This may come as a surprise to everyone, but in a game called Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage, Crypton Vocaloid is not really the main character. They are there, for sure. Miku is an important part of all storylines as a central character, It’s correct. However, they are not stars. Instead, the focus is on groups of talented young people. Each of them possesses some musical talent. They are on the verge of a breakout (or breakdown). And instead of just making sure they look and sound good, it takes real thought to make them recognizable, sincere, and even realistic.
There are five groups in Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage, each theme has its own theme type. For example, Leo/need is the group of childhood friends that brought the band (and their friendship) back together. Much More Jump! is the work of idols (and aspiring idols) at different stages of their careers. Nightcord at 25:00 is a group of strangers with special traumas coming together to make anonymous music. So individually, you have different genres and themes connected to the overall stories. Wonderlands x Showtime is an eclectic group of individuals trying to make the theme park’s stage show popular again. You know to expect stupidity. Nightcord at 25:00 is a darker and more dramatic story with a mature theme. Its members are in Empty Sekai trying to stop one of them from doing something drastic. The five base stories cover different bases.
But what makes them all the more powerful is that each one isn’t limited to the genres and themes you’d expect from them. You’d expect More More Jump’s story to be about up-and-coming singers coming together. They found what they needed to be stars maybe each other. And sure, there’s some of it when Airi, Haruka, Minori, and Shizuku practice and interact with each other. But it’s also a realistic look at what people can go through if they pursue a career in music professionally. Airi eventually found success in the idol industry, but found herself the epitome of the “relieve comedy.” Minori failed dozens of auditions. So in addition to them discovering and rediscovering what they love about performing, we see how hard the work is. Leo / need is touching. We see friends reunited. They discover that they still care and need each other all the time. But we are also seeing how bullying can affect people’s lives.
Besides, Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage Every character is well developed. While some may be initially “more important” in some storylines, others are just as important. Nightcord at 25:00 is particularly good at this. K and Yuki are the focus. K’s father is hospitalized. She blamed herself for his illness. She’s desperate to save everyone, because she can’t save him. We find her isolation and savior complicated. Yuki is so depressed and stressed that she is completely emotionless and empty. However, both Amia and Enanan are dealing with their own trauma. Each of them did not go to normal school, like K, for their own reasons. While the group (and the player) may be “there” for Yuki, these four are truly lifeblood to each other. We can see that play out as they connect here and in their first event story.
Not to mention the importance of Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage events devoted to character development. The global version was adopted some fairly quickly, presumably to try to catch up with the Japanese version. They provide additional development for specific characters. Each offers more insight into what they’re doing and how they’ve developed following the main stories. In First Star After the Rain, we explore how Saki feels after being discharged from the hospital. We understand her priorities. We also see how someone who once thought she was going to die is dealing with it. While the 25:00 Nightcord story hints at Yuki’s trauma, Imprisoned Marionette shows part of what she’s up to after a real-world excursion with the collaborators who triggered her .
The result is Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage is a game where the characters are constantly evolving. We are learning about them with each chapter and main event of the campaign. And, because of the way it works, no one is locked out of event stories once they’re over. They are all unlocked to watch, even if you didn’t earn them. That means every player can follow the developments and see the different layers of each person’s personality.
Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage available on Android and Apple iOS devices all around the world. In Japan, it is known as Project Sekai: Colorful Stage.
