DISCLAIMER: As someone who has played the previous game, SHINING LIVE, since release, some comparisons are inevitable, especially with the main gameplay, but I will do my best to be as objective as possible.
Also, devs probably didn't add HEAVENS to the previous game because the game was called "SHINING LIVE" and STARISH and QUARTET NIGHT are under SHINING Agency, while HEAVENS is under RAGING Entertainment.
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Graphics
- Home screen UI and everything else is neat.
- Live 3D models of characters on HOME screen are interactable; long press for a 1-on-1 talk (or tap the message bubble icon to talk to the current active character); new camera panning feature.
- The 3D models themselves are beautiful, but I feel the eyes are kind of... blank, but that's more of personal preference.
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Story
- Presented in the usual Visual Novel style as most games in both the UtaPri franchise and many others.
- Not fully voiced, but character models' mouths seem to move enough to match the story dialogue (like watching a telenovela dubbed in another language XD).
- Each section and chapter of the story gives different rewards for completion.
- I just skipped the story since my Japanese is not good enough to understand, and I can't be bothered to translate each page.
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Gameplay (HERE WE GO)
1. EMOTIONAL PIECE - where you can see information on your cards; leveling up, unlocking stats, skills, and stories are all consolidated per card, which is a massive convenience.
2. PIECE GACHA - where you can pull for new cards; there is a free 10-pull as part of the tutorial that lets you select a character to get their UR card, and you can infinitely re-roll until you are satisfied. There is also currently a pick-up gacha banner for each of the 3 groups.
3. STORY - where you can access the main, event, personal (depending on intimacy with character), and card stories; pretty straight-forward.
4. MiniPuri - a wonderful new addition where you can decorate rooms and watch your favorite characters in chibi form walking around; I love when games have this feature because you can chill and take a break from freaking out about that difficult song you just played (and failed XD). You can also visit and follow other players; leaving them greetings (the handshake icon) will give the other player a little coin reward, and you can also receive the same when they leave you a greeting. MiniPuri coins can be used to buy more furniture. You can also receive them as rewards from missions/events/etc.
5. LIVE - the main rhythm game mode.
- LP MAX or the stamina is currently 10; not sure if this will increase as you rank up like in the previous game; recharge is every 1 hour, but LP Recharge items are available for additional stamina on-demand.
- Each song has 4 difficulty levels, similar to the previous game; the number of lanes vary depending on the difficulty up to a maximum of 6.
- You have the option to select the backdrop as you play each song:
a.) 2D stills of selected characters which you can set in the LIVE Options.
b.) 3D Normal where 3D models of the unit will perform the song wearing the selected outfits (change via the button to the left of the start button); I personally never turn on the option to have the models perform while I play the song (even in the previous game), because I get overwhelmed and distracted by the movement and lights, but if that's not an issue for you, then you will probably enjoy this setting. The movements are also pretty smooth.
c.) 3D Rich is the same as 3D Normal, but with better graphics; if your device is not optimized for graphics-heavy gameplay, then I advise against selecting this option. I tried it for the sake of this review, and my device lagged pretty badly. XD
- Music Cards are required to unlock additional songs; unlike the previous game, no songs were unlocked after I completed all the available main story chapters, which is a little sad.
- Music Cards are like loyalty stamp cards you get at IRL shops; the more songs you complete, the more stamps you get, and therefore, the more Music Cards you obtain to unlock new songs.
- There is a feature to search, sort, and filter songs according to several criteria - another welcome addition to the game.
- As with the previous game, you can select a guest/support character for a boost; you can also follow them so they appear at the top of the list later on.
- There is an option to use up to 5/10 LP (depending on the mode/event) when you play a song, effectively boosting the EXP and drops you receive. I haven't used the power-up items yet, but I assume these will be consumed accordingly.
- There is no longer an auto-play function for songs you have previously cleared, but you can use Skip Tickets up to 3 times per day. Doing so still grants you song clear rewards, EXP, intimacy points, and song total play count, but does not contribute to score and combo counts.
- The game now makes use of power-up items such as Damage Guard, EXP Score Drop UP, and Board Item Drop UP to protect your HP and boost item drop rates. That said, there are no notes that will restore your HP, so if you make too many mistakes, there is no saving you.
- However, when your HP drops to 0, instead of consuming Wish Stones (premium in-game currency) to continue playing the song, you now have the option to keep playing to the end at the expense of having a 0 final score. This is a game changer, because you can now practice songs you have difficulty with without spending any in-game currency, and is very F2P-friendly.
- The main layout of the rhythm part is disappointing; the lanes are too narrow, and the space is poorly optimized, so you can expect to have a certain amount of difficulty hitting those Full Combos as it is easy to tap incorrectly, but it's not something you can't get used to as you put in more time playing the game.
