Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- X HD

Project Diva X is the first and only game that was developed for the PS4 series from the ground up. It immediately shows the giant graphical leap this was from the PS3 era. Everything looks crisper and more vibrant, and the game fully embraces its HD moniker. The costumes which were specially designed to accompany the new songs, all look very detailed. The new stages, most of them anyway, look the part as well. The classic gameplay was barely touched and the controls are more responsive than ever, especially at 60 fps.

Sadly this is where the positives end.

The design decisions made for this game are questionable and mind-boggling, to say the least. Who thought that introducing a story mode was a good idea?! Vocaloid’s characters were always vessels for self-insertion, creativity and individuality hence the many available costumes and accessory choices. Here they are turned into the most generic anime stereotypes. Because the game had to appeal to both newcomers and veterans alike, we are also re-introduced to the entire cast as the plot, what little of it there is, chugs along. So you, the player, have to help this alternate reality Miku who has come from some bleak future where Vocaloids have lost their luster, foreshadowing much? To restore the power from the 5 spheres of influence which vaguely represent a music style. That’s all there is! You do that with the power of friendship, leaks and positive vibes, and then future Miku buggers off to whatever universe she came from.

Unlocking modules is changed from a tedious grind for currency to a roll of the dice. These are now song-, difficulty-, and/or mission-specific and are completely decided by the RNG. Of the two evils, I’d still rather grind for points, as at least that would guarantee me getting something new down the road. It is only so much fun to get duplicates over and over again from a quite hefty pool of potential drops for each character from each song.

To segway now onto the songs themselves... There are only 20 of them, which’s half of what the previous installments had to offer out of the box. They are all new, but technically there are 15 actual songs and 5 medleys. Two additional songs are DLC, which you get for free if you have the HKT version of the game. The repertoire on offer is overall enjoyable, for sure, but paired with the aforementioned grind, the whole experience becomes really boring, really fast.

For those few who liked the slightly voyeuristic and awkward social aspect of previous Project Diva, even that somehow was botched up here. Miku and friends no longer inhabit their own customizable rooms. They now hang out at the menu screen in one generic looking lobby. You still have to raise their arbitrary high friendship meters by donating them items they like or giving them a specific item they want after you complete 5 songs during story mode.

As of writing this on 29/01/24 there is yet a new main line Project Diva to emerge on any console, and it is very unlikely for that to ever happen again. MEGA 39’s has concluded its DLC rounds and was finally retired as a whole to the PC, where Sega’s franchises go to die. Miku and her friends have been demoted to the mascot role in the Project Sekai which is a very lucrative, yet ultimately hollow, gacha cash cow for Sega. This reviewer remains embittered to the send-off that this once legendary franchise has received in the end. Diva X’s brilliance sure is there, but it is really hard to notice when buried beneath all the muck.