Project Sekai

''Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!'' (originally released in Japan as ) is a rhythm game developed by Colorful Palette (a subsidiary of CyberAgent) with cooperation with, and published by, Sega. The game is a spin-off from Sega's '' Hatsune Miku: Project Diva'' series, featuring the 6 virtual singers of Crypton Future MediaHatsune Miku, Megurine Luka, Kagamine Rin and Len, Meiko, and Kaitoalongside the cast of 20 original human characters that are split into five themed units. Set in the real world where virtual singers only exist as fiction, the characters come across another dimension called "Sekai", where various "true feelings" are projected.

The game was released for Android and iOS devices on September 30, 2020 in Japan. A Taiwanese server, published by Nuverse, was released on September 30, 2021. Sega released an English server of the game worldwide on December 7, 2021, with expansion to 5 countries in Southeast Asia on September 25, 2023. A Korean server was released on May 20, 2022, in South Korea, published by Nuverse. A Simplified Chinese server was released on March 27, 2025, in mainland China.

Gameplay

''Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!'' gameplay consists of tapping notes as they slide toward the bottom to the rhythm of a chosen song; players have to tap, slide and flick to match new free-form rhythm notes, and special yellow notes that are worth more points towards the score. The overall gameplay is similar to Sega's '' Persona Dancing'' (Atlus), ''Chunithm'' and Bandai Namco's ''The Idolmaster''-themed rhythm games, the players are given 1,000 health points to clear a song with the ability to heal through character skills, and one can adjust song speed and difficulty to their liking. In lieu of an energy system that is prevalent in most free-to-play games, this game utilizes Live Boosts that increases rewards for completing a song, and players can continue playing even when they run out of boosts.

Players gain experience points (EXP) by clearing songs and listening to overworld conversations between characters. Such conversations are fully voiced with 2.5D movement via Live2D technology, and their conversations are depicted in a visual novel-style presentation that is prepared for each group, including the virtual singers such as Hatsune Miku. Further conversations are added over time through events. EXP also improves a unit's rank, which unlocks additional chapters in group stories. Cards, which use a star ranking system to determine rarity (four stars being the rarest), are acquired via the gacha system, a luck-based mechanic in which players spend the in-game currency Crystals with the hope of winning their desired cards. Although this is a free-to-play game, players can spend real-life currency to acquire in-game currency.

The game also features virtual lives, which is a mode where players can go to a virtual concert, similar to augmented reality (AR) or a Vocaloid live concert, where players can interact with one another. They can see other players all around the world and their favorite group performing via 3D animation.

The game initially launched with 28 songs, with around four new songs added per month to the game, with over 500 songs currently included. The tracklist mainly consists of Vocaloid songs or those from Vocaloid producers, with most songs having two versions: the original version (or new versions specifically made for the game; named "Virtual Singer version" in-game), and Sekai versions, having the song covered by the original characters, and sometimes joined by a virtual singer. Some songs also have a 3D-animated and/or 2D-animated music video (MV), with animated MVs either being newly created for the game (named "2D MV" in-game) or original. Songs without an MV are played with a static 2D background, known as "Lite" in game.

Plot

Setting

''Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!'' is set in the real world, specifically in Shibuya, Tokyo. In this game, Hatsune Miku and her friends are famous fictional singers existing in the real world as virtual singers. They sing songs from creators all over the world, but they also exist in , a mysterious world different from the real world that is created from a person's "true feelings", featuring various visual appearances based on the person. There are as many Sekai as there are emotions, and their form changes depending on the person's emotions. Therefore, the focus of the game is on the original characters and their journeys to find their "true feelings" with the help of the virtual singers.

To enter Sekai, one must find and play the song "Untitled". This silent song has no melody or lyrics and is created at the same time as the Sekai, and is mysteriously inserted on their devices. It can be anything, such as a game console, a smartphone, a smartwatch, a TV, a tablet, or a computer. When they play an "Untitled" song, they can travel between the real world and the Sekai. As one manages to discover their true feelings, the song will contain a playable melody and lyrics, even get its own title.

