SweetieGames

This probably isn’t a surprise to anyone, but before I even watched anime, I was a huge Vocaloid fan. As a nerdy, chronically online kid, I was obviously into Nightcore, a staple of cringy kids back in the early 2010s, and found out about Hatsune Miku from the anime images that were used on those videos. Now, nearly 15 years later, I still enjoy Vocaloid music immensely and I appreciate how easy it is to get my hands on Vocaloid collectibles in comparison to when I was younger!

Something I always dreamed of owning when I was a tween was one of the Project Diva games, which were massively popular back in the day. They were rhythm games featuring the popular Piapro character cast, including Hatsune Miku, my favourites Rin and Len Kagamine, Luka Megurine, Meiko and Kaito. They became popular as arcade cabinets in their native Japan, but came onto Sony consoles, and eventually PCs a later on. Once I finally bought a PS4 with the money I had saved from my first summer job, Project Diva was one of the first games I picked up.

As the Piapro Vocaloid characters started to explode in popularity worldwide, becoming easily recognisable and included in mainstream music and games, you’d think their standalone game franchise would be flourishing. But this isn’t the case. The last Project Diva game was released in 2022, and there’s no plans to create any more.

If you are a Vocaloid fan, you may be wondering about a certain franchise that I have omitted until now. Vocaloid rhythm games aren’t “dead”, even though Project Diva is no longer made. The Vocaloid characters are now featured in Project Sekai, a gacha rhythm game for mobile devices that has completely changed the landscape of Vocaloid fandom. It’s rare that I come across a Vocaloid fan today who joined the fandom recently and is only a fan of Vocaloid music like I am. They’re usually a fan of Vocaloid, and also the plethora of characters introduced in Project Sekai.

I don’t have a problem with Project Sekai, but I don’t have much interest in yet another gacha rhythm game on mobiles. I played Love Live! back in the day, I was there when Ensemble Stars transitioned into having two separate Music and Basic games, I tried the Hypnosis Mic mobile game, the list goes on. Even if the game features some of my favourite characters, I didn’t find the 20 new characters appealing enough to play it, especially as the game primarily revolves around them. But I understand why people play it!

Project Diva, like many console rhythm games, provided a unique challenge and more of an arcade style experience that I really enjoyed, and once I bought the song packs, they never sought out my money again. I miss Vocaloid games being primarily about Vocaloid characters; dressing them up and performing. I don’t want to hear Vocaloid classics covered by real singers, I want to hear the Vocaloids sing it well! Even though I never truly got the hang of Project Diva myself, I always have fun giving it a go and seeing my favourite characters dance around. I just wish some of the newer Vocaloid hits could be in a new game.

I would love to at least give Project Sekai a proper go, but I’m steering well clear of gacha games for a while. They really frustrate me! Maybe I should practice more at the Project Diva game I do have to get my fix of Vocaloid gaming content. Maybe it’ll come back one day!