流れ星

The SOUND VOLTEX IV HEAVENLY HAVEN location test kicked off October 21 at GAME Silk Hat Dice Kawasaki, and we were there to cover it! The location test will run until 10/23. A new difficulty titled ‘HEAVENLY’ was revealed as well as a new ranking and a few new songs. Catch up on the details below!

This location test worked just like any other, with players lining up between 7-8:30am, then everyone in line got pulled a random ticket from a box corresponding with how many people were in line at 8:30. Our staff pulled #58 out of 80ish. Not too bad, but still quite some time waiting.

But most importantly, after the ticket is drawn, there’s a short wait until 9:00am when the arcade opens. This time is critical in that it’s the only chance to get some food if you want to get inside quickly and watch new songs/features/etc.

OF COURSE, we had to grab the latest POLICY BREAKFAST by McDonald’s × Krispy Kreme. It granted an extra 50 stamina points to location test players:

Heading inside quickly at 9:00am sharp, we caught a glimpse of the amazing poster for SDVX4:

The game’s theme is somewhat of a mix between IIDX Happy Sky and INFINITAS, SDVX 2, and…sorry…Chunithm AiR, but it really feels clean and high-quality. It’s very refreshing, after the dark/hard theme of Gravity Wars. HEAVENLY HAVEN’s new 4th difficulty is named “HEAVENLY” with the abbreviation being “HVN”.

As usual, a posterboard displayed all the new features of the game. Later on, Konami uploaded the images, so let’s break them all down here:

(1) The 1-16 difficulty scale has been expanded to 1-20! The yellow numbers are the old levels and blue are new. So, for example, an old *easy* 15 is now a new 16, and an old *hard* 16 is now a new 20 (Lachryma GRV!)

(2) The Clear Ranks have been expanded similar to DDR A, with a “+” being added to higher scores, and finally a “S” rank!

(3) Purchasing songs is no longer as cumbersome as it was in older games. You can now unlock songs easily from the Track Select screen, similar to MUSECA.

(4) To cut down on time spent in menus and searching for a song to play, category folders have been added, accessed by pressing a BT button on each folder. Extra folders have also been added for Contest Songs, Grade, Clear Mark. In addition, sorting songs can now be done by Artist name.

(5) Finally, one more awesome feature: “Track Memorial” cards can be printed for just 100yen/one extra credit which include the results of a track you just played!

Ours are below:

Apparently, Voltenizer Maxima was a super rare occurrence, according to SDVX team member Cody, who was onsite. Also, the 3rd card was an unfortunate printer error, with Right-kun covering up the song results…

Other new features include the addition of achievements (similar to IIDX), characters appearing on the results screen, and a few new sound effects in certain charts/notes. The headphone volume is now on a 1-10 scale, and HI-SPEED now goes up to 8!

Of course, a neat custom notebook was in place for location testers to share their thoughts with the team:

When your number is called, you can get a commemorative ticket designed by Konami to show off to your friends (2nd, below)

And let’s not forget the special set of Genesis Cards available! All were available for an extra credit each (up to 5 per session, like in SDVX 3 now)

Check them out below! The last one is a special thanks from Cody to all the players who came to the test:

And last but not least, the songlist! There were no Konami originals, but instead many licensed songs from various sources. Enjoy, and we’ll see you on release!

Licensed BMS/Doujin Songs

Aragami / xi (6/11/15/17)

Dreadnought / Mastermind (xi + nora2r) (6/12/14/18)

HiGHER / REDALiCE (5/9/12/17)

New Game feat.Mayumi Morinaga / The 4th (5/8/11/15)

TRICKL4SH 220 / Lite Show Magic (6/10/15/18)

EXIT TUNES / DWANGO Licenses

永遠に幸せになる方法、見つけました。 / うたたP (4/10/13/18)

インビシブル / kemu (5/11/14/17)

千本桜 / 黒うさP feat. 初音ミク (2/7/10/15)

Touhou Project Arranges

Alice Maestera / Alstromeria Records feat. nomico (2/7/10/14)

LOVE EAST / 暁 Records (3/8/12/16)