Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku

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Project Sekai: Colorful Stage feat. Hatsune Miku
The game's promotional image, featuring Hatsune Miku (left) and Leo/need member, Ichika Hoshino (right)
Developer(s)	Colorful Palette Crypton Future Media
Publisher(s)	Sega
Producer(s)	Yuichiro Kondo
Series	Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Android iOS
Release	JP: September 30, 2020 WW: 2021
Genre(s)	Rhythm game, visual novel
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage^[a] is a Japanese mobile rhythm game developed by CyberAgent's Colorful Palette, and published by Sega Corporation. The game is a spin-off from Sega's Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series, and features the Crypton Future Media's virtual singers Hatsune Miku, Megurine Luka, Kagamine Rin and Len, Meiko, and Kaito, alongside the cast of 20 original human characters that are split into five units, each with a unique theme. Set in the real world where Virtual Singers only exist as fiction, the characters come across another world called "Sekai", where various "true feelings" are projected. The game was released for Android and Apple devices on September 30, 2020, and uses the Piapro Studio NT engine and Unity for the virtual singers.^[1]

An English language version of the game is set to be released worldwide sometime in 2021.^[2] A Traditional Chinese server for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, published by Ariel Network, is also planned for launch.^[3]

Setting[]

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage is set in the real world, specifically in the city of Tokyo, Japan. In this game, Hatsune Miku and her friends are famous fictional singers existing in the real world as Virtual Singer. They sing songs from creators all over the world, but they also exist in "Sekai," (セカイ) a mysterious world different from the real world that is created from a person's "true feelings," featuring various visual appearances based on the person. There are as many Sekai as there are emotions, and its form changes depending on the person's emotions. Therefore, the focus of the game is on the original characters and their journeys to find their "true feelings" with the help of the Virtual Singers.^[4]

In order to enter Sekai, one must find and play the song "Untitled." This silent song has no melody or lyrics and is created at the same time as the Sekai, and is mysteriously inserted on their devices. It can be anything, such as a game console, a smartphone, a smartwatch, a TV, a tablet, and a computer. When they play an "Untitled" song, they can travel between the real world and the Sekai. As one is able to discover their true feelings, the song will contain a playable melody and lyrics, and well as its title.

Plot[]

Each of the five groups and teams has their own story, focusing on their journey to convey their "true feelings":

• Leo/need: Ichika Hoshino wishes to recover her memories with her childhood friends to make them come together again, as their friendship became strained in the aftermath of an incident that occurred during middle school. She entered Sekai and met an emo-punk-styled Miku, who told her to convey her feelings to her friends and overcome their differences. Ichika and her friends eventually formed a band to maintain their friendship and memories through music.

• More More Jump!: Minori Hanasato has always dreamed of becoming an idol. Despite having failed auditions multiple times, she never gives up and hopes to pass an audition one day. She later entered Sekai and met an idol-like Miku, who encouraged her to make her dream come true. She also formed an idol group with three former idols, who retired from their career due to problems with their agency.

• Vivid Bad Squad: Kohane Azusawa has been deeply passionate about street dance ever since she stumbled upon a dance session by An Shiraishi, Akito Shinonome, and Touya Aoyagi. Captivated by their dance, Kohane joined An's dance crew to become a street dancer as well. She entered Sekai and met a hip-hop-styled Miku, who leads Kohane and her friends to surpass the legends.

• Wonderlands x Showtime: Tsukasa Tenma has been working hard to become a star and make his sister happy. He was hired to work part-time at the theme park Phoenix Wonderland, but the once-popular theater Wonder Stage he is assigned to has been deserted, unable to attract any visitors for years. There, he met Emu Ootori, who desires to restore the theater to its former glory. Joined by Nene Kusanagi and Rui Kamishiro, they formed a musical theater troupe as they entered Sekai and met a clown-like Miku, hoping to revive the theater's glory and make people happy.

• Nightcord At 25:00: Kanade Yoisaki has been homeschooled and becomes reclusive because of a trauma she sustained as a result of an incident in the past. She formed an underground music circle with her online friends, communicating with them over a voice chat app named 'Nightcord'. One day, Kanade stumbled upon Sekai and met a gothic-styled Miku, who believed she could understand what Kanade and her friends felt, while also telling the four of them to reveal their identities to each other.

