Review - Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F (2013)

Developer: Crypton Future Media, Sega

Platform: PlayStation 3

Induction Date: 09/01/2013

Ascending to true rhythm heaven.

Before I started playing Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F, I didn't know who the heck Hatsune Miku was. Sure, I have seen her around the Internet, always showing up in fan-made games and YouTube videos so I assumed for the longest time that she was just an anime show character that a lot of people really, really adore. Now, she is no longer a mystery to me. She is the visual representation of a vocaloid, one of quite a number of them actually, a voice synthesizing program. You write the lyrics and the vocaloid would sing them, sometimes convincingly beautiful at it too. The English version of this popular vocaloid was just recently released for $149, so we better brace ourselves for that potential pop-culture explosion. Since many supposed human singers actually auto-tune their voices anyway, perhaps the Japanese got it right when it comes to vocaloid worship? But let's save that for another discussion.

Aw, what a cute, heartwarming moment... or is it?

Project DIVA F is mainly a rhythm action game where you have to press sequences of inputs in-time with the on-screen cues while a music video featuring Hatsune Miku and her vocaloid friends is playing in the background. The music videos are presented using real-time in-game assets and they are endlessly creative and are quite entertaining to watch. Most of the time, the backgrounds are so busy, they become a part of the challenge in keeping up with your timing to trigger the proper inputs. Also, the visual cues are flying all over the screen and as you move up in difficulty levels, they can be very tricky to follow. Yes, the game is simple to play but to master it, it will take one to immerse oneself in the game's huge selections of songs and many, many repeat plays. Now a lot of these songs are worth replaying on their own but the addition of a ridiculous amount on unlockables that can be purchased with the "Diva Points" rewarded from completing a song, makes it hard for me to stop playing the game. These unlockables, which includes new character outfits and accessories as well as room decorations and vocaloid gifts, can be quite expensive: It is a brilliant design that pushes players to keep replaying the game over and over again to acquire them all. When things start to get repetitive, you can change your selected vocaloid's looks in the music video or even change the cast members entirely to your liking. This can result in humorous, disturbing, and even poignant situations because you can have male vocaloids replacing female vocaloids as well as other role reassignments. The song selections found in the game are fantastic. They are sometimes silly, sometimes motivational, and sometimes surprisingly dark. It is a shame that there are no English subtitles available in-game for some odd reason. Seeking the song translations is definitely encouraged so that you won't miss the maturity and depth found in songs like Cat Food, Dream-Eating Monochrome Baku, Glasses, and Acute to name a few.

Just remember, they kind of look like us but vocaloids are not real humans.

In addition to the rhythm action, there is also a lite simulation element to the game which involves you visiting the vocaloids' "Diva Rooms" to build a good relationship with them. This creepy mode will have you touching and playing with the vocaloids to gain their favors. Just think of it as your little doll house. You can customize the vocaloids' dwellings to your liking and experiment with both the decorations as well as gifts that they would respond to. This mode is the least intriguing part of the game for me because I wish that I could just run around in the virtual space as the vocaloids themselves but fans of these characters would probably get a kick out of it. A side activity found in Project DIVA F that many could definitely enjoy however, albeit a little daunting, is the Edit mode. Here, you can create your own rhythm sequences for the songs found in the game as well as your own MP3 files and make music videos for them. The options you are provided with are quite robust where you can control minuscule details like mouth and eye movements. Though your creation may not match the more complex music videos found in the game, your only limit here is your creativity, time, and the odd file size limitation attached to each user created data. You can share your creations with the community but bear in mind that only the video data is exchangeable and users must have the same MP3 files if they choose to play around with songs outside of the game's confines. I attempted to edit Happy Rhodes' The Chariot into the game and from what I have experienced, being elaborate with both the input sequences and the video directing will require a lot commitment and dedication so I decided that I am going to just use this mode to create videos for my works of poetry, which should make things simpler and fun.

Yes, that is a Dreamcast controller.

The game supports native stereoscopic 3D but strangely, 3D effects are not available for the actual rhythm game. This is a missed opportunity because it would have been wonderful to be able to see those crazy flying visual cues floating in front of the background to distinguish the two elements. Other than that minor complaint however, Project DIVA F is a fun rhythm game packed-full of both contents and features. Allowing the players to customize the gameplay experience in its visual, aural, and rhythm design ensure that there is always something you can do with the game. If only the game could automatically generate visual cues and videos for your MP3 files, it would have easily outclass both Audiosurf and Beat Hazard Ultra on the Personal Computer. It may require a bit of work but as long as one has that passion and desire to play any kind of music Hatsune Miku style, this game should last for quite a long time. Also note Miku fans that this game gives you an opportunity to take an up close and personal picture with her without going to a cosplay convention.

RATING: 4 out of 5