jrpgs | Geekscape

SDCC 2017: ‘I Am Setsuna’ Is Alive And Well With ‘Lost Sphere’

by Josh JacksonJuly 28, 2017

I Am Setsuna promised to scratch the itch of the classic JRPG fan who longed for the days of turn based battles, Active Time Battle meters, (known more commonly as ATB), and a more methodical game play style. After delivering on a multitude of platforms, Tokyo RPG Factory is back at it with Lost Sphere, a spiritual successor that continues the style introduced by Setsuna. With a new world and new cast, much of the early moments of the game manage to hold onto some familiarity with the first game while showing off a few new tricks in the Comic Con demo on display at Square Enix’s booth.

Using an identical graphic style to Setsuna, Lost Sphere recreates the classic feel of a 32-bit era RPG while using chibi style 3D models for the characters to match the dimensions of the world around them. Much like Chrono Trigger, enemies are spotted on the field, and any enemies around them will join the battle once its time to draw swords. From there, you’ll manage your party by deciding to attack, use special abilities, rely on items to get you out of a pinch, or defend to help reduce unavoidable damage. Positioning plays an important role, since most attacks have a certain radius that can lead to dealing damage to more than just your target, but this is where the biggest change in Lost Sphere surfaced.

With some of the abilities offered, they allowed the characters to line up their attacks to get the most out of them. For example, a shot from one of our allies could potentially pierce through their enemy, draining the HP of any foe unfortunate enough to be lined up directly behind them. While Setsuna did have attacks like these, Lost Sphere made it more noticeable, which in turn made it easier to plan out how we wanted to do the damage. As an extra layer of strategy, it helps the game feel like you’re doing more than just picking options in a menu. That kind of engagement is what separated the great RPGs from the rest back in the day, and it’s no different now.

After exploring this sample of the game, I’m looking forward to seeing what other ways Lost Sphere separates itself from I Am Setsuna. With this classic style of engagement taking a backseat in recent years for more flashy, real time combat, it’ll be interesting to see how far we can ride the nostalgia wave. If the developer’s previous efforts are any indication, then I can’t wait to play more of the game when its released in 2018. With PS4, PC and Switch support, we’ll be able to keep on adventuring whether we’re at home or on the go!

E3 2017: Lick Your Way Through A Living Prison In ‘Mary Skelter: Nightmares’

by Josh JacksonJune 16, 2017

As most of us know by now, Japanese RPG’s can get pretty weird. Last year alone, we took a return trip to a world where game console goddesses saved the world from the disgruntled spirit of the Sega Dreamcast, and became pop stars who defended Tokyo from the evils of the entertainment industry. But I can comfortably say that I have yet to play anything like Mary Skelter: Nightmares, a new dungeon crawling RPG by Compile Heart that tasks you with leading a party full of gothic lolita versions of our favorite fairy tale heroines to freedom as they fight their way through a living prison. Except they’re hardly the prancing, singing princesses you might be picturing, because their insatiable blood lust leads them to go wild as they soak up the blood of their enemies. What’s the best way to bring them back to their senses? Naturally, you lick them clean.

Trust me when I say that you’re going to to need to get used to the trying act of making these attractive anime girls lick each other, because your success in battle directly correlates with how close they get to losing control. Doing damage, landing critical hits and finishing off strong opponents leads to larger blood splatters. Once one of the girls absorbs a certain amount of blood, they transform into their most powerful state, greatly improving their damage and abilities in the process. If that blood continues to pile up however, the girl will eventually go berserk, forcing her to lose all control and attack friend and foe alike. Licking has the added benefit of healing the affected party member, but when the rest of your girls are tied up with casting support spells, attacking enemy monsters or taking advantage of elemental weaknesses, Jack, your character, has a special weapon that can calm the girls down instantly. Don’t draw too much attention to him though, because if he’s out of commission, there will be no one to control the girls, leading to a game over.

Monsters and blood aren’t the only dangers in the prison, because the prison itself serves as both a lethal opponent and a helpful ally depending on the situation. Each area in the prison is guarded by a boss that hangs around outside the prison walls. These cheaters can attack you from the outside without allowing you to fight back, forcing the team to be on their toes as they dodge incoming hazards during exploration, all while avoiding the traps that the prison itself holds. The benefit however, is that some traps can be used to your benefit. Activating the right ones at the right time can damage the boss, bringing them down to your level and allowing you to battle them with a more traditional turn based system. As you play, the dungeon will also have its own set of desires that you’re asked to fulfill for combat bonuses. For example, if its feeling lustful, continuously licking will satisfy its need for waifu on waifu action. And you thought the showers were the only place that you had to worry about perverts in jail.

