Love Live! School idol festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE!

Love Live! School idol festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE!
Love Live! School idol festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE!
Kanji	ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバル2 MIRACLE LIVE!
Romaji	Rabu Raibu! Sukūru Aidoru Fesutibaru 2 Mirakuru Raibu!
Game Info
Developer(s)	Gree
Publisher	Bushiroad
Released	Japan: April 15, 2023; Global (Worldwide): February 1, 2024
End of Service	Japan: March 31, 2024; Global (Worldwide): May 31, 2024
Genre	Rhythm
Available Language(s)	Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, and Korean
Downloads/Releases

Love Live! School idol festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE! (ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバル2 MIRACLE LIVE! Rabu raibu! Sukūru Aidoru Fesutibaru 2 MIRAKURU RAIBU!, LLSIF 2 MIRACLE LIVE!) was a rhythm mobile game available from April 15, 2023, to March 31, 2024.

Summary

The official title is "Love Live! School Idol Festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE!".

The official abbreviation is "SIF2", with another variation being "School Idol Festival 2". It is a direct sequel to the previous game, "Love Live! School Idol Festival" (SIF), inheriting the gameplay mechanics and note patterns.

The game features μ’s, Aqours, Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, and newly added Liella! as main groups. Together, these four groups embark on another grand school idol festival.

True to its concept, "Play all series songs (500+ songs)," the game includes almost all songs previously released as CD tracks from the Love Live! series. New songs were added regularly.

However, the story content has been revamped—instead of the serialized main story and card-specific side episodes from the previous game, each of the four groups now has its own independent short story arcs.

Timeline

2022

September 25: Production announced at SIF Thanksgiving Festival 2022.
December 13: Official website begins updating member introductions.

2023

January 26: Member introductions begin on the official TikTok account.
January 31: Announcement of service termination for the original School Idol Festival and confirmation that some data will transfer to SIF2.
February 2: First live broadcast reveals major game system details and opens pre-registration.
March 25: At AnimeJapan, release date announced: April 15, 2023—exactly 10 years after the iOS launch of the original SIF.
April 7: A TV special airs to commemorate the upcoming release.
April 15: Game launches on the 10th anniversary of SIF. On the same day, the newest Love Live! project, Hasunosora Girls’ Academy School Idol Club, debuts its game app, "Link! Like! Love Live!" in early-access form.
April 30: Announcement that School Idol Festival ALL STARS, the sister game to SIF, will shut down on June 30, 2023—leaving SIF2 as the sole game in the School Idol Festival series.

2024

January 25: Service termination for SIF2 officially announced.
March 31: Service ends, transitioning into a local offline version with limited functionality.

Game System

Live Gameplay

The rhythm-based "shanshan" gameplay from SIF continues in SIF2.
Most note patterns from the previous game remain unchanged.
Some adjustments were made to Skill Cut-ins, which were considered visually obstructive—now centralized in the background. The skill activation effects also received modifications. However, some dedicated players, like Liyuu (Tang Keke’s VA) and Akina Hōmoto (Zhong Lanshu’s VA), criticized the visibility of notes even after these adjustments.
3D music videos (3DMV) were not implemented.

Music Tracks

This aspect is a major highlight of SIF2.
The game features songs from μ’s, Aqours, Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, Liella!, A-RISE, Saint Snow, Sunny Passion, and even Wien Margarete (currently unplayable), School Idol Musical (a side story), and tracks from the new series, Hasunosora Girls’ Academy.
Nearly all songs from the Love Live! franchise are included, excluding remixes and solo versions.

Character & Player Settings

μ’s & Aqours

Their settings mostly remain the same as the previous game, based on the anime versions but with some original interpretations.
Alternatively, some elements lean toward the SIFAS (School Idol Festival ALL STARS) version, though they are still primarily anime-based.

Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

This is the first game app to use the anime version (Anigasaki) settings.
Character designs have been updated to match Anigasaki, although some members still retain elements of their SIFAS designs.
Yu Takasaki, previously absent from SIFAS gameplay, makes her first appearance as a non-playable protagonist.

Liella!

Their setting follows the anime version, currently aligned with the timeline of Season 2 of the Love Live! Superstar!! anime.
Third-generation members were introduced in December 2023.

Player Character

In Love Live! School Idol Festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE!, the player character is colloquially called "Shinbun-chan" (新聞ちゃん) amongst the Japanese player base because they belong to the newspaper club.

As in previous SIF and SIFAS games, the protagonist is the player's self-insert character.

However, this version of Anata differs significantly from previous iterations.

