To those who know her, she needs no introduction: Hatsune Miku is a star. To those who don't, she definitely requires some explanation: Hatsune Miku is a 'virtual idol' and the world's most popular Vocaloid, a personification of a software synthesizer given background, personality, and a constant stream of songs to sing by composers and fans around the world. She's performed in real-life concerts (via hologram), had #1 singles, and starred in a hugely successful series of rhythm games by SEGA, now making its Western Nintendo début on the 3DS with Project Mirai DX. It's a fantastic title and a perfect place to jump on the bandwagon; with wonderful music, fun, varied gameplay, and a whole host of extras to keep you playing, Miku's latest deserves heavy rotation in any rhythm fan's playlist.
Like other Hatsune Miku games, Project Mirai DX features Miku and several of her synthesizer friends - including Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko, Kaito, and newcomer Gumi - on vocals, as you guide them through different tracks in familiar rhythm game fashion. You'll follow an on-screen chart as a circle moves across a line with coloured symbols on it, and try to time your taps with the moment the circle hits each note - the closer you are to perfect, the more points you'll get, and keeping up a string of well-timed hits lets you rack up combos for even higher scores.
The twist here - in addition to the characters' chibi appearances, based on their Nendoroid figures - is that Project Mirai DX offers two distinct ways to play, with both Button and Tap modes available. In Button Mode players use the 3DS' face buttons - two buttons on Easy, three on Normal, and all four on Hard - to tap and hold notes, hitting the D-Pad for occasional directional inputs on a second note stream, and spinning the Circle Pad while holding down a face button for 'Rainbow' notes. In Tap Mode, players tap on different coloured sections of the touchscreen - one on Easy mode, two on Normal, and three on Hard - to hit regular and held notes, flick the stylus in a given direction for 'Swipe' notes, and spin the stylus, Ouendan-style, for Rainbow notes.
Both modes are a blast to play, with fun patterns and plenty of the the precision-performance-based rush that fuels the finest rhythm games. Best of all, each mode feels completely distinct from the other. Button Mode takes full advantage of the parallel D-Pad notes for background vocals and harmonies, and the hardest charts have a "pat-your-stomach-rub-your-head" feel as you trade off holding directions, hitting face buttons, and vice-versa in time. In Tap Mode, meanwhile, the physical space between touchpad areas feels makes Mirai feel more like an arcade music game, and the stylus is a perfect fit for franticly tapping out quick, complicated rhythms. While you're likely to pick a favourite and run with it, it's fantastic to have both; after finishing every track with buttons, we went back through using the stylus, and it felt like having a whole new game to play.
The three difficulty levels scale well in both modes too, with Easy letting anyone enjoy the music, and Hard matching the vocal rhythms nearly note-for-note, making for tricky scores that let you feel like you're really playing through the song instead of simply tapping along to it. Also, while very few songs will present veteran rhythm gamers with any real chance of failing, even on Hard, the grading for each note is seriously strict, so that getting all 'Cool's - the only way to 100% a song - on any one chart is a massive challenge. Six of the toughest tracks also feature unlockable 'Super Hard' variants - one of which did give us quite a few 'Game Over' screens, never mind keeping up a combo! - so even experienced players will get to test their skills.
No matter which mode and difficulty you play on, one thing that stands out in Project Mirai's music gameplay is the note paths themselves. Rather than proceeding in a straight line (ala some modes in Theatrhythm) or coming in from all directions (as in the Project Diva games), the notes in each song follow a bespoke path that's thoughtfully integrated with the music and video behind it. In 'Deep Sea Girl', for instance, the track line sinks slowly down the left side of the screen as our heroine falls through the sea, undulates from left to right while she's on the seafloor, and bursts upwards at a frantic angle as she heads for the surface in the song's finale. Even smaller touches - like the chorus of 'Clover Club' arcing out a four-leaf pattern over several measures, or 'Cendrillon''s twin tracks twisting closer together as the vocalists dance through the duet - raise a smile, and feel like little easter eggs to find as you play; it's a great integration of gameplay, music and each song's story.