Story

Each of the five groups and members has their own story, focusing on their journey to convey their "true feelings":

* Leo/need: Ichika Hoshino wishes to recover her memories with her childhood friends (Saki Tenma, Shiho Hinomori, and Honami Mochizuki) to make them come together again as their friendship had become strained in the aftermath of various circumstances that occurred during middle school. She entered the School Sekai and met a punk-rock-styled Miku, who told her to convey her feelings to her friends and overcome their differences. Ichika and her friends eventually formed a band to restore their friendship and discover their shared memories through music.
* More More Jump!: Minori Hanasato has dreamed of becoming an idol ever since she saw Haruka Kiritani when she was very young. Despite having failed auditions multiple times, she never gives up and hopes to pass an audition one day, so as to achieve her dream. One day, on the school rooftop, she met Haruka when the latter was practicing her dance moves, only to find out Haruka had retired from her idol career. The two entered the Stage Sekai along with Airi Momoi and Shizuku Hinomori, where they met an idol-like Miku, who encouraged Minori to make her dream come true.
* Vivid Bad Squad: Kohane Azusawa has been deeply passionate about street music ever since she stumbled upon a singing session by An Shiraishi. Captivated by her singing, Kohane joined An to become a street musician herself and later teamed up with former rivals Akito Shinonome and Toya Aoyagi. They entered the Street Sekai and met a hip-hop-styled Miku, and together they began the quest to surpass a legend.
* Wonderlands x Showtime: Tsukasa Tenma has always wanted to make his sickly sister, Saki, happy, but as time passed, he couldn't remember why he wanted to be a star in the first place. He was hired to work part-time at the theme park Phoenix Wonderland, but the once-popular Wonder Stage theater he is assigned to has been deserted, unable to attract any visitors for years. There, he met Emu Otori, who desires to restore the theater to its former glory. Joined by Nene Kusanagi and Rui Kamishiro, they formed a musical theater troupe as they entered the Wonderland Sekai and met a clown-like Miku, hoping to revive the theater's glory and make people happy.
* Nightcord at 25:00: Kanade "K" Yoisaki has been homeschooled and become reclusive due to a trauma she sustained as a result of an incident in the past. She formed an underground music circle with her three online acquaintances (Mafuyu "Yuki" Asahina, Ena "Enanan" Shinonome, and Mizuki "Amia" Akiyama). They communicated via a voice-chat platform named "Nightcord", meeting every late night at 25:00 (1AM). None of them knew each other's true names or identities, only knowing each other by online aliases and through voice chat. Kanade was pulled into the Empty Sekai by mysterious-looking Miku, who urged her to help save Mafuyu, the group's lyricist who had mysteriously disappeared a week prior.

Characters

The characters are divided into five groups of four, each with a theme related to the groups' backstory, complete with Hatsune Miku in a thematic design to sing alongside them, in addition to one or two other Virtual Singers (except for Nightcord at 25:00, who start off with only Miku). As the game's story progresses, new versions of each virtual singer appear in the different Sekai.

Leo/need

An all-girl pop-rock band formed by a group of childhood friends who reunited in high school as they vow to get over their differences. Their Sekai, the School Sekai, consists of a classroom bathed in the afterglow of the sunset. They are initially supported by Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka, who take on the form of band musicians. Their image color is Midnight Blue, and they represent memories. Their members are Ichika Hoshino, Saki Tenma, Honami Mochizuki, and Shiho Hinomori.

More More Jump!

A pop idol group formed by one energetic girl, Minori, who dreams of becoming an idol, and three girls named Haruka, Airi, and Shizuku, who are former idols and quit for various reasons. Their Sekai, the Stage Sekai, consists of a concert stage illuminated by countless glow sticks. They are initially supported by Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin, who take on the form of idols. Their image color is Bright Green, and they represent hope. Their members are Minori Hanasato, Haruka Kiritani, Airi Momoi, and Shizuku Hinomori.

Vivid Bad Squad

A top-level hip-hop, teen pop, electronic and street music group formed to surpass a legend. They are a merger of two musical duos: Vivids and Bad Dogs. Their Sekai, the Street Sekai, consists of an alleyway with walls covered in graffiti and concert posters. They are initially supported by Hatsune Miku, who takes on the form of a street dancer, alongside Meiko, who takes on the form of a café waitress, and Kagamine Len, who takes on the form of a disc jockey. Their image color is Vivid Red, and they represent passion. Their members are Kohane Azusawa, An Shiraishi, Akito Shinonome, and Toya Aoyagi.

