Tag: RPGs

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

by Josh Jackson

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!

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

by Josh Jackson

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!

‘Shin Megami Tensei’ Is Heading To The Switch!

by Josh Jackson

Atlus and Nintendo have announced that a new Shin Megami Tensei game will be launching for the Nintendo Switch as part of the 25th anniversary of the long running monster recruiting RPG series.

While nothing solid is known yet, the teaser trailer showed off a new main character in a golden body suit being confronted by many of the signature demons found throughout the series, (many of which will likely be censored before its final release). What we can expect though, is brutally difficult battles, a wide variety of party customization options, and one of the most rewarding games you can find in the genre.

Nintendo seems to be the home for the main SMT series as of now, with SMT IV and its follow up, Apocolypse, being exclusively for the 3DS. On the crossover front, Fire Emblem and SMT notoriously crossed over to come up with a fun gem that I won’t shut up about, so if we keep getting quality like these games from this partnership between the two companies, then so be it!

With Shin Megami Tensei making the Switch alongside a healthy list of JRPGs, are these starting to shift you over to Nintendo’s new console? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to check back as more information on the final game surfaces!

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Megadimension Neptunia VII’ For Steam!

by Vince Jimenez

Megadimension Neptunia VII is easily the best Neptunia game yet. With noticeably higher production values, this game shines at what its good at. The music, the gameplay, and the visuals all excel. The frame rate is impeccable, staying at a steady 60 FPS . There is some fanservice as like the previous titles, but it’s very mild, and after the first few hours it should not be seen as anything more than an afterthought or for comedic relief. This makes even more sense  once you consider the entire leading cast is made up of strong females and the entire society within the game is pretty much matriarchal.

To start with, Neptunia is part of a very niche genre and series about the console industry and the war between the various companions that dominate it. There are an infinite number of dimensions, each with its own unique history, but they all revolve around different versions of the console war between Sega, Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox. In the game they’re given the names Planeptune, Lowee, Lastation and Leanbox respectively, being named after their most successful, current flagship console systems.

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Your typical spats between patron goddesses.

MDN VII is the sequel to Hyperdimension Neptunia (HDN) Victory, which itself is the sequel to HDN Mk2. A word of warning, going into this game first will cause some of the greatness of it to be lost on you. As it is a sequel to two previous games, references will be missed. Also, having a solid understanding of Japanese culture and anime in general, especially their expressions, will go a long way to enjoy this game more.

As we move on, VII can be easily describes as  the pinnacle of the Neptunia series so far. As time goes on, these games have only gotten better and better, and this one clearly stands as a standard when it comes to the improvements made between games. The graphics are great (played it completely maxed out, though the game wasn’t too demanding), areas that are dark look grungy and areas that should pop with color do and rightly so. The game is pretty massive, with three different intertwining stories in one  package and a huge cast of characters to choose from. In addition to the returning party members, each new character is also based on a different real world game console or game series, each of which is introduced throughout the multiple story lines. Further highlighting the changes made to how the story progresses the game does not the typical RPG flow of following the events and move on to next chapter. For example, in the G arc, we can choose between the four goddesses and develop their story, which is the only way to use certain characters, (like Noire’s campaign being the only one in the G arc with her sister, Uni, for example).

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K-Sha, the Konami inspired newcomer, uses Contra and Metal Gear Solid inspired attacks instead of Pachinko balls.

The gameplay is where the game really shines. Now that you are able to destroy and break of parts of enemies, the turn based combat requires you to think strategically and to plan your attacks. Some of the characters can transform during battle to give you an added boost of power and new moves you can use to to dispatch foes. In more detail, the cards at the upper right corner of the screen basically stated the order in which the enemies/heroes will attack in, while combat itself has some added elements to it. First off, during your turn, each character had a range in which they can move. This allowed you to position yourself around an enemy, attacking their flanks or their rear. Doing so increased the accuracy and damage dealt by your attacks, which is essential in some battles, especially early on when the difficult was significant. As for your attacks, you have your three basic combos. Rush Attacks, multi hit moves that are good at building the EXE gauge, (which I’ll get to later), Power Attacks, which grant increased power at the cost of the number of hits, and Standard Attacks, a mix of Rush and Power. You can have up to 5 attacks in a row, but this is determined by your weapon. There is a great deal of strategy around this piece. Each character has a different set of combos, and each combo may or may not come with a combo trait which, if satisfied, guarantees it’ll hit and be a critical strike. Figuring out which weapon to use for which character and which skills to set in which order in the combo adds a massive amount of complexity and depth to basic attacks, (not to mention this could mean the difference between life and death).

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The improved gameplay is the star of the show.

In addition to combo attacks there are also skills. These can be buffs, heals, resurrections, debuffs, or straight damage abilities. Some have AoE, some are linear, and some are single target. Some are elemental and some physical, which might be better to use depending on the situation. There is a wide range of abilities that you will find yourself using even late into the game because they fill many different roles, and no role ever really becomes useless. Then there are special ultimate attacks, called EXE Attacks. There is an EXE Gauge that fills with each hit you take and each hit you do. The more hits, the faster it fills. Rush attacks fill this the quickest since they have the most hits. A lot more can be said about the combat, scouting and (the weakest) crafting, but for the sake of length, I won’t. The combat system in the series has come a very long way since the early days, so newcomers to the series or those who only played the first few will know that the combat system has been greatly improved. This is the title to play if you want to get into the Neptunia series if you’ve never done so before.

Another place where the game shines excellently at is the music. There are a great number of catchy tunes and all the sound and effects fit nicely with the theme of the game. The songs are designed specifically to match a particular mood or environment. It does well at matching whatever context in which they’re in.

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White Heart showing off her new NEXT form.

