Also available on Windows As everyone should know, I love the Neptunia series. It is my all time favorite video game franchise, and I will fight anyone who tries to tell me it's not great (I routinely fight large number of opponents...). Superdimension Neptune vs. Sega Hard Girls is - as the title suggests - a crossover game between the Hyperdimension Neptunia and Sega Hard Girls series. It's more accurate, however, to say that they shoehorned Sega Hard Girls characters into a Hyperdimension Neptunia game (kind of what they did with Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE by shoehorning Fire Emblem characters into a Persona game). If you've played any of the three Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth games Megadimension Neptunia VII, then you know exactly what to expect in terms of gameplay. This one plays out exactly like the standard Nep JRPG. In my opinion, that's a great thing. However, if you're super hardcore about your JRPGs, it might not appeal to you. "Challenge" is one thing that does NOT describe a Neptunia RPG. Even if you don't buy the few $1 break-the-game DLCs, the game is NOT difficult, and you unlock some pseudo-game-breaking options just by playing normally (though you can, thankfully, disable or enable these at will). You don't play Nep games for the challenge, though; you play them for the lovable characters and shattered fourth wall. So basically the plot is that you're the Doctor except instead of a Time Lord, you're IF (she's the protagonist in this one); instead of a companion, you have Segami; and instead of a TARDIS, you have a motorcycle possessed by the ghost of Neptune. As you travel through the four eras of Gamindustry's past, you'll encounter Plutia and Mega Drive, Neptune (again) and Saturn, Nepgear and Game Gear, and Uzume and Dreamcast. It's like a Sega fanboy's dream come true (so of course I loved it). It is HELLA goofy, though; steer clear of this one if you're wanting a serious plot with serious characters. FFS, the titular character spends the whole game possessing a god damn motorcycle. It's the best kind of goofy, but it's 110% goofy. I'm not going to say too too much more about this game because it's essentially pure fan service. If you don't like the idea of a silly RPG with personified Sega consoles, you won't like this game no matter what I say; if you think that idea sounds amazing, you're going to like this game even if I say nothing. I, personally, loved the game and almost everything about it, but if I'm being objective, it's really an extremely average JRPG, and my score will reflect that mediocrity despite my personal adoration for it. If you're unfamiliar with the Neptunia series, I don't recommend starting with this one. Go pick up Re;Birth 1 on Vita or Steam and start with that one. If you've put your foot in the water with Neptunia before, however, and are familiar with some of the characters and their personalities (and actually like it; I know I'm a minority on that), then you definitely shouldn't miss this one. I liked it a lot more than most people, and it's admittedly very niche game, but if you fall into the that niche, it's a pretty great experience. My Score - B |
I'm a teacher.And I like to play video games. I like to collect video games. I like to talk about video games, and I like to write about video games. During the day, I teach high school history; during the night, I spend my spare time gaming. Then I write about it. Archives
April 2024
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