After the introduction movie, the player must choose one of the five orbs three times. If at least two orbs have the same color, the game will automatically reveal a group (e.g. if player picked all blue orbs, it will reveal Leo/need). However, should the player choose different color orbs, it will randomly reveal a group. The player can freely choose another group if they are not satisfied with their choice.

There are three types of stories. First are group stories (or Main Stories), focusing on the backstory of one particular group, more of which become available as that group reaches higher ranks. Card Stories, on the other hand, revolve around one individual character with two parts. The first part is unlocked by acquiring the prerequisite items for the card, while the second part has to be unlocked by levelling up the card. There are also time-limited event stories, which are unlocked by playing the event. They are further divided into two types of stories; standalone stories focus on single groups, while mixed stories feature characters from different groups.

Characters[]

The characters are divided into five groups of four, each with a theme related to the groups' backstory, complete with Hatsune Miku in a thematic attire to sing alongside them, and another Virtual Singer if available. While only characters involved in the plot are mentioned, some songs in the game feature Virtual Singers from different Sekai.

Leo/need[]

An all-girl band formed by a group of childhood friends who have learned to overcome their differences. Their Sekai is "Starry Sky", consisting of a classroom bathed in the afterglow of the sunset. They are supported by Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka, who take on the form of band musicians. Their image color is Midnight Blue, and they represent memories.

Ichika Hoshino (星乃 一歌, Hoshino Ichika)

Voiced by: Ruriko Noguchi^[5]

Image Color: Picton Blue

Ichika is the vocalist and guitarist of the band. Her name comes from how her parents met each other, "an encounter made because of one certain song." While appearing cool on the outside, she is actually a worrywart, especially when it comes to her childhood friends. She is a big fan of Hatsune Miku. Ichika was the first among her friends to discover the track "Untitled", which she found in her phone. Ichika also appears in the game's promotional art more often than all other original characters combined.^[6]

Saki Tenma (天馬 咲希, Tenma Saki)

Voiced by: Karin Isobe^[5]

Image Color: Gargoyle Gas

Saki is the pianist of the band. She was hospitalized during middle school days and was discharged during the first year of high school, only to find out that her childhood friends had grown apart. Along with Ichika, the two attempt to reunite the remaining two by creating a band, just like during elementary school days. It is later revealed that during her time at hospital, she has a chronic disease which might threaten her life. Saki as known about this, but doesn't want to die soon so she can enjoy her time with her friends. She's the younger sister of Tsukasa Tenma, who is very protective of her.

Honami Mochizuki (望月 穂波, Mochizuki Honami)

Voiced by: Reina Ueda^[5]

Image Color: Carnation Red

Honami is the drummer of the band, and is the "mother" of the group. During middle school, she was afraid of being isolated by her classmates who accused her being "two-faced" for siding with everyone. She decided to distances herself from her childhood friends and hang out more with her classmates instead. She soon realized she had been running away from them in order protect herself. Honami likes apple pie so much that she always buys it in bulk. She also seems to be bad at drawing, but is a good swimmer. She has a part-time job as a cleaner at Kanade Yoisaki's house.

Shiho Hinomori (日野森 志歩, Hinomori Shiho)

Voiced by: Yuki Nakashima^[5]

Image Color: Key Lime Pie

Shiho is the bassist of the band. She also works part-time at a studio house and sometimes fill-in a bassist position. At the beginning of the unit's main story, she distanced herself from others so her friends would never get caught in the bad rumors about herself. However, Shiho actually wanted to be reunited with her friends again. She is stoic and rarely smiles, but has quite a liking of the mascot of Phoenix Wonderland. Shiho is the younger sister of Shizuku Hinomori, whose overly-attached behavior troubles her. She is also classmates with Minori Hanasato and Kohane Asuzawa, being in Class 1-A.