The story isn’t going to win any Nebula awards for greatest plot twist. Once again, the game starts out with Neptune getting sucked into yet another dimension, (basically what happened in Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory), and this time, along comes her little sister, Nepgear. They land in what appears to be an apocalyptic version of their world and they need to figure out where they are and how to get back home. Neptune being the lovable Neptune, they set out on their quest bringing with them everything we have come to know and love. With a rather simple premise, and a tad bit of originality, the story is never difficult to understand. That being said, the story seems to is merely there to create a story for the characters to play in, and boy they do play.

First we have Neptune, a quirky, loveable little bundle of energy and joy that can make or break the tension in even the gloomiest of scenes. Arguably, her single greatest calling card is treating the fourth wall like a revolving door .Her younger sister, Nepgear, is one of the stable, rational minded individuals in the story that tries to keep things on track. Unfortunately this often fails and she ends up getting sucked into whatever problems her sister causes for her. However, beneath her seemingly docile, level headed exterior is a full-on gear head that goes bonkers at the sight of machines and robots. Series newcomer, Uzume, joins the girls in this dilapidated environment, and is based off of the Sega Dreamcast. Uzume has a megaphone, as a reference to the Dreamcast not being known as the quietest of systems. Changes in her personality appear as well, in reference to the transition of the games that were released on the Dreamcast from cute and bubbly to sharp and cool, (though that can be subjective). Her transformed state even shares a certain resemblance with that familiar green circle on her chest, referencing the middle of a Dreamcast’s controller. It doesn’t seem like much, but the way those three characters play off each other, and play off the dozens of others that you will encounter, and can add to your party, shows where the true heart of this series lies. Every character has depth to them, even if you don’t see it right away. The story of this game is amazing, not because of the quality, but because it is what every game should be.It doesn’t take itself seriously, and  it’s fun.

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Uzume letting her cute side leak out of her cool exterior.

This RPG is a great start for the summer if you missed the PS4 release. With it’s abundant helping of content, it will keep you occupied for some time to come and if you’re willing to put in the time, you’ll find yourself having a lot of fun.

Final Score: 4/5

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Bravely Second: End Layer’

by Josh Jackson

In a gaming landscape where many people feel that the traditional turn based Japanese RPG’s were a thing of the past, the original Bravely Default proved this notion wrong. Feeling like it was ripped straight off of a Super Nintendo cartridge in the way that adapted classic Final Fantasy inspired environments, game play and story telling, all while updating the formula with its unique Brave and Default mechanics, the title’s success in the West took even Square Enix by surprise. What wasn’t a surprise however, was the second game coming stateside. Bravely Second: End Layer is here, and tries to capitalize on its predecessor’s success by playing it a little too safe. Despite adding a few new mechanics and characters to keep things interesting, refusing to stray too far from the groundwork that the first game paved leaves it feeling like a far too familiar, (but still well made,) retread.

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Over two years after the Warriors of Light saved the world of Luxendarc from Ouroboros, Bravely Second starts with the kingdom being confronted by a new threat. After Agnes, (the Wind Vestal from the original game who has since become Pope,) is kidnapped by this new enemy, Yew Geneolgia, heir to the esteemed House Geneolgia and leader of Agnes’ elite guard, the Three Cavaliers, sets off on a quest to rescue Her Holiness from her captors. Joining forces with Magnolia Arch, a mysterious warrior from the moon, Edea Lee, a knight of Eternia and one of the former Warriors of Light, and Tiz Arrior, a fellow Warrior of Light and the first game’s protagonist, the group pursues their enemies across Luxendarc in a quest that forces the party to question their allegiances, themselves, and the very foundation on which their world was built on.

Not much has changed on the game play front between games. Like its predecessor, Bravely Second employs a turn based combat system where opponents and allies take turns performing actions like attacking, casting magic and using items until each member on one side of the fight is KO’d. With 30 jobs made up of both returning and new classes, each character can be molded into whatever role they need to fill at the time thanks to the option to carry over limited abilities from other jobs you’ve mastered. From mages, to warriors and everything in between, the near endless combinations that this customization system provides allows you to create some truly powerful strategies.

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Once you’re able to make the most out of the combat system, the game features a unique method made popular in some recently released titles across the genre when it comes to grinding for money, experience for your characters, and JP, (for leveling up the equipped job). If you’re able to defeat the enemy party in a single turn, you’ll be given the option to immediately start another fight with your current status remaining the same as it was when your last attack went through. Each consecutive fight multiples the total, so you’ll end up with the potential to earn thousands of EXP points. Thanks to the return of the Brave and Default systems, each party member can either defend, which will bank that attack to be used later, or use up to four turns at once, potentially leaving them at a turn deficit, (which makes them unusable,) for the amount of turns you attacked ahead. Various bonuses, skills and items can manipulate your Brave Points to allow you to keep attacking, potentially making level grinding much easier than it typically is in other games. Couple that with the ability to increase or outright eliminate the random encounter rate, and as someone who has been playing RPG’s for about two decades, I’m thankful for how little the game burdens you with forced combat and hours of running in circles.

As the story progresses and you begin to unlock the mandatory classes found throughout the game, (all of which are either completely new, or variations of jobs from Bravely Default,) over a dozen side quests open up that introduce you to characters and classes found in the last game. Adding a special dynamic to an otherwise by the numbers story, (which we’ll get to real soon,) these bonus quests pit a major character from the past against another while presenting a moral dilemma for Edea and the rest of the party to decide on. Some of them are no brainers, like whether or not boys and girls should go to school together in a city that was traditionally segregated until recently, to more difficult choices like whether or not pushing an old man and his granddaughter out of their home is worth creating a port that would bring prosperity to a poverty stricken town. Even when the moral choice is an easy one, is it worth giving up the abilities you want? Siding with one person means you fight the other, gaining their job after they’re defeated. But what do you do when the person you agree with is the person who’s ability you want to carry you through the main story? These moments create an interesting duality, asking if you’re willing to forsake your morals for power. Then again, it’s not like these tough foes won’t go down without a fight, presenting boss fights that will force you to manage your Brave and Default allocation more strategically if you want to walk away with your prize both during side quests, and main story fights.