What made Mary Skelter stand out to me more than anything was its ability to keep you on your toes at all times. I’ve played plenty of first person dungeon crawlers where traveling becomes a chore after awhile since you can only look at the same walls for so long before it gets old. This game doesn’t give you the chance to get worn out out since you’re constantly under attack. With its unique mechanics, the ability to take characters like Alice, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella and customize their classes and abilities to make your custom fairy tale fighting squad, being able to de-level your characters to power up low level classes, and the focus on the dungeon as its own entity, and its easy to see why such an interesting take on the genre has piqued my interest. Besides, haven’t you always wanted to taste Snow White?

Mary Skelter: Nightmare will release on the PS Vita this summer.

‘Xenoblade Chronicles 2’ Is Switch-Bound This Year! Check Out Its Debut Trailer!

by Josh JacksonJanuary 18, 2017

During Nintendo’s Switch conference, the company announced that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is heading to the console.

As one of the most surprising reveals during the show, first impressions make it seem as if, the latest from Monolith Soft will be a direct sequel to the Wii and 3DS classic, Xenoblade Chronicles, rather than a follow up of their latest on the Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X. Rumors were flooding the Internet as the show approached that a port of the Wii U’s XCX was going to be Monolith’s big contribution, so we were more than okay with a continuation of what I feel is one of the greatest RPG’s of all time.

Based on the little bit of footage we got from the game’s reveal trailer, it’s clear that the game will be just as large, (and just as beautiful), as previous games. This is all while taking advantage of the Switch’s increased power, which is apparent based on the trailer’s smooth frame rate and non-grainy character models. Speaking of characters, their designs seem to have received the biggest change, taking a more anime inspired look compared to the original. But with the teases towards the end, we’re left with plenty of questions. Namely, how has the world changed since Shulk’s adventure, will the old crew return in any capacity, and is that red sword in the end related to the fabled Monado?

But the biggest surprise is this game is scheduled to come out this year! So it won’t be long until we have those answers barring any delays. Check out the trailer and try to pick out some more details, then share them in the comments below!

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Megadimension Neptunia VII’

by Josh JacksonFebruary 6, 2016

Despite half a dozen remakes and spinoffs over the last year and a half giving the impression that there was plenty of Gamindistri goodness to go around, it’s been nearly four years since we Nep’ed up some bad guys in the last mainline Hyperdimension Neptunia game. Gaining a following based on its lighthearted take on the game industry while wrapping itself in magical girl anime tropes, its characters often overshadowed its addicting combat, which had admittedly grown stale after remaining mostly unchanged since the second game. Knowing this, making the jump to the PlayStation 4 in its current gen debut is the perfect opportunity to create a new first impression. Thanks to some much needed changes to the battle system and larger dungeons to go with the series’ trademark humor, this is a goal that Megadimension Neptunia VII largely succeeds at.

Neptune is back in action.

For the uninitiated gamer who couldn’t tell the difference between a Dogoo and a Pixelvader, Neptunia revolves around the four goddesses of Gamindustri. Neptune of Planeptune, Noire of Lastation, Blanc of Lowee and Vert of Leanbox each rule over their own nation, (analogous of Sega, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft respectively,) while maintaining a friendly rivalry for share energy, a manifestation of the public’s adoration and the source of their power. the girls have since each of which represents a different nation. As the protagonist, (which she’ll be sure to constantly remind you of throughout her fourth wall breaking escapades), Neptune steps aside a bit this time to share the spotlight with the rest of the cast. Split into three smaller stories that eventually converge into one large conflict, this is very much Uzume Tennouboshi’s tale. As the last living CPU of an alternate version of a post apocalyptic Gamindustri, Neptune and her little sister, Nepgear, find themselves transported to this world through a console that’s totally not a Sega Dreamcast. In an adventure that introduces plenty of new characters, multiple worlds and non-linear progression that shines the spotlight on all four main CPU’s, VII proves early on that it’s a huge departure from its prequels thanks to its narrative.

If you’re worried that the game sounds too doom and gloom in the same way the second game was, then fear not. Despite the the dark tone of the first few dungeons, this game finds a balance between making us laugh with its lighthearted and tongue in cheek script while creating a sense of urgency within the scenarios in a way that improves on the games before it. So if you know anything about Neptune and her world, that means plenty of winks to the audience with its parodies of video games, gaming characters, and even the business practices that occupy this hobby we all love so much. New characters like Gold Third, a group of humans who represent Capcom, Bandai Namco, Square Enix and Konami respectively, add even more depth to an already great cast, (especially nods to their company history, like Square’s S-Sha having two personalities after fusing with her former enemy, based on Enix), and the villains manage to be both hilarious and menacing when they need to be. While the fanservice is relatively tame this time around, what other game are you going to find two robot villains who are obsessed with busty blondes, only for one of them to go through an identity crisis after falling in love with the flat chested Uni?

Meet Umio, the know-it-all fish man who resembles a certain Dreamcast star.

