Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X’s Module Skills Don’t Feel Cheap

I don’t like to use boosts or items in Hatsune Miku: Project Diva games. I know that they’re present in certain installments, like Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd, to give people who might need it a little Extra Leeway or Training Wheels. That there’s an option to allow people to be Cool Perfectionists or Nano Targeters. There’s nothing wrong for people who do want a more comfortable or challenging experience, but I could never bring myself to take advantage, due to some inner believe that maybe I wasn’t playing as intended. While Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X’s module and accessory skills are technically an evolution of those, I never felt like I was cheating for taking advantage of them. Rather, it almost felt like an additional challenge to meet those goals.

I think a big part of that relates to how these outfits work. Equipping certain ones that are tied to the Classic, Cute, Cool, Elegant, and Quirky themes gives a Voltage boost. Which doesn’t seem like too egregious an edge, as it isn’t like they’re guaranteeing you an instant Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X win. They’re just giving you a nudge toward victory, often quite subtle. Maybe it’s even dressing the Vocaloid in the proper outfit for the occasion. You can’t fault it for that. 

It even becomes fun, when you start trying to match things up. Putting the Dog Ears and Dog Tail together offers a +3% “It’s a Dog’s Life” bonus. Equipping multiple accessories of the same color offers a minor boost, like the four-leaf clover and Green Puyo barrette together trigger the +6%  “Easy Being Green” bonus. The additional Voltage isn’t a make-or-break sum. It’s a tiny extra reward for finding a good combination.

Besides, many of these skills require you to actually be a good player to unlock them. You have to work before they kick in. Miku’s Pizzicato module has a 50-Combo Bonus Lv. 3 skill gives you a 2,000 point bonus in a song, but there’s a catch. You only get those 2,000 extra points every time you get a 50-note combo. Your rhythm and coordination have to be on point to get those points. Rin’s Melancholy module has 100-Combo Rate Up Lv. 2 attached to it. That means your Voltage “could” go up by 15% at a time, but only after each 100-note combo you pull off. The rewards are there and can be substantial, but they’re not freely given away. It keeps you from feeling like you’re getting away with something, and instead gives you another objective to complete.

The main Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X modules that hand things to you, aside from the ones that automatically increase Voltage by a certain percent after a certain period of time, are ones that increase the module and accessory drop rates. There are so many extra outfits and items in this game. To try and get them legitimately, without that extra edge, would be a possible, but tedious, task. As long as you get through Chance Time without any problem, hitting the star note at the end, you’re going to shift to a new module. By the time I’d “beaten” the first run of clouds and refilled their prisms the first time, it was like a switch had flipped. The first song I played after that, I didn’t get a new module. It was the first time that happened, but not the last.

These outfits are working miracles for me, so I can enjoy the game and not curse whenever I don’t get something new from a song. Now that I’ve reached the point that I have in Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X, I use Kitty Cape and Snow Miku 2010 whenever possible, because each one has the Accessory Dropper Lv. 4 effect. That’s the highest possible level for the Accessory Dropper skill and, trust me, it comes in handy. But then, sometimes you have to prioritize new modules. Miku’s Yellow outfit has New Module Dropper Lv. 4, the strongest skill for encouraging new module drops. That’s a good one to start and stick with for an hour, until you start seeing repeats. Then, you need to switch to something like Puffy Pastels, which has Rare Module Dropper Lv. 4. Another hour with that on, and I’m in a great place.

The thing about Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X’s skills is that they work in such a way that they’re complimenting your own abilities. They aren’t necessarily going out of the way to make the game substantially easier. At least, not all of them are. There are many that will only reward you after you’ve reached certain goals, making it feel like the song you’re going through has submissions to complete in addition to the primary task. Others help by alleviating some grinding issues you might otherwise experience when attempting to complete the Vocaloids’ extensive wardrobe. None of them feel like you’re cheating to win or cheating yourself by not playing fair. They’re all rather balanced and can feel like quite a blessing.

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X is immediately available for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.