I*Chu: Chibi Edition

I*CHU: Chibi Edition is a fun rhythm gacha but it ends up coming to the west in an incomplete state. The result feels like a game that could have shined much more but ended up not getting its due care.

There are 80 tracks to painstakingly unlock in I*CHU, and by the time you have them all, you’ll also have a team of pretty boys who are powerful enough to make hard mode for these tracks playable. At that point, it’s finally a full-scale rhythm game, and indeed more generous with the content than many of the others on the Switch. Unfortunately, it really needed to be redesigned to remove all the mobile game elements from it and leave players with a simple, straightforward, but enjoyable rhythm game. That core heartbeat of I*CHU is a lot of fun and very worthwhile, but it’s let down by an annoying gacha system being kept over from the mobile original (despite no longer costing players anything) and an infuriating series of visual novel “minis” that you need to spend hours in to unlock all the music.

An unusual mix of a music group management sim and rhythm game that works, but feels very niche

I am honestly speechless on how BAD I★CHU: Chibi Edition is. Were I to call this the definitive way to experience the series, I would think that I have gone crazy, and my friends would also say the same. I don't know who to throw the blame at for this subpar work, but one thing is certain: You're much better off spending your hard-earned money on something else. Trust me.