Here’s a short guide for the basics of this awesome rhythm game, now with all Videos (PVs)!

Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is the next installment in the popular Hatsune Miku Project Diva franchise. These games feature volcaloid technology, which is a singing voice synthesizer. The objective is to press the buttons that appear on the screen alongside the song’s rhythm. Try getting the high score and unlocking accessories for your singer, then up the difficulty when you think you’re ready.

Project Diva F is currently available on the PS3 and PS Vita around the world. A demo is also available on PS3’s PSN.

Basics

Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is your basic rhythm video game. The general concept is to hit buttons alongside the rhythm of each song, but there’s more to it when it comes to the scoring system.

Melody Icons

There are three types of icons that appear on screen: Buttons, Stars, and Arrows.

The Button Icons are the same as the controller: Triangle, Circle, X, and Square. When you see them, press them. These can also be alternated with the Up, Right, Down, and Left D-Pad buttons. See the table below for the matching buttons. If a large number of notes are placed back to back, it’s easier to alternate between both the shape buttons and D-Pad to hit the notes quickly.

If a long tail appears with the melody icons, hold the button until the end of the tail, then release at the right moment to get two timing grades.

The Star Icons can be hit by wiggling the left or right joysticks on the PS3 controller or swiping your finger across the touch screen on the PS Vita. If there are a lot of stars in a short time, swipe the screen or move the sticks up for one star then down for the other. You can also use both joysticks (PS3) or two thumbs while swiping the screen (PS Vita).

The Arrow-Shaped Icons require you to press Left, Right, Up, or Down in tandem with one of the shapes. The shape that must be pressed depends entirely on the color and direction:

Performance and Timing

Your performance is graded on how well you match the notes with the song’s rhythm (Timing). A small arrow will rotate clockwise on the note to help you with the timing and to make sure why note comes next in the song. Hit the note when the timing reaches the top (12 O’ Clock).There are five different grades:

1. Cool
2. Fine (Japanese) / Good (English)
3. Safe
4. Sad (Japanese) / Bad (English)
5. Worst (Japanese) / Awful (English)

The amount of notes hit along with the Chance Time and Technical Bonus will give you an overall Clear Grade. This grade is measured in Grade Points. Anything below 80 points will not clear the stage. The only way to get a Perfect overall Clear Grade on a song is by hitting only Cools and Fines.

Song Energy Gauge

The Song Energy Gauge is the gauge at the lower left corner of the screen. It will slowly fill up when you get Cool and Fine note timings. If your note timings is Sad or Worst, the gauge will start to deplete. If the gauge completely empties, the song will end, and you will fail.

Technical Bonus

In the Technical Zone, your objectives is to get through a more challenging section of the song without losing your combo. The amount of notes remaining is displayed at the top left of the screen. If you keep hitting Cool and Fine grades, the remaining notes in the Technical Zone will deplete. On the other hand, if you drop your combo by getting a Safe or lower timing, you will fail the Technical Zone. When “Notes Left” reaches zero, “COMPLETE” will be displayed and you’ll receive a Score and Grade Point bonus.

Chance Time

When the frame at the top and bottom of the screen changes during a song, you’ve entered “Chance Time!” Each note will have a short rainbow tail, but this does not mean they need to be held. For this section of the stage, your Song Energy Gauge remains fixed, and you can rack up a bonus score. Furthermore, if you can fill the star gauge to the max and flick the stick (PS3) or swipe the screen (PS Vita) at the final “Chance Target” (big yellow star) with Fine or Cool timing, you’ll see an extra animation event and get a bonus to your Grade Points. The higher your Grade Points, the higher your final Clear Grade.

Diva Points

Diva Points is the currency used in Project Diva F. You will earn Diva Points after completing songs in Free Play. Spend them in the shop to unlock new outfits for all Characters and furnishings for the Diva Room.

Help and Challenge Items

Before you begin a song, you can choose a Help or Challenge item that will affect your gameplay and earned DIVA Points. An item must be purchased each time it is used before a song. Only one item can be used per song.

