New Addition! MUSECA

MUSECA arrived at Eastridge Round 1 on January 23^rd, 2016. A new music game created by Konami (as usual), this game has had a lot of buzz surrounding it, both some good and bad. Let’s take a look.

The current setup of MUSECA in Round 1 SJ Eastridge. Photo courtesy of David Aerts.

The object of the game is simple if you are a seasoned music game player or are familiar with the music/rhythm game genre. There are five lanes that scroll down with notes on them. The player hits the corresponding circle note on the screen with the button on the game panel and tries to get the highest score without trying the fail the song. If you have played Pop’n Music before, or Neon FM, it is the same concept except for two additions: one, there are “spin” notes which requires the player to spin a corresponding note rather than hit it, and the foot pedal which a player steps on (shown by a pink strip on screen) when prompted.

Title screen of MUSECA with its mascot.

The cabinet screen is vertical, similar to Sound Voltex Booth’s machine. The game comes equipped with five circular buttons that you can push and spin, and also comes with foot pedals for players to hit during gameplay. There is a story mode for this game but unless you have knowledge of the Japanese language or are a Japanese speaker, then the player will be somewhat confused as to what is going on.

Galen Borson, 27, was one of the very first people on Saturday to try the new game out.

On the first day of arrival, several arcade goers (newcomers and regulars alike) flocked to MUSECA to give it a go. Twitter posts started to come in the day that MUSECA was set up and for some of the crowd, it was fairly positive. Twitter user "Skwuck" (@skwuck) tweeted: "Ok got to try museca. Going through the story is a bit slow but I think I'm going to enjoy this rhythm game." Another user, ミュゼカ最高だ (@Raydere) went, "museca at round1 erm? (screaming "saikou" while giving two thumbs up intensifies). But long time rhythm game players, Galen Borson and Oliver Wing, had a LOT to say regarding MUSECA.

While both Galen and Oliver were not really impressed with the game (be it the slim, recycled music choices, control scheme, etc.) What bothered both players a lot were the menus itself in-game. "Navigating the menus takes almost twice as long as actual gameplay!" Oliver exclaimed. "The song selection screen is clunky and choppy – which surprises me, since it’s a problem I’d expect from an upgraded mix on old hardware, not a completely fresh first iteration." And with Galen, not only did he note the long menu navigation, but also the difficulties for the songs. "I want to play more than just 10s for my first stage." says Borson. "That sort of grinding just to unlock difficulties that I feel should be available from the get-go annoys me to no end."

Although the game has many elements that are left to be desired, there are of course some positives. "THE ART IS GORGEOUS!!" Oliver says. "Holy Falafels, just give me this kaleidoscope of hi-res anime babes. And anime hunks. And, uh, furries. All of it." His enthusiasm for the artwork of the Grafica's and the overall design of the game is paramount. However, Oliver goes on to explain a small disadvantage of the visuals: "In-game, having to split your focus with the chart kind of detracts from the visuals," he explains. "But lower levels are comfortable enough that you can relax your gaze, and the game almost becomes a scenic drive. It’s also a treat for onlookers!" Galen also agreed that "the turntables (buttons) are kinda cool, I guess." He also noted that "the songs that I recognize from other games are nice too."

The small crowd of casuals who gave the game a try on its first day out on the arcade floor.

A lot of new and casual music game players were trying out the game on Saturday. Galen agreed that, "MUSECA seems like a very casual-friendly game, despite the impossible to navigate menus." He also noted that, "All the hardcore players are going to stick to SDVX (Sound Voltex Booth), and the less hardcore crowd will gravitate towards MUSECA when the SDVX lines get too long". When we asked Oliver if this game will succeed with the casual American crowd, he had a very different answer, "I don't see this game ever taking off with American casual gamers." His reasoning was pretty logical as well. "The interface is entirely in Japanese," he explains. "and since the story component and missions are so pervasive, it’s almost impossible for foreigners to navigate." MUSECA does incorporate a lot of songs that anime and video game fans may recognize. Songs from Touhou such as "Night of Nights" and "Bad Apple!!"are in MUSECA along with "Setsuna Trip" from Vocaloid.  

At the end of our interview, we asked both individuals what would be the one thing they would change for MUSECA so far. "I’d shorten the menus HEAVILY." Oliver emphasized. 

"Song selection, with an optional Grafica select screen, and that’s it." Galen's opinion in regards to changes was rather unique: to not have a storyline/story with the game. "Nobody I know got into any hardcore rhythm game because of the story line." he notes. " I got into it because I loved the music in all its variety, which Konami seems to be forgetting about." MUSECA, like other music games such as Beatmania IIDX and Sound Voltex Booth, has incorporated a storyline element into the gameplay. Story lines in music/rhythm games have been a recent implementation in Konami's line of BEMANI, and while some say that having a story line element gives the games a little more depth, others feel that it's unnecessary.

So while this game already has a lot of mixed opinions so far, only time will tell if MUSECA has better luck with an American audience than their Japanese audience. Many individuals who follow Konami's music games on both Twitter and Facebook have strongly stated that MUSECA has not been really successful overseas where Japan is concerned. While this game has just arrived at Round 1 SJ's doors, we still have a couple of months to determine where its success or failure lies.

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Special thanks to Galen Borson and Oliver Wing for contributing their thoughts to this article.

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