The gameplay has always been one of my favorite parts of the Neptunia series, which is easily the high point of VII. Making sure that the story and cast wasn’t the only part of the game changed, a host of new mechanics debut to turn the game’s conventions on its head. Doing away with its Guard Break system that’s been a staple of the series for years, positioning is more important than its ever been. Bringing back the full range turn based gameplay that debuted in the second game, each character you control can be moved freely within a certain range, with their attacks allowing you to hit multiple opponents at once if positioned right. Enemies now have parts that boost their defense, which will have to be broken off with the new Parts Break system. Standing in the right position, using the right elemental attacks, or flat out overwhelming bulky foes lets you deal even more damage, serving as the only way to beat some especially tough baddies.

To maximize your turns, you’ll have to prepare your combos ahead of time, bringing more strategy into the mix. Each weapon has a starting attack, where up to three additional moves can be mapped to fit different situations. Broken down into Rush Attacks, Power Attacks and Standard Attacks, each fits a different purpose when you’re grinding out those extra levels. Rush sacrifices damage for more individual hits, building up the team’s shared EXE Meter, (which lets the party unleash their most powerful attacks), Power does more damage, but fewer hits, and Standard is a happy medium. Beyond these categories, each individual attack will usually have some kind of perk that boosts its properties as long as certain requirements are met in that turn. For example, one attack might do more damage if your previous attack was a Rush Attack, whereas another will get a boost if you haven’t used a Power Attack yet. In addition to varying areas of attack, individual weapons also have different amounts of total attacks and unique starting attacks, making certain weapons better in the long run, even if they’re not the most powerful. The game makes sure to give you plenty to think about when heading into battle.

But the most impressive change that the battle system has brought is its use of team attacks, allowing your group of four to deliver huge amounts of damage with the right partners. Aside from the SP attacks, essentially your magic skills that pull from a character’s SP Meter, and the EXE Attacks mentioned above, these team ups further show how much the game has grown since its last entry. While team attacks have been in previous games, you could just unleash them anywhere on the map as long as you had the right amount of meter. This time, your whole team has to be positioned around their target in a certain way for them to work. Three member moves usually ask them to stand in a triangle formation that encloses the enemy monster for example, while full party four person attacks asks to create a square. Seeing that field placement so important this time around makes it apparent that the AI has also been improved, to the point where they’ll usually avoid grouping together or move right outside your range. It’s frustrating at times, (in a good way), but it’s good to see that the game is willing to make you work for your wins this time.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of what the battle system has to offer, Giant Battles force you to put those formations to work. As a new type of combat, these fights only allow you to use SP or EXE attacks as you gang up on a towering opponent, surrounding it by jumping from various platforms around the stage. Forcing your team to split up across the field, your priorities will change compared to regular battles since you won’t be able to be near your teammates to heal them without giving up the potential to unleash your most powerful team attacks. Moving at a much slower pace, these fights ask you to become more methodical with how you approach them, which is a nice change of pace compared to the waves of enemies you’ll be used to defeating. Slowing down the combat could eventually wear thin, which is probably why you’ll only encounter these special scenarios a handful of times.

Some of the special moves look ridiculously cool.

Just when you think you’ve seen all there is to see, the content continues to grow about half way through. In addition to Disc Development, (allowing you to customize equipment to grant various benefits), a few new customization aspects lets you dive deeper into the inner workings of each nation. Saving up money will let you develop your shops, weapon development or publicity, which makes new items available for your group to purchase. Ranging from extra powerful gear to help you do more damage, unlocking unique items that can only be obtained through this method, or raising a nation’s shares to strengthen your CPU’s from each area, there are plenty of rewards to come if you invest in each country. Throwing in the ability to hire NPC’s to scout for secret dungeons and items, their traits that grant certain advantages and disadvantages to being in the dungeon with them, and using cash to build new paths through Route Building, even series veterans will be surprised with how much has changed since the last game.

Oddly enough, the only real flaws that the game has are when it goes half way with the improvements, which becomes painfully obvious due to how tedious these moments are. For one, the map has a bit more life to it since your main character now travels from point to point along the map, rather than just selecting a location from a list. Yet, when you move between dungeons, random battles make their series debut by popping up between areas. One of the better aspects about these games was that it gave you control over whether or not you wanted to battle by placing the enemies on the map, while allowing you to hit them for a pre-fight advantage. When you take that away, you’re adding in one of the more generic, outdated genre mechanics that the game would be better off without. I’m also in favor of the game eliminating auto healing when you leave dungeons and replacing it with having to move to specific headquarters in each area to recover, but coupling this with the random battles means you might get caught off guard.

The four CPU’s in their new NEXT forms.

