Overview
ロールプレイングゲーム (Role-playing Game) is an original song by the utaite collaborative unit そらまふうらさか (Soramafuurasaka), composed, arranged, and lyrically written by Mafumafu (まふまふ). The track features vocals from all four members of the unit, Soraru (そらる), Mafumafu, Uratanuki (うらたぬき), and Aho no Sakata (あほの坂田), with an accompanying music video produced by artist りゅうせー (Ryusei). Originally released on NicoNico Douga, the song was added to maimai as part of the base lineup for maimai FiNALE in December 2018.
Lyrically, the song is a playful homage to classic Japanese role-playing games, told from the perspective of a hopelessly bumbling four-person adventuring party. The verses lampoon familiar RPG tropes, useless party members, misidentified herbs, discarded strategy guides, party members passing blame, and years of wasted in-game time spent stuck at the first town. The refrain's recurring "R-R-P, R-P" chant and references to gacha star-rarity systems (two-star pulls being the lowest tier) root the song firmly in gaming culture.
In maimai, the MASTER chart was designed by はっぴー (Happy) and stands out for its heavy concentration of Slide notes (161 out of 754 total) with only 12 Hold notes, an unusually slide-driven distribution that gives the chart a fluid, gesture-oriented feel. The EXPERT chart was designed by LabiLabi. Over successive maimai DX updates, the MASTER chart's difficulty rating was raised from level 11 in FiNALE to level 12+ in BUDDiES+, reflecting its enduring challenge as the player base's skill ceiling rose.
Videos
Charts
Trivia
- The unit name そらまふうらさか (Soramafuurasaka) is a portmanteau combining the names of its four members: Soraru (そらる), Mafumafu (まふまふ), Uratanuki (うらたぬき), and Aho no Sakata (あほの坂田).
- Mafumafu, who wrote the composition, arrangement, and lyrics, is one of the most prominent utaite (cover song) artists on NicoNico Douga, with millions of subscribers across platforms. Soraru is likewise a well-known utaite, and the two have frequently collaborated.
- The lyrics contain a nod to the classic Japanese tongue twister '坊主が屏風に上手に坊主の絵を描いた' (a monk skillfully painted a monk on a folding screen), humorously repurposed to describe a party member who offloads every task onto others.
- The line 'ガチャに例えりゃ星ふたつくらい' (if compared to gacha, about two stars) references the common star-rarity system in mobile RPG gacha games, where two-star pulls are the lowest tier, a self-deprecating joke about the party's quality.
- The MASTER chart (はっぴー) contains 161 Slide notes, roughly 21% of its 754 total note count, with only 12 Hold notes, making it an unusually slide-dominant chart compared to typical MASTER patterns of the FiNALE era.
- In Asian English versions of maimai, the song title is displayed as 'Role-playing game' and the artist as 'Soramafuurasaka'.
- The song runs for 2 minutes and 19 seconds, a compact length typical of NicoNico Douga original vocaloid/utaite tracks.
FAQ
- Who composed ロールプレイングゲーム (Role-playing game)?
- The song was composed, arranged, and its lyrics written by Mafumafu (まふまふ), a prominent utaite artist on NicoNico Douga.
- When was ロールプレイングゲーム added to maimai?
- It was added at the launch of maimai FiNALE on December 13, 2018, and later carried forward into maimai DX and subsequent versions.
- What is the genre of ロールプレイングゲーム in maimai?
- It is categorized under niconico & VOCALOID (niconico&ボーカロイド) in the maimai game client.
- What are the lyrics of ロールプレイングゲーム about?
- The lyrics parody classic JRPG conventions, depicting a party of four incompetent adventurers who cannot progress past the first town, misuse items, blame each other, and waste years of in-game time. The chorus repeats 'R-R-P, R-P' as a chant.
- Who designed the MASTER and EXPERT charts for ロールプレイングゲーム?
- The MASTER chart was designed by はっぴー (Happy) and the EXPERT chart was designed by LabiLabi.
- What is notable about the MASTER chart of ロールプレイングゲーム?
- The MASTER chart has 754 notes total with 161 Slide notes and only 12 Hold notes, creating an unusually slide-heavy, gesture-oriented feel. Its difficulty rating has been raised over time from level 11 in FiNALE to level 12+ in BUDDiES+.