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But despite the possibility of losing the power you want, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find other ways to obtain it. Then again.. that depends on how many friends you have. By bringing back the communication features from the first game, Bravely Second offers a variety of ways to get yourself out of a tough spot. By syncing with players on your Friends List, adding random people once a day, or through the game’ Streetpass feature, you’ll be able to send your own powerful warriors while building a roster of your own. From linking your characters to your friends for extra abilities, summoning friends once a day to unleash a powerful attack, or having them help rebuild Magnolia’s damaged village on the moon, each method provides an extra way to make an already powerful team nearly unstoppable. Repairing the moon in particular will provide access to new weapons, armor, abilities, and customization options for your team, allowing you to manipulate how you obtain your strongest attacks. Do you want their special abilities to become available when your team takes damage? Would you rather have it build up when they defeat enemies? Or do you want to strengthen their attack, magic or BP after the action is selected? If you couldn’t tell by now, you can literally shape your team to be anything you want it to be, which is what Bravely Second continues to do best. Most importantly, the Update Friends feature will let you gain Streetpass villagers without using the Streetpass function. So as long as you have Internet, you’ll be able to take advantage of the benefits, even if the closest 3DS owner to you can’t be found within a 10 mile radius. If after all that you’re still having trouble, Sleep Points accumulate for every 12 hours the game is in sleep mode, allowing you to freeze time and unleash extra attacks. If you *really* need your SP fix, you can pay for a full refill… With real money.

Not all is well on the moon however, because the more friends you bring on board, the more Ba’als begin to invade. As a literal Ba’al Buster, part of the reason Magnolia joins you is to fight off this threat. Who are we to say no? It helps that these enemies carry special items, while presenting unique challenges that make you think outside the box to beat them. If you’re having trouble beating these often high level enemies, upgrading your moon stationed battleship, (while employing ships from your friends,) will let you drop their health and level before going into a real fight against them.

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Ba’al’s are far from the only threat as your party goes against this newly formed Empire however. It’s just too bad that the fight between the two sides fails to be particularly interesting, making the story one of the weaker points of the game. It’s not that it’s bad per se. In fact, there are some legitimately surprising moments both early on and late into the 40-50 hours it should take to complete it at a decent level, (which will have even more impact if you play the special demo before jumping in to the full game). It’s just everything in between that feels like it’s just filling time before the big finale. Taking a villain of the week approach, with an assembly line of generals who only serve as a means to block your progress, you never learn too much about them to care about the fight. It doesn’t help that for every unique job that they unlock, like the Exorcist job, who can reset HP, MP and BP to their previous turns, to a job that can give huge buffs to your party while giving them to your enemies as well, you’ll also end up with ones you’ll wish was replaced by something useful, like the Catmancer, or the Patissier, who literally harms enemies through baking. To make matters worse, many of the game’s locations where you find these bosses are the exact same ones from the first game, oftentimes making the sequel feel like it’s going through the motions of the original rather than creating a unique experience that stands on its own. When you have the same music, admittedly basic visuals that could pass off for an original DS game, and the same dungeons, cities and environments, there’s no way you’re not going to lose that sense of discovery that serves as a major component in RPGs.

On that subject, while it’s far from being as tedious from the infamous twist of the first game that needlessly extended the game for hours, Bravely Second turns the mid game mind blown moment into a tradition, thanks to a fourth wall breaking segment that would make Hideo Kojima proud. The only problem is that while there are plenty of hints to point you in the right direction, if you don’t catch on, you’ll run the risk of replaying the entire game over again and being none the wiser. Look, I appreciate the creativity, but by leaving the option open to completely screw up your story progress, you’re running the risk of frustrating many a gamer.

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It’s biggest problem however, is its uneven use of humor. I get that the developers were going for a more lighthearted experience, but there are some times that “gravy” references and other jokes aren’t needed, especially when the scene in question is supposed to be serious. When an important character is wounded, it’s hard to take seriously when he’s surrounded by smiling cats, or the main character continues to talk about his “coup de gravy” as a rallying cry. It breaks the immersion of what is supposed to be more solemn.

If Bravely Default was an old school RPG player’s dream game, then Bravely Second is like deja vu. The increased focus on an already robust customization system combined with its innovative new jobs, extensive interactivity with friends, and easy level grinding thanks to the experience multipliers and the ability to change the encounter rate make the game play experience go a long way, despite the story and environments feeling like you’ve gone absolutely nowhere. These issues and misplaced humor aside, Bravely Second is one of the better RPGs on the handheld, and stands as another centerpiece in Square Enix’s legendary catalog, even if it’s not the most original.

Final Score: 4/5

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Megadimension Neptunia VII’

by Josh Jackson

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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

Megadimension Neptunia VII Screen 1

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.

Megadimension Neptunia VII_20151110152058

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

The Incredible ‘Valkyria Chronicles’ Is Headed To PS4!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: It’s finally happening.

After launching on Steam late last year and quickly becoming a top-seller, and shortly thereafter revealing that the title was headed to Sony’s Playstation 4 everywhere but North America, the game has officially been confirmed for a North American release.

We’re still awaiting an official release date, but the game will feature a huge 1080P/60FPS update, both Japanese and English audio, all of the game’s released DLC, as well as (for the first time) trophy support.

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered will launch this Spring, though a official release date has not yet been confirmed, and will cost a cool $29.99 US.

Even better, pre-order and launch copies of the physical edition come in a slick ‘Squad 7 Armored Case’, which you can take a look at below!

