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Love Live: School Idol Festival

Love Live: School Idol Festival is a free rhythm and adventure game for mobile devices. The English version of the game was released in May 12, 2014 and the popularity for the game has been growing ever since. Despite some bad reviews and finally trying the game myself, I can see where the craze has come from as overall it is a good game. The genre of this game is comedy and musical, following a group of high school idols it's a very lighthearted game and easy to engage in for all ages. It's an interesting twist compared to most games and stands out a lot due to its crossover of styles.

The game is free to download and has many features that are available so it is definitely worth giving it a go. For those who really get into the game there are options to get extra coins which means you can buy new songs that would normally be locked or you can unlock a certain character’s stories with the coins. But the game is just as good without so the micro charges can be avoided and most things can be unlocked later if you work towards them.

There are two kinds of gameplay involved in Love Live; live shows and story. Live shows start with practice, this involves you levelling up the characters and improving their skills and EXP points. Once you have enough practice you can start professional live shows, this involves you tapping the rhythm icons as they overlap the character’s icon you are graded based on your timing. The grades are perfect, great, good, bad or miss; the grades will then effect your score. There are over 70 songs to use in live shows, all of which are free then there are certain songs featured in the game, which are only around for a limited time.
the game play and narrative behind the game is an interesting one and i like that its very unique compared to most games that are available now. Therefore i rate the narrative 8/10
Story mode follows the story behind the characters; the members of μ's and Aqours. Each character has their own side story in which you can get to know them better and engage with them more. It is a nice feature to include as being able to get to know each character individually is more engaging and makes you feel included in the love live universe. There are 9 members in each group;
μ
Third years
Eli, Nozomi & Nico
Second years
Honaka, Umi & Kotori
First years
Maki, Rin & Hanayo
Aqours
Third years
Dia, Kanan & Mari
Second years
Chika, You & Riko
Third years
Ruby, Hanamaru & Yohane
each character has some interesting traits, however there are some very generic characters which loose your interest so for that reason i'll be rating the characters 6/10

The game is a pretty simple one to use; as soon as you start, there is a great tutorial on how to use the game that is idiot proof. Making it a simple game for everyone to play including casual and younger gamers, the aim of the game is also simple and is an easy one to pick up on. Despite the game being very simple in all of its areas, it still has a range of different difficulty levels which means you can still be challenged as you go through the game if that’s how you like to play. In addition, as it is on a mobile device the controls are easy to use as there is not a lot of buttons to use.
The way the game is made for the platform it is on is perfect and i love the style and approach they have taken so i will give this 9/10.

The target audience of this game is casual gamers, it is a game that can be easily picked up and played when on the go and does not require knowledge of the story line to enjoy. For those who want a more in depth story they can chose to play the story mode as well which means you get background and a story for the game. I think this is a great feature as while most casual gamers only want a few hours’ gameplay they are still involved in the game and have the option to play without the main story. It is also a single player game so it may not appeal to hard core gamers that much, as they aim more to battle against others. However, the game is still great without a co-op mode and for the style of the game; it fits a lot better.

The narrative of this game follows that of an anime it is based on. It was originally a Japanese anime and was first made as a Japanese phone game, but was later translated into different languages. The story follows two high school idols and their quest to become the best performers they can. The graphics for this game are very simplistic; they follow the same graphics as the anime it is inspired by. It has nice graphics that have a very cute look to it, also due to the simplicity of the graphics it makes it easier to focus on playing the actual game.

Overall, it’s a nice and easy to play game easy for any casual gamer who is on the go. The game is very easy to pick up and put down, as well as having the option for dlc if you want to make the game more interesting. 8/10