Since her introduction in 2007, the virtual singer Hatsune Miku has consistently captivated fans. She and her fellow Vocaloid characters inspire creative endeavors and regularly grace figures, albums, live concerts, and other media. Sega’s licensed games have consistently spread a brand of vibrant energetic fun across the music gaming genre.
After a few Japan-only game releases, we’ve now seen a range of Hatsune Miku games in the West: Project Diva F (2013 PS3/Vita), Project Diva F 2nd (2014 PS3/Vita), the spinoff Project Mirai DX (2015 3DS), Project Diva X (2016 PS4/Vita), and the forthcoming Project Diva: Future Tone. Each game revisits fun features that remain consistently compelling. Let’s take a look at how these recurring features create a fun experience — especially in the upcoming Future Tone!
Balancing Accessibility with Energetic Action
In Project Diva series, players press matching buttons as icons overlap a target zone. Audiovisual cues help players know when to act. The cues resemble familiar controller button icons, which allows for easy readability. Unlike many games, however, Project Diva’s icons and targets appear in different parts of the screen. The targets typically follow lines and curves, but they can even resemble shapes like hearts and stars. Sega’s designers position visual cues in a way that challenges players while always remaining fair and balanced.
Keeping up with Project Diva patterns can feel like fast paced finger dancing. Moving from one input to another can take some focus, and icons sometimes appear in rapid succession. Being able to use either the directional pad or the buttons is a helpful plus. Future Tone primarily uses four icons that ask players to press individual buttons or occasionally even two to four at once. Future Tone’s new “slide notes” also ask players to swipe left and right on the touch pad or another chosen input.
Future Tone broadens accessibility by allowing players to choose whether certain cues resemble arrows or controller icons, and it also enables full remapping of controls to buttons. Players can set triggers to perform other functions and even make any button perform something else entirely.
A Colorful Exhibition of Diverse Songs
Project Diva’s compelling song lists are diverse and never disappoint. From sweeping melodies like “Senbonzakura” to upbeat electronic beats like “Decorator,” the games’ licensed song selections are always diverse and engaging. Other songs like “The Intense Voice of Hatsune Miku,” “Two-Sided Lovers,” and “2D Dream Fever” have become renown for being difficult for players to clear, but they remain endlessly catchy even after repeated plays.
While the games revolve around experiencing music, the visuals can often be as equally captivating. Each Project Diva song is accompanied by a dancing character or group in an environment. Some songs like “Black Rock Shooter” portray a story using a sequence of environments, and others like “Melancholic” and “Nice to Meet You, Mr. Earthling” occur on a single stage full of colorful props. Others are “Denparadigm” and “Pink Moon” are full of surreal imagery that will leave players speechless. Having so many unique dance routines, camerawork, and sets is truly admirable. With both Future Sound and Colorful Tone add-on packs purchased, Future Tone includes all of the aforementioned memorable songs and many more hit selections across the entire history of the series.
A Fun Filled Customizable Roster
While each game title features Hatsune Miku’s name, the games also feature songs utilizing voices from five other Vocaloid characters from Crypton Media: Kagamine Len, Kagamine Rin, Megurine Luka, Kaito, and Meiko. These characters’ distinct voices and appearances help diversify the games’ songs even further, especially as certain songs utilize multiple characters simultaneously. Certain songs in Project Mirai DX and Future Tone can be set to use a different vocalist, which creates fun replayability and different takes on familiar hits.
Project Diva games feature a wide roster of costume modules. They include uniforms, elaborate robes, crossovers with other Sega properties, and complete color changes. Many songs have a “recommended module” that fits their thematic matter and visually ties characters together. However, the games grant complete freedom in deciding which characters to use. Certain Future Tone songs push customization to the limit by allowing players to customize all six Vocaloids!
Full of Content and Activities
Each Project Diva game is a worthwhile sizable experience. By clearing songs, players receive rewards such as in-game currency for purchasing items and additional difficulty levels. Purchasable items include additional costumes and accessories. Some games allow players to customize the characters’ homes and give presents, which can trigger zany cutscenes and amusing interactions.
With both add-on packs, Future Tone has 224 songs, 342 costumes, and 161 accessories, which provides plenty of content to occupy players’ attention for an extended period of time. While Future Tone provides a more straightforward experience than prior installments that utilize mini-games and other diversions, its use of screenshots and music videos can be similarly enthralling. Players can create custom playlists and easily take screenshots while watching music videos of their favorite songs. With so many possible costume, accessory, and song combinations, the possibilities are endless.
The Project Diva games have been filled to the brim with colorful rhythm action, and Future Tone is a love letter to the history of the series. Many thanks to Sega for continuing to give fans the chance to experience these games time and time again!