Valkyria

Not familiar? In the game, the year is 1935 E.C., and the continent of Europa has been plunged into the Second Europan War between the Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance — also known as The Empire — and the Atlantic Federation over the precious resource Ragnite. The Empire is sweeping through the continent like an unchecked wildfire and has its eyes set on the rich Ragnite deposits of the Principality of Gallia. Although peaceful Gallia remains neutral in the conflict, its citizens will need to defend home and country against the inevitable invasion. Players follow Lieutenant Welkin Gunther and the vaunted Squad 7 of the Gallian Militia as they take on the seemingly insurmountable forces of the Empire.

Valkyria Chronicles was one of the very best titles on the Playstation 3, so I’m beyond excited to replay it on the PS4 (well, if I can ever get through my backlog). Take a look at the Remastered trailer below, and be sure to let us know if you’re excited!

Here’s When ‘Megadimension Neptunia VII’ Will Grace Our TV Screens!

by Josh Jackson

If you were losing sleep over the thought of when you’ll be able to play Megadimension Neptunia VII, the fourth main game in the Hyperdimension Neptunia RPG series, then you’ll be able to rest easy tonight. Idea Factory has announced that our return to Gamindustri will arrive on February 2nd!

Joining Neptune and Nepgear as they travel between three different dimensions as they attempt to save Gamindustri from its latest threats, the game is set to feature new battle mechanics, characters, enemies, CPU’s and NEXT forms to keep things interesting. And of course, we can’t forget the humor, game parodies, and crazy personalities the series is known for, which has captivated us enough to place Neptune and Nepgear in high spots on our top waifu lists! We’ve gone full weeaboo for these games, people!

Despite retailers listing Megadimension Neptunia for a February 2nd release for awhile now, it’s great to see some official confirmation, especially if you’re counting the days until your limited edition will arrive. But wait, what am I supposed to play if Gravity Rush HD and Street Fighter V both come out on the same day!? I think it’s time to make some serious life choices.

For more information on the battle system, NEXT forms, or past reviews, check our archives and get all the Nep Nep you can handle, and be sure to check back for all your Neptune news!

 

The Next Generation Of Gamindustri Has Arrived With These ‘Megadimension Neptunia VII’ Screenshots

by Josh Jackson

Well, it’s early 2016, and that means Megadimension Neptunia VII should be getting an official release date any day now. If you’re anything like me however, you need any bit of Gamindustri goodness you can get to hold you over until we can finally pop Neptune’s latest 4th wall breaking adventure into our PS4’s.

It’s okay though, because Idea Factory has us covered with the latest batch of screenshots from the upcoming RPG, showing off the NEXT forms of the four main CPUs. Inspired by the Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, and whatever non-existent Sega console the designers came up with for Lady Purple Heart’s next gen upgrade, these sleeker, more powerful goddesses show that you can kick all kinds of ass, even when there’s a controller on your crotch.

Check out the gallery below as well as the first batch of battle screenshots and let us know who’s updated design is your favorite! Don’t forget, the limited edition preorders go live today at 10 AM PST! So if you want those posters, that art book, and that sweet, sweet Umio plush, make sure you have your finger on the refresh button for all that sweet Neptune merch. I’ll be right there with you!

‘Tales Of Berseria’ Brings Out Our Wild Side With An Awesome Debut Trailer!

by Josh Jackson

Considering that the long running Tales series of RPGs was once seen as being in danger of missing out on Western releases, we’ve sure been getting them like clockwork in recent years. Not that we’re complaining, since each of the recent releases from the Vita’s Tales of Hearts R, to late last year’s Tales Of Zestiria, and the Xillia series in between, have been solid titles in their own right. So to no one’s surprise, (but still to our excitement,) a new game in the franchise has been confirmed for the West!

Titled Tales Of Berseria, this time around, our lead is a pirate with a mysterious secret.  Seemingly part beast, her left arm transforms into a giant claw, leading to all the flashbacks and melodrama that comes with being an anime inspired heroine. What it also leads to is some really interesting battle footage, with attacks and combos that look much more exciting than most of the game’s predecessors. But why read about it when you can watch it yourself?

Not bad, right? Check out these additional screenshots below, and discuss your favorite Tales memories in the comments below! And as always, we’ll be sure to report back when more details on Berseria, as well as all of your other favorite games, become available.

Jump Into The Fray With These ‘Megadimension Neptunia VII’ Battle Screenshots!

by Josh Jackson

While it shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point that the next full fledged sequel in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series was heading to the Western shores, that doesn’t mean we can’t be through the roof excited over playing as all of our favorite goddesses on our PS4’s! Sporting a snazzy new name to go with its current gen debut, Megadimension Neptunia VII is the first full fledged sequel since 2012’s Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, despite numerous remakes and spinoffs to fill the gaps.

Even as a hardcore Nep fan, it’s fair to say that the battle formula between all of the Vita remakes and the core PS3 series, (not to mention different franchises with similar game play like Fairy Fencer F,) is starting to get a little tired, which is why we were as excited as Peashy with Nep’s Pudding when it was announced that the battle system is getting some interesting sounding features. If you wanted to see what this would look like in action, look no further, because this latest set of battle screenshots should give us a clue or two.

Where do I begin? Seeing Orange Heart in action? Those sweet, new moves with all the flash that we’d expect from the girls of Gamindustri! Nepgear with her mech, Nepgeardam in tow, and an army of Umio’s! Does this make sense to you? If not, you’ll have a great opportunity to get caught up when Megadimension Neptunia VII launches for the PS4 early this year. Oh, and if you’re a fan of cool stuff, don’t forget that pre-orders of the limited edition go up at 10:00 AM PST on January 7th!