More More Jump![]

An idol unit formed by one girl who dreams of becoming an idol and three girls who had quit being idols. Their Sekai is "Glitter Stage", consisting of a performance stage illuminated by countless glow sticks. They are supported by Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin, who take on the form of idols. Their image color is Bright Green, and they represent hope.

Minori Hanasato (花里 みのり, Hanasato Minori)

Voiced by: Yui Ogura^[5]

Image Color: Peach

A first year high school student who is often hit by bad luck, but never gives up and continues to work hard with a single-minded heart.^[5] Minori is a big fan of the now-disbanded idol unit "Asrun", and idolizes Haruka Kiritani in particular. She hopes to become an idol herself, but has always failed every audition she has taken.

Haruka Kiritani (桐谷 遥, Kiritani Haruka)

Voiced by: Mayu Yoshioka^[5]

Image Color: Anakiwa

An idol who was once a member of the nationally popular idol group "Asrun". The group suddenly disbanded, forcing Haruka to retire from entertainment world. Her hobby includes collecting penguin-related merchandise. She is the childhood friend of An Shiraishi, having had a friendly-rivalry relationship.

Airi Momoi (桃井 愛莉, Momoi Airi)

Voiced by: Ai Furihata^[5]

Image Color: Carnation Pink

A retired idol who used to appear often in a variety show called "Happy Everyday". She is the middle child of her family, and lives with her househusband father and two sisters. Her hobbies includes idol research and shopping. She's the childhood friend of Ena Shinonome. She acts as the straight man of the unit.

Shizuku Hinomori (日野森 雫, Hinomori Shizuku)

Voiced by: Rina Honnizumi^[5]

Image Color: Magic Mint

A clumsy high school sophomore who loves her younger sister Shiho Hinomori so much. Formerly of "Cheerful*Days", she managed to catch too much attention that her team members became jealous of her. Unable to understand the worth in continuing her idol activity, she quit her idol career. She is clumsy and clueless with technology, and has a habit of causing an electronic device to break down.

Vivid Bad Squad[]

A top-level street dance crew formed to surpass the legends. They were originally two separate dance crews before their merger: Vivids and Bad Dogs. Their Sekai is "My Hometown," consisting of an alleyway with walls covered in graffiti and concert posters. They are supported by Hatsune Miku, who takes on the form of a street dancer, alongside Meiko, who takes on the form of café staff, and Kagamine Len, who takes on the form of a DJ. Their image color is Vivid Red, and they represent passion.

Kohane Azusawa (小豆沢 こはね, Azusawa Kohane)

Voiced by: Akina^[5]

Image Color: Strawberry

A shy girl who decided to become a street dancer after she watched An's performance at a live house. As a running gag, she is often re-imagined as a cute, small hamster. She likes photography, and has a pet snake named "Count Pearl."

An Shiraishi (白石 杏, Shiraishi An)

Voiced by: Tomomi Jiena Sumi^[5]

Image Color: Cerulean

The daughter of a legendary street singer who aspires to become like him one day. She works at her father's cafe and live house "Weekend Garage", where she also performs as a dancer. She is very supportive and protective of Kohane to the point others look her as Kohane's dad.

Akito Shinonome (東雲 彰人, Shinonome Akito)

Voiced by: Fumiya Imai,^[5] Reina Aoyama (child)^[b]

Image Color: Pumpkin

A young man who seems harsh on the outside, but is actually a kind guy. His father is a popular painter, but for some reason, he decided to become a street performer instead. He likes everything sweet, especially pancakes. Akito is the younger brother of Ena Shinonome, but sometimes has to be the one who looks after her. He is best friends with Touya Aoyagi, with whom he formed the street music duo Bad Dogs two years before.

Touya Aoyagi (青柳 冬弥, Aoyagi Tōya)

Voiced by: Kento Itō,^[5] Emi Hirayama (child)^[b]

Image Color: Science Blue

A curious young man, Touya has been Akito's best friend for a long time. His father is a popular classical pianist and has taught him classical music since he was a kid. After growing tired of being forced to follow the path of his family, Touya decided to turn away from classical music. With Tsukasa Tenma's support, he started his own street dance crew with his best friend Akito. Touya likes black coffee, and is very good at crane games; in fact so good that he has difficulty in sorting the stuff he obtained and has been giving them to his female acquaintances like Saki. He is close friends with the Tenma siblings, and their parents have known each other.