Moving on to brand new Neplunker mini-game, the overall package would have been better off without it. Simulating the Spelunker exploration games of days past, Neptune and her team will travel through a cave with difficulty that increases as you descend. Using the same combat system for fights, the focus is more centered around exploration, platforming and eventual survival. Except… Neptune was never meant to be a platforming star, which is obvious as soon as you start trying to traverse these stages. Her awkward jumps and clunky movement is perfectly fine when playing the normal game, but when you throw in precision jumping and avoiding traps, it becomes a nightmare to play. To make matters worse, losing all three lives, (which are unique to this mode), results in a game over for the entire game. So if you forgot to save before falling into that pit, tough luck! The post game unlocks make it more bearable, but when you feel like you’d be better off avoiding a feature until after the story is finished, that’s obviously a problem.

Unfortunately, the game’s biggest issue is one of the most persistent ones throughout the series. Each game has had a bad habit of re-using dungeons, which becomes more and more inexcusable as the games continue to grow. As another half measure, VII does not repeat any of the maps from its prequels, but does re-do the dungeons IN VII! It’s hard to be too upset though, since each one features brand new, much larger areas to explore, complete with hidden paths and breakable items that hide better treasure. Surprisingly, the size increase doesn’t slow down the game at all. Registering at a smooth 60 frames per second throughout nearly the entire game, (aside from a few maps with a lot going on in the background), the game is the most technically sound yet. The character models are still fairly basic, but the visual upgrade is strong enough that it will make it harder to go back to the older games in comparison. Rounding out the areas with an updated soundtrack that contains almost all new songs, it makes it that much more noticeable when the enemies, maps and even bosses are eventually recycled. It’s a step in the right direction, but I’m hoping that future games will go all the way with creating a completely original campaign, especially as they continue to get more and more popular.

Did I mention the transformations look amazing this time?

While not without its annoyances, Megadimension Neptunia VII is everything a sequel should be. Neptune’s fourth game provides a lenghty adventure that vastly improves combat, exploration and enemy AI, all while maintaining its laugh out loud humor for great effect. Some of the new features feel either out of place, don’t go far enough, or feel cheapened thanks to the continued re-using of assets, but these points are neglegable when you see how this game took everything that could be improved upon and made an attempt at it while staying true to the core concepts that kept fans happy over the last few years. So whether or not you’re a longtime Gamindustri supporter, a JRPG fan who wants to try something new, or even someone who wants some self referential humor to replace all the self doubt and hurt feelings that the genre is associated with, you’d do well to give Neptune a shot.

Final Score: 4.5/5

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight’

by Megan HaleyAugust 11, 2015

With so many RPGs out on the market for portable systems, it’s easy to let some slip through the cracks. Despite word of mouth being strong for the Etrian Odyssey series, I had never had a chance to pick one up before, (or any first person dungeon-crawler for that matter). Taking on such a huge game can be intimidating to some, but thanks to Atlus and their newest 3DS release, Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight, and its new features to make the game more accessible to beginners, I decided it was finally time to dive in. After over 50 hours later, and what I discovered was a deep adventure with seemingly limitless content to uncover and a rewarding level of difficulty, but not without a few snags along the way.

Being the first Etrian Odyssey game I’ve ever even glanced at, I had a lot to orient myself to. Drawing and marking your maps is an integral part of properly exploring this game. Cartography is something I have never even considered the possibility of being a fun thing to do. Of course, I have been known to obsess over making sure that I uncover every darkened pixel of the map of [insert choice of RPG here] so I had an idea of how much time I would be spending with the map tools. The rewards are well worth the tedium though, as it will save you tons of time on back-tracking through the later floors trying to find certain items, locations or enemies if you have marked them previously.

From what I understand, the map-making elements in this latest Etrian Odyssey have been made much more accessible through animated map icons, such as the bridge icon that lets you know whether a bridge is up or down and what side it needs to be accessed from to be lowered or raised. You also have the ability to leave yourself notes on elements that you have found, there are a ton of different colors to mark your map with, and it is always visible from the lower touch screen of the 3DS. Auto-mapping is also super useful and saves you a ton of time while exploring by automatically drawing walls and floors where you walk.

As useful as the auto-map feature is, I ran into a snag within the first 20 minutes of the game. Auto-mapping is automatically turned to ON from the beginning of the game to help first-timers successfully complete the only mission in the game where completing your map matters at all. While exploring the cartography features and trying to map all of the little squares how I thought they should be, I attempted to fill in every square that’s auto-generating green with the red color and draw walls in places that made sense to me. Flash-forward to the next two hours full of despair, as I re-draw the map over and over, running back and forth to the town to see if it will let me turn in the mission as completed. I finally conceded defeat when I hit hour 3, asking my Geekscape compatriot to start a new file, and lo and behold, auto-mapping took care of the mission necessities and he was able to turn in the mission within the first half-hour. And the lesson of the day for this game is: Don’t be overzealous with your map-making. Not only so you don’t tire yourself of the game in the first hour, but there are a ton of floors to map.

