While I can agree the repetitions are very real, the endless mode is what makes me enjoy OfA much more than iM@S2. The sole reason for that is because you aren't nearly as constricted as you were in iM@S2's linear playthrough, being at often times plentiful room for error if your scheduling isn't up to par in something like a Hyper playthrough. Whereas in OfA? You can take it in stride so everything's that much more free form -- it appeals to me as a sandbox player.
In regards to song count, both games do have the same number of base songs (20). When DLC's thrown in the mix? iM@S2 only has 39, but OfA's beyond healthier at 50+ and counting, what with the catalogs still going. The idea of the recent game lacking in this department is baffling. We aren't even including guest songs to inflate that mighty number, even.
I have no problem with the song count by the way. Don't forget in imas 2 you could only use the fast BPM songs while OFA allows for more variety. I am a bit disappointed they slowed down the DLC pace after December though, I thought they were trying to make this the next L4U in terms of all the DLC content. We went from four songs (one new, three old) and a few costumes a month to one new song and one new costume this month, the preview video wasn't even two minutes like usual. I guess at this rate songs like Aoi Tori and Here we go might not get reprinted after all. I could get if they were busy with the CG anime or the PS4 game, but surely you could reprint old materials you already have right? Aoi Tori must be already be rigged if they used it in Shiny TV, and it's not like they rerecord in game versions unless you're Azumin or THE iDOLM@STER 2nd Mix.
What I noticed about OFA is it has a high completion rate, much higher than 2 had. However, what I also realized is you do need a sense of danger or failure. I'm not exactly the most skilled player (read: I suck at video games), and even I was able to complete the game fully. I mean in the past games they used failure to encourage you to do better and get more attached to your idols. In OFA there's none of that. Events can be redone, there's no bad endings, if you lose an event you can just grind until you can beat it. When you beat OFA there's nothing to do besides the DLC. With 2 you could at least start over with new units, but in OFA you can't. As much as I hated losing in imas 2, now I realize that sometimes that's needed. I think having the endless mode has it's ups and downs, that's why I suggested if it must be used again that they add in a more traditional mode as a side mode for other players.
I think namco should find a balance of difficulty and easiness. Different game play and difficulty can really change the tone of a game. Something I do really like about OFA are the magazines. They're not obligatory and it's useful for people who aren't good at the mini games or just want to get their stats maxed out quickly. For example even if I were to produce Chihaya in the older games I'd still do poorly as even if I did the commus fine I wouldn't be able to meet her "everything must be perfect" standards. I don't get why they never had a training mode or something where you could practice at them.
I noticed I wasn't the only one that thought this way regarding OFA. In a thread about "What do you want in the PS4 imas game" on the 2ch imas board, the things I saw come up were mostly things like "Let us edit the vocals like in L4U again", "Give Azusa back her long hair", "Hairstyle options", "Give back a sense of failure", etc. With the vocal editing being the most frequent to which I agree. For example I tried editing this to sound more like the live version.
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/98r33jz5dtz7qc1/It would sound better with a capella, but sadly these haven't been uploaded since imas 2 which makes me think that you're not able to do that anymore.
I heard that Compile Heart did an idol RPG game called Omega Quintet with a stage for you like mode in it. Which is coming here by the way, as did that idol neptunia game, so maybe imas has a chance after all. Anyways it's for the PS4, and seeing this video about it makes me wonder if namco has anything similar in mind. I'm sure people would enjoy being able to share their PVs more easily.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itqRqytm4mY