Wonderlands x Showtime[]

Wonderlands x Showtime (ワンダーランズ×ショウタイム) is an eccentric musical theater troupe formed to "put a smile on people's faces and make the world happy". Their Sekai is "Smileful Theme Park", consisting of a theme park filled with fantastical encounters like singing flowers and walking stuffed animals. They are supported by Hatsune Miku, who takes on the form of a performer, and Kaito, who takes on the form of a troupe leader. Their image color is Pop Yellow, and they represent happiness.

Tsukasa Tenma (天馬 司, Tenma Tsukasa)

Voiced by: Daisuke Hirose,^[5] Yui Takahashi (child)^[b]

Image Color: Selective Yellow

The troupe leader of Wonderlands x Showtime, Tsukasa is a narcissistic high school sophomore who aims to be a star to make people smile. He is working part-time at theme park Phoenix Wonderland's Wonder Stage, in order to support his younger sister, Saki Tenma, who was ill during her childhood.

Emu Ootori (鳳 えむ, Ōtori Emu)

Voiced by: Hina Kino^[5]

Image Color: Hot Pink

A cheerful girl, her family has the ownership of Phoenix Wonderland. She has been determined to keep the theme park's Wonder Stage theater running, so as to preserve her late grandfather's legacy. She has a habit of slipping onomatopoeia in her speech, to the point of becoming a whole language itself, called Emu-language. Her catchphrase is "Wonderhoi!" (わんだほーい). She is the youngest daughter in her family and has an older sister and two older brothers. Outside of Wonderlands x Showtime, Emu is classmates with Honami Mochizuki and is "close" to Mafuyu Asahina, whose smile scares Emu so much.

Nene Kusanagi (草薙 寧々, Kusanagi Nene)

Voiced by: Machico^[5]

Image Color: Eucalyptus Green

An introverted and shy girl who is experienced in stage performances, but suffers a stage fright, leaving her unable to sing during a stage performances. She likes video games and is good at them too. Despite her shyness, Nene happens to be friends with Ichika due to their similar personalities.

Rui Kamishiro (神代 類, Kamishiro Rui)

Voiced by: Shun'ichi Toki^[5]

Image Color: Lilac Purple

Nene's childhood friend who also has experiences in stage performances. His hobbies includes creating inventions and showing them to Tsukasa. One of his notable creations is Nenerobo, a Mikudayō lookalike robot with an appearance similar to Nene, made specifically to assist her in stage performances. During middle school, Rui was once a social outcast, and many others looked down at him due to his intelligence, although he did manage to make friends of Mizuki Akiyama.

Nightcord at 25:00[]

Nightcord at 25:00 (25時、ナイトコードで。, 25-ji, Naito Kōdo de.) is an underground music circle whose identities are shrouded in mystery. Their Sekai is "Empty View", consisting of an empty room with nothing in it except for a few dim rays of light and distorted screens. The only singer to accompany them at game launch is Hatsune Miku, who is mysterious in her personality as well as gothic appearance, though this changes later on. Their image color is Dark Purple, and they represent dilemma. Nightcord refers to the online chat platform the group use.

Kanade Yoisaki (宵崎 奏, Yoisaki Kanade)

Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki^[5]

Image Color: Turkish Rose

The composer of the circle who goes by the internet name "K". Kanade is a hikikomori who always wears a jersey and is currently homeschooled. Her father was also a music composer, who fell ill of an occupational stress and tragically passed away due to the sense of being compared to his daughter. This caused her to be so distressed in songwriting that she wanted to "make songs that make people happy".

Mafuyu Asahina (朝比奈 まふゆ, Asahina Mafuyu)

Voiced by: Rui Tanabe^[5]

Image Color: Chetwode Blue

The lyricist of the circle, known by the internet name "Yuki". Pressed into fulfilling the expectation of others, especially her mother, Mafuyu lost sight of herself and the ability to show her feelings. She covers it up by acting as "good girl" on other people, but reverts to herself in front of her group members. Outside the circle members, only Emu Ootori seems to be wary of this.

