Bandai Namco announced The Idolmaster: Platinum Stars in this week’s issue of Famitsu magazine, and we have more details about the game’s story and gameplay, along with a first look at its 13 idols. [Thanks, Hachima.]
The Idolmaster: Platinum Stars will completely renew the character models of the idols, using the PlayStation 4 capabilities. Expression is one thing that has been improved remarkably.
During live concert scenes, the camerawork will be more dynamic than ever, and you’ll see a big upgrade in the crowd, where you’ll see them waving their penlights and such.
As a player, you’ll take on the role of a new producer at 765 Production. The training camp is where the story takes place, and you’ll get to live with the 13 idols of the game, strengthen your bond with them and help making them into top idols.
Here are the 13 idols of the game, via Zaregoto:
From left to righ they are: Haruka Amami, Chihaya Kisaragi, Yukiho Hagiwara, Yayoi Takatsuki, Ritsuko Akizuki, and Azusa Miura.
Followed by: Iori Minase, Makoto Kikuchi, Ami Futami, Mami Futami, Miki Hoshii, Takane Shijou, and Hibiki Ganaha.
While at the training camp, your job is to keep an eye on the idols while deciding on what they should work on. There’s also a “Stage For You” mode that lets you freely pick and arrange stages.
The live concerts are done in rhythm game-style, and successfully completing them will result in ranking up.
During an interview with producer Youzou Sakagami, he mentioned that The Idolmaster logo has been the same for the past five years, so they’ll make a new one, which also symbolizes the start of something new.
The camerawork has been vastly improved, especially its width, to the point where you’ll get to see up to 50,000 penlights going on in the crowd at once. A new tech called “Variable Tune” was made just for this game.
The modeling for the idols have been completely reformed, so they show more of a “sense of softness” now than ever. Quality is something they’re focusing on more than expressions.
Personalities of the idols won’t change much from usual, but the producer will first meet them at training camp, so there will be some that may take a while to open up. Chihaya in particular might come off as a bit cold at first.
The Idolmaster: Platinum Stars takes place in a parallel world of the series. The girls of 765 Productions made their idol debuts, but they’re not that popular. That’s where president Takagi made the decision to have them attend a training camp, and it’s where the story starts.
There are all kinds of work planned out for the game, but for now they want to show new activities from 765 Production. The game’s development is currently 60% complete.
The Idolmaster: Platinum Stars is in development for PlayStation 4.
Published: Jan 26, 2016 07:00 am