Project DIVA F (1st)
From Project DIVA Addict
| ||||||||||||
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f (lowercase f for Vita) and Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F (capital F for PS3) are sequels to the series of rhythm games previously started on the PSP.
NOTE: As Sega dropped the f/F designations for Project DIVA F 2nd, this article will use Project DIVA F to refer to both versions, and Project DIVA f to refer to the Vita version specifically.
Development
Project DIVA f development was a joint effort between the teams behind the PSP and Arcade versions of the game. Sega planned to release the game as early as possible on Sony's brand new PlayStation Vita handheld console. Sega put a lot of resources into Project DIVA f, expecting the Vita to have similar success to the PSP and the continued success of thier own Project DIVA games. Unfortunately for Sega, Vita sales fell off a cliff after the 2011 holiday shopping season in Japan. Sega announced the game would be multi-platform on April 12, 2012, but this was most likely a course correction from their previous PSP/PS3 tie-in strategy in order to help recoup costs. Sega also showed off a partially translated demo at E3 2012 in June 2012 to gauge interest in the west. The official western releases were also most likely an attempt to recoup costs.
While there is no official word from anyone at Sega about any plans and their potential changes, the staggered releases and lack of cross-play functionality that would later come to the sequal Project DIVA F 2nd hint that plans were changed mid-development with no time to implement any new features.
Gameplay
Project DIVA F brings over the game play from the previous Project DIVA Extend and adds a few new features.
Most notable is the addition of Scratch Notes which are indicated with a star symbol. Scratch notes are hit by swiping the touch screen or back panel on the Vita, or flicking the thumbsticks on the PS3. Timing for Scratch Notes is looser than with traditional notes -- COOL and FINE become COOL, and SAFE and SAD become FINE.
Technical Zones are added, where the player must maintain a combo to succeed. Failure or succeess only affects the rank points at the result screen at the end of the song.
Chance Time has been modified to "loosen up a bit" as only a certain percentage of notes need to be hit to pass. This percentage gets higher as the selected difficulty (EASY, NORMAL, HARD, EXTREME) increases. A star meter in the lower left fills up with each successful hit. If the player has filled this meter by the end of Chance Time, hitting the final note triggers a different ending to the PV.
A small 200-point bonus is now applied to doubles that are hit by actually pressing both the button and the directional pad at the same time. Players can still hold down one before hand and press the other to successfully hit a double, but no point bonus will be applied. The 200-point bonus encourages the player to hit the notes as originally intended.
Framerate
While expected from the Vita, the PS3 version also runs at 30fps instead of 60fps as with their Dreamy Theater companion games. However, the Dreamy Theaters also ran at 720p while Project DIVA F runs at 1080p.
Translation Differences
| Category | JP | NA/EU |
|---|---|---|
| Note Timing | FINE | GOOD |
| SAD | BAD | |
| WORST | AWFUL | |
| Zones | REST [n] NOTES | NOTES LEFT: [n] |
| TECHNICAL ZONE COMPLETE | TECHNICAL ZONE COMPLETED | |
| TECHNICAL ZONE END | TECHNICAL ZONE OVER | |
| CHANCE TIME SUCCESS | CHANCE TIME SUCCESSFUL | |
| CHANCE TIME END | CHANCE TIME OVER | |
| Result Screen | RANK POINTS | GRADE POINTS |
| CHEAP | LOUSY | |
| MISSxTAKE | DROPxOUT | |
| STAGE CLEAR | STAGE CLEARED | |
| NOT CLEAR | NOT CLEARED | |
| World's End Dancehall opening English text |
Another time, Another place A battle of two girls beginー |
In another time, in a land far away... Two girls prepared for battleー |