Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 (PS3) Review

Let me just say that I apologize for the delay. A lot of IRL stuff happened and I eventually lost track of where I was when I continued writing this that I decided to rewrite it from scratch. With that, let’s get the ball rolling!

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Ahh, the console wars. A debate that has been going on for decades about which video game console is "better" than the other. Imagine your Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and SEGA Neptune (Remember the cancelled SEGA Genesis/32X hybrid over a decade ago? Yes, that one) consoles locked in an actual war against each other. Now imagine them fighting each other as... busty goddesses... Huh. Now add in lots and lots of moe and jokes regarding the gaming industry. "What the goodness?” indeed. Now, is it worth playing however?

Before we delve into mk2, what is Hyperdimension Neptunia in the first place? The original title in the series was titled as such, and was a quirky and niche video game that had a somewhat satirical look on the gaming industry as a whole. While it definitely had its moments with the enjoyable cast and jokes, the mostly non-existent budget made it feel like an unfinished version of the full thing. The combat was clunky, the dungeons and quests got repetitive very quickly, the healing system –while it added some fake difficulty- was really more annoying than helpful, and the world feels bland. Despite these setbacks however, the first game still managed to sell well enough to gain a cult following -myself included-, and get the green light for a second game.

Someone's mad.

Now then, let’s talk about the sequel. Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is essentially a reboot of the series. Since the true ending of the first title left no openings for a sequel unless an entirely new cast was introduced, the original story was Jossed and a new canon storyline was created. While largely similar, a few details were changed here and there, such as how Neptune met Compa and IF. For those unfamiliar with it, the story takes place in a world named, "Gamindustri". In said world, there are four main nations: Planeptune, Leanbox, Lastation, and Lowee. Each of these is ruled by a goddess called CPUs: Neptune, Vert, Noire, and Blanc respectively. And each CPU has a little sister -barring Leanbox's CPU while Lowee's CPU gets two-, coined as a CPU candidate: Nepgear, Uni, Ram, and Rom. In this world, a group calling themselves "ASIC" seek to revive Arfoire -the big bad of the game- and as such has been distributing pirated products -which reduces the shares of a nation, thus reducing the faith of the people in their goddess and ultimately decreasing their powers.

Right off the bat, one can quickly tell that the story is going to be darker and edgier than the first. Because as soon as the game begins, the four goddesses and Nepgear take on one of the major antagonists but they get beaten quite easily. They then get captured and disappear for three years. After said three years pass, Compa and IF -good friends of Neptune and Nepgear- sadly only manage to rescue the CPU candidate Nepgear. Now it's up to Nepgear and company to try and rescue Gamindustri from the clutches of impending doom.

Getting quite risque here aren't we Compile Heart and Idea Factory?

While Nepgear isn't as fun of a character as Neptune was in the first, she still is likeable in her own ways and her acting as the only sane woman -in some cases- definitely brought out the best in the others. Every character has their own quirks and traits that players will ultimately find either cute or irritating. Fortunately, Neptune does return eventually, and she easily steals the show from then on.

If the gameplay was the main issue of the first game, then that is thankfully not the case for the second. The gameplay here is miles ahead of the original. The developers now opted for a more active turn-based combat similar to how "Eternal Sonata" played. In each turn, you can move your character around within a certain boundary -which can be expanded through equipment- and you can attack an enemy, use an item, or defend within said boundary. Once you are in range of an enemy, you can choose to attack them via combos or skills. Combos can be customized according to your liking and/or according to your opponents if they resist a certain element. You have three moves to choose from to form combos: the X button moves which do more damage to an enemy's guard gauge, the Square button moves for damage, and the Triangle button moves for more hits. If an enemy's guard gauge is empty, you'll deal more damage. After a certain point in the story, characters gain access to finishers and these are activated through specific combinations. On the other hand, skills can only be used by using up SP. And SP is generated from attacking, being attacked, or through consumable items. On top of the skills, the CPUs and CPU candidates gain access to HDD once you accumulate a certain amount of SP, which is their super form. HDD raises their stats by a large margin -or decrease depending on what equipment you have-, but use up a portion of your SP per turn.

