Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F - Review for the PS3

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F is probably the most addictive and beautifully made rhythm action game ever!

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F for the PS3 is a port of the Japanese PSVita game of the same name.

Project Diva F is a Japanese rhythm action game based on the Vocaloid programme in Japan. This programme allows artists and song writers to break into the Japanese music industry, and because of this Hatsune Miku (The main Vocaloid programme of Six in the game) has become a Japanese icon.

Game play

Image taken from PSVita version

The game play in Project Diva F is different to most rhythm action games. When you think of rhythm games, you think of games where the note moves from a predetermined place to another predetermined which never moves the entire time. 

That's where Project Diva F is different, the points you have to hit move around the screen in accordance with the pitch and tone of the song and the buttons you have to hit also come in from different directions. This might seem difficult but trust me, once you hear the song and get used to its tone, it becomes really easy in concept. It has several levels: Easy, Normal, Hard and Extreme so if you're like me and you love rhythm games but aren't too good at them then Project Diva F is perfect because if you play it on easy you can learn the game and become really good at it too.

Visuals

Image of Gameplay from Japanese PS3 Version

The visuals in Project Diva F are completely stunning, the music videos which play behind the game itself are completely stunning, heart-warming and funny all at the same time. 

The fact that by hitting some certain notes or building up streaks can actually make minor changes to the music video in the background is an amazing mechanic.
Although through the game play you might miss some of these fantastic scenes, you can unlock the music videos to watch alone and even live versions of the video simply by just playing the game. This is something which I love because it means I can listen to the songs which are stuck in my head and get to truly appreciate them.
However, this is one of the features which can be seen in a negative light. This is because the backgrounds are bright, lively and constantly moving, however this can cause you to miss a few notes because they blend in with the background. This is the tiniest of nitpicks however because you can get over this in various ways by turning the brightness down and really just concentrating on the notes rather than the background.

Extras

Yes, you can even pet the Vocaloids!

By playing the songs and getting good grades you get Diva Points, and Diva Points can be used to buy outfits, presents and items to but into the Diva's room. This can be done for every one of the Vocaloid's in the game. 

Buying them gifts can make them increase their affection levels and increasing their affection levels and unlocks trophy and achievements and even allows you to play mini games with the Vocaloid's to unlock other things which you can buy for the Vocaloid's. This part of the game is something you can ignore if you want but the amount of work which has went into it, it really just wouldn't be fair to the game if you did. 

Also with the Diva points you can buy outfits which match the music videos you play. Basically you start off with the Vocaloid's default outfit and then you earn the diva points to purchase the matching outfit for the music video, again, a very small thing you could ignore because it would not make much of a difference but it is nice to see how the videos where originally intended to look which these outfits. 

Music

33 songs and 4 modes means there is plenty to do here

With Project Diva f being a rhythm game, you expect it to have a good sound track and trust me, it has an amazing soundtrack. Almost all of the songs on the game are sung in Japanese, with one song sung completely in English and a few lyrics here and there in others. Even though they are in Japanese these songs are incredibly catchy and I find them getting stuck in my head a lot of the time, there is a soundtrack available for the game however it is not purchasable in Europe or America physically or digitally (to my knowledge) however, if you go onto iTunes you can get a flavour for the music by listening to some of the other songs made with the Vocaloid programme. Luckily you can listen to the music without having to play a level of the game which is a good enough substitute.

Score

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f is a fantastic rhythm action game which has boat loads of character and an amazing soundtrack. However, its unfortunate that the display can get a little in your face during game play and that there is not many more songs available for the game on the US/UK PlayStation store.

My score for Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f for the PS3 is:

8.5 - Great!

A wonderful game! if you get the chance, download the demo for PS3 from PlayStation Store. 

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f is available now for PlayStation 3 now digitally on the US/UK PlayStation Store for $49.99/£36.99 as well as a physical release in the US. if you live in the UK or Europe and would like a physical copy visit www.play-asia.com where it is available for import from the US/Japan for just under £40!

Thanks for reading!