Ena Shinonome (東雲 絵名, Shinonome Ena)

Voiced by: Minori Suzuki^[5]

Image Color: Sorrell Brown

The artist of the circle going by the internet name "Enanan", Ena is the one behind the illustrations for the circle's music video. She likes to post her selfies to social media to gain likes, but actually suffers from inferiority complex. Believing she has no talent in painting, she is so pessimistic that people would come to make fun of her artworks. She is harsh and easily gets angry, especially to Mafuyu, but is generally nice and cares for others.

Mizuki Akiyama (暁山 瑞希, Akiyama Mizuki)

Voiced by: Hinata Satō^[5]

Image Color: Orchid

Mizuki is the video maker of the circle's music video, better known by the internet name "Amia". Despite acting as the "mood maker" of the group, Mizuki actually has a "secret" deliberately left unknown to fellow circle members. Mizuki's gender is currently unknown, but has somehow been disclosed in several official sources.

Others[]

Side characters that makes their appearance in units' main and event stories.

Iori (イオリ) & Mio (ミオ)

Voiced by: Natsue Sasamoto & Rio Tsuchiya

Iori and Mio are members of a professional band called Standout. They inspired Leo/Need to aiming for a major debut.

Mai (真衣)

Voiced by: Misaki Kano

Mai is an idol who used to perform with Asrun, which she joined after taking an audition. She did so because she had always wanted to perform with Haruka.

Nanamin (ななみん)

Voiced by: Arisa Nakada

Nanamin, whose real name is Nanami Hayakawa, is a former idol who is currently an online streamer with about 800,000 subscribers. She helped More More Jump! by introduce the group to the public via streaming.

Ken Shiraishi (白石 謙, Shiraishi Ken)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Nakamura

Ken is An's father and is a musician who held the legendary live "Rad Weekend." He was the one who inspired both An and Akito to become street musicians. He is currently running a live cafe & bar called "Weekend Garage." His wife is a school teacher who seems to be bad at cooking.

Koutaro Mita (三田 洸太郎, Mita Kōtarō)

Voiced by: Hiromu Mineta

A street musician and an acquaintance of Bad Dogs. He respects Ken, but thinks that his daughter An doesn't have talent and is just using her father's popularity. He sabotaged Vivids' first live performance and created an "opportunity" for Vivids and Bad Dogs to confront each other. He was referred to only as "Musician" in the unit's main story until his name was revealed in event story "Stray Bad Dogs."

Harumichi Aoyagi (青柳 春道, Aoyagi Harumichi)

Voiced by: Ken'ichi Ono

Touya's estranged father, Harumichi is a 53-year-old classical musician. He has been teaching Touya and his two older brothers on the path of classical music. Touya's decision to switch to street music enrages him.

Arata Tono (遠野 新, Tōno Arata)

Voiced by: Kōhei Yanagi

A 19-year-old street performer who has been performing alone after his partner had an accident and stopped performing.

Kigurumi (着ぐるみ)

Voiced by: Naoyuki Shimozuru

A cast of Phoenix Wonderland, he is in charge of taking care of Emu. He's always seen wearing an animal-themed costume, hence his nickname.

Ootori family (鳳家, Ōtori-ke)

The owners of Phoenix Wonderland. The family consists of the father Kounosuke (幸之介, Kōnosuke) Voiced by: Masaki Aizawa, the oldest son Keisuke (慶介) Voiced by: Hikaru Hanada, the younger son Shousuke (晶介, Shōsuke) Voiced by: Atsushi Imaruoka, the older daughter Hinata (ひなた) Voiced by: Satomi Moriya, and the youngest daughter Emu. Both sons currently work as theme park managers, while the older daughter is currently attending college.

Jean Riley (ジャン・ライリー, Jan Rairī)

Voiced by: Shōto Kashii

The CEO of Riley Entertainment, a large company that manages the world-famous character content IP. He was interested in making a business partnership with Phoenix Wonderland and desired to help make the theme park more popular, but decided to keep it as it is after seeing Wonderlands x Showtime's show.

