“Those who love her will love her to death, and those who are indifferent may never feel her, but few people will hate her.”

For Hatsune Miku, who is probably the most famous virtual star in the world, any new work, whether it is a song, a virtual concert or a game, will cause a sensation. Just like the name “Hatsune Miku”, this virtual character, who was born 11 years ago, is continuing to grow with the love and strength familiar to “ACG people”, expressing vitality and youth, and continuing to move forward on the road of being an idol.

Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Hatsune Miku Project DIVA series, Sega grandly launched the latest work in the series, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s, on the Nintendo Switch. Since the DIVA series has only been launched on Sony’s consoles or handheld devices since its inception, the new work launched on Switch has attracted a lot of attention as soon as it debuted, and Sega has also made many different designs and returns for fans who love the series.

All for the fans

It is very interesting that Sega named the game “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s”. The two numbers 39 mean “Thank” if pronounced in Japanese. From this point of view alone, if you are a Hatsune Miku fan who is familiar with Japanese culture or Japanese pronunciation, you will feel the creator’s intentions from the beginning.

In 2009, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA was officially launched in Japan. As a music rhythm game with the virtual idol Hatsune Miku as the main character, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA not only organically combines music elements such as singing and dancing with the gameplay, but also provides players with PVs of different styles and hundreds of sets of replaceable costumes and props, allowing them to have more space to interact with their idols in addition to playing the game. In the actual game process.

“Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” does not require too many modifications or breakthroughs to the traditional gameplay. Players still press the corresponding buttons on the controller along with the notes and rhythm, and use this to get points to complete a song.

Ten years later, as the first work in Hatsune Miku’s “Project DIVA” series to land on any console, “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” not only carries over all the content of the series to this version, but also makes full use of the somatosensory operation characteristics of the Switch controller Joy-Con, creating a new MIX mode for players in addition to the traditional arcade mode. In MIX mode, in addition to waving the controller to complete the corresponding operation requirements, players also need to press the corresponding buttons to operate. Since the Joy-Con is similar to the shape and grip of the cheering stick, it can really bring players a certain sense of presence in MIX mode, so this also makes “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” have a certain improvement in the gaming experience compared to other works in the same series.

This attempt has similar applications in the previous “Taiko no Tatsujin NS”. The operating experience brought by the somatosensory experience can only be described in a thousand words. It is better to try it yourself. Although it cannot achieve a complete transformation, it can definitely bring a refreshing experience to old players.

The picture above is the PS4 version, and the picture below is the Switch version

In 2017, a work commemorating the tenth anniversary of Hatsune Miku’s birth, “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone”, was released on PS4. Compared with the work two years ago, “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” did not make more adjustments in the specific gameplay, but this game is not just a simple porting of the PS4 version to the Switch. In addition to the newly added MIX mode to enhance the interactive experience of the game, although the performance of PS4 far exceeds that of Switch, Sega did not force “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” to design the same art design as PS4 by shrinking the screen. Instead, based on the characteristics of the Switch function, all PVs were re-rendered in a unique animation style. Although this does not look as three-dimensional and vivid as the PS4 version, it still gives players more cute and playful feelings, and intuitively distinguishes the two games in terms of the visual experience. The style of animation rendering is also unique, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

In addition, compared with the PS4 version, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s is also full of sincerity in terms of game content. The new game includes 100 super popular songs in the past ten years. In addition, Sega has added an exclusive theme song and ten new songs for this game. I believe it will definitely meet the requirements of the most discerning Hatsune Miku fans. If you buy the limited edition, you can also get 5 CDs covering all the songs in the game and cards drawn by illustrator KEI, which is also a part that true fans cannot miss.

In addition to the enhancements in songs and gameplay, “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” also brings more than 300 sets of clothing modules for players’ favorite PVs, which is also a very important game experience content for virtual idols like Hatsune Miku to enter the game field. In addition to the official modules, the game also provides a “custom T-shirt” function, allowing buttons to create exclusive clothing for Hatsune Miku through self-design. In the custom function, in addition to T-shirts, players can also customize props such as hairstyles and faces to create a more personalized Hatsune Miku.

Idols come and go, but Hatsune Miku remains

In terms of gameplay, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s is not a big breakthrough compared to previous games in the series. This special version launched for Switch, after adding the MIX mode that supports controller somatosensory operation, seems to be difficult to bring about fundamental subversion after giving players a bright experience. On the one hand, this is because most players are more accustomed to using traditional controllers to operate, and on the other hand, Sega has not made more optimizations for Joy-Con controller games, making it difficult for players to complete the requirement of continuous key presses in MIX mode.

As for the settings other than arcade mode and MIX mode, including the T-shirt editing mode under the customization system, it is basically a way to please fans during the 10th anniversary celebration. Of course, as a 100% fan work series, the game can still show the sincerity of “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” by redrawing the animation-style art design for the existing content and adding a lot of new tracks.

As a 10th anniversary commemorative work, whether Sega is simply catering to the hot market popularity of Switch or trying to make an update in the non-Sony field, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s is obviously more than just a reskin compared to the previous PS4 version. The inclusion of important songs over the past decade, the addition of more clothing modules and customization modes, and the newly created MIX mode are enough to make people who like Hatsune Miku want to place an order.

Of course, if you have already purchased “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone” on PS4 and have no particular obsession with experiencing the princess concert anytime and anywhere, then you don’t have to buy “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” again. After all, the songs included in this work will also be released in the paid DLC.

However, if you are a true fan of the series, then the 5 original CDs included in the limited edition of “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MEGA39’s” will be the perfect reason for you to spend generously.