Of course, the best patterns and most engaging gameplay couldn't carry a rhythm game without music, and thankfully Project Mirai DX's playlist is absolutely top-notch. There are 48 full-length songs here, and almost all are catchy and fun, with a variety to the selection that goes well beyond what you might initially think of as 'Vocaloid music'. There's plenty of technopop and J-rock, of course, but you'll also find lounge jazz, chiptunes, and club beats alongside operatic ballads, downtempo electronica and '60s samba. It's an eclectic, melodic mix that feels like a natural set thanks to the unifying vocal stylings provided by Miku and her friends, and - for our money - it's the strongest setlist in any localized Hatsune Miku game to date.
The music videos behind these beats are impressive spectacles in and of themselves, too, with Miku and company dressing up in period costumes and over-the-top outfits to deliver some surprisingly stylish performances. Since you won't be able to really admire these videos while you're playing, there's a handy Theatre mode that lets you watch the video of any song you've cleared at your leisure - you can even jam along to your heart's content using the 3DS' buttons, and leave timestamped text and emoji comments at specific spots in the video, Niconico style.
And if you think you can do better than the videos provided, Project Mirai's Dance Studio lets you choreograph your own routine to any song in the game. This can be as involved as you'd like it to be - you can freestyle in Simple Mode, dancing along by hitting buttons as the song plays, or really get into the groove in Advanced, sequencing individual dance steps to each measure of the music. There are over a hundred moves to bust in total, with new ones unlocked as you play through the main game, and while it's not as robust as something like Project Diva f's Edit Mode, it definitely scratches the creative itch - we happily spent the better part of an hour tweaking a routine to 'Tricolor Airline'.
You won't have to keep all that creative choreography to yourself, either; Project Mirai DX has a fun StreetPass feature that lets you swap profile cards with other players, and in addition to customizing your cards with unlockable poses, backgrounds, accents, and taglines, you can also choose to send along your dance routines, video comments, and a personal tune composed via simple synthesizer software. As an especially nice extra, your collected cards will actually update after-the-fact via SpotPass, so you'll have reason to keep checking back as your fellow superstars climb the charts.
Elsewhere, Project Mirai's creative streak continues into the 'My Room' component, which serves as the frame for the entire game. When you first make your way to Mirai Town, you'll pick a Vocaloid character to be your partner, and your companion will then rent out a 3D room on the top screen of the main menu. You can select from several apartment styles - and swap houses and partners at any time - and can then set to decorating your new friend's space as you see fit.
As you play through the rhythm game, you'll earn Mirai Points, which you can spend on a massive catalogue of furniture and fun items to decorate, from instruments and plants to arcade machines, stuffed animals, and vintage SEGA memorabilia, including OpaOpa and Sonic the Hedgehog toys (in-game description: "Gotta go fast!"). Taking full advantage of the Nendoroid license, Mirai DX even sports a lineup of real-life Miku figures to collect, so if weren't quick enough to get in a preorder for Snow Miku 2015 before the scalpers swept them all up, you can still pad out your dream shelf in Project Mirai. Decorating is limited to a few predetermined 'slots', so there's much less freedom here than in Animal Crossing, for instance, but it's still fun to rearrange the room and make it your own.
In a time-honoured tradition of Miku music games, you can also play dress-up with your Vocaloids, unlocking new options for use both in-home and in-song by purchasing outfits with Mirai Points and hitting certain milestones in-game. Most of these are costumes worn by the characters in music videos, but there are also several based on figure designs and a few special ensembles to unlock, with lots of fun, creative designs. It's no Style Savvy, but there's still a surprising amount of options in Miku's closet - you can mix and match clothing and hairstyles, too, and with 40+ of each for Miku alone, you can make plenty of cool, original outfits.
Along with dress-up and decorating, you can also interact directly with your partner through the 'Hang Out' option. It's another long-standing staple of SEGA's Vocaloid games, but it's handled especially well here, with no touchscreen 'petting' in sight. You can speak to Miku and friends using simple voice commands, offer them food and drinks purchased from the Mirai Mall, and even play 'Mikuversi', a Vocaloid-themed version of the classic tile-flipping boardgame which, as it turns out, Miku is much better at than we are.
