Gaminez: K-on! Houkago Live!!

K-on! Houkago Live!!

Friday 30 September 2011 00:15 Posted by desmondykw

More K-on stuff. Previously, was the anime. Today, would be on the K-on game! Exclusive only for the psp console, so those without psp.........sadly you wont be able to play it. The game focuses mainly on the attraction point of the anime, the songs!!! However, it only covers all the songs from season 1 and the additional of several other songs from the members, that were not showcased in the anime. All-time favourites like 'No, Thank you!' and 'Utauyo!!Miracle' etc. would not be present. Simply put, season 2 songs would not be in the game . This game was released in late 2010, right after season 2 finish broadcasting. For those who have play 'Project Diva', you will find it pretty dam similar to this game. For those who didnt, dont worry i will explain the details later on in the post. In my opinion, a really fun and addictive game!

Gamefaqs rating : 8.5/10
My rating : 8.5/10

Goods : Simple and fun gameplay, decent number of playable songs, 5 different tunes for every single song (providing fans more choices for every song), features adapted from the anime (Mio's being left-handed etc.)

Bads : Only available in the Japanese version (Those do not know japanese are at a disadvantage etc.), ridiculous flow of notes in certain songs (either too fast or too slow etc.)

Gameplay wise, its awesome! Its really simple, following the theory 'Press inputs accordingly to what you see'. Yeah, i would say its 100% based on your eyes-fingers coordination. It may be difficult in the beginning, but actually it is very easy to adapt once you get the hang of it. Music games always take on the trend 'Follow the rhythm', this game is no exception. Songs are played according to their rhythm/beats, what the player has to do is just to play along with it, get used to it. It may sound complicated, but in fact its actually really easy once you get the hang of the game.
Songs!!! At the start, you will only have like 4-5 songs to play. Dont fear, thats not all. Songs are to be unlocked along the way, so yeah just keep playing!! As you keep advancing, unlocking more songs, the difficulty is raised. This can be easy noticed by the number of stars of the song for each character. The more the stars, the harder the difficulty. Overall, decent number of songs. You will also realise that almost half of it, were not showcased in the anime. Dont be afraid, give all the songs a try, you will tend to love at least some of it!
*Difficulty is also based on the modes. There are 2 modes, normal and hard.

The thing that differentiates this game from other music games, is the presence of the different tunes for every single song. This game offer 5 different tunes for every song, since there are 5 members in the light music club.

Let me state an example....

-Given that you choose the song 'Cagayake girls', you could then select 1 out of the 5 different tunes

-These 5 tunes would be Lead guitar(Yui), Rhythm guitar(Azusa), Drums(Ritsu), Bass(Mio), Keyboard(Tsumugi).

-Selecting any one of them would enable you to play their parts. For example, if you choose Ritsu, you will get to play the drums part of the song. If you choose Mio, you will get to play the bass part of the song. That goes the same for the rest of them.

This provides a more fun experience for the players rather than just playing only 1 fixed tune for every single song. This is probably the main attraction of the game.

Perhaps just a random fact, but i will still say it. I am pretty surprise they put in features from the anime. For example, Mio being left handed. In the game, her tunes are also played mainly left-handed, most of the notes for her tunes could only be inputted with the D-pad. Yeah, so basically you are playing left-handed for Mio's tunes as well. Pretty cool eh...........not when you play her hard tunes!

Other than just the gameplay that attracts fans, there are also other features from the game. For example, the costumes. At the start, the only available costume would be school uniforms. Just keep playing, and you will unlock more costumes along the way, like the maid costumes and casual costumes etc. A encouraging point that keeps you playing! There are more other features, but i did not know how to get access to them, given it is in Japanese. Those who know japanese, good for you. Those who dont, you can explore if you want.

Now, the flaws of the game. Pretty damn minor, but i will still mention it.

1. Japanese version only. Thats pretty damn sad, miss out certain features of the game as i dont understand the language. But still, the main feature are the playable songs. Its easily accessible at least, so i guess i am fine with it.

2. For certain songs, flow of notes are just plain ridiculous. Either too dam fast or too dam slow. To me, slow notes flow is still fine. However, fast notes flow is just WTF!! Some of you may find it okay, as you could adapt to the different kinds of flow, yeah good for you. For those who cant or are slow, good luck to you.

So yeah, thats about it for the review. This game is definitely worth a try, music gamers should never leave this out! Anyways, heard of rumors that the K-on game for season 2 will be released, but not anytime soon. Nothing is confirmed yet, so dont get your hopes up too high!

Have a nice day!