Wonderlands x Showtime

An eccentric musical theater troupe formed to "put a smile on people's faces to make the world happy". Their Sekai, the Wonderland Sekai, consists of an amusement park filled with whimsical encounters like singing flowers and living stuffed animals. They are initially supported by Hatsune Miku, who takes on the form of a cat-like jester, and Kaito, who takes on the form of a suited actor. Their image color is Pop Yellow, and they represent happiness. Their members are Tsukasa Tenma, Emu Otori, Nene Kusanagi, and Rui Kamishiro.

Nightcord at 25:00

An indie underground music circle whose identities are shrouded in mystery. Each of the group's members has expressed thoughts of " wanting to disappear". Their Sekai, the Empty Sekai, consists of an empty space with nothing in it apart from a few dim rays of light and distorted screens. The only Virtual Singer to accompany them at the game launch is Hatsune Miku, who is mysterious in her personality as well as a gothic lolita appearance, though this changes later on. Nightcord refers to the online voice-chat platform the group uses, similar to the real-life chat platform Discord. Their image color is Dark Purple, and they represent trauma. Their members are Kanade Yoisaki, Mafuyu Asahina, Ena Shinonome, and Mizuki Akiyama.

Development

The game was first announced on August 30, 2019, at ''Magical Mirai 2019''. The development is done by the Colorful Palette, a newly established subsidiary of CyberAgent's Craft Egg (developers of rhythm game '' BanG Dream! Girls Band Party''). Yuichiro Kondo, the first producer of ''Girls Band Party'', also serves as the producer for this game. The project started in 2017 and was initially being developed entirely by Craft Egg, but Kondo thought it was necessary to avoid a situation where the project would clash with the development of ''Girls Band Party'', so he created Colorful Palette with Craft Egg's core members within the company. It was developed with Unity, and uses Crypton's Piapro Studio NT engine for speech synthesis. Sega provided 3D models. The game's visual novel-style story sequences utilize Live2D Cubism for the character sprites and expressions.

The title is a rhythm game that features arrangements of songs made by various artists over the years using the Vocaloid software. The original story of the game is told in a visual novel and musical film-style. The direction of the game's design and concept is different from other Hatsune Miku-related games, such as Sega's '' Hatsune Miku: Project Diva,'' where the player and Hatsune Miku face each other directly and communicate in the game. The project is said to be "a work that embodies the existence of Hatsune Miku" and explores the relationship between music and people. One of the reasons behind this format was the idea of "wanting the younger generation to listen to more Vocaloid music and other songs from the internet". Therefore, while knowing that there could be people opposed to the idea of addition of original characters, it was decided to develop such a setting.

Release

The game's pre-registration was originally set to begin in late April, but was delayed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pre-registration later started on July 17, 2020, with the name ''Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! Rehearsal Edit'', and Sega revealed the goals were reset from 100,000 to 1,000,000 pre-registrations. In September 2020, the pre-registrations later reached 1,000,000 and players who pre-registered received rewards.

The game's worldwide release was announced in August 2021 with a slightly different title, ''Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!''. Nuverse released the game in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan on September 30, 2021. Nuverse is also managing the release in mainland China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Sega released the game for all other regions (especially Western world including Oceania, Europe and North America) on December 7, 2021. The game was released on September 25, 2023, for Southeast Asia, said to be an extension for the global server. A Project Sekai server has been released in China as of March 27, 2025.

Reception

By July 2021, ''Colorful Stage!'' had reached over 5 million users and received positive reviews. The game was ranked 9th on Twitter's Most Talked About Video Games list in 2021. In June 2022, ''Colorful Stage!'' surpassed 10 million users.

Anime

Mini animation series

A mini anime series titled was announced during the game's first anniversary live stream. The anime mini-series has 10 episodes that will be broadcast through Tokyo MX and is available for free to watch through the game's official YouTube channel. The anime has the characters drawn in chibi-style, and a bit of gag-esque story that is slightly different from the original story. It premiered on January 13, 2022. Official English subtitles are made available sometime after the official premiere.

In February 2022, episode 6, "Leo/need style", was pulled after a scene where the characters wore ''ganguro''-like makeup and tribal-like costumes drew backlash for racism, including accusations of blackface and cultural appropriation, with an apology (in both Japanese and English) from the game's official Twitter/X account. The episode was re-uploaded to YouTube on March 15, 2022, with the controversial content removed.

