IA/VT -Colorful- is a new rhythm game that released in Japan on July 30 for the Playstation Vita. Just like the Project DIVA series of games revolved around Hatsune Miku and other vocaloids, IA/VT features the vocaloid IA as the main attraction. Featuring 60 songs to play plus more through DLC. It’s a fairly straightforward rhythm game, and an interesting one at that. So here is my preview on IA/VT -COLORFUL- for the Playstation Vita.

This is a preview of an import game, meaning the game is only released in Japan right now. Obtaining a copy isn’t too difficult, as the game is available at several online stores like Play-Asia and CDJapan. The game is also available digitally on the JP PSN, so you can also download it if you have a JP PSN account. I purchased my copy from CDJapan for 4800 yen plus shipping, which came out to around 6000 yen total or around $48. I did pre-order the game, which earned me some special DLC for 5 free songs and 3 costumes. Basically, there are multiple options out there for those who wish to obtain the game.

So is this a friendly game for non-Japanese speakers? I would say it most certainly is. Although, I’ve played through my fair share of Japanese rhythm games, so perhaps that helped me in better understanding these types of games. However, I feel that IA/VT -COLORFUL- is one of the more import friendly games out there. It is a rhythm game afterall, so it’s not exactly a game you’re doing much reading on. Despite being a JP game, there is a fair amount of English text in the game, which is why I say this is a easy game to get around for those who don’t know Japanese. Not too surprising for a rhythm game though, as the Project DIVA titles were just as import friendly for those same reasons. I’ll touch a bit on the gameplay before commenting further on the couple of problems non-Japanese readers will run into.

As you start the game, you’ll immediately run into a tutorial. The tutorial was straightforward enough that I was easily able to understand how the game worked. If you’ve played the rhythm game Senran Kagura Bon Appetit, it’s actually quite similar to that in gameplay. No surprise, since this game was created by Senran Kagura producer Kenichiro Takaki. So in IA/VT -COLORFUL-, you’ll have buttons or directions flying across the screen, and will need to hit them on beat. There are hold notes and double notes that will have you pushing a button and direction at the same time. There are also special notes that are represented with a rainbow like icon, and these are your Colorful notes. For these notes you can hit any button or direction for them to clear. There are even Colorful notes with a number on it, and that just means you need to repeatedly press the button that amount of times for the note to clear. Like other rhythm games, you’ll be graded on your timing from Perfect, Great, Safe, or Miss.

The Colorful notes are one of the unique things that IA/VT -COLORFUL- brings to the table. These notes are important for those wishing to obtain high scores. Obtaining a Perfect on these notes specifically is what you should alway keep in mind. Hitting these notes will fill up your Color Meter. During each song, there are these specially marked sections. Based on how full your Color Meter is before these sections, you’ll earn your Colorful rating. Getting all Perfects for the Colorful notes will earn you a 100% Colorful rating. The reason why that rating is important is because you earn a score multiplier bonus during these special sections. With a 100% rating you’ll earn a 2x score bonus, with the bonus being lower if you have a lower percentage. So even if you can hit all the notes of a song, your score might not be as high due to not getting those Colorful notes timed right.

There are a couple modes to play through in the game. The main mode being FREE PLAY, which just lets you play through each of the game’s songs. Most are locked at first though. You’ll need to level up in order to unlock more songs, and you earn experience and in-game money for completing each new song. So just playing through each of the songs will eventually earn you enough experience to have all the songs unlocked. Similar to Project DIVA, you’ll need to have completed a song on NORMAL difficultly before you can play it on HARD. The HARD difficulty is also the highest rated difficulty in the game.

The other modes availale are Step Up Play, Daily Play, and My List Play. Step Up Play has you going through a set order of songs. There will be specific requirements for you to fulfill before moving up the steps. Like earning a specific grade, chain combo, or even something like hitting Colorful notes with only the X button. There will also be songs with modifiers on them, like making the notes random which help ramp up the difficulty. Daily Play gives you a different song to play each day, with its own set of requirements for you to achieve in order to pass. Like the name suggests, it’s only one song per day and the difficulty of the song will change depending on how well you’ve done in other parts of the game. It’s an added way to earn money and experience. My List Play allows you to pick up to three songs to play in a continuous manner, one after the other.

An in-game item shop is also available and it’s where you’ll spend the money you earn from completing songs. Only cosmetic items are available for purchase here. Like more costumes for IA to wear. Even skins for the UI and rhythm icons.

This is still very much a Japanese game, so those who don’t know the language will run into a couple issues. One issue is with Step Up Play. While some of the requirements are kind of easy to figure out, like what grade and chain combo you’ll need. There will be some specific ones that might confuse you. One of the early ones I ran into was where I had to hit the Colorful notes with only the X button. Minor things as well like changing around settings for costumes or sound effects, etc. For the most part though, I never ran into a complete road block on anything. If you just want to play through and enjoy all the songs in the game, it’s quite easy to do so without any knowledge in Japanese.

The next big topic is how IA/VT -COLORFUL- is as a rhythm game. In terms of difficulty, it’s probably a bit on the easier side of things compared to the Project DIVA games. Not to say that the game isn’t difficult. I found the later songs on HARD to be quite challenging, yet enjoyable. The timing window is also quite friendly, since earning SAFE doesn’t break your combo, only getting a MISS will. It’s also a very pretty game to as well. This is due to how the notes are presented. They’re not flying across the screen exactly, more like riding on a rail. I find it a bit hard to explain in words, so I recommend checking out the included gameplay trailer for a peek of it. What I can say is that the presentation of the game is beautiful. It adds a nice extra layer of difficulty to it as well since it might throw you off a bit on what note is coming up or just distract you completely.

IA/VT -COLORFUL- is a well made and enjoyable rhythm game, and one that’s quite import friendly. The menus are in English, so it’s not too difficult to get around. A good thing too, since there have been many staements out there on how the game might not see a release outside of Japan due to the challgenge of obtaining the right music licenses involved. There are a couple bits of text that would have been nice to have translated like with settings and song requirements, but it’s straightforward enough if you just want to play the songs. I also view it as a good accessible title for newcomers to rhythm games. For those considering picking up this game, I would highly recommend it.