If you rack up enough Mirai Points in the rhythm game, you can even take your Vocaloid partner on holiday, by renting out either a penthouse suite or island villa - both enormous, luxury living spaces that add in slots for new types of furniture and decorations - for a real-world week. The limited time of these events make them feel like special occasions, and each getaway carries plenty of new activities and animations, so while we fully acknowledge the absurdity of the following sentence: we definitely enjoyed taking our anthropomorphized synthesizer on a digital vacation.
Speaking of vacations, Project Mirai DX also somewhat unexpectedly marks the end of Puyo Puyo's extended holiday from the West, by including a mini-game rendition of the match-four puzzle classic. Puyo Puyo 39 - so called in reference to an alternate pronunciation of the Japanese characters in Miku's name - features five stages of progressively more difficult Puyo-popping action, where you'll go head-to-head against the computer - or a friend, if they have a copy of the game - on one of three difficulty levels. The gameplay is based on the Puyo Puyo Tsu rules, and is as addicting as ever - if you played a localized version in Mean Bean Machine or Kirby's Avalanche back in the day, you'll feel right at home here. Best of all, it's all wrapped up in a heavy dose of Miku-infused charm; 3D character models (optionally) pop-out to celebrate combos or lament losses, the background music is made up of randomly selected songs from the game, and you can choose between Mirai or old-school Puyo shapes - doing well will even unlock some Puyo-themed outfits for Miku and friends. It really is an amazing extra; Puyo Puyo is one of the best battle-puzzlers out there, and we've already sunk several hours into this mode alone.
Finally, true to Miku's superstar status, Project Mirai DX's presentation is polished to a sheen. The graphics are lovely, bright and colourful, and the stereoscopic 3D is put to great use keeping the note charts distinctly on top of everything else. The interface is insanely customizable as well; you can change designs and colours for the button prompts, rearrange and recolour the touchscreen panels, adjust the size and speed of circles in the note paths, and individually show or hide a host of on-screen indicators. We're also big fans of how Miku's Nendoroid-inspired design works in-game; not only is it cute, it also lends Project Mirai a sunny, lighthearted feel throughout, and ensures any melodrama in the music videos is tempered by the Vocaloids' comically large heads on their chibi 3D bodies.
On the aural side of the equation, audio quality is excellent - a good pair of headphones is a must! - and the sound can be customized as much as the visuals; you can choose different sounds for each button or touch panel type on every individual song, and adjust music, sound effects, button press, and voice volumes independently.
Our sole complaints with Mirai's presentation are some conspicuous load-times between menus - less frequent than those in the Project Diva games, but also not accompanied by awesome fan-art - and the absence of any lyric translations. Brief descriptions give you the basic gist for each song, but the lyrics are almost exclusively in Japanese, and since Project Diva f 2nd provided optional English subtitles, it would have been nice to see them here too. These are minor quibbles, however, and on the whole, Project Mirai's presentation is sparkling.
Conclusion
With pitch-perfect gameplay and an excellent, expansive tracklist, Project Mirai DX is a must-play for Miku and music game fans alike. Its rhythm game core is inspired and addictive, the presentation is charming and fun, and there's no shortage of activities to keep you happily busy between songs, with dress-up, interior decorating, choreography, and a full-on Puyo Puyo mode all providing enjoyable distractions from the dancefloor. As a complete package, Project Mirai DX puts on a virtuoso performance that easily stands alongside Curtain Call, HarmoKnight, and Rhythm Thief as one of the 3DS' greatest hits.
Comments 64
Nice to see Hatsune Miku in a 3DS Game. She has a lot of exposure in other Media types.
Ghee......I guess SEGA is good for something. Still, they have some nerve not making those three Sonic games exclusively for Nintendo top notch.
I encourage anyone interested to listen to Lindsey Stirling's cover of Senbonzakura. But the lack of English lyrics is troublesome for this game.
I played the demo. It was super boring and the music sucked.
What bothered me the most was that you don't get great feedback when you hit the notes just right. It's all just a mash of sounds. Rhythm Heaven on the other hand does that excellently. There you get very impactful sound effects when you hit the button just right. And that's really what makes or brakes a rhythm game for me (besides the terrible music of Hatsune Miku).
