The Utano Princesama series has a very special place in my heart, being my introduction door to the otome game world. After playing Utano Princesama Shining Live for a few years, I found a world that was so enjoyable, full of cool-looking idol boys that I could interact with.
Utano Princesama Shining Live is a rhythm game for Android and iOS mobile devices based on BROCCOLI’s Utano☆Princesama series, featuring a completely different perspective compared to the PSP games. Mostly because, the protagonist Nanami Haruka is absent, and all of the stories of the mobile game kind of assume that you’re some version of her or offer a third-person perspective of the idols’ interactions, serving as some sort of bastion for you to get into the series.
▍Over 150 Songs from the Utano Princesama Series!
The Utano Princesama series is, of course, known for the songs performed by the STARISH and QUARTET NIGHT idol groups. And as of right now, there are over 150 songs in Utano Princesama Shining Live for you to play, with four different difficulties.
Some of my favorite songs are Fiction by Ai and Reiji, Setsugetsuka, which is the only current song where all idols come together, and Mirai Chizu from the Maji Love 1000% CD. Unfortunately, as of right now, only Mirai Chizu is available as a permanent song, but very frequently, both Fiction and Setsugetsuka appear in the Campaigns tab, with Setsugetsuka even featuring Master difficulty support.
▍Easy-to-Grasp Rhythm Gameplay
I’ve played tons of rhythm games, but being my first rhythm game, I always found the rhythm style of Utano Princesama Shining Live a bit easier to divide between fingers. You have six different notes and the usual slew of rhythm game note types such as holding and sliding notes.
However, holding notes do not require you to release your finger at the right timing, and there are no flick-type notes. Furthermore, there are many cards with a pretty handy effect where any GOOD and BAD taps are converted into GREAT, which helps preserve your combo for longer. And most of those cards can be obtained via the event, instead of the gacha.
These easy-to-grasp systems are a joy to novice rhythm gamers, who want to enjoy the great songs from the series with no rush to catch the notes. For those who are looking for more challenges, you can always try the Master difficulties with a more complicated musical score.
▍Interact with 11 Idols With Fully Voiced Stories!
Every single idol in Utano Princesama Shining Live has a UR and SR card. These cards have a feature called Moments, where you can spend Gems and unlock special conversations that relate to the card in some way. SR stories have 2 episodes and URs have 3.
The final episode is always crafted in such a way that the idol will interact with you from a first-person-like perspective, and some of those stories will truly make you swoon, especially the Valentine stories. And that’s because all the Side Stories of the card feature fully voiced dialogues, and of course, with the very popular seiyuu from the franchise, including Hiro Shimono and Takuma Terashima.
▍Various Event Types to Play!
As of right now, there are four types of events in Utano Princesama Shining Live, including Set List, Collection, Town, and Score Battle. Each of them works similarly, but the first three are the only ones that give you UR and SR cards by playing songs and obtaining points.
■ Set List: On Set Lists, you’ll play a fixed set of eight songs, and your bonus increases as you go through it. A UR is obtained after obtaining 220,000 Event Points, with rankings requiring 250,000 to 300,000 to get another copy, depending on the character’s popularity.
■ Collection: Collection events have you choose from 3 different songs (1 for each element) to play and obtain flower corsages to exchange for the rewards you want. The UR’s exchange option appears after obtaining 200,000 Event Points. You can also purchase Event Song Passes, which give you access to a song that can give you a significant amount of points.
■ Town: Town is a recently added type of event that is a sort of combination of Set List and Collection. You’ll go through 20 different stages, each featuring a fixed setlist of 3 songs. Clearing songs also accumulates Hype, and once you reach 100 of it, you can play a song that can get you tons of points. There are also objectives in each stage’s setlists, and clearing them will give you rewards such as LP, Prisms, and even a score boost.
Missed an event that contained a card you really wanted in Utano Princesama Shining Live? No problem! Sometime after the event ends, the cards are added to the Memorial Bangle Exchange, and you can obtain those Bangles by playing the future events and spending LP. You won’t be able to max out their Rank but considering the stories don’t require you to merge additional copies, it’s still a great way to collect the cards you wanted!
The lineup is updated constantly at the end of each month. Just be careful not to let your Memorial Bangles expire, as each time the lineup changes, your amount resets to 0.
▍Sanrio Collab Now Available in Utano Princesama Shining Live!b
If you’re planning on starting Utano Princesama Shining Live, I have some good news for you! A special campaign with Sanrio characters is ongoing until May 31, with a time-limited UR set of the idols with the Sanrio characters, as they become the ambassadors of Puroland!
Furthermore, the Spring Campaign is also available, with free pulls, and a completely revamped Beginner Mission system, where if you clear all of the missions, you’ll be able to receive a special UR Group Photo with max rank! The said photo can really help boost your score in events very early on.