Here’s What You’ll Be Getting In The ‘Megadimension Neptunia VII’ Limited Edition!

by Josh Jackson

If you’re a fan of the Hyperdimension Neputnia franchise like I am, but you’re not following them on their Facebook or Twitter accounts, then you’ve missed the team slowly rolling out the contents of the upcoming Megadimension Neptunia VII limited edition for the PS4. Never ones to hold back on special content, the final count ends up with seven different items for the hardcore Gamindustri faithful, all for an extra $25. Not bad, right?

First, is this PS4 skin featuring the NEXT version of Purple Heart, with the various Gamipics of the cast surrounding the edges. Adding a way to put a personal touch on your Sony console, the color scheme and set up goes really well with the console’s standard layout in my opinion. Check it out for yourself!

Megadimension Neptunia Limited Edition 4

Being able to display your Neptunia love on your console is all well and good, but what about the rest of your room? That’s where the poster comes in, showing Neptune in battle against the latest CPU to join the cast.

Megadimension Neptunia Limited Edition 8

Next is a slipcover and special box for the game, with each of the CPU’s prominently featured on the outside. From past favorites like Noire, Vert and Blanc, to the debuting Uzume, the special design might just be too adorable to handle.

Megadimension Neptunia Limited Edition 2

It wouldn’t be a proper limited edition without a soundtrack or art book, right? Luckily, in addition to the goodies listed above, we’re getting both! The art book shows off character designs and shares brief profiles of each of the featured characters, while the two disc soundtrack features Mr. Badd’s “daughters” from Victory and Re;Birth III on the cover.

Megadimension Neptunia Limited Edition 7

Megadimension Neptunia Limited Edition 6

 

But most importantly, we have to have our mascots represented, and what better way to do that than to bring one of them out in plush form? After weeks of reveals, the final item in this packed special edition is… Umio! This fish with a human face might give us uneasy memories of Sega’s creepy, sarcastic monstrosity, Seaman, but Umio is much easier to cuddle. Don’t believe me? See for yourself!

Megadimension Neptunia Limited Edition 5

As you might know, fans have been waiting on pins and needles to find out what will be included, especially considering previous sets have quickly sold out, only to be flipped for insane prices through second hand markets. If you don’t want to be left out in the cold, make sure to have your refresh buttons ready on January 7th at 10 PM PST! Retailing at $84.99, which is only $25 more than the standard game with so much more included, and this one’s feeling like a no brainer for someone like me who needs everything Neptune.

Has the limited edition convinced you to pick the game up? Share your Gamindustri love with us in the comments below, and be sure to check back with us as more news on Megadimension Neptunia becomes available.

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

by Megan Haley

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.

 Etrian Odyssey Untold 2 Review screen 1

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.

 Etrian Odyssey Untold 2 Review screen 2

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.

 Etrian Odyssey Untold 2 Review screen 3

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

Geekscape Games Reviews ‘Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3: V Generation’

by Josh Jackson

When I heard that Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory was getting the remake treatment in the form of a third Re;Birth game, I was curious to see how that would turn out. After all, part of the purpose of creating the remakes in the first place was to improve on the first two games by designing them with the game play mechanics of the third title. So when it came to recreating Neptune’s most recent canonical adventure in Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3: V Generation, the game takes chances with tweaks to the game play mechanics, more plans to create, new story scenes, and larger environments. While it’s reassuring that the game is more than a copy paste job, not all of these updates are for the better.

Our return to Gamindustri is met with complete apathy from our CPU heroines. After enjoying years of peace after the events of the previous games, Neptune and the others have spent their time playing video games all day while neglecting their work, (which hits a little too close to home.) As word of restless citizens forming an organization that seeks to create a world without CPU’s spreads, Nep is finally forced to create some goodwill by getting off her butt and working for the people. As we’ve learned many times over however, work sucks, which is proven since Nep’s questing results in her getting transported to an alternate universe based on gaming in the late 80’s. Now stranded without her CPU powers, Planeptune’s goddess must help Plutia, this dimension’s constantly sleepy, (and secretly sadistic,) goddess of Planeptune, and the alternate versions of Noire, Blanc and Vert, while restoring her strength, fighting off the mysterious Seven Sages who look to rid Gamindustri of the goddesses, and building up enough energy to return home.

Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 Screen 5It wouldn’t be Neptunia without endless gaming references.

For those who thought the second game was had toned down the humor too much compared to the constantly lighthearted story of the first game, V Generation takes the narrative back to its roots along with its original protagonist. Rarely serious, the story serves as a parody of the game industry from the NES days, with bits and pieces of modern gaming mixed in. One of the highlights of the dialogue aside from the constant fourth wall breaking and gaming reverences galore, (does anyone else remember Fighting Vipers?), is to see how events such as the rise of Sony, the fall of Nintendo, and Xbox’s oversees struggles play out. These scenes are an interesting love letter to those who have been following the industry for so long, acting as a reward for playing in its own right. With that in mind, the experience would be even more enjoyable if more of it was voiced. It seemed like the dialogue here was only displayed through text more often than its predecessors, which was a bit disappointing.

Exploration is essentially the same as its always been, choosing which country you want to go to by selecting it on an overworld map. In addition to obtaining missions through the guild, shopping for items, or talking to the citizens of Gamindustri like in past games, a news based broadcast called the Nepstation debuts to break up the action at the start of every chapter. Usually delivering a humorous retelling of past events, selling bulk items, or offering in game trivia, I found this to be a small, yet memorable addition to the map. Once in a dungeon, the leader of the party plays an even larger role, with unlockable leader abilities that boost the whole party. Special challenges increase stats or award Plans as they are achieved as well, so actions like running or jumping a certain amount, attacking enemies in the field to initiate battles, or even accomplishments in battle like taking damage or landing a certain amount of hits all lead to these boosts, giving players an extra reason to rotate their party and its leaders.

Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 Screen 4Nearly every action, (or non-action,) will boost your stats.

