Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 – Full Review

Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 is a rhythm game featuring the popular Japanese vocaloid character Hatsune Miku. If you are unfamiliar with vocaloids; they are basically avatars with voices that are created from singing synthesizing software. Each and every song found in the Hatsune Miku games uses vocaloids and it offers a unique take on the rhythm genre.

The gameplay of Project Mirai 2 comes off as a mix between Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents and the Event Music scenes from Theatrhythm Final Fantasy; a circle will travel along a snaking line all over the screen and as the circle overlaps notes that are on the line, players must input the corresponding button in time. Some notes appear as a thick line and require players to hold down the button. At times a second line will appear in parallel to the original line, with beats using the d-pad. Furthermore these patterns may appear and disappear, prompting the player to do such things as hold down two buttons, let go of one, and maybe hold down another. It takes a little getting used to and requires keen perception and quick reaction, but it is immensely satisfying once you get the hang of it. A health bar appears on the touch screen during play which depletes for every bad note played and replenishes when successful.

The Project Mirai franchise is aided in its popularity by adorable protagonist Hatsune Miku and her buddies

As with all rhythm games the accuracy of your timing for each note helps determines your grade. For each individual note, you can score either : COOL, FINE, SAFE, SAD or MISS. Each song then has an overall grade, which can range between C all the way up to SS. You can choose to play Project Mirai 2 entirely with buttons or entirely with the touch screen using the stylus. Naturally each song has its own difficulty level that also varies depending on which method of input you use.

Clearing songs will earn you points that you may use to purchase outfits and furniture for your lounge. These items are purely for cosmetic purposes, are completely optional, and have no impact on the main game whatsoever. There are other things to fiddle about with outside the main game, such as the dance stage, the Augmented Reality stuff, and the Mario Paint-style voice synthesizer toy for those who wish to explore outside the rhythm game.

Veteran rhythm players will already know the deal here!

If you’re not a frequent listener or a listener at all of vocaloid songs, the songs in this game can take a little time to get used to, and you may find yourself struggling when you first pick the game up. However, once you get to know the songs you can master the game quite easily and have a hell of a time. This game is perfect for pick-up-and-play, especially since there’s the motivation to beat your previous high scores and/or acquiring higher ranks for each song.

9/10

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Tags: 3ds, Augmented Reality, avatars, buttons, cool, d-pad, elite beat agents, fine, furniture, Hatsune Miku, Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2, Japanese, lounge, Mario Paint, miss, notes, outfits, pick-up-and-play, Project Mirai 2, rhythm, rhythm genre, sad, safe, sega, ss, stylus, synthesizing, vocaloids

This post was written by Cyrus, posted on January 3, 2014 Friday at 9:05 am