When the Nintendo Switch initially came out about three years ago, some fans of Project DIVA speculated whether we’ll be seeing the game coming out on Nintendo’s latest console. I had speculated back then that it was very unlikely since the game has only appeared on the Sony PlayStation devices where it featured its △□○× buttons and most likely it will stay as an exclusive, making Project Mirai-like spin off a way more plausible option.

Two years later, SEGA, as part of celebrating the rhythm-action game series’ 10th anniversary, had announced Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega39s (also known as MegaMix), on the Switch! 

And now, last February 13, 2020, the game has been officially released in the Japanese and Asian regions! The game is expected to be localized and released later this year in the West but I’ve gone ahead and got myself the Japanese digital version since the first announcement. I couldn’t wait to play this game and here are my first impressions!

I had pre-purchased the game from the eShop so it was a matter of waiting for it to be unlocked after midnight on the release day and sure enough, a quick update was needed for the game to be booted up for the first time.

It's happening! Loading up Project DIVA Mega39s #ProjectDIVA pic.twitter.com/xlOwnpTZiG

— randsss (@randszz) February 12, 2020

You’ll go through the expected intros (although, we don’t hear Miku singing ‘SEGA’ this time) and you’re off to the game’s main menu. There isn’t a new theme for the menus and you’ll get the same ones that were present in the Project DIVA arcades just like in Future Tone on the PS4.

When you want to start playing the rhythm game, you’ll be greeted with the selection of choosing between two game modes: the staple Arcade Mode and the new Mix Mode. More details below!

Arcade Mode

All of the songs are also playable at the start of the game at the Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulty. Clearing the song in Hard mode will unlock the Extreme difficulty for an even more challenging play. For some songs, you can even take it up another notch with the  Extra Extreme difficulty!

Since this is a first for the Switch, the default settings will be set to the XYBA button styles which will throw off some veteran players (especially that X is also in blue!) but it can be easily changed back to the Playstation-style △□○× notes!

Just like with the previous installments of Project DIVA, having played both on a PS Vita and PS4, it’s a very similar gameplay on the Switch. I would recommend getting a grip case when you’re playing on Handheld mode. On TV mode or even in Tabletop mode, it’s better to play it with the Joy-Cons separated! (Don’t use the Joy-Con controller grip!) 

One thing to also note is that, since there are also four separate directional buttons on the left Joy-Con, it’s actually a better fit for playing rhythm games but it took some to get used to having the analog stick above the buttons.

Just like with Future Tone, you can also remap some of the controls which I did for the L, R, ZL, and ZR, buttons in this case to better handle the combos.

Mix Mode

New to Mega39s is another rhythm game mode which banks on motion controls of the Joy-Cons. How this works is that you’ll match up the notes with the corresponding Joy-Con by tilting it and hitting the note by either pressing the ZL/ZR or L/R shoulder buttons. Personally, the latter works better. 

This does mean that for Switch Lite owners, you’ll need to have separate Joy-Cons in order to play this mode.

In playing a few songs under this mode, it may appear easy but it does tend to be more challenging as you progress through higher-rated songs but it’s also very fun to play especially in TV mode! I would actually recommend trying a song in Easy difficulty first which uses the right Joy-Con only to get a feel of the controls before dual-wielding,

Just like with Arcade mode, all songs will be available to play at the start on Easy and Normal difficulty. Clearing a song on Normal will unlock Hard.

Graphics

One of the main concerns early on before release was how the game will perform graphically on the Switch. The gameplay itself always runs at 60 frames per second but there are instances where PVs are being rendered real-time in various frame rates and at a lower resolution especially for more complex ones and where there are multiple performers. This can be seen more when playing in Handheld mode. One example of this happening is in Senbonzakura:

Honestly, I didn’t even notice it much until looking closely and it’s not much of a deal-breaker for me since it doesn’t actually affect the gameplay itself. Hopefully, SEGA does work on some performance optimizations in future updates.  

Wrap-up

Overall, Mega39s is yet another enjoyable addition to the Project DIVA series and a rhythm-action game on the Nintendo Switch regardless which mode you play and how you play it.

SEGA is expected to introduce more songs into the game this year through DLCs and again, I’m looking forward to seeing the game released in the West which is to be expected later this year!