As a big fan of rhythm games, I'll be getting this one for sure even though I haven't really paid attention to this kind of music. I'm fine with vocaloids but it's not something I'd have on my Spotify list. I might wait for sale though.
I can't stand those graphics.
@manu0: I gotta agree that having no sound effects when you fit a note is kind of weird. I wouldn't enjoy Osu Tatakae Ouendan, Elite Beat Agents, Rhythm Paradise or Bit Trip games nearly as much if I couldn't get the satisfaction from hitting a note. That said, I hope it won't bother me as much once I can actually play the game.
Day 1 for me. Loved the demo and love rhythm games, plus I have always been curious to see what the Miku/Vocaloid thing is all about.
@late There are sound effects when you hit a note and help you keep time — @manu0 is wrong. Also don't know why someone would even bother playing the demo and whining about it if they don't even like Vocaloid music in the first place. Kind of a prerequisite for liking the game.
Anyway, great review, super excited--My LE is ready and waiting.
The game looks so boring AF.
@Nintendude789 It is.
@naut I never said there were NO sound effects. I said they are not very impactful and you can barely distinguish them from the rest of the music.
I downloaded the demo because I wanted to try it as a rhythm game, I didn't have the slightest idea what terrible music it would have.
That score's surprising. I guess I was expecting it to be average at best because SEGA + Miku.
i like rythim games and i like miku so i will buy this,i have to wait a while because no monies but someday soon...btw vocaloid is a verry good program,its just a shame 90% of tracks using vocaloid is j pop,i like j pop but you can make them sing anything you want...
Never listened to HM or played any of the games, but the demo was a lot of fun so i'll check this out someday.
I played the demo and I feel like I'm going to have a love/hate relationship with this game. The first song showed me everything that I wanted to see with this game and I had an absolute blast with it. The second song however gave me lots of problems. The audio portion felt weak compared to the music and I couldn't find where the rhythm in the music and the beats I needed to tap came together. I played through both Ouendan games with no problem so there certainly isn't a language problem here, music is a universal language after all. It just felt like that second song was built wrong. That said, as long as the rest of the songs are built like that first song (and based on the review it seems to be a safe bet) then I'm sure I'll have a fantastic time with this game. Though I do wish we could get another Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan style game with everything on the touch screen. I know everyone likes to push for 3D on the 3DS but I'd be perfectly happy with a game that put the focus on the bottom screen and used the top screen for intermission hijinks.
i am getting this. it just isn't day 1 for me. I will be picking it up in October with the birthday money I will get from my dad.
Good rhythm games are always enjoyable, and this has potential. However, with these sorts of games, I always have to play a demo first. I'll check later if there's a demo on the eshop I can download.
SOLD!
*opens wallet
:/
Uh... eventually, I guess...
@naut Thanks for letting me know. I've watched a couple of videos and I didn't notice it in them (maybe they were turned off?) and I haven't actually tried the demo because I would only be wanting more after I'd try it as I heard there are only a couple of songs and you can only try the game once.
I enjoyed the demo, so a sure buy for me. I'm not very good with the button mode, but tap mode is easier to me. Nonetheless, I was never a good player in rhythm game, so at most I could only beat it normal difficulty.
you can try the game more than once. the demo has 30 uses on the US/Canadian eShop. I'm playing the demo for a second time right now.
@Pokefanmum82 When my sister downloaded it when it came out it said 1 use remaining from the get-go. Did they change it or is it once just for Europe?
Waiting..., waiting...., waiting..., yay, 4 days left!!!
oh well, to keep waiting!!
XD
I think I'll just wait for Hatsune Miku's cameo in P4D.
@Yorumi F 2nd added actual English lyrics, not just romaji.
Ever since I got into Vocaloids, I've been hoping for a game to grace one of the consoles I own. The 3DS is up first, and I gotta say, I might have bought it just for Puyo Puyo alone.
Yay! not that I wasn't planning on buying this game already
This and P4DAN are day 1 for me.
Despite having never picked up either of the Hatsune Miku games on PS Vita, I'm actually rather tempted to take a punt on Project Mirai DX. After all, 3DS has always been my preferred handheld platform!
I'll check this out at a later date, thanks!
Tried the demo and didn't care for it. The experience was so inferior to the Project Diva f games on the Vita.
