On sale now, how is the game?

[arcanehornet_]

Hey guys, so I saw this on discount now in the January in sale. I really like the way the game and artstyle looks, so I thought about getting it.

As someone who has never played played a game in the series, would you recommend this game?

I’m mostly just looking for a basic introduction on what the game is all about, how the gameplay is, etc.

Thanks everyone!

[Vintage-Kun]

I understand this a very old post, but by checking your profile, it's safe to assume you've never played a Neptunia game since making this post, so if you're still interested or if anyone else stumbles upon this, I will describe the Neptunia games. Sorry, but this will be a long one.

 

The Neptunia games are made for a very niche audience. A lot of references are made to games and anime, so for someone who isn't deep into that kinda culture, then a lot of the references may fly over your head. It is also worth mentioning that the main character, Neptune tends to occasionally break the fourth wall, so if you don't like that kinda stuff, then this series may not be for you. The stories for these games are typically pretty basic, so don't expect some masterpiece of a plot or anything like that. The main thing that would likely keep you going in these games are the characters. If you don't like the characters, then you will not like these games. 

 

The mainline series' gameplay is entirely turn based combat. Me personally, am not a fan of turn based combat, so before I got into this series I was hesitant, due to my dislike of the genre. But I was surprised how fun the turn based combat was. The thing that often turns me away from turn based RPG's is the amount of micro managing you are forced to do. Most notably SP consumption. But with the Neptunia games, SP skills are really only there if you want to do a bunch of damage or heal your allies and stuff like that. The main form of attacking is done by your melee weapons and almost feels like a hack 'n' slash, which is probably why I enjoy it. Also, something I really enjoy is that you have full 3D movement when in combat and that can introduce some strategy, which I can't really describe, so if you're curious then you can look up some gameplay on YouTube. If you're wondering if these games are difficult or not, then no, they're pretty easy. The games become a cake walk if you include DLC into the mix as well. 

 

So, where to start?

 

Well, I haven't played every Neptunia game, as I've just gotten into the series. However, I have done quite extensive research on it and have quite a good grasp on the series, despite me not having played all of them. When clicking on a Neptunia trophy list, your eyes may glance to see that there are a total of 70 games in the series. Don't be fooled though, as there are only 4 mainline entries in the series. The rest are spin off's. The reason why the number is so high is due to region specific trophy lists. However, things can get a little bit complicated, though, due remakes and remasters. I'm going to do my best in describing the differences in the versions of each mainline game. 

 

The first 3 Neptunia games released on the PS3. These are; The original Hyperdimension Neptunia, MK 2 and Victory. Later on, they decided to remake these games, expanding on the refined gameplay from Victory. You see, the original Hyperdimension Neptunia's gameplay was not very good. In fact, if you were to compare the first entry in the franchise to the 2nd entry, you'll see that they are entirely different. The remakes for these games are exclusive to the PS Vita and they go by the title of "Re;Birth 1, 2 and 3". Re;Birth1 got a remaster on the PS4, however it was exclusive to Japan. Even though I did say these games are exclusive to the Vita, they are available to purchase on PC, alongside, from my knowledge, almost every spin off, except for Producing Perfection (PP), probably because that game wasn't very good. Also, getting back to Re;Birth1, that game recently got a remaster on the PS5 under the title of ReVerse, which is the the one I started off with, because I bought the day one edition when it released and hadn't gotten around to playing it until recently. 

 

So we are back to the age old question. Where to start?

 

Well, once again it's not as simple as it seems. At the end of the day, you can choose to start with the PS3 games or the Vita games, but the thing that makes it a bit tricky to decide on, is the first game. As I stated before, the Re;Birth games are remakes, from the ground up. With the first game, I've heard that Re;Birth1 is almost entirely a different game compared to the original. That includes the story as well. I've heard they're similar but mostly different, so if you end up liking the franchise, then it's probably worth playing the original as well. As for MK 2 and Victory compared to Re:Birth 2 and 3, I've heard the stories are pretty much the same for the most part. So it's really up to you what game you want to start with. If you can help it, then I'd advise against playing the Vita versions of the remakes, as the frame rate is often 20fps and below. Sometimes dipping down to 8fps. But your eyes adjust to it eventually. Re:Birth3 however, has an uncapped framerate, but that doesn't help much. Just thought it was a neat thing to mention. 

 

It's also worth noting that the first game is in it's own continuity, meaning everything that happens in the first game is not canon to the rest in the franchise. However, I still would highly advise against skipping it, as the 2nd game expects you to already know these characters and also Neptune and the other main characters aren't the main characters in the second game. Instead it's their little sisters. I also don't recommend starting with VII because you won't understand what's going on in the grand scheme of things. 

 

I just realized that I haven't really explained the story. There are 4 CPU's who each rule their own nation in the land of Gamindustri. They are Neptune, Noir, Vert and Blanc. Think of CPU's as goddesses. Remember when I mentioned that these games are pack full of references? Well the CPU's are a reference in themselves, each being a parody of a game console. Neptune being the canceled Sega Neptune, Noir being the PlayStation 3, Vert being the Xbox 360 and Blanc being the Nintendo Wii. I'm not gonna go into specifics about the story to avoid spoilers, but basically the 4 CPU's tend to get mixed up in some stuff and they have to take down the one behind it all. These game's also include the original Japanese voices and an English dub. Personally, I play with the dub, but it's up to preference. If you do end up playing with the dub however, then be warned that the majority of cutscenes are unvoiced, which with the Japanese voices, they are. To put it into perspective, I'll give a rough percentage of how many cutscenes are voiced in English in each mainline game Re;Birth1 and beyond. Re;Birth1 is 30%-ish dubbed, Re;Birth2 is 80% dubbed, Re;Birth3 is 15% dubbed and finally VII is around 35%-ish dubbed. I'm like halfway through VII at the moment so I can't give a definitive answer. Speaking of VII, this game also got a remake under the name of VIIR. Basically it's the same game on a new engine, with arguably worse gameplay and a tact on VR mode. Also in VII Vert's English voice actress was replaced with the same person who voices Rom (One of Blanc's little sisters) and in VIIR, they replaced Noir's English voice actress as well. 

 

Sorry for the long answer, but this is a big series which isn't something you can just jump into. Prior knowledge is pretty valuable before getting into this series.

 

Now, I think that's everything you need to know before getting into Neptunia. I've made this little graphic for what to start with, for the TL;DR.

 

 

TL;DR:

 

Neptunia if for a niche group of people who are deep in videogame and anime culture. These games don't have the deepest story, but most of the charm comes from the characters. If you don't like the characters, then you won't like these games. The gameplay consists of 3D turn based combat and dungeon exploring. I don't recommend starting with VII, because you won't fully understand the story or characters. See the graphic I made above, on which games to play in which order. 

 

(FYI, the double sided arrows mean it doesn't matter which one you play. They're both pretty much the same for the most part.)

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by Vintage-Kun

[Crabby-san]

As someone who has never played these before and saw that VII was included with PS plus, this was extremely informative, thank you.

[ArmoredSnowman]

On 1/14/2023 at 1:12 PM, Vintage-Kun said:

pr

Thanks for the excellent write up. Maybe you could explain the spinoffs, as well?