With the first mission fiasco behind me, Sir KagoMegan and party continued on through the world, fighting in random battles, finding hidden items and secret events along the way. The game has a nifty color coded danger bar that alerts you with a short quip from one of the characters in your party if an enemy is about to pounce. This comes in handy when you are trying to avoid the large, stronger enemies that circle certain paths on the map, referred to cleverly as “F.O.E.”s. If you enter a random encounter in the visibility range or path of an F.O.E. (depending on the type), they will move towards you every turn until the random battle ends. Early in the game, it can be as good as a game over if you accidentally engage a F.O.E. before you’re ready to face it.

To defeat some of the stronger enemies in the game, you’ll need to enter battle with a sound strategy. Typical of a lot of RPGs, you may organize party members in FRONT or BACK lines according to their talents. Archers, healers, mages are best suited to the back row as they have the range, need to be protected and often have less defense and health while more defensive characters and strong attackers with melee weapons go in front. Of course, the choice on how to utilize your characters is entirely up to you, as you have the option to change a character’s weapon specialty and upgrade tree at any time in the game back in town.

Every character also has what are called FORCE abilities, which will be integral to your battle strategy when fighting some of the game’s more challenging enemies. For example, Ariana’s FORCE ability allows her to extend her ORDER command, which includes healing, attack up and defense up, to the entire party, as opposed to a single character or line of allies. FORCE BREAK will allow you to use a powerful move, but you will not be able to use your FORCE move again for that character until you return to town, so it should be used as a last resort.

The most efficient way to restore your Force Gauge is to stay at the hotel in town. Every time you stay, there is a chance to get extra dialogue with characters currently in your party. These are fun little additions which sometimes add a nice unlockable, animated picture to your in-game gallery. In town, you can accept extra missions, purchase new equipment and even cook recipes for useful stat bonuses in dungeons. In the bar where you accept your extra missions, you can access all of the DLC you have downloaded which includes a bunch of optional boss fights if the regular grind is just not enough of a challenge for you.

Grimoire stones are introduced a couple of hours into the game. They are created randomly through battling enemies and can produce a variety of skills including enemy skills, some of which can be quite useful early on. Grimoires allow the character that equips them to take on a new ability that they don’t have or enhance any ability that they do have available. You can visit the town to trade Grimoires with other players through Streetpass using stones you don’t need. You will also get the occasional random visitor with a nice stone or two, so make sure to check that area frequently.

The level of challenge that I experienced while playing Etrian Odyssey was refreshing to say the least. Being a person who enjoys a solid challenge in their games, I was thoroughly impressed by the level of strategy that I had to employ just to progress through the story of the game. There was never a sense of being over-leveled for any dungeon, and all of the bosses required a good amount of time and effort to beat, but it really just made me feel like I truly earned every victory. After almost 50 hours into this game and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. Etrian Odyssey is a fun, exploration-driven dungeon-crawler with great characters, and a crap-ton of content, which is sure to satisfy RPG lovers for a long, long time. Whether or not you’re new to the series or are a dungeon exploring veteran, you’d do well to check out The Fafnir Knight.

Verdict: Buy

Final Score: 4/5

E3 2015: We’re Going To Have To Wait A Long Time For ‘Xenoblade Chronicles X’ To Come Out.

by Josh JacksonJune 20, 2015

One of the reasons why the Nintendo Digital Event felt so underwhelming was the surprisingly late release dates that some of the expected 2015 releases received. First, Yoshi’s Wooly World was given a release date of October 16, which is very odd considering the game launches in Europe in about a week. Last I checked, our regions spoke the same language, so the release was likely delayed to fill gaps in the vital holiday season. More understandably, (but just as disappointing,) it was also revealed that Xenoblade Chronicles X, the RPG epic that follows in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii and New 3DS, won’t launch until the end of the year, on December 4th.

Using a similar turn based battle engine as its predecessor, but focusing on a new universe and cast, the previews we’ve seen in the past show off an incredibly vast world that can be explored on foot or by mech. Primarily taking place in the colony of New Los Angeles, the few remaining humans are tasked with establishing their new home after Earth was caught in the crossfire of warring alien races, all while fighting to survive as other races seek their destruction.

With so much dialogue to translate, dub and convert over to our region, it’s no surprise that the game would take so long to release, Still, that doesn’t mean the news isn’t disappointing. Based on the first game and what we’ve seen of this one though, and I’m willing to bet it will be worth the wait.

What do you think of Xenoblade Chronicles X, or any other title Nintendo revealed for E3? Let us know below, and keep checking back for all your E3 goodness!