Gameplay[]

Colorful Stage's gameplay consists of tapping notes as they slide toward the bottom to the rhythm of a chosen song; players have to tap, slide and flick to match new free-form rhythm notes, and special yellow notes that are worth more points towards your score. The overall gameplay is similar to Sega's Persona Dancing (Atlus), Chunithm and Bandai Namco's The Idolmaster series, the players are given 1,000 health points to clear a song, and one can adjust song speed and difficulty to their liking. In lieu of a energy system that is prevalent in most free-to-play games, Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage utilizes Live Boosts that increases rewards for completing a song, and players can continue playing even when they run out of boosts.

Players gain experience points (EXP) by clearing songs and listening to overworld conversations between characters. Such talks are fully voiced with 2.5D movement via Live2D technology, and their conversations are depicted in a visual novel-style presentation that is prepared for each group, including the Virtual Singers such as Miku. Further dialogues are added over time through events. EXP also improves a unit's rank, which unlocks additional chapters in group stories. Cards, which use a star ranking system to determine rarity (four stars being the rarest), are acquired via the gacha system, a luck-based mechanic in which players spend the in-game currency Crystals with the hope of winning their desired cards. Although Project Sekai is a free-to-play game, players can spend real-life money to acquire more crystals.

The game also features Virtual Lives, a mode where you can go to a virtual concert, similar to augmented reality or a Vocaloid live concert, where players can interact with one another. You can see players all around the world and your favorite group performing via 3D animation.

Song list[]

The game initially launched with 28 songs, with around four new songs added per month to the game. The tracklist mainly consists of Vocaloid songs, with most songs having two versions: the original version (named "Virtual Singer version" in-game), and Sekai versions, having the song covered by the original characters, and sometimes joined by a Virtual Singer. Some songs also have a 3D MV or animated MV, with animated MVs either being newly created for the game (named "2D MV" in-game) or original. Songs without an MV are played with a static 2D backgrounds.

Development and release[]

The game was first announced on August 30, 2019 at Magical Mirai 2019.^[7][8] The development is done by the Colorful Palette, a newly established subsidiary of Craft Egg (who is already known for another rhythm game: BanG Dream! Girls Band Party). Yuichiro Kondo, the first producer of Girls Band Party, also serves as the producer for this game. The project started in 2017 and was initially being developed entirely by Craft Egg, but Kondo thought it was necessary to avoid a situation where the project would clash with the development of Girls Band Party, so he created Colorful Palette with Craft Egg's core members within the company.^[9][10][11]

The title is a rhythm game that features arrangements of songs made by various artists over the years using the Vocaloid software. The original story of the game is told in a visual novel and musical film-style. The direction of the game's design and concept is different from other Hatsune Miku-related games, such as Sega's Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, where the player and Hatsune Miku face each other directly and communicate in the game. The project is said to be "a work that embodies the existence of Hatsune Miku" and explores the relationship between music and people. One of the reasons behind this format was the idea of "wanting the younger generation to listen to more Vocaloid music and other songs from the internet." Therefore, while knowing that there could be people opposed to the idea of addition of original characters, it was decided to develop such a setting.^[12]

Colorful Stage's pre-registration was originally set to begin in late April, but was delayed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pre-registration later started on July 17, 2020, and Sega revealed the goals were set from 100,000 to 1,000,000 pre-registrations. In September 2020, the pre-registrations later reached 1,000,000 and players who pre registered received rewards.

Despite the game being released only in Japanese, the staff has considered an overseas release in the future. The game's worldwide release was announced on August 2021.

Music[]

The original songs specially commissioned to famous Vocaloid producers for each units. The albums are licensed under Bushiroad Music. It's also available worldwide through online music streaming services Spotify and Apple Music.

Reception[]

As of July 26, 2021 the game has reached over 5 million users.^[18]

See also[]

• BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! — Another game developed by Craft Egg
• Crypton Future Media
• Vocaloid

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Worldwide server Official website
• Traditional Chinese server Official website (in Chinese)