Help Items are used to help you get through a song, but the song’s final score may be reduced. Challenge Items are used to make a song tougher in some way or another, and the total Diva Points will be boosted. Below is a list of Help and Challenge Items in Project Diva F.

Songs

Below is a list of all songs in Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F, the vocaloid that sings in the song, who the song was produced by, and the beats per minute (BPM). The PS Vita version of Project Diva F contains 32 songs, while the PS3 version contains 39.

There are only four difficulty levels in Project Diva F: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extreme. The higher the difficulty, the more Diva Points you will earn. No songs on Easy have Arrow Notes, and only the Stars and Circle buttons will be used. Two melody buttons will be used on Normal, and Arrow Notes will be added. Three to four melody buttons will be used on Hard. All four melody buttons will be used on Extreme.

Unlocking Songs

To unlock more songs in Project Diva F, you must clear a song with a standard grade or higher. This will clear a song four slots down — usually. If you wish to unlock the song at a higher difficulty, you must first clear the same song with a standard grade or higher on the previous difficulty. The game begins with three songs available on Easy and Normal.

The following table is a list of songs that must be cleared to unlock other songs. The left song must be cleared, and the right song gets unlocked.

The following is a list of Extra songs included in the PS3 version. Just as the above list, the left song must be cleared to unlock the song on the right.

Diva Room

The Diva Room is another option from the main menu of Hatsune Miku Project Diva F. Each character in the game has their own room. Visit with them, play games, decorate each room with items from the shop, and build a friendship with all six Divas.

To build a friendships with each Diva, rub their head or face until one of their eyes opens. Stop rubbing once an eye opens or they may get upset. This will add some points to the friendship meter. After rubbing their head enough times, they may ask to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. The game is pretty simple. Choose either Rock, Paper, or Scissors by pressing one of three buttons, then choose to turn your head up, down, left, or right. For those that don’t know, rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. For the head turn option, you have to guess which direction the Diva will turn their head if you won the rock, paper, scissors part. If you lost, you have to choose a direction that the Diva will not pick. Win both parts of the game three times to win the entire game and earn some friendship points.

Gifts

You can also give each Diva gifts from the shop. Each character has certain likes and dislikes, so only give them items they will enjoy. Below is a list of presents and each character’s preferences towards them.

Studio Mode

Studio Mode is a PS3 exclusive mode similar to PS Vita’s AR Mode. There are two sections in Studio Mode: Live Studio and Photo Studio. In Live Studio, you can choose from a small list of songs for a Diva to perform on stage. You are then able to switch to and control multiple cameras around the arena while they perform.

The songs available on Live Studio Mode are for viewing purposes only. You do not play the normal rhythm game with these songs.

In Photo Studio you can place Hatsune Miku in a number of poses, mess with lighting, select filters, and take pictures of her. It’s your own mini photoshoot! Some angles are not supported, so no upskirts!

AR Mode

AR Mode (Augmented Reality) is the PS Vita Exclusive Mode for Project Diva F. It allows you to place AR Live Markers anywhere in your home and use the PS Vita’s Camera to bring Hatsune Miku into your world!

Using AR Mode is simple. All you need to do is choose AR Mode from the main menu, choose a song, place the AR Marker somewhere flat, and place the green box on the screen over the AR Marker. Hatsune Miku will appear on the green box, and she can even be blown up or shrunk by using UP or DOWN on the D-PAD. While Miku is performing, feel free to move around to see her from almost every angle.

AR Mode Songs

The songs available on AR Mode are for viewing purposes only. You do not play the normal game with these songs.

AR Live Markers

If you need a marker, simply save one from below and print it out.

Edit Mode

Edit Mode allows you to select a song, add different vocaloids, costumes, backgrounds, and even melody buttons to the song. You can then save the song and upload it to PSN. Once uploaded, you can play the Edit song in the Free Play menu. You can also download other player’s edited songs.

Trophies

Hatsune Miku Project Diva F contains 29 Trophies for the PS3 and PS Vita versions of the game. There is one platinum, five gold, twelve silver, and eleven bronze trophies. All trophies have been placed in alphabetical order for ease of indexing. Click the trophy name to see a short description on how to unlock it.