Horns and red face paint greeted me the first time I saw this game at Anime Expo this summer. They red horns were on a girl as she was seemingly casting a nether-spell to release the beast from the pits. Arcane symbols of squares and circles whizzed on screened. I ran away in terror as not to become part of this dark summoning.
As it turns out it was just the new Hatsune Miku game, Project DIVA X. Oh, Japan, you so cray-cray. The crazy nonsense of this rhythm of game is only maximized by it's insane fairy tale like story, crazy dance numbers and somehow parts of a dating sim.
Summoning Satan is only what the game may look like to a newcomer to the rhythm game series. The simple game-play, that can get pretty fast and hard, is simply matching the controls on screen to certain button pressed in time with the music. See circle, press circle as it is timed on screened.
For someone watching...the game looks crazy nonsense. Just like the recently reviewed The King of Fighters 14, when you see this and aren't playing you can just keep staring.
Hatsune Miku, a well-known digital idol and her friends dance around to songs as though possessed by demons. Fancy footwork and fun stages are happening in the background as you're stuck looking to make sure you hit square on time.
Story matters here as much as most Japanese games when not rewritten for the American audience; very little. You have to save music or something, I'm not sure but I saw a ghost version of Miku, who is still alive, comforting Miku in the opening cut scene. Yeah, I don't know or care why that happened, it's from Japan, they just don't care about ending stories.
Songs can be catchy messes of fire and you can try your best to master them and even unlock costumes if you do well enough in them.
Costumes are plentiful, so plentiful that I believe it might be the most I've seen in any game I've played. They aren't just for Miku, but her friends too. You can mix and match them. Some costume and pieces actually help you out on gaining energy in songs. Because you have to fill up some energy crystals or some other reason.
Piles and piles of DLC are waiting for you if you want more costumes with more goodies like two more songs to get.
Friendships, they're not just a joke in Mortal Kombat anymore, are slightly lifted from dating sims. You'll get prizes that you give to gain friendship with the other digital idols. Oh, and you aren't Miku, you also have to give her prizes too.
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X must be the work of the devil. It's another strange rhythm game from Japan and you know what you're getting if you're going out of you way to buy it.
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X
out now on PS4 and Vita
Price: $49.99 (PS4), $39.99 (PSV)
Reviewer was provided game by publisher for review purposes.