Game play wise, battles are largely unchanged, but the way special attacks are handled was altered into a different beast,  resembling something more similar to what was featured in the original version of the second game. In this full range turn based battle system, characters move in real time while they position themselves to center as many enemies as they can in their attack range. Each weapon and ability has its own attack area, making positioning vital to achieving victory, (no pun intended.) Broken down into three types of attacks, Rush builds up the EX/SP meter faster with multi hit moves, (we’ll talk more about the meter soon,) Power does more damage, and Break weakens enemy shields, allowing more damage per hit when completely broken. Starting with three attacks for every turn, unlocking EX attacks that trigger based on how full your SP bar is, and using items to synthesize extra attack slots now give each character the opportunity to use five attacks each round.

While this all sounds almost exactly like the previous games, the biggest change comes with the removal of the EX meter and integrating it into the SP meter. In the past, the SP meter was used to pay for special attacks, and was replenished by attacking, using items or leaving the area to recover it in full. The EX meter on the other hand, was a separate bar that was shared by the party. It could only be filled by attacking, and could be used to allow EX attacks, (as mentioned above,) or pay for EXE Drives, ultimate abilities that served as the quickest way to defeat bosses. While this system was admittedly easy to exploit and abused to breeze through tough fights, the new system makes it much harder to do so.

Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 Screen 3The flashiest attacks now come with a huge price.

While trying to strike a better balance is all well and good, I found that aspect to be the only advantage of the new, (old?), system. With the two meters combined, the SP meter is divided into four segments, which also act as the levels of the EX meter. Using EX attacks drains the meter, while each character gets their own instead of sharing it. Draining the bar at the wrong time will leave your characters stranded with their standard attacks while they rebuild their SP, so wasting it is a surefire way to crash and burn. The reason why this comes off as much more tedious is that leaving dungeons no longer replenishes the bar, forcing you to either use a ton of items, or grind out hits against weaker enemies until it fills. Considering how even transforming now costs a fifth of the bar on top of the EXE Drives and SP attack costs, you’ll find yourself spending more time than you want to fighting for the sake of having fully functional teammates again. But the absolute biggest flaw is that unlike past games, most of the single character EXE Drive attacks have to be unlocked, while the ones unlocked throughout the story are mostly double team moves. While powerful, these attacks use up 50% to 75% of the meter for BOTH characters, making half of your four person party essentially useless against bosses unless that attack was the finishing blow. Even if it is, guess what? More SP grinding!

Once you reach the late game chapters, you’ll be begging for the exploitable EX meter to return too, if for no other reason than to keep yourself from shattering your Vita in a blind rage. While Re;Birth 1 had its share of difficulty spikes, and Re;Birth 2 was a bit too easy for my tastes, this third game literally goes from one end of the spectrum to the other, sometimes in the same dungeon. There’s nothing more frustrating than blowing through all of the standard enemies in a dungeon with one turn KO’s, worried that you’re over-leveled, to getting one or two hit KO’d by bosses in those very same dungeons. I’m all for a challenge when it comes to my games, but I would also want it to build up over time. Re;Birth 3 doesn’t do this, making grinding, item hoarding, or blind luck a must to advance through the late game, a factor I didn’t encounter with its predecessors.

Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 Screen 1You’ll need those extra attack slots to survive the late game battles.

That’s not to say that Re;Birth 3 doesn’t have its fair share of improvements. Most prominently, the frame rate in battles and dungeon exploration has been improved to display a smooth, steady pace. Big attacks don’t chug along as noticably, and running through the maps are free of the slowdown that served as an annoyance in the prequels. Ironically, it’s with fixing another past complaint that the slowdown rears its ugly head again. Another long running issue is the amount of reused maps. While this game doesn’t do away with them, new dungeon designs constantly pop up while old ones are expanded with new or bigger rooms, with the ability to expand them further with the Remake system. In fact, while some are reskins, Re;Birth 3 contains more dungeons than any other games in the series by a large margin. However, when the bigger maps show up, so does the slowdown, biting off a bit more than the system can chew processing wise. The same is true with battles, since some feature many more enemies on screen at once. As you can probably guess, more enemies means more slowdown. That’s not to say we don’t appreciate the effort to expand the scope of Gamindustri, it’s just funny that these expansions undue the improvement to the more stable framerate.

Outside of these areas, Re;Birth 3 has also revamped some of its side content, including treasure hunting, creating plans, and the dreaded Stella’s Dungeon scout mini game. Instead of scanning the area for hidden items, each map hides at least one invisible Nep block. Mirroring the exploits of a certain plumber, hitting these blocks uncovers coins to buy items with, while weapons, armor or plans appear in rare instances.

Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 E3 Screen 1Iris Heart tends to terrify friends and foes alike.

Speaking of plans, there are so many more this time around, bringing the best out of the Remake System. Basically a form of synthesizing from other RPG’s, the Remake System creates everything from new weapons, items, armor, outfits and dungeons, to changing the menu voice, battle music, adding attacks, changing the difficulty, and unlocking solo EXE Drives amongst many other features. On top of the discs that can be burned to create custom perks for your character, and its clear how customizable this game can be, more so now than ever.

Lastly, the Stella mini game from Re;Birth 2 returns, but manages to actually be enjoyable rather than terrifying and tedious. By equipping her with her own armor, weapons and partners to boost her abilities, Stella now climbs the Neptral Tower as she collects items for the party and herself. If you send her farther than her abilities can sustain, she’ll be KO’d by monsters, losing her armor and partner along the way. What helps me maintain my sanity this time around is that good equipment is easily obtainable if you do lose, and partners are recovered in a snap as long as you can reach the floor they fainted on. But most importantly, each map only takes about an hour or two of real time to passively progress depending on how far you are, even in sleep mode. Unlike the dungeons that could take literally over a day at their worst, only to fail right at the end, I would eagerly turn on my Vita JUST to check on Stella’s progress. Considering how much the original was universally reviled, to the point where separate DLC was released to make it manageable, to say this change is for the better would be an understatement.

Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 Screen 2You’ll actually want to play Stella’s Dungeon this time around.

When my time with Re;Birth 3 drew to a close, I found myself with an enjoyable, more ambitious effort than the previous games, with some fundamental flaws that keep it from being as great as its predecessors. Victory players will appreciate the expanded story, new translation, improved plan system, new maps and bigger environments. Re;Birth newbies will still find the laugh out loud humor and addicting battle system intact with the third game, with further improvements to Stella’s Dungeon and treasure hunting. Unfortunately, difficulty spikes, a tedious change to the SP Meter, and a story that’s a bit drawn out hold it back. Still, this retro trip through an alternate Gamindustri is one worth taking, and continues Neptunia’s trend of being one of the best RPG series found on the Vita. Want a lighthearted, self aware romp through a video game about video games? You can’t go wrong with Nep! Now, bring on Victory II!

 

tl;dr:

+ Neptune is back with the same laugh out loud humor we’ve come to expect from the series.

+ The game runs smoother than before, with a more stable frame rate in most cases.

+ While some of the dungeons are still repeats, plenty of new maps compliment the old ones, which nearly received universal expansions.

+ Stella’s Dungeon is actually playable!

+ Both the Remake and battle systems feature many more options, and are expanded in ways to keep them as addicting as ever. With that said…

– The new SP/EX Meter mechanic renders EXE Drives nearly useless, forcing unnecessary item or battle grinding to replenish.

– The later portion of the game suddenly spikes in difficulty and suffers from poor pacing.

– While bigger dungeons and more enemies on screen is appreciated, these areas are when slowdown rears its ugly head once again.

– The story drags, with no clear goal or progression from about the half way point through right before the end of the game. Not to mention the villains aren’t all that threatening.

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 Jackson

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!

 

‘E3 2015’ What The Hell Is Wrong With ‘Persona 4: Dancing All Night’!?

by Josh Jackson

Atlus struck gold when they released Persona 4 during the PS2’s final days. Building on the social aspects that made its predecessor such a hit and framing the dungeon crawling around a murder mystery, the series found mainstream success that continues to extend through enough spinoffs to make Mario jealous. With this in mind, the Persona team moved from the fighting game to first person RPG’s, so naturally, the next game would just HAVE to be a dancing game. I mean, right?

After playing Persona 4: Dancing All Night for myself, the game is just about as bizarre as you’d expect from a demon summoning RPG being transformed into a happy go lucky rhythm title. The demo let us choose from some of our favorite characters from the main game, including Yu Narukami, Yosuke Hanamura, Yukiko Amagi, Teddie and even Nanako Dojima, where each were attached to a specific song from the series’ excellent soundtrack. Mostly consisting of dance remixes, I went in with doubts that these background tunes would be able to carry a game of this nature. From what we’ve seen so far though, I felt the addictive nature of wanting to constantly replay the same songs for better scores.

Dancing3

However, this is easier said than done, thanks to the actual game play mechanics. Using the up, left and down buttons on the control pad and the triangle, circle and X buttons on the right side, this odd set up takes some getting used to. Once you’re used to what you need to push, it’s not too hard to tap, double tap and hold the proper notes, with progressively higher difficulty settings adding in more complex patterns. Much like other games in the genre however, the colorful backgrounds can often obscure your view, leaving me with a broken combo because I missed button prompts that I didn’t see. With the Vita screen being the size that it is, this shouldn’t be an issue, especially when song completion has less to do with making it to the end, and more with meeting a minimum score.

But when you do meet your goal, you’re greeted with one of the strangest things I’ve seen in a game this year. When your character wins, they summon their trademark Persona in an overdramatic scene where they rise from the ground and… Play a solo? There’s something odd about seeing the vicious looking Izanagi break out into a guitar solo, or the divine Konohana Sakuya pull out the saxophone to perform her best Bill Clinton impression. Couple this with your former party members shouting out words of encouragement throughout the song while the formerly vicious Shadows dance along with your sweet moves, this all led me to wonder what the hell was going on with this silly, over the top, and seemingly self-aware spinoff. But you know what? I can’t help but smile every time I think of how insane this all is.

Dancing2

Persona 4: Dancing All Night will launch this September for the PS Vita, with a standard and limited edition which both hold tons of goodies for the Persona faithful. Complete with a text heavy story mode, (that will justify all this strangeness,) quick play dances and DLC that expands on the included song list, the final build will seemingly have enough content to keep us boogieing the night away. Will you be tearing up the dance floor when this title finally arrives?

https://youtu.be/s2HnMKloFCc

E3 2015: ‘Earthbound Beginnings’ Brings The Original ‘Mother’ Title To The Wii U!

by Josh Jackson

Fans have begged for it for years, and Nintendo has heard us. After what felt like forever, it seems like the company has finally acknowledged our pleas for a Western release of Mother 3. That’s right! Following their recent trend of surprise releases, a trip to the eShop shows that we’ll finally be able to play the game we’ve been waiting for! It’s…

Mother 1!?

That’s right, the EarthBound game that no one asked for is now available on the Wii U eShop! Following Ninten, a boy with psychic powers, he’s tasked with traveling the world in search for the hidden melodies that will help fight off an alien threat. Originally released for the NES exclusively in Japan, the newly dubbed EarthBound Beginnings gives us the chance to experience the game that started the cult favorite for the first time!

I said it before, but it’s worth saying again. Between this announcement and the Smash DLC shown off earlier in the day, if this is Nintendo’s pre-E3 showing, what could they possibly have in store for the actual show? Could Mother 3 actually make an appearance!?

