User blog:Curewhiteaj/Aikatsu Friends Arcade- Basic Gameplay

Hello! So I've went to Japan and have tried out the arcade game, which is super fun! In case you don't know, in the arcade game casts you as a student at Star Harmony Academy, an aspring idol. You can collect cards, level up and complete events. I'll just go over some basics. If you guys like this, I can continue making these kind of blogs.

The arcade game is a rhythm game. When you "play", you choose a song and you press the 3 buttons respectively, corresponding to what happens on the screen. You dress your character with different types of cards:tops(dresses), bottoms, shoes and accessories corressponding to the types: cute, cool,sexy and pop. This can affect your overall score.

Note that the names are not exact translations as I can't really read Japanese.

Cards
This is info everyone probably knows but let's just go over it.

Aikatsu Types: Cute(heart), Cool(diamond),Sexy(spade), Pop(club)

Clothing Types: Tops, Tops and Bottoms(Dress), Bottoms, Shoes, Accessories Rarities: Normal(N), Campaign Rare(CP),Rare(R), Friends Rare(FR), Premium Rare(PR), Best Friends Rare(BFR).
 * Accessories have 2 different types, normal ones and those with make-up. If you used one with make-up, there will be a scene where the idol puts on the make-up and you will get a bonus.

There is also a special type of Card: Idol Card. Sometimes, you are able to choose who you want to perform with. With the Idol Card, you can scan them in and they will be wearing the coord shown on the Idol Card. These Idol Cards have the illustrations from the anime and can be obtained in many different ways.(Anyone want a list of the Idol Cards?)

Game Features
Machine Appearance

The machine has 2 screens, the big one showing your play and the touch screen which you will use for most of the features(which is very convienent). Beside the touch screen are the two speakers. Below the screen is the card scanner where you scan your cards to play. At the bottom of the machine, there is the card slot(Where you get your cards), and the coin slot(Where you insert your coins)

Present Box 

Before you insert your Yen, the touch screen has 2 buttons. The one on the right is the present box. This is where you can print your cards out when they're gifted to you(You'll know if they give it to you through the present box because they will say something consisting "present box" and a little box on the bottom of screen will show you the present box button). You still have to pay 100 Yen to print each card though.

Aikatsu Pass 

This is the card where you scan before playing to access your character and data. Here's how to obtain one.

Note: It's another 100 yen to print your Aikatsu Pass Here's a video in Japanese, showing the procedure(There's some editing in it, sorry): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0pH_PK9M-I
 * New Aikatsu Pass(No Aikatsu Stars Student Card)

Before you insert your Yen, you can access this by pressing the left button or you can make one when you've reached the part where it tells you to scan your Aikatsu Pass. You are then approached by Aine, introducing you into the game. Eventually, you "insert" your information into Coco; creating your character, naming your character,, entering your age and birthday. After this, Aine tells you to choose what job(?) to focus on: Dancing, Singing and Modeling(Acting is not an option, did they take it out for good?). You are then supposed to name your Friends unit. Your partner starts off being Aine but you can change it any time. She then gives you her idol card and the Star Harmony Academy Uniform(Idol track). Link here: http://www.aikatsu.com/friends/game/takeover.php
 * With Aikatsu Stars Student Card

More info here: http://www.aikatsu.com/stars/news/223.php

Here's a video showing both screens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqoz151q3OI

Same thing as above but you don't need to reenter your character information. You are to confirm your character's look though(character parts are transfered) and name your Friends Unit. But before seeing Aine, Yume bids you farewell and gives you her Idol Card. You are also gifted extra character parts, Yume's hair, hair color(only the blonde) and eye color.

Character Info

Every time you play and scan your Aikatsu Pass, your profile pops up. What are those buttons? Supposedly, there are 3 buttons. The default button is skip, the right one is to see your badges and the left one(?) is labelled "Friends".After you get an item, you are able to character change even if you press skip. On the screen you see many bars and all but what do they mean? Above your character and their Friends partner is the Friends name. Beside your character on the left are 4 bars + a bigger bar above them. The 4 bars are the levels of the different types(These levels are higher depending on what songs you've played). The bigger bar above is the fan bar, showing how many fans you have. Below the 4 bars is another bar:your overall Idol Level/Rank. Little words under this bar are the number of fans you need untill the next rank. Lastly, the biggest bar at the bottom of the profile(above the look down at your screen) is your basic info: Your character name is the biggest, above it is your Idol Rank Title and the circle on the side is the chosen job(?). Character Change is done in this order: Eyes, Hair, Hair Color, Eye Color and Glasses.
 * On the touch screen
 * On the screen
 * Character Change

(There's supposedly somewhere you can scan in character parts from the magazines and hard cards)

Gameplay
After you insert your 100 Yen, you are prompted to choose a mode.(Please view my other blog about modes for more information)

Once you've chosen a song to play, you are prompted to choose a difficulty. After choosing the difficulty, you scan the cards for your live.(Align the stars on the card to the top of the scanner and scan the card.) Using high rarity cards and matching types and brands can help get you a higher score.

After that, you are shown the scene where your character goes through the fitting room. Your character lands on to the platform and goes on to the stage. Then you press the 3 buttons accordingly, depending on what's happening on the screen. When you are finished, the ending screen with the scores will come up. A spotlight will shine over the character who won while the others will be in the dark, being sad over their loss.

Then it directs you to the profile screen and your character is given the experience points and fan counting. After this, it's time to get your cards. On the touch screen, there will be options to choose your card. After choosing your card, you will be directed to a screen where you choose the character for the card, and you are able to decorate it.