Sadly, Cave (The character on the farthest right) is only playable through DLC.

On top of the customizable combos, you also gain access to a lot of clothes, accessories and processors. These become available relatively frequently, though barring the ones unlocked through story progression; they tend to cost quite a big number of money. A new feature introduced in mk2 is the option to change the canvas of Nepgear’s HDD form to your liking. Be it Miku Hatsune’s clothing, to a pirate’s, to Neptune’s own HDD, you’re free to do so provided you have the image file for it. Sadly none of the other CPUs or CPU candidates get this option –at least not until the third game.

Don't use this move too much, Nepgear gets dizzy apparently.

As you progress through the game, you’ll eventually recruit the other characters. And once you surpass four members, the other characters will be placed in the backline. Your backline will provide support traits to the character they’re paired up with. Support traits range from a defense upgrade, immunity to a status ailment, increase in EXP gained, or in Nepgear’s case, breaking the damage limit. Thankfully, your backline also gets experience from battles so the ones in the front do not quickly outpace them.

Outside of battles, players have a ton of events to engage in. One of which is doing quests, which is a staple for RPGs. Quests will raise a nation’s shares while decreasing another’s. And apparently the higher the shares of a nation, the stronger their respective CPU will be. However, this is hardly noticeable; at least for me. One can also pass time by accessing Chirper, Gamindustri’s version of Twitter. Through Chirper events, Nepgear can develop her relationship with the other party members or chat with a random NPC. Although Nepgear can raise her relationship levels by pairing her with a member and sending them to battle, this is a VERY tedious task and is hardly reliable unless you really plan to stick with a specific party composition for an entire playthrough. Raising a nation’s shares will determine when a CPU will join after you rescue them and which ending you will get in relation to Nepgear’s relationship with said character/s.

Yes, that is Keiji Inafune in a TV.

Audio is mostly decent, barring the opening song and that song Nepgear and Neptune danced to in their idol video which easily steals the show –you’ll know which ones I’m talking about when you played the game. The English and Japanese dubs both do well enough to bring life to the characters, though a select few seem to fall flat but it’s more of a case of boring character design than bad voice acting. 

One of the things that might turn off some RPG fans is that it’s fairly short and easy. You can blast through the main story in about 22 hours –much shorter than the 64 hours I sunk into the first before I finished it-, even without grinding much. You really only need to grind if you plan get the true ending or if you want to fight in the coliseum –which, trust me, WILL stomp you if you’re unprepared. Another thing some might dislike is that the graphics, while the world and characters are colorful and wonderfully animated, aren't exactly “cutting edge”. On top of that, the game also tends to drop frames, which makes the movements look choppy.

Did I mention that the game was meant to be darker and edgier? Well, on top of the above statements about the beginning of the story, a certain ending not only brought a very depressing conclusion to the story, but it also brought a thought provoking very plausible meta-outcome. I am not going spoil as to what happens, but basically imagine a world with no competition. Sure you won’t have problems choosing over one or the other, but would it lead to development or stagnancy in the long run?

Nope, totally not darker and edgier.

In the end, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is a vast improvement over the original. What with the much better gameplay, more diverse cast, and better developed setting, it undeniably is what the original should have been. Although the first had its charm on the jokes but sacrificing the gameplay, the second finds a balance between the two. I am personally very happy that the sequel was very well-made, and it is currently one of my personal favorite video games of all time –at least until the third game came along and stole its spot. While it definitely won’t win any awards, the enjoyment factor is off the charts as long as you remember that it’s not meant to be taken too seriously and keep your brain off for the most part. I suggest you stay away from this if you’re looking for a serious video game. I will most likely talk about the third game sometime in the future. So keep an eye out for it.

Hopefully you survived long enough to see this.

Thank you for sticking it out with me on this review. Hopefully my next ones do not take as long as this one did.

Images courtesy of: Siliconera. I wouldn't have minded taking my own screenshots, but the quality from my Dazzle is highly unreliable unless you guys don't mind somewhat blurry images or images taken from a cellphone.

Next review: TBD.