Each SIF game has its own way of addressing the player character:

SIFAS (スクスタ): Anata-chan (あなた)
SIF (スクフェス): Sukufesu-chan/SIF-chan (スクフェスちゃん)
SIF2 (スクフェス2): Shinbun-chan/Newspaper-chan (新聞ちゃん)

New Role & Story Setup

Unlike past games, where you were closely involved with school idols, this time Shinbun-chan is a student journalist from another school, assigned to cover the main idol groups.
Initially, you knew nothing about school idols and were only filling in as a last-minute replacement after the original reporter was unable to attend.
However, after watching a live performance, Shinbun-chan falls in love with school idols and begins developing friendships with the members.
From then on, Shinbun-chan enjoys a busy student life, balancing journalism, writing, fan activities, and friendships.

Notable Differences

Shinbun-chan is in a club that has little connection to school idols, marking a distinct shift from previous games.
Shinbun-chan is not Ayumu Uehara’s childhood friend, which creates a deliberate sense of emotional distance—a rare deviation from earlier games.

Story

Main Story

Each of the four schools has its own independent storyline.
Like previous SIF games, each group’s timeline is separate, meaning there is no crossover between groups like in SIFAS.
Characters from School Idol Musical and Hasunosora Girls' Academy do not appear.

Chat System

Since Shinbun-chan is a journalist, school idols share their SNS contacts to make communication easier instead of requiring in-person visits.
The SNS platform was called "Messe" 「メッセ」, which was also referenced in SIFAS.
Players experienced one-on-one chats with school idols or participate in group chats per school.
Players can send pre-set text and stickers, receiving responses and greetings from idols.
Despite chatting with up to four groups at the same time, each school’s timeline is independent, meaning Shinbun-chan does not acknowledge other groups outside the active conversation.

"School Idol Daily Life" (Main Story Mode)

This mode showcases the daily lives of school idols.
Short animated videos with full voice acting present their stories.
Each school's story unlocks after playing a certain number of songs from the corresponding group.
The creation episodes for new Nijigasaki solo songs, previously handled in SIFAS, are now covered in SIF2.

Event Stories

Special event stories focus on new scenarios for select group members.
Like SIF, these are in visual novel format with voiced dialogue.
Unlike SIFAS, characters' mouths move during dialogue.
Players unlock episodes one by one by collecting event points during the event period.

Gacha System

Animations

Newly produced animations by Sunrise feature the main protagonists from each series:
- Honoka Kosaka (μ’s)
- Chika Takami (Aqours)
- Ayumu Uehara (Nijigasaki)
- Kanon Shibuya (Liella!)
If a UR card is drawn, additional scenes appear in the animation.

Types

Permanent Gacha & Event Gacha mix all franchises together.
Limited-time gachas were available, featuring individual school-specific banners.

Theme Song & Collaboration Songs in SIF2

Theme Song

"MIRACLE NEW STORY" – Performed by Liella! (1st & 2nd Generation members)

Collaboration Single

"New Year's March! / Rajio Taisō Daiichi (Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Ver.)" – Performed by Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Notable Changes

Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Yu Takasaki joins the game as the group's manager and composer.
Setsuna Yuki's voice actress changes from Tomori Kusunoki (first generation) to Coco Hayashi (second generation) starting in SIF2.
However, for songs released before 2023, the original Tomori Kusunoki versions were still used during gameplay.

SIF Transfer Students & Playable Characters

The original SIF transfer students, previously N-card characters, were removed as playable members unless they transferred to Nijigasaki.
Those who did not transfer were excluded from SIF2.
In Anigasaki (the Nijigasaki anime adaptation), these characters were repositioned as school idols from neighboring schools.
Some still appear in the background of Nijigasaki card illustrations—for example, Haruka Konoe is visible from behind in Kanata Konoe’s initial UR card.

Superstar!! Third-Generation Members

The existence of Liella!’s third-generation members was hinted at before the game’s launch, but their details remained undisclosed at release.
Their implementation was officially announced in December 2023.
However, the title screen and existing artwork were never updated to include the third-generation members—so the initial illustrations remained unchanged until the game's service ended.

Staff

Production Team

Original Concept: Hajime Yatate
Story Concept: Sakurako Kimino
Produced by: Bushiroad
Supported by: Bandai Namco Filmworks

Development Company

As of September 25, 2022, the development company was undisclosed.
However, during a Bushiroad shareholder meeting on September 27, 2022, it was confirmed that the developer was NOT KLab, which had previously worked on SIF and early SIFAS development.

KLab's Involvement

During KLab’s shareholder meeting in March 2023, it was revealed that Bushiroad had initially approached KLab to work on SIF2.
However, due to KLab’s focus on developing new games, they declined the offer, citing a lack of available manpower and resources.
Despite this, KLab provided some UI elements and illustrations for SIF2.
This collaboration allowed for the transfer of album data between SIF and SIF2.
KLab also clarified that despite not developing the game, they maintained a positive relationship with Bushiroad and Sunrise.

