The Project Diva series has been around in the states since 2013. The first game seen in North America was Project Diva f and I have been playing the series since PDf came out. I have always kind of enjoyed rhythm games. I think everyone got on the Guitar Hero bandwagon, but there were other gems that I enjoyed such as Elite Beat Agents and Amplitude. I had gone quite awhile without playing Guitar Hero and by the time Project Diva f came out it was the perfect game to fill my rhythm game void.
Project Diva X does a few new things that its predecessors did not, and these changes are very welcome. In previous versions you basically played every song in the game on Normal difficulty, then moved on to Hard, and finally Extreme. You could also just play easy mode, but it provides about as much challenge as you might expect. Beating a song on one difficulty would unlock the same song on the next difficulty level and also would unlock a new song on the same difficulty. Pretty standard stuff here, but Project Diva X takes a great new approach. PDX actually has a type of story mode that uses a similar unlock method for new songs, but with a bit of a twist. You are trying to restore light to crystals that have run out of power. Each of these crystals has 5 songs to beat and once you clear all 5 you unlock a medley. The medley is a few songs combined into one and most of the songs used are from previous versions of Project Diva. Once the medley is beaten you can then unlock a new crystal with a new set of songs.
The new story element is not the only welcome addition. During each song you play while in a crystal, when you successfully complete a Chance Time section you unlock a new module for whichever character you decided to play as for that song. A module is basically a new outfit. In previous PD games you had to unlock new outfits AND BUY the outfits with currency you earned from playing songs. Unlocking them in the middle of a song is a nice twist and it makes unlocking new outfits more of a surprise. The unlocks are random, so you may unlock an outfit you already have. In addition to unlocking outfits during a song, you are also rewarded at the end of each song with a number of items. The better you did during the song, the more items you will receive.
Another new mode is Event Request. This mode allows you to play special requests made by the six characters in the game. There are also Festivals that you get to play in this mode that are used to unlock additional events in the story mode. This is an interesting feature, and something that players who enjoy as much customization as possible will really enjoy. You get to decide which songs to play in each festival, what outfits each singer wears, and even what stage you wish to perform on.
^ How I felt looking at the number of songs
It's not all good news though. PDX unfortunately has the shortest list of songs out of all three versions of the game available in NA. Not only is the song list short, but the fact that the medley songs count in that list is a big let down. There are 25 regular tracks and 6 medleys. At a price of $50 and no free DLC in sight on PS4 I can't help but feel a bit ripped off.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
PDX makes some really great strides in keeping things interesting while you unlock the full playlist. I personally enjoy these games for the challenge and I have beaten each song on Hard. I have attempted a few songs on Extreme and I doubt I will be able to finish every song on this difficulty, at least not any time soon. While I did enjoy the new way the game unlocks new content such as outfits and gift items, it all kind of feels overshadowed by a lack of songs to play. Hopefully we will see free DLC, but I'm not holding my breath.
POSITIVES:
-New unlock system -Story Mode -Event Request mode -Great PD gameplay
NEGATIVES:
-Not enough songs -Medley songs
FINAL SCORE: 7.5/10