Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone Review

The teal-haired wonder Hatsune Miku is back with her biggest release yet. Packing more than 200 songs, does SEGA’s Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone satisfy all of your Vocaloid wants, needs, and desires?

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone Review

Future Tone can be seen as a greatest hits album of sorts, featuring songs from previous Hatsune Miku titles. Those who have played f, f 2nd, or even Mirai will be pleased to know that their favorite songs are likely here. Some of the charts and background videos have been updated (especially for Mirai), but the changes make sense for the most part. There are also a number of original songs, with some creative SEGA tributes rounding out the tracklist.

The package is divided up into two packs, with Colorful Tone packing upbeat songs like “Kipple Industry, Inc.” and Future Sound containing heavier tunes like “Tell Your World.” There is no shortage of content here to keep you busy, and it will take dozens of hours to just play through every song in the playlist once. And yes, the infectious “Ievan Polkka” and “Po Pi Po” are included.

Those who have previously played a Project DIVA title will know what to expect with Future Tone, but there are some clever twists to the gameplay this time around. Players will still be pressing the corresponding buttons and directional inputs to the on-screen cues, but new to Colorful Tone are “slides” that have you using the L1 and R1 triggers and button holds that force you to keep your finger on a note for an extended period of time. It might not sound like much, but these additions add some serious depth and challenge to the game. Players taking on songs on “Easy” or “Normal” will only have to worry about pressing two face button cues with the occasional slide, but those willing to take on “Hard,” “Extreme,” or even “Extra Extreme” will have juggle four face input buttons, slides, multiple button presses, and more. It can get very addictive very fast, and watching yourself improve and get a higher score or percentage clear is an amazing feeling.

Successfully completing songs net you VP points, which lets you level up and buy modules for Miku and co. Higher difficulty settings and better performances net you more VP points, so there is some pressure to perform well. There are hundreds of modules and accessories to choose from, each giving the Vocaloid cast a different appearance they can then use in the main Rhythm mode. Want to dress Miku up as “Snow Miku,” or perhaps Ulala from the Dreamcast classic “Space Channel 5?” Now’s your chance. There is no story or DIVA room like ones found in previous titles, but the more arcade-like premise of leveling up and buying new modules more than makes up for it.

Future Tone is a rare case where the sheer quantity of content is matched by the highest quality. Packing catchy beats, addictive gameplay, and some serious challenge, this is one title that is worth coming back to for years to come.