@Artwark Totally agree with you there, we want a decent Sonic game.
Wow, wasn't expecting this to get such a high score. Might buy this at some point even if it does seem a little cheesy.
@Yorumi
Agreed. Chibi works ok in some games, but this doesn't seem to be one of them.
Since you've played the Miku games on Vita, maybe you'll know this- does the new one (the one announced for PS4/Vita), does it also follow the "Japanese-only" pattern or will it feature English? I'm starting to get into rhythm games but I'm not sure if I can accept no English. Might just pick up Persona 4: Dancing All Night if that's the case...
enjoy the demo but it only have one try which is very annoying! anyway off topic but there is a hatsume miku collaboration on brave frontier app!
i might buy this game but i only going to use the touch screen control setting because it is easier then using button control setting in my opinion
Just...four....more...days. Been...waiting...for...months....
I like it a lot! But I felt the game was easier than the first one. Its very easy to rank up so I hope there are harder songs.
Wow. Bad graphics! I'd hate to get my hands on that game! It's Hastune Miku and it's really bad...
I played the Hell out of the Project Diva games on the Vita and while I love them, I feel that they're going to be inferior compared to Mirai. I don't care for how Miku and co. are presented, but at least being able to play on the 3DS lets me actually see the background music video without having to cover a fifth of the screen with my thumb to hit a note. There's even more side stuff to keep me occupied than the Vita versions, plus an even longer set list without having to pay for DLC. This is the most definitive portable version of Project Diva I've ever seen in the west.
As my first exposure, I totally loved Project Diva f for the Vita, but going from Senbonzakura there to Senbonzakura in the demo, I... just can't do it, man. I just can't do it.
Apples-to-apples comparison (start Vita video ~3 seconds after 3DS video to line up vocals starting around 50 seconds in, or watch individually to soak each in on their own merits):
Senbonzakura, hard difficulty, from Project Diva f for Vita:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iCgp4sgnh8
Senbonzakura, hard difficulty, from Project Mirai demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpvIQQIgtAk
Been waiting a long time to finally get Miku on a Nintendo platform in the west, but I'll be waiting. Could've gotten it on my JP New 3DS, but I wanted English menus. But again, I'll be waiting. Still need to finish Project Diva f on my Vita, and get f 2nd. I'll definitely get this before I get Diva X on Vita though.
Not sure why people are saying the graphics are bad though. Sure they're chibi, and of course it doesn't look as good as the Vita games, but this is great for 3DS and I would rate this among the best looking 3DS games. The chibi models, being lower poly and all, probably helped to allow them to use those nicer, old shaders.
@Fath
Have you've played f 2nd though? I heard that one is much harder than f.
@AVahne Not yet, it's on my backlog; I need to muster up the energy to finish the last trophy or two in the dressing room in f first.
I managed, with great pain, to pass all the songs on extreme in f (die in a fire, Negaposi D:), so I imagine I'll manage in 2nd one way or another, though.
edit: Oh, I just realized, I didn't mean I couldn't physically beat the demo. I meant I just couldn't take the graphical downgrade, so I won't be buying. I know, it's supposed to be about the music and the rhythm, and I'm as much a fan of the 3DS as rhe next guy, but just damn. It's brutal.
My most anticipated game of the year so really looking forward to this coming in the post on Friday or Saturday.
Still picking up Super Mario Maker next week too but if my 400hrs plus in Project Diva F & F 2nd is anything to go by, I'm sure I'm gonna be absolutely glued to the my 3ds screen for the next few months with this instead.
This review felt surprisingly lengthy. After the paragraphs concerning the core gameplay, I expected it to wrap up with a paragraph quickly mentioning the non-rhythm based elements of the game, followed by a overall summary and conclusion. Instead, I think you've managed to have a decently written paragraph detailing just about every single aspect of the game. It ended up making for a lovely in-depth review for me to read, as well as to increase my already high excitement for this game, knowing that there is so much content packed in it.
Anyway, I had a great time with Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd, it being my 3rd favourite PSP game... and I couldn't even understand half the menu's within the game. So just being able to play a Vocaloid game with english menu's was enough to have me thrilled about the game. Along with differing ways to play and additional features such as the puyo puyo mini-game, I'm pretty much assured to have a great time once I pick this game up.
