DJMAX Technika Tune

DJMAX Technika Tune is a rhythm game built primarily around touch controls, which makes it one of the most distinctive titles in the entire PlayStation Vita library. Instead of buttons, you play with your fingers directly on the screen, across which a vertical line moves from left to right, and the player must hit the markers exactly as the line passes them. Alongside simple taps there are sideways swipes, held notes, and combinations requiring both hands at once, so at higher difficulties, playing looks from the outside like rapid work on a musical instrument.

The game draws on an arcade-machine series that was very popular in Asia, and carries over its music library made up of electronic dance music, drum and bass, pop, and calmer songs. Stylized videos play in the background, and the interface relies on bold colors and clean shapes, keeping the screen readable even during the densest passages. As you progress, further songs and difficulties unlock, and the game also offers a mode played with classic buttons, which those who don't take to the touch variant will appreciate. It also lets you build your own playlists and compare results with other players. Each song's score tracks both the accuracy of individual touches and the length of an unbroken combo, so achieving a top result requires not just finishing the song, but playing it without a single slip.

Reviews received the game favorably as a well-made and unusually bold attempt to use the touchscreen for something more than a mere add-on. Reservations concerned the fact that the screen's glass quickly picks up fingerprints and that touch accuracy is stretched to its limits in the toughest songs. Still, it's a title that simply couldn't exist in the same form on another platform, and that's exactly why it remains popular among Vita owners to this day. Anyone looking for a reason to pull out the console and spend half an hour in full concentration will find one here immediately.