Thank you Sega for sending us this game to review!

Hatsune Miku and her friends are vocaloids whose singing is generated via vocaloid software. Even though Hatsune Miku is a fictional sixteen year old with turquoise colored hair, she has quite the fan base. She has been featured in over 100,000 songs world-wide. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix is a collection of over 100 sings since their inception in 2007. Even more songs are available in the multiple DLC packs that have been released since this game’s launch.

There’s no story in this title. Just multiple ways to play. I preferred the classic arcade mode, which is more challenging than the newly released Mix Mode. The Mix Mode has three difficulties Easy, Normal, and Hard. Arcade Mode has five difficulties Easy, Normal, Hard, Extreme, and Extra Extreme.

Like previous Hatsune Miku titles, you’ll have to match the floating notes with their corresponding button presses. For example, the floating A will require you to press the A on the controller when it’s lined up perfectly to its matching icon. To help out, the icons have spinning second hands that should have the button pressed with they’re in the 12’O Clock position. There are also left and right trigger icons that are easy to confuse so pay attention to their orientation!

Depending on your timing you’ll be rated with cool, good, safe, bad, or miss. The game will also notify you if you’re pressing the wrong button. If you get successive cool and good ratings, you’ll start a combo streak which boosts your score. Anything safe or lower will end the combo.

Mix Mode uses the joy-con motion controls and you have to line up the pink and blue bars and tap the L or R buttons when they align. While this mode is interesting, I still preferred the Arcade Mode.

No matter how you complete songs, you’ll earn VP points which can be used to customize your Hatsune Miku avatar. Some of the outfits are more conservative than others. If you’re creative, there’s a t-shirt designer in this game.

Visually Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix looks great on the Switch. Other than the long load times, it runs great too. The videos can be a bit distracting and I missed hitting some of the notes as a result. The character and customization options are plentiful and look good. Unfortunately, some of the outfits show more skin than cover it.

There’s a wide variety of singers and some of them sound more realistic than others. I couldn’t understand any of the lyrics. They’re displayed on the bottom in Romanji which I cannot undertand. I recognized a few of the songs, but many of them were new to me. As usual, the tutorial song is a variant of Ievan Polkka.

Without being able to understand the lyrics, most of the song content went over my head. One of the videos shows Hatsune Miku running away from the cops in an apparent jewel heist. One song is called Sweet Devil and another is titled Sadistic Music Factory. The Sadistic Music Factory video shows various torture devices. It’s weird. Though the ESRB mentions blood, I don't recall seeing any in the game.

If you enjoy Hatsune Miku songs and previous games, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix is worth looking into. There’s a lot of built in content with a lot more available for purchase. The physical edition is rather pricey, but the digital version is affordable at under $40.