- Completing a song gives you the option to skip or follow the player whose guest character you used (if you hadn't already); an additional feature to this is the High Touch, where the game will play a little animation of your character giving the support character a high-five. IT'S SUPER CUTE.
6. Other features
- Daily, Main, Title, and Special missions are available; Weekly missions are no longer a thing.
- The present box does not have a filter option unlike the previous game, but you can still claim everything with one button; you can also see your claim history.
- I appreciate that the devs added English labels for the other menu stuff, but other than that, you either rely on your Japanese, exploration and Google Translate skills, or muscle memory to figure out what other stuff does.
- Devs kept the feature to exchange items, so that's great.
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Sound
- Sound quality and voice acting are top notch as always; no complaints other than the story not being fully-voiced.
- Really hoping we get fully-voiced stories, even if it's just in events.
- The addition of HEAVENS to the game obviously unlocks a wider selection of characters and songs, plus all the new game-exclusive releases and songs that were not previously included in SHINING LIVE.
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Value
- Overall, the game is pretty good. The graphics and some features have obviously upgraded following the current trends in mobile gacha games, but the performance will vary depending on your device.
- I can't speak for the prices of bundles in the shop as I was fully F2P in SHINING LIVE, and will continue to be F2P in LIVE EMOTION.
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That ends my review (and guide?). Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
PS. Masato is my favorite, but QUARTET NIGHT's music is more my style. Cough.
PPS. DEVS WHY IS MASATO'S EYE COLOR PURPLE NOW
PPPS. Yep, his eyes are purple in the original games, but became blue in the anime and in SHINING LIVE. My bad, but man, the confusion. XD
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Edit (2) 240627:
- Up to 10 LP can be used if there is an event, I think. I guess it depends on mechanics.
- Skip tickets can be used 3 times per DAY, not per SONG. My mistake.
- Updated MiniPuri section. My mistake, you don't get coins after leaving greetings, sadly, but you can get them via other means.
Edit (1) 240618:
- Some stories are fully voiced, like private character stories (I've just unlocked one, so I am adding this comment), similar to the previous game, so it's nice that they're also similar in that area.
I played the predecessor (idk if i spelled that correctly) which is the old version, and i'm glad they made a new one but currently my only problem is how small the button is and kind of hard not to misclick the other button near it .
They added a new group too, so it's not only STARISH and QUARTET NIGHT. Kind of cool how they literally made a whole new game just to add a new group when they could've just added that to the old one.
3D graphic looks like the one from PSP games and gives me nostalgia, but still looks better than the old one which looks kind of unnatural in the 3D MV.
Because japanese is not my native language, i just skipped the story (sorry ).
I like the 3D home screen that showed the idols, and i thought we can change it to pure illustration to not strain our device but turns out you can't .
The gameplay itself is similar to ensemble stars (that's the only rythm game i played that is similar to this with the buttons design and the arrow slides .
I think the mini dorm room that have chibis and furniture are quite similar to most japanese rythm game with a little bit of raising sim elements (we just decorate the room, not actually raising them).
If you're a big fan, play and continue having delulu about your husbandos, because they hit you with new illustration and new artstyle .
Hope this review helps and sorry for some wrong wordings because english is not my native language .
@LLSIF this could have been us but you playin
Ahem. Behold, as BROCCOLI takes matters into their own hands and makes a whole new mobile game just to add HE★VENS as obtainable characters! (And also to have something more up to spec with the modern day mainstream idol games) Witness, as series-long MC Haruka Nanami ...allegedly exists?
I kept thinking that this game would be more casual-leaning/"easier" compared to Shining Live, but then, KIR☆MEKI EMOTION on Normal has longer 8th note streams than most games would dare to have in their equivalent difficulties
Also mid-spec phones (mine) will die on 3D gameplay
I think that's all the impressions I have on day... 2 but i can't imagine I end up changing the rating much
they have return with a brand new game and also with heavens wohooo... so far im enjoying playing them. i think theyre good and its catching up to other games in term of the animations? well, there are some part of animations that i think need improvement but overall everything good. i also like the mini prince room (?) function so much it's cute.
the lives are good. im not good doing live with the mv on (they distract me with their visual ) so i choose the 2D mode and baam! we can put the image of the UR card to appear during live with 2D mode ehehe also i wish the live kinda improve... back in shining live, doing live feel so excited but for live emo, its kinda empty you know? well thats all i have to say.
overall, im happy the game is here!!!
As a former Shining Live player, I do not understand other people's complaints. I think the models look great; they're like the ones they use for the MVs. If your phone or tablet can run the high graphics it's pretty nice. I think a lot of people who only played Shining Live may not be used to this art style, but it's more faithful to Utapri's more commonly used art. I don't think the eyes look "dead" or anything and the clothes don't have any unnecessary clipping. I screenshot a lot and the expressiveness is really nice, actually. I feel like in Shining Live, the way the models were made made clothes look very "blocky" or stiff or like... rectangular due to the 2D nature and having to make 2D outfits, so I feel like this is actually a little bit of an upgrade. I have DEFINITELY seen worse, as a B-Project fan LOL.
