Synopsis: What is Hyperdimension Neptunia exactly, well besides the obscure name; it is the recent RPG from Idea Factory, the same folks behind Record of Agarest War. This is a very unique RPG, as the characters in the game are consoles in the form of goddesses to save Histoire, while facing monsters inhabiting the land of Gamindustri, sent forth by the big baddy, Arfoire. Another fun fact about this evil goddess is that she is a game piracy device in the form of a goddess and it’s your role as the game console Neptune, which also appears in goddess form, but you will go through battle in journey as both human and goddess forms that are customizable with new parts. So are you confused yet? Don’t be, as hopefully this review will help with that and determine if this quirky game is for you.
Praise: The concept is a great, with the characters resembling gaming consoles we have all grown up with, crawling the dungeons of Gamindustri, and going back and forth from goddess to human. The story and dialogue is intriguing and captivating enough to keep me playing a couple hours at a time, while being quirky and keeping the mood light with comic relief. The gameplay and experimentation with combos and the attack system is fun, while I felt it overshadowed the story some, as there is a buttload of customization options the further into the game you get to power you up and decimate dungeons as you trudge through them. Finally, the anime art style that Idea Factory is known for with the tongue in cheek suggestive character outfits were very vibrant and went well with the JRPG genre that we normally see from similar developers.
Gripes: Unfortunately, in my playthrough with Hyperdimension Neptunia each of the good points had a bad side, making it a double edged sword. Controls, whether it be navigating through dungeons or moving the camera, it felt rough and clunky. The story managed to lose my interests from time to time, not so much for the content, but more so due to the lack of animation, especially in the beginning as there is close to an hour of dialogue with no animation, just still characters on a solid background. The fights are longer than those in other titles but luckily there is a skip button for you to mash on throughout battle to help speed the game along to level up.
Overall, I have played much better RPG’s but this is not a bad title, especially in comparison to the JRPG’s that have come out for the console, and provides a number of customization and features to make you think about your approach into the next fight. Though it does not provide a fast fun journey to resolving the ever present conflict, it is more like a slow journey that will consume many, many hours of your time. Hyperdimension Neptunia is exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and includes a hard cover art book to go with all your other pre order and collector’s edition swag.
Mashbuttons.com gives Hyperdimension Neptunia a 6 out of 10.
Hyperdimension Neptunia is available now for the PlayStation 3.
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