Let the speculation continue! Tell us what you hope to see, and if you plan on giving this title a chance, crushing difficulty and all! Until then, keep checking back with us for all your E3 news!

We Slay Monsters And Stomp Goombas In ‘Puzzle And Dragons Z/Super Mario Edition’

by Josh Jackson

Nintendo had a large presence at this year’s Wondercon, with numerous games on display. Some of which had yet to be released, offering gamers their first chance to try out these upcoming titles. One such game was Puzzle and Dragons, the mobile game turned 3DS crossover, featuring both an original game mode, and a Super Mario Bros. themed campaign that trades mystical monsters for Goombas and Koopa Troopas. We tried out both modes to get the scoop on whether or not the Big N’s latest collaboration is worth checking out, and so far, we see reason to be excited.

Starting off by jumping into what I’m familiar with, the Super Mario Bros. mode was fairly straightforward. In both versions, the player must create a party that consists of different elements, then tackle dungeons while trying to line up matching colored gems to trigger attacks. If you have a teammate who’s color matches the gems, then they fire off an attack. Fail to finish off your opponent, and they get a chance to drain your ally’s HP. The key to success was to trigger combos, that caused falling gems to line up after your move, helping multiply your damage while allowing multiple party members to attack at once! It was a sight to see classic Mario enemies get taken down with a swarm of magic, but I rarely felt like I was in control. I couldn’t see what gems were above my stack, so these combos often felt completely random, taking away from any skill involved.

Surprisingly, the Mario mode felt pretty plain. With the demo consisting of nothing but selecting a level, (based on classic Mario stages,) beating the enemies and eventually winning, it felt like nothing more than a bonus mode. The standard mode however, felt much more fleshed out. Treated as a full RPG, complete with towns to explore, NPC’s to bother, and dungeons to crawl through, I felt myself wanting to discover more about this world. Replacing the familiar Mushroom Kingdom enemies with more mythical based creatures breathed new life into the exploration aspect, leaving me with a need to get deeper into the story, and witness how this puzzle turned RPG experience would turn out.

But alas, it wasn’t to be. It was a demo, after all! Needless to say, while I wish I felt like I had more control over the outcome of my battles, I’m excited about what the final product will offer. Thinking about picking up Puzzle and Dragons Z/Super Mario Edition on May 22nd? Let us know in the comments!

‘Hyperdevotion Noire’ Collectors Edition Pre-Orders Are Live!

by Josh Jackson

Idea Factory has announced that pre-orders for the collector’s edition of Hyperdevotion Noire are now available worldwide. Launching on February 24th exclusively on the company’s online store, this special edition will come packaged with all kinds of Gamindustri goodness to celebrate the goddess of Lastation.

The Collector’s Edition includes:

– Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart for the PlayStation®Vita system
– “XOXO Noire” Wall Scroll
– Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart Illustration Book
– Collector’s Box
– Reversible Cover Sleeve Art

Any Hyperdimension collectors out there? If so, I don’t have to tell you that these will go fast, so unless you want your life to be full of regret as you watch prices rise on eBay, I’d say you need to jump on this. In the meantime, watch out for more information on this SRPG spinoff as the release draws nearer.

Noire

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

by Josh Jackson

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?

2014-10-07-110530IF 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.

RE2_battle (8)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.

RB2_battle (3)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.

RB2_battle (8)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.

RB2_battle (4)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 ‘Citizens Of Earth’

by Josh Jackson

Developer: Eden Industries
Publisher: ATLUS
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Platforms: Steam, PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
Reviewed On: PS Vita
Price: $14.99

Being Vice President of the world sounds like it would be a pretty sweet gig. Everyone has to do what you say, you can boss everyone around, and it would make you the most powerful person on the planet (aside from the President, of course.) But between all the unearned vacations, publicity events and empty promises, you just might have to work on occasion, especially when it comes to saving the planet that elected you.

Citizens of Earth does just this, putting players in control of the newly elected VP in a turn based RPG seeped in classic gaming roots. During his first vacation, (the day after he was elected,) the bane of the Western world in the form of protesters show up at his door. After getting his mother and brother to get rid of them, it’s clear that there’s more going on than simple political discourse. When stop signs, coffee machines, and bears made of honey come to life and begin attacking the adoring public, it’s up to the honorable vice leader to set things right.

CoE_Screenshots (5)

As someone of such high importance however, you can’t expect him to get his hands dirty when it comes to the actual Earth defending, which is where the loyal citizens come in. Using his expert campaigning skills, up to 40 different characters can be recruited, each with unique jobs, skills and combat abilities that help in and outside of battle. While simple, the turn based battle system finds a unique way to put these skills to good use. Using three party members at a time to fight, each has two basic attack types. Standard attacks can be performed without penalty, while building up one point of energy needed for special moves. These special moves need a certain amount of energy to initiate, but when they typically deal out huge damage, status effects, or healing bonuses for your team, it’s clear that the cost is well worth it.

Aside from the energy system though, this might sound like your typical RPG conventions that have been done to death for close to three decades. What makes Citizens of Earth stand out that makes it a must play for a long time role playing aficionado? For starters, each member gives bonus stats to whoever they’re fighting with. Adding depth to the level system, each character can be customized to a degree by having the right team members with them to fit the stat you want to raise.

In addition, the experience earned unlocks more than just stat points and new attacks. EXP earned in battle also goes towards upgrading the citizen’s talent, often related to their day job. If you recruit the baker for example, his shop will have better healing items as he becomes stronger. The pilot can teleport you to a larger variety of areas. The cop gives you extra bounties to hunt. Get the picture? When you consider that there are 40 citizens to level, part of the fun is seeing how their abilities can help you both in and out of combat.

CoE_Screenshots (114)

Such a daunting task sounds like it can