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2: Sisters Generation’

by Josh JacksonJanuary 23, 2015

Gamindustri is on the brink of collapse. The four goddesses that serve as this land’s protectors have been defeated by the ASIC, an evil organization that has grown in power by securing their shares using pirated gaming software. The last CPU standing to face this threat is powerless to stop them, forcing her to flee as her sister and friends remain captured for the next three years. Pretty dark, huh? It’s probably the last thing you would expect from the sequel to one of the surprise highlights of 2014, primarily because of its cheery, often silly take on the video game industry. Yet, in many ways, Hyperdimension Neptunia: Re;Birth 2 creates a completely different tone, sacrificing some of this over the top humor for a more serious take on these characters that took me by surprise last year. With so much of the original’s charm relying on its unique premise and script though, can the world of Neptunia thrive without it?

IF and Nepgear going nowhere.

Re;Birth 2 places gamers in the very capable knee socks of Nepgear, the little sister of the original’s hyperactive protagonist. In comparison, Ge-Ge is much more mature, (despite being the “little” sister,) taking her duties as a CPU Candidate, (or the next Goddess in line to rule her home of Planeptune,) very seriously. Even still, her insecurities shine through most of the story, often worrying about escaping her sister’s shadow, while regaining the confidence it will take to save the goddesses that were so soundly defeated. With familiar faces such as IF and Compa from the original lending a hand, a huge cast of party members both new and old, and the addition of the other three CPU Candidates in the form of Lastation’s Uni and Lowee’s Rom and Ram fighting to save their siblings however, and the fight for Gamindustri’s future seems a lot less hopeless.

Rom takes the spotlight in her HDD Form.

Or at least, that’s until you start playing, because the opening hours of Re;Birth 2 can be absolutely brutal. Making a complete 180 compared to its predecessor, which eased us into its fights before spiking about half way through, the sequel doesn’t play around. I came this close to losing the first tutorial boss fight, having to actually use strategy, items and stat boosts to eek out a win. Who would have thought!? Oddly enough, experience points start rising through the roof while fights get easier as the game progresses, making the experience more of a breeze as you push through the hazing of the early moments. You have to prove you really want it!

Either way, it becomes less of an issue when battles are not only a blast to play, but when the game can be customized to fit your play style! In our review of the original, we went into detail about the real time battle system and the Remake System, which allowed players to customize their game play experience if they had the items needed to unlock them, (give it a read, here!) In short, each character, weapon and attack has a certain attack range and a radius in which they can be moved. Every enemy that falls into that range can be hit with one of four types of attacks, which include special attacks, power attacks, break attacks, (that lower enemy shields,) and rush attacks, (multi hit attacks that build up the EX Meter, which adds bonus and signature abilities.)What makes battle even more fun this time around, (aside from the increase from three party members on the field to four,) is that more of the team wields a wider variety of attack types, namely Uni, Rom and Ram being able to attack at long range. To top it off, when late game abilities become available, these jaw dropping sequences range from badass action sequences, to some exciting attacks that reference some of our favorite niche games. It’s just too bad that the game can’t often keep up with this much awesome, causing the framerate to drop to a crawl when things get especially hectic.

Cave’s EX Attack drops jaws as fast as the framerate.

If using these abilities makes the game too easy, or if that newest boss is just too hard to beat. Remaking the game can adjust the difficulty, unlock new items, dungeons and weapons, or even change mechanics like reducing the amount of time it takes to build up the EX Meter. As a far cry from the PS3 version that this title is based on, both mechanics are what holds the core of the game together, helping game stay addicting throughout its 25 hour plus story on a first run.

Still, even though all of these features are great, they’re way too familiar. Oddly enough, it seems like Nepgear’s primary flaw is trying to be too much like her sister! Re;Birth 2‘s biggest sin is the absurdly large amount of reused content it took from the first game. Enemies, some music, whole environments and many of the voice clips are completely ripped from the first title, (with some dungeons even being duplicates from THIS game,) oftentimes making the latest in the series feel more like an expansion than a sequel. The point and click map is mostly unchanged, complete with NPCs who you choose to talk to on a menu. While often serving as humorous takes on popular game characters, (Snake Hayter, Maryo and Monobear come to mind,) talking to them on a map screen isn’t the same as meeting them in a full fledged environment. While I appreciated the streamlined nature of these interactions originally, I’ve fallen in love with Gamindustri so much, that I wish I could delve into it outside of the various dungeons.

Guess what game this girl is based on? (Hint: pick your eyes up.)

In the end though, what I thought would be this game’s biggest weakness became my absolute favorite part of it. Yes, Neptune is a fantastic protagonist, so much so that I named her the number 2 waifu of 2014 thanks to her off the wall, self aware, airhead personality. When I saw Nepgear as such a serious straight shooter, I expected the game to be less enjoyable because of it. As the game went on however, I became really attached to the little sisters, making their journey from scared, lonely sidekicks, to powerful, confident and heroic goddesses. Be warned, the slapstick and fan service is kept to a bare minimum, (the latter of which was more overbearing and unnecessary than anything else if you ask me,) but what what we got in its place was an exhilarating story to experience, introducing a level of character development that was nearly non-existent when Neptune took the lead. Now, I have trouble imagining another game without Nepgear in the lead. Sadly, I’m fully aware that this will likely be the case going forward. Still, for every serious moment, you have characters like Broccoli healing her team by vomiting a smiling pile from her eyes, so there’s that.