End of Service

Player Dissatisfaction & Declining Popularity

From the start, SIF2 received negative feedback due to:
- Fewer features compared to SIF.
- Limited distribution of Love Gems ("Loveca").
- No 3D elements or MV implementation, unlike SIFAS.
- A large file size, despite the lack of 3D assets.
Players complained that forced downloads of all song data during updates made storage management frustrating.
Many saw SIF2 as a downgrade, nicknaming it "SIF 0.5" or even "SIF 0.2" due to its perceived lack of improvements.

Industry Challenges & Market Struggles

After 10 years, SIF had already begun to feel outdated, with mobile gaming trends shifting and screen sizes growing.
Despite these concerns, SIF2 failed to address them, leading to stagnation.
Sales did not perform well, and Bushiroad began to see SIF2 as problematic.

Official Termination Announcement

On January 25, 2024, just 9 months and 10 days after its launch, Bushiroad announced SIF2 would end service on March 31, 2024—the day after the release of the "New Year's March!" collab single.
With only 11 months of operation, SIF2 had an even shorter lifespan than Puchiguru Love Live!, which lasted 1 year and 1 month.

Community Reaction

While SIFAS's shutdown was met with shock and sadness, SIF2’s closure had fewer voices mourning its loss.
Many viewed the early termination as inevitable, citing:
- Poor monetization mechanics—players weren’t incentivized to spend money.
- Frustration over erasing old game data while keeping the UI largely unchanged.
- The game's lack of content and numerous errors.
- A rush to push spending, making it seem like players were being exploited.
Some criticized Bushiroad’s overconfidence in the Love Live! brand, believing they assumed the game would succeed solely because of its name.

Overseas Version Cancellation

Despite preparations for an international version, it launched in February but was already scheduled to shut down in May.
Fans questioned whether releasing it at all made sense, calling it laughable.

Post-Service Plans & Future Uncertainty

After SIF2 shuts down:
- A local offline version will be available to view collected members and titles.
- Rhythm gameplay will NOT be included.
- Stories did not remain
- Offline Album features was limited to obtained cards.
No official successor app (SIF3 or SIFAS2) has been announced, leading to uncertainty about SIF’s future.
If another game does release, many expect hesitation in spending money, fearing another early shutdown.

Impact on μ’s & Love Live!

With SIF2 gone, μ’s may no longer appear in any Love Live! mobile games.
This raises concerns over the dwindling availability of μ’s content.
Even Liella! temporarily lacked a game presence—but a new app, "Love Live! Superstar!! Memory Collect," was announced for January–February 2025.
Fans worry about the future of SIF Thanksgiving Festivals, which had been a highly anticipated annual event.

Background Issues Leading to SIF2's End

Here’s a summary of major concerns raised by the community on social media.

Shutdown of the Original SIF

The original SIF had an exceptionally long lifespan and maintained a dedicated fanbase from μ’s and Aqours eras.
Some Love Live! cast members even got involved in the franchise due to SIF.
However, except for member images, all other data was erased, and data transfer was confusing, resulting in many players quitting before SIF2 even launched.
Despite SIF2 being a major project, players felt that a large-scale upgrade of SIF would have sufficed, rather than an entirely new game.
Many SIF2 features felt outdated, offering little incentive for deep engagement.

Storage & Technical Issues

Initially, SIF2 had a file size comparable to SIFAS—several times larger than similar rhythm games like Project SEKAI and Garupa.
This created storage issues, making it difficult for players to install or keep the game on their devices.
Though the file size was later compressed, frequent downloads, errors, and connectivity problems remained persistent.

Outdated Feel & Gameplay Downgrade

While the original SIF was old, it had a lightweight UI and stable performance.
SIF2, however, failed to modernize, despite clearing SIF's data.
Unlike SIFAS, which had 3D MVs for many songs, SIF2 launched without them, making it feel outdated compared to other rhythm games that were evolving.
Despite some improvements (like animated UR card illustrations), SIF2 felt stagnant.
While SIF2’s lack of 3D MVs had some advantages (easier gameplay on older devices, clearer note visibility, and more song variety), the game still struggled due to its poor reputation.
The radial play screen, a defining trait of SIF, became less comfortable with larger smartphone screens, making gameplay harder.
The Easy difficulty was removed, excluding beginners.
SIF2 suffered from sound delays, swing note detection issues, frame drops, and even score-related bugs, making its gameplay unstable.

