I first caught wind of Umamusume last year after Crunchyroll recommended it to me. I ended up only watching one episode before moving on to something else. It was ok, but there wasn’t enough there to keep my attention. So it came as a bit of a surprise that the game Umamusume: Pretty Derby was getting a Western release. Over the last few weeks, it’s become a bit of a fad online because of its crazy concept. While I can attest that there is one interesting aspect to the game, the rest doesn’t manage to keep me entertained.
Horse Girls who dream about being champions
Umamusume is a series that focuses on the lives of “horse girls”. They all have the talent and aspirations of becoming the best racer on the planet. It’s an odd concept not because it involves hybrid beings, but because in horse racing, most are male. While not unheard of, a winning horse is rarely female.
As this is a mobile game, the setup here is a bit strange. You have a story mode, but there is also a career mode. Story mode focuses on the entire academy and the girls who go to school there. Meanwhile, the career mode allows you to take any one of the characters you have and see how far you can take them.
Both Story and Career modes are heavy on the dialogue but light on the action. You’ll use the characters you unlock through Gacha mechanics in Career mode. After you’ve leveled them up, you can then use them to help you progress in Story Mode. Because of that set-up, you’ll end up spending more time in Career Mode
Career Mode has you reach specific milestones to progress. For example, a character might need to finish in the Top 5 of the Japan Derby. Finish in the Top 5 and you progress to the next goal. But if you fail, then your career is over. There are opportunities to try again, but the game will only let you retry a race up to three times. If you fail in advancing, your only choice is to try again from the very start.
Confused about how to improve
An odd aspect is that your skills don’t progress if you want to play with the same character again. You start from the very beginning with all low ratings. The only way to improve your character is outside of the main modes.
As this is a Free-To-Play game, you improve a character by upgrading their Star Level and Potential. You do this by spending the ‘Carrot” currency. You can spend real money or use the free Carrots you earn from completing in-game tasks. The better characters are only unlockable by using paid currency. If you’re not willing to pay, then it will take you much longer to upgrade.
After a few days with the game, I’ve yet to manage to improve any of the girls I’ve unlocked. I’m at the point that I can’t progress with any of my 3-Star characters. But to upgrade them to the next level, I need 200 Star Pieces of that particular character. You get these by scouting characters. Scouting using free Carrots will only get you 2-Star characters. When they convert to Stars, you only get about 10 or so. So, it’s another push towards spending real money.
Let Me Race
Story mode is forgettable. I can’t say if it’s connected to the Anime in any way, but there are a lot of cutscenes for you to watch. Your character acts as the trainer, but your input is minimal. There are very few opportunities to race in Story Mode.
Career Mode is also heavy on the narrative, but it has more for you to do. As the trainer, you have more impact on how they improve as a race. You have to decide how they train. There are five categories for you to work on and each expends a certain amount of energy. You need to juggle how much energy you use, all while also making sure to get the proper rest. Using too much energy puts you at risk of hurting your girl and hindering any gains you’ve already earned.
There are a few extracurricular activities your girl can take part in. It’s not only training until race day. There are opportunities to do side content. These are a little more than dialogue sections. But you can also jump into a race ahead of your scheduled one. In one career arc, I needed to have a set number of fans to advance the story. The best way to earn fans is by racing and winning.
The thrill of the race.
Without question, the best part of this game is the races. The thing is that you don’t have any control over your girl. You can’t influence the outcome. It’s random in the sense that you can only hope that your training was enough to get your girl to hit the required goal.
Races have an authentic feel to them. If you’ve ever watched horse racing of any kind, this replicates that experience. Before the start of the race, the game puts odds on all the competitors, and it highlights the Top 3 Favorites. It’s not money-line odds, but they ranked from best to worst, which gives you an idea of the competition. But, like in the real world, it’s possible for a long-shot surprise or for a favorite to disappoint.
Once the gates open, the game does an incredible job of keeping you updated on all aspects of the race. The top of the screen has a helpful place tracker showing where the racers are relative to each other. The main section shifts between the different packs. Ranging from the leader to the one or two packs that might be behind it. A marker appears above your character, so you’ll always have a good idea of where they stand as the race progresses.
It’s a photo finish!
To add to the excitement of a race, the game removes the UI markers as you get closer to the finish line. This added level of intensity is such a blast to watch. You might be seeing a girl cruise to an easy victory. Or, you might be looking at a tight battle where almost nothing separates first from fifth. If you need your girl to finish in the Top 3 or 5, then these last few sections can be gut-wrenching.
I’ve had a few races where my girl was at the front only to get overtaken at the end. At the same time, I’ve also had the reverse happen. My girl was back in the middle of the pack, only to have a late surge to achieve victory. These moments are so intense, especially in Career Mode. Because the result factors in if you’re moving forward in the mode, you care about the result. So, if your racer fails, it stings.
Career and Story mode aren’t the only parts where you can race. There are a few daily race events you take part in. But you do need to use the girls you’ve already collected and trained. At this point, I have girls who are great for the Easy and Normal races. But for the harder racers, my roster is lacking. Since I’ve hit that wall, I can’t do anything but grind or spend real money to progress further.
On to the next thing
I got my fix of Umamusume: Pretty Derby. The races are fun, and if people post these online, I’ll be sure to take a look. But other than that, there isn’t enough to keep me engaged. I’m not interested in the story, and the grind isn’t worth the time it will take me.
