As I seem to like to talk about games that probably nobody else here will ever play, let's talk Idolmaster!
The first Idolmaster game I played was Idolmaster 2 on the PS3. I will say without any shame that I honestly quite enjoyed it. For those of you not familiar with the franchise I would summarize it as basically 1 part rhythm game, 1 part visual novel, and 2 parts management simulation as that was really the bulk of the game. It was a refreshingly unique combination at the time. You assume the role of a small-time producer for a little-known idol and try to make her into a big-time star within a time limit. You have to split their time between things like training, live shows, promotional activities, etc. while also managing a budget and trying to increase sales of their singles. Many of these activities involved simple mini-games to mix things up a bit and yes there were even some visual novel like elements as the story progressed.
Another interesting point: Idolmaster 2 was a hard game. Odds are you were not going to get a good ending your first few times through. There were a lot of things to manage in the game, for instance popularity was regional not just a single number and if you neglected a region for too long your idol would start to become unpopular there. So you had to think not only about what activities to pick but also where to pick them. The game also very much encouraged replaying with different idols to produce, different songs to pick, etc. Let's just say that it would probably taken a very long time to platinum trophy it (not that I ever did).
But anyway it's been like 6 years since that game came out and I hadn't picked up an Idolmaster game since so I guess I wasn't that in love with the franchise or anything. But I really did enjoy the game and lately after seeing some promotional material for a new Idolmaster game for the PS4 (Stella Stage) I decided to give the franchise another shot. So why am I talking about Idolmaster 2 now? Because I really want to contrast the two games.
I said Idolmaster 2 was 1 part rhythm game, 1 part VN, and 2 parts management simulation. Stella Stage is more like...2 parts rhythm game, 1 part VN, and...maybe half a part management simulation. That aspect of the game hasn't been completely removed or anything, but god damn does it feel watered down compared to Idolmaster 2. You do still make choices about what activities to pursue but I feel like the choice hardly matters. The differences are largely superficial. Training was an important part of Idolmaster 2 because it was the main way you improved your idol's stats (but you also didn't want to train too much and neglect your fans) but here it just provides a temporary boost that feels largely...unnecessary. So it feels like, why even bother.
The rhythm game aspect for performances has changed a lot too, it's more of a proper rhythm game than the simplistic minigames of Idolmaster 2. And it should be seeing how they seemed to have just completely ripped off the Hatsune Miku games. No, really, even the button prompts and everything are exactly the same. Not that there's anything wrong with the Hatsune Miku games or anything but the similarities are too blatant to not comment on. I don't know about other more recent titles in the franchise but certainly the older games were not like that at all.
There is one aspect of Stella Stage that is much less forgiving than Idolmaster 2: It constantly autosaves. Yes, even when you screw up. However I eventually realized that during the rhythm game sections you can just pause and select retry if you're not doing well. This is a pretty standard feature in pure rhythm games but it surprised me a little bit that they would put that here since the rhythm game aspect is embedded in a larger game where failure is supposed to have actual consequences. Of course I don't like failing so needless to say I started abusing that feature as soon as I discovered it. So despite the autosave thing the general lack of difficult choices and more relaxed pacing makes Stella Stage feel a whole lot easier than the sometimes grueling difficulty of Idolmaster 2.
But you know what? I liked the management aspects. I even kind of sorta liked the difficulty because it did feel rewarding when you finally got things right. Yes, Idolmaster 2 was like the Dark Souls of idol management simulations.
...sorry I just really wanted to use that phrase.
Idolmaster 2 felt incredibly refreshing to me at the time because I had never played anything quite like it before. And you know what? I still haven't. Because Stella Stage really isn't the same kind of game...it's not necessarily a bad game or anything but it's not really what I was looking for either. And given the niche genre I wonder if we're ever going to see a game like Idolmaster 2 again...