Less than a week to go now and I'm looking forward to it!
Just finished playing the demo, and really enjoyed it. The music was sounding fantastic and catchy as well. I'm in no rush to buy it since it has the same release date as Super Mario Maker and Etrian Mystery Dungeon, but I'll pick it up at some point.
@Fath ...
I'm starting to really regret watching that gameplay video, because I really want something on the level of Project Diva.
I'm fine with the chibi look - I've always wanted to get myself a Nendoroid, so having one digitally greet me on the home screen is a nice plus. In the same way, I could also live without those fancy PVs in the background.
I'm fine with how the sound effects are constant whether you hit a note correctly or not, though that is a very big mark against the game - one I'm unsure as to exactly why the reviewer didn't mention so.
What I'm not fine with is the difficulty. Senbonzakura on Hard can still be cleared with ease - in my case, it's still very easy to S+ in both modes.
That said, I'm still going to get it, because what else is there on the 3DS? NoA screwed up with Rhythm Heaven Fever and it flopped in the west, so I'm seriously doubting if it's getting localized.
I'd love to play this, but I just suck at rhythm games. It would more likely make me feel crap, rather than good if I played it.
@TheWPCTraveler It is kind of a shame if Mirai doesn't have a universal equivalent to Diva's "Extreme" difficulty. I presume the "Super Hard" mode the review mentions is on par, and if so, I can vouch for it still being pretty nightmarish even when hard is a cakewalk, so there's that.
Decided to see what vocaloid was all about with this demo. Hopefully, day one. I love it :3
I really hate the Nendoroid artstyle and would rather have it be like Project Diva, but I do also love me some Puyo Puyo...
..Maybe when it's cheap
I enjoy the demo so I know I'll really enjoy the full game when it comes out. I just got to make sure not to play Theatrhythm Final Fantasy directly before or after playing this game since the play style is almost similar.
Really dumb that the demo could only be played once. At least the demo was good, and looking forward to playing it.
..., sorry for my comment, but, well...
I had already noticed the negativity of people in some comments, but well, Sega (and other companies) doing the effort to bring a game that thought was not going to achieve success and it is seen that was not so wrong ...,
I hope to achieve sales for that more games like this come west, oh well...
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@Shugo As I said I didn't know the music before I downloaded the demo.
But I have to disagree with you, I can perfectly well differentiate between objectively and subjectively bad music. This music is both.
Can't wait to get this game, and hopefully I'll do so day one, even if I couldn't care less a week ago XD
Loved the demo, first time I'm really eating away the limited uses (and it's not a joke on the one use, the demo actually have 30 uses, probably they did a huge mistake when they uploaded it the first time).
Demo plus a very good review that show and underline how the game is rich of fun contenent, I ignored vocaloid for years, but Miku finally managed to trick me this time around! XP
@Mr_Diabolical keep using that word for everything Japanese related, it'll only get less effective.
Definitely not as difficult as Diva f / f 2nd but there are still some tricky songs that doesn't let you easily breeze through them, but that said, I never lost in a game..
Dislike the Chibi style, but it doesn't really bother me as it is the music that I care more about, which I find to be much better than Diva, imo. It's a good game, all in all, though I'm surprised that it got 9/10, not that I'm complaining though! Good Review
Wow. Musical heaven.
There is a little something that irks me in this review. GUMI/Megpoid isn't a new addition, since she was there from the first Project Mirai. Other than that, great review :3
It's probably the third time I finish this game, since I've played Project Mirai 2 and DX (Imported from Japan) and then this one XP
I would love to see Vocaloid Amiibo tough X3
I would totally buy Rin and Len. KAGAMINATION!
I love this game as it has several of my favorite songs.
I bought it last week after playing the demo version.
One thing I couldn't figure out, or maybe this option doesn't exist, is how to see Japanese lyrics to sing along. On YouTube I saw a version which had lyrics in hiragana on the bottom of the screen but maybe that was from another version of the game. I have the English version bought in Europe. It would be great if there were lyrics in hiragana or romaji.
@Mr_Diabolical Let's not do that, shall we?
Anyone still here?
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