Hatsune Miku Project Diva -f- : PS Vita review

Project Diva -f- is the latest installment in the Project Diva series for the PS Vita. It was previously on the Playstation Portable platform, and will receive a PS3 port next year. So does this PS Vita iteration worth the upgrade from the Playstation Portable version?

Graphics and Interface

If you have played the previous Project Diva games, the interface should be familiar to you. Starting the game brings you to the main menu screen.

Utilizing the touchscreen capabilities of the Vita, menu selection can be performed directly on-screen.

The new songlist, which is what most of us look forward to the most in every new installment of Project Diva, does not disappoint. Coming up to a total of 32 songs, there are new hits like Freely Tomorrow and Douiukotonano!?, classics like Nostalogic and Black Rock Shooter, as well as originals like the collaboration piece between kz(Livetune) and 8#Prince, Weekender Girl.

The gameplay stays the same as the previous Diva games. A new element would be the star marks, which are played by swiping the touch screen.

The graphics are a huge step up from the PSP games. Each song has an extremely well made PV and background logo, and some of the PVs even tell their own story based on the song. Something I liked was the inclusion of the original animation for World’s End Umbrella by Minakata Kenkyuujou, with cuts in between to include SEGA’s Miku model in the story.
Diva Room

The Diva Room also shows remarkable improvement. Interactions with the Vocaloids have been improved, and there is a lot more you can do to customize the room. There is a meter/level to see how well you are getting along with the Vocaloids.

Giving them presents help raise the meter, and sometimes leads to an event cutscene where you can see their reaction to the present.

AR

One of the new functions in Project Diva -f- is the AR mode. In this mode, you can use an AR marker to watch Miku dance (Called the AR Live), and songs can be unlocked as you play through the rhythm game mode. The other is an AR Photo application, where you can take photographs with Miku in the foreground. It is possible to select from various poses and expressions, and you can adjust the scale from the touchscreen.

Lastly, when all songs are cleared, the ED plays, and like in the previous games, it also doubles up as a minigame!

Vocaloid, vocaloid everywhere!

If you enjoyed the first Project Diva and currently own a Playstation Vita, I highly recommend that you get your grubby hands on a copy. All the upgrades over the previous game were superb, including the addition of the Vita’s touch screen function!