Gacha & Character Reduction

Recruitment banners lacked school and class-specific divisions, leading to an "all-inclusive" chaotic gacha system.
The training system was oversimplified, removing customization mechanics like accessories (SIFAS) or badges (SIF).
Players lost interest in grinding, reducing the motivation to play.
SIF2 cut out side stories for individual members, decreasing character depth and free currency rewards.
Unlike SIFAS, SIF2 restricted gameplay to main groups only, removing transfer students and rival groups (A-RISE, Saint Snow, Sunny Passion).
This was controversial because some Nijigasaki members had originally started as transfer students in SIF.
SSR rarity was abolished, increasing the gap between SR and UR cards, weakening the excitement of recruitment.
Skill-level-up characters (like family members or animal mascots) were replaced with generic items.

Buggy Data Transfer & Account Restrictions

SIF had a strong account transfer system, but SIF2 failed badly:
- Some Google and X (Twitter) linked accounts couldn’t transfer data.
- X's API monetization by Elon Musk in 2023 may have contributed, but other games adapted smoothly, proving this was a SIF2 issue.
- Unlike SIFAS, SIF2 restricted players to a single device, complicating access.
The event cycle was relentless, immediately launching the next event after the previous one—similar to Garupa’s schedule.
However, Love Live! players did not appreciate this grind-heavy format, especially without 3D MVs or skip tickets.
Worse, bugs and bans due to errors prevented play, contradicting the game's forced-continuous-play design—this frustrated users further.

Commercial Failure & Future Concerns

Bushiroad ended SIF2, following the closures of SIF and SIFAS.
Players worried that Bushiroad prioritizes its own IPs, making Love Live! lower in importance.
Some suggest Bandai Namco should handle future Love Live! games, but Bandai has also mismanaged idol games—like shutting down SideM Growing Stars after only 1.5 years.
Interestingly, just 1.5 months after SIF2 ended, Bandai launched a new idol game, which became an instant success, attracting ex-SIF players**.
This timing led to conspiracy theories, though in reality, Bandai’s game had been planned for years.
Overall, SIF2 failed to adapt, struggled to engage players, and faced bad financial circumstances, resulting in a fast shutdown.

Legacy & Alternative Play Options

Currently, there is no successor game announced (SIF3 or SIFAS2).
Fans fear μ’s will disappear from Love Live! gaming, with fewer ways to access their content.
However, Liella! will return in a new game, Superstar!! Memory Collect, in early 2025.
The arcade version of SIFAC is available on PS4, offering a paid, stable gameplay experience.
Unlike mobile games, SIFAC is a buy-once game, meaning no service termination fears.
Superstar!! Memory Collect reuses SIF2’s BGM, confirming that the game isn’t being treated as a "blacklisted" failure.

Trivia & Misc.

The "Snow Halation" CM Moment

During a SIF2 pre-registration commercial, featuring Aguri Onishi (Ayumu Uehara, Nijigasaki) and Sayuri Date (Kanon Shibuya, Liella!), there was a memorable exchange.
Onishi was seen playing SIF2, and Date asked, "Was this song in SIF?"
The YouTube version of the CM used "Future Parade" as background music.
The TV version, however, replaced it with "Snow Halation".
Since "Snow Halation" was an originally implemented track in SIF, fans jokingly reacted with "Wait, did Date-chan not play SIF?!" (Of course, she did!).
Later, another SIF2 commercial, featuring Maria Sashide (Emma Verde, Nijigasaki) and Aya Emori (Natsumi Onitsuka, Liella!), also used "Snow Halation".
In this version, Emori introduced it to Sashide as "a perfect winter song."

Characters Who Were Never Celebrated

Because SIF2 lasted less than a year, some characters never had their birthdays acknowledged in-game.
Players born April 1–14 and idols like Shizuku Osaka & Kinako Sakurakoji (April 1–14 birthdates) never got a birthday event.
You Watanabe & Maki Nishikino (April late-month birthdays) also went uncelebrated due to SIF2's early closure.
Kinako (April 10) had especially bad luck—since her existence was revealed in May 2022, she was:
- Too late for SIF's final birthday events in March 2023.
- Too early for SIF2’s launch on April 15, 2023.
- Excluded again when SIF2 shut down on March 31, 2024.
However, a birthday pickup gacha for these four idols did occur in March 2024 before service ended.

Other Love Live! Mobile Games

TOKIMEKI RunRuns, another Bushiroad-produced game, had no shutdown announcements, suggesting it’s safe for now.
Since it's completely free, it isn’t tied to sales.

Current Playable SIF Experience

The PS4-exclusive online title SIFAC: WaiWai Home Meeting!! remains fully operational.
No shutdown announcements have been made.
Birthday-related events are still held regularly, showing continued support.

References