Stay out of the splash zone.

I can talk all day about everything that I love about Hyperdimension Neptunia: Re;Birth 2, but we only have so much bandwidth. What I will say, is that this sequel expands on the hilarious, yet mostly shallow narrative of the first game, creating a much deeper story that tackles themes such as coming of age, finding one’s own identity, and even video game piracy in a fun, lighthearted way. Features like the Stella Dungeon, where you send the titular character out to explore areas in real time in order to uncover special items, over a half a dozen endings, a new game plus feature and a variety of secret characters put the title over the top, and by all accounts, is a superior game to the original. Sadly, the technical issues and the overabundance of recycled content hurt the final impression, but not enough to keep Re;Birth 2 from being the best game of 2015 so far. Sure, it’s the first game I’ve played in 2015, but forget semantics, because Nepgear and the girls are starting the year off strong.

tl;dr

+ The CPU Candidates take center stage in a bigger way, with more party members, teammates on the field, and a huge amount of post game content.

+ Combat is as addicting as ever, with jaw dropping abilities that will keep you coming back.

+ A game that can be catered to your needs, thanks to the flexible Remake System.

+ A much more in depth story that sacrifices some humor for character development while still staying lighthearted, most of which is voiced in dual audio.

– Way too much of the content is ripped straight from its prequel, some of which is repeated multiple times within THIS game.

– Technical issues range in severity, from lips not moving during dialogue sections to massive slowdown during huge sequences.

– While more streamlined, it’s about time we replace the point and click map with a fully explorable Gamindustri.

Final Score: 4.25/5

Geekscape Games Reviews: ‘Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1’

by Josh JacksonAugust 25, 2014

Platform: Playstation Vita

Release Date: August 26th, 2014

Genre: Japanese Role Playing

Developer: Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Felistella

Thinking back to the days when I first heard whispers of a new Playstation 3 RPG that would tackle the console wars with the magical girl genre, it would have been hard to imagine how far the concept would go. Yet, years after the debut of the original Hyperdimension Neptunia, the series has spawned sequels, its own anime and a very bad spinoff, to continuously feed its respectable following, making it a legitimate success. With each sequel improving on the last, the developers at Idea Factory decided to take the lessons they’ve learned to the Playstation Vita, creating a full remake of the original with Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1. By taking the best ideas from the second and third games and inserting them into Neptune’s first adventure, it’s safe to say that this release is on track to be the definitive version of the game that started it all. But are these enhancements enough of a reason to take a trip back to Gamindustri?

Purple Heart soars into battle!

ReBirth puts players in the over-sized hoodie of Neptune, the goddess, (or CPU), of Planeptune. After being locked in an everlasting conflict known as the Console Wars, Neptune’s true form as Purple Heart is defeated, thanks to the combined efforts of Black Heart of Laststation, (or Playstation), Green Heart of Leanbox, (or Xbox), and White Heart of Lowee, (take a guess). After crash landing in the middle of her city with no memory of her true identity, she’s discovered by Compa, a ditzy nurse who somehow comes off as the more responsible of the two compared to Nep’s aloofness. In pursuit of her past, Neptune and her friends get wrapped up in a quest to save Gamindustri from a mysterious threat; one that puts all four realms at risk. But can the warring CPUs put aside their differences for the sake of saving the world?

The majority of the play time is spent in one of the game’s numerous dungeons, all of which are brimming with monsters and treasure, which is all presented in a bright, colorful world. Avoiding the tedium of random battles, all fights are triggered by making contact with enemies on the field, with the ability to strike enemies before battle to start with the upper hand. As expected, the enemies can do the same, so careless attacks can be punished in a big way.

Gaining an early advantage and utilizing your attacks is the key to victory.

But first thing’s first. What kind of savior can protect people without fighting? If you typically associate JRPGs with slow, tedious battles, then ReBirth could be the game that changes your mind. Once these fights trigger, the turn based system is the only aspect you would be able to associate with the typical role playing game of old. When each party member’s turn comes up, they’ll have full range of motion within a certain radius, allowing players to position them in a spot that’s both offensively and defensively advantageous.

Fewer foes are more menacing than the Super Otaku!

After a battle commences, each party member has three standard attack types, called Rush, Power and Break attacks, all of which have various advantages in a fight. Rush uses multi hit attacks that deal more damage than Break moves, and are primarily used to build up the EXE meter, (a bar that allows strong special attacks once filled). Power on the other hand, are typically single hit moves that deal more damage than the other two attack types. Yet, the most important function is easily the Break attack, which focuses on draining the opponent’s guard meter, triggering a huge damage boost once the enemy is weakened. As the party gets stronger, new special abilities become available, making it even more important to properly manage these three basic functions to deal maximum damage. And trust me, you’ll need to when going toe to toe with the game’s tough bosses.

