fully finished it yet, so if I missed anything significant, I’m sorry. I’ve gotten stuck on some hard songs and don’t have much more time to play the game at the moment. I figured since I’ve played through the majority of the game it would be better to get the review up early rather than much later.

So, after reading my review. Are you ready to “have some fun with Miku”?

I’ve also included a gallery of all the screens I took, for those who are interested to see more of the game.

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