Episodes

Short animation series

Another short animated series was announced during the 3rd anniversary Wondershow Channel Livestream called "Journey to Bloom", which is the summary of each units' main story. The series is available for free to watch through the game's official YouTube channel. Official English subtitles are made available sometime after the official premiere. The series is produced by P.A. Works and directed by Hiroyuki Hata.

Anime film

An anime film titled was announced on July 29, 2024. It was first teased as a "new project" on July 21, 2024, which shows an unfamiliar variant of Hatsune Miku. The film tells an original story featuring all original characters as well virtual singers. They meet Miku, who confesses that there are people she wants to reach yet no matter how much she sings, her voice can't reach them. Miku thinks by knowing closer about these people, she will be able to reach these people she wants to reach.

P.A.Works produced the film with direction by Hiroyuki Hata and screenplay by Yoko Yonaiyama. Yuki Akiyama designing the characters, and Satoshi Hōno composing the music. It premiered in Japanese theaters on January 17, 2025. A global release has been confirmed. The opening song by 40mp and Sasakure.UK titled features vocal by Hatsune Miku, and the ending song by Jin titled "Worlders" with an arrangement by Teddyloid will be performed by all 26 characters.

The film also featured six new songs that are composed by Deco*27, with each songs arranged by six different Vocaloid producers.

The movie grossed up to US$2.8 million in its opening week in the United States of America, and placed itself in seventh place for weekend ticket sales, exceeding the film’s domestic performance of 300 million yen.

Other media

Printed media

An anthology comic was released on November 25, 2021, by Ichijinsha's DNA Media Comics. An official visual fan book was released on November 26, 2021.

In real live events

Concerts

The game has held two types of live concerts: ''Sekai Symphony'' and ''Colorful Live.''

''Sekai Symphony'' () is an annual orchestra concert for the songs that has been featured in the game. It is held annually held at Pacifico Yokohama and is performed by Sekai Symphony Special Band of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The first concert, held on October 16, 2021, featured Tsukasa Tenma and Nene Kusanagi's voice actors Daisuke Hirose and Machico as guests. The second concert was held on June 11, 2022, featuring the voice actresses of Nightcord at 25:00 (Tomori Kusunoki, Rui Tanabe, Minori Suzuki, and Hinata Sato) as guests. The third concert was held on June 10, 2023, featuring Ichika Hoshino and Saki Tenma's voice actresses Ruriko Noguchi and Karin Isobe as guests. The fourth concert was held on June 8, 2024, featuring the voice actors of Vivid Bad Squad (Akina, Tomomi Jiena Sumi, Fumiya Imai, and Kent Itō) as guests.

''Colorful Live'' is a live concert featuring characters from the game in hologram, 3D model that is different from the one seen in the game. It follows the nature of ''Magical Mirai'', an annual Miku-centered live concert, where all of the 26 characters (20 original characters + 6 virtual singers) will sing and dance along with real life band performers. The first concert, titled ''Colorful Live 1st -Link-'' was held on January 28–30, 2022 at Makuhari Messe. There was also paid live stream held on Abema TV.

Anniversary event

An annual event called ''Project Sekai Thanks Festival'' is held in late September to celebrate the game's anniversary, September 30. Many of the original characters' voice actors and actress make appearances in the event, performing in a mini concert and reading act. Some perform as the hosts in a special edition of Sekai Broadcast Livestream, a talk show, as well as Sekai Radio. An exhibition is also set up inside the venue. The event was first held on to celebrate the game's upcoming second anniversary, which was held on September 23–24, 2022 at Tachikawa Stage Garden. The second event was held at Tokyo Dome City Hall on September 16–17, 2023. The third event was held on September 26–27, 2024 at Yokohama Buntai.

Creators Festa

An event that "connects fan and creators" which features Vocaloid Producers and Vocaloid related illustrators is being held annually since 2023. It is similar to comic market where creators tend their own booth and sell their own goods. There are also official goods featuring original characters and virtual singers.

See also

*''BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!'' — Game developed by Craft Egg, parent company of Colorful Palette
*Crypton Future Media
*Vocaloid

Notes

References

External links

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' at Tokyo MX

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