Making this aspect even more important is its effect on your (and the enemy’s), ability to deal damage. The party’s attack range is illustrated by an icon that’s either in front or around them, with its reach depending on the character, ability and weapon they’re using. Mastering this feature is crucial to success when it comes to standard battles, since the right position can allow one attack to hit multiple opponents, especially when attempting to Guard Break huge groups at once. On the flip side, enemies have the same attack system, so keeping your party right next to each other is a one way ticket to an embarrassing Game Over. But when certain beneficial abilities work best when the team is within the vicinity of each other, sometimes, taking the risk can be beneficial. It’s moments like these where strategy adds a decent amount of depth to a relatively simple battle system, that adds layer upon layer as it progresses.

Outside of battles, Neptune and company can explore the terrain of each dungeon, seeking out valuable treasure with her radar, (used to uncover one hidden item per area), or through, plain, old fashion map scouring. While some can be used right out of the box, most treasures contain materials to synthesize other items. If this sounds familiar, that’s where the cliche ends, thanks to the game’s Remake System.

Treasure hunting has never been so adorable.

In addition to creating items, the Remake System allows materials to be used to alter the game itself, allowing players to create an environment that suits their needs. Is that latest boss too tough for you to take down? Go ahead and remake the difficulty. Have you seen everything there is in a dungeon and want to explore it again? Then why not add harder enemies and new treasure? Or how about a new dungeon altogether? Yep, you can even add bonus dungeons to explore once the standard ones get dull.

Options like these really make ReBirth stand out, so even when the standard difficulty tends to be erratic, players can choose to change the game rather than put up with hours of level grinding. Although, if you’re too proud to take the helping hand, then those spikes may be more of an issue, especially when the game likes to put you up against multiple dungeons, enemies and bosses without save points or chances to heal. Do you like having to play chunks of a game over and over again? I don’t.

But there’s more to the world of Hyperdimension Neptunia then just the dungeons. Exploring Gamindustri is handled through a large overworld map, allowing players to select different areas to examine. Planeptune and its neighboring lands each have a Basilicom, or hub area. Here, the party can purchase items, weapons and gear, accept quests, (which range from boss fights, to hunting or gathering missions), seek information from each town’s strange inhabitants, and burn discs, which are customizable gear that can hold almost any stat boost or resistance you can think of, assuming you own the right items to do so. All of this mind you, is presented with a script that is laugh out loud funny on so many occasions, feeling like a true love letter to gamers who catch the many references to the medium. Even Neptune herself, gives us hope that all lazy, unreliable gamers out there can one day rise up and save the world. But not until filling up on junk food and finishing that one last stage, of course.

You would think the physical manifestation of a game console would know the drill by now.

But with such an endearing cast and interesting world the characters inhabit, it’s too bad that this doesn’t translate into the actual exploration of Gamindustri. With dungeons being the only areas to actually move around in, selecting icons and watching the story play out with text adventure style word bubbles set to backdrops, I felt eager to actually be able to walk around and communicate with these crazy characters, especially with the superb voice acting in both English and Japanese. It doesn’t help that the dungeons themselves come off as looking relatively bland, especially compared to the bright characters and monsters that often ooze personality without ever having to say a word. And at points, no words might have been the better option, since certain scenes featuring gratuitous fan service might make you feel embarrassed to read through those sections.

Sadly, this is the extent of which we get to explore Gamindustri.

Still, these complaints are a drop in the bucket compared to the ridiculous amount of fun I had playing through ReBirth. The fast paced game play combined with the endearing characters, hilarious writing, colorful presentation and the insane amount of customization makes this remake stand out as not only an improvement on the original, but one of the best Japanese RPGs I’ve played in years. Lack of true exploration aside, anyone with a passing interest in role playing games, anime, or nerdy video game references absolutely should pick up Hyper Dimension Neptunia Re;Birth1, serving as a true bright spot in the Vita’s bleak 2014.

tl;dr

+ A simple, fast paced battle system that adds layers over time.

+ The ability to customize everything from enemy layout to difficulty.

+ Multiple items to find, tough enemies to defeat, dozens of dungeons to explore and hundreds of quests give the game a ton of mileage.

+ A quirky cast of characters who inhabit a story that never takes itself seriously, brought to life by excellent voice actors.

– The lack of true exploration leaves us wondering what a fully realized Gamindustri could have been, with bland environments compared to the party and enemies.

– While optional difficulty adjustments alleviate the problem, sudden difficulty spikes and marathon dungeons can hinder progress.

-Occasional “fan service” moments may turn off some.

– While more of a minor thing, can party members who leave the team give my equipment back? Thieves…

Final Score: 4.5/5