In terms of gameplay, I'm having a bit of a learning curve with this rhythm game set up, but I think it's more of user error than anything else. The gacha and level up system is pretty standard for a game like this: gem collection, skill tree and level up. Very similar to Shining Live in that aspect. Although I can only kind of read the story, the character interaction feels more in depth because the models face each other or create a "scene" which I really like. I am enjoying the cards so far, as well, and I am waiting to see how this next event goes. The cute little room decoration is a nice touch, and it's funny to see everyone hanging out in the dressing room on the main menu. I also like that you can change outfits if you're viewing the MV, it reminds me of something like Idolmaster in that respect.
My only 2 complaints is:
1.) I wish there were more battery saving options. I am playing on a Samsung Galaxy S10e and I don't really have much trouble loading anything, just phone getting a bit hot and battery draining a bit.
2.) I am concerned to see how in-game currency will go, as I'm still struggling a bit to get gems for my first (not UR infinite reroll) pull. These days, though, that is the reality of gatcha games. I'm mostly free to play, but I don't mind dropping some money now and again (for Ranmaru specifically).
As I play more, I will probably update my review, but for now, I'm enjoying it and having no major issues. (Just... a LOT of Ranmaru screenshots...)
I think the models/artstyle look pretty great, actually.
It feels like a blend of the SL style and classic Utapri, fresh yet familiar. Pretty much everyone looks good and I'm glad Masato got his purple eyes back (now if only he could also get his purple hair back). The only cases of strange looking models I think are Camus and Otoya. Camus looks somewhat flat because he is pale and has light eyes and hair which gives the appearance of a lot of "dead space" on his face. Otoya for some reason looks like he has a fish eye lens on his face, it's oddly round? But that's really it for artstyle nitpicks.
The card CGs look pretty nice, animations could maybe use a bit of touching up but they're still nice to look at. MVs look especially pretty.
Sound design/quality is fairly solid although there seems to be a lack of volume normalization for the song list. Certain songs are super loud and others are very quiet.
I enjoy rhythm games, so I don't have an issue with the rhythm gameplay itself, though as others have said the note lanes can feel a bit small which takes some getting used to. The mechanics are fine, standard for a mobile rhythm gacha. You cannot keep pressing on the lanes of the hold notes after they end like Enstars, I kept getting misses on the holds when I started playing and figured that out a little later. You must release the holds exactly when they end or it'll interfere with upcoming notes. The flicks also take time to get right, depending on the chart they can range from fine to hellish.
Events can be grindy but that's nothing new coming from SL.
I can't comment on the story because I don't know Japanese, and screen translators are not great at making coherent sentences lol.
The game is somewhat buggy.
In my time playing I have come across several bugs including UI elements and outfits not displaying properly, daily missions either not showing as completed when they should or doing so long after I already completed them, and the game straight up closing randomly on me one time (I have a phone in line with the recommended specs). The devs have shown they are eager to fix any bugs/issues, and have changed jewel drop rates and upped the daily stones a bit. However, it does seem like they've had to change quite a bit in the game since release. It gives the impression the game was potentially unfinished. Also, the resource acquisition, particularly the stones used for gacha, still seems pretty low. Events and banners happen quite frequently, and it seems difficult to build up a good amount of stones in time for an event/banner that catches your interest. Not to mention the top up rates are pretty abysmal...I think they may be worse than SL, and that's saying something because SL's top up rates were pretty damn bad lol.
Overall, the game can be pretty fun but has its issues.
For me, the positives haven't been much worth playing for lately. I stopped playing a couple of days ago, and reinstalled the game just to write this review.
I love Utapri and I appreciate the effort expended to create this game. I honestly thought we wouldn't be getting another mobile game after SL died, so I was very happy when Live Emotion was announced and when it released as well. I do think this game has potential and it is a pretty solid experience all things considered. I want it to do well, and encourage Utapri staff to do more cool things with the franchise.
Hoping for a global version!
I will be playing casually until it comes 😅
Finally we have MVs in the game for Utapri! The MV quality is not as bad as people were saying. I'm sure it'll get better with time as this is their first time making these in house and not outsourcing it.
UPDATE: For the people who are not playing/haven't played the game, the devs have added an update where they've added customizing options for the notes in the live. You can change the size/color etc of the notes now! Also, they've improved the touch for them so that it's more smoother. Best thing is now we have AUTO option so we can use it unlimited times just like Shinjng Live! 💜
The gameplay kinda sucks tbh I already know this game since shining live but didn't download it, but when I saw that there's a new game for this, my curiosity won this time and tried to play it lol... Not a fan of the 3D models but the 3D mv are so silly especially the movements of the camera I really don't like the gameplay but I might get used to it someday...
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