NOTE: This review covers the Android version of the game BUT its going to pretty much be applicable if you are looking for a review on eitherNOTE: This review covers the Android version of the game BUT its going to pretty much be applicable if you are looking for a review on either platform.
Now then what IS "Uta no Prince-Sama: Shining Live"?
"Shining Live" is a rhythm based game that is based on the world of Uta no Prince-Sama ,a super popular visual novel game series, that has been around for almost 9 years this coming June with an Anime that spans 4 seasons currently ,3 rhythm games before this one ,a long line of visual novels and a crazy amount of merch that you have to see to believe...its that amazing!
This game is another in the "Rhythm game" section but has KLab treated it fairly having had it available now for almost 2 years in Japan and 1 in the Global market?
Pretty much...a little polish and it will be better trust me on that!
The game follows the two main units of Shining Agency: STARISH and QUARTET NIGHT as they perform a show called "Shining Live" at the start with their song "Welcome to UtaPri World" and then from then on the player makes their way through the game story...here is where we fall into some SLIGHT ISSUES!
The game is divided up into chapters and each chapter has AT LEAST 2 songs each (I have yet to see a chapter have only 1) and in order to progress to the next chapter the player is tasked with getting at least a "clear" on each song so that they can open up the next chapter and progress with the story.
Here is where the fun comes in
The game ,being an F2P game and all that, makes the player have to use "Story passes" to get to the next story part of the chapter and to attain one the player will have to level up. This ISN'T a problem at first because levels are easy enough to attain but once you get up high enough (like in the 100s) the player is required at this time to pretty much be able to play on NORMAL at the minimum or HARD or PRO at the max! This isn't a bad thing mind you...until you realize that the game will spit out notes at a rate that you might not be able to keep up with!
Fortunately for the player you can adjust songs accordingly to the speed you are comfortable with (I play Easy and Normal on speed 2 for the most part rarely moving it) so this isn't a problem. It CAN be one though if it messes with you thinking the song is longer than it really is and this has happened to me on more than one occasion (but that is my fault and not the game's).
One issue the game has had more recently is that with "hit detection" where the player might be tapping a note (or holding if the note required it) and the game doesn't register it. It might be me and my tablet but the game does this a lot lately and its borderline frustrating especially for a mission that requires full combos in the events!
Oh we should talk about those next
The game has 3 main types of events
"Set list" where the player plays a set list of songs and they loop around while you try to tier on a ladder to win an SR or UR photo of a particular character. These are arguably the most soul crushing
"Score Battle" where you play 3 songs and see if you can outscore other players
and "Collection" events where you still score points like a setlist but you can play the songs YOU WANT vs. what the game wants you to play. This is one of the more fun events to do in all honesty.
One thing to think about with this game though is that some people might be coming from the Music series thinking its just a "continuation" of that series and then it adds in Season 4 songs...NOPE!
As of this writing the game only has done up to the "Duet Dramas" before Season 1 and a good # of the QN catalog. At this time no Season 1 ,2 ,3 or 4 singles were added outside of Maji Love 1000% and some DVD Bonus songs from Season 2. If you are a fan of a "certain 7 person idol group" waiting for their first appearance...might be waiting a while.
Outside of that the story ,while hokey at times, has a lot of good fluffy crack and charm to put a smile on your face and the characters dialog ,while a bit OOC at times, is still such that it could give new players that never heard of UtaPri a rather lighthearted entry point into the series and that's NOT a bad thing at all if you ask me.
All in all Shining Live is a good game. Is it going to set your world on fire? Well no and especially if you played other games in this genre but give the boys of UtaPri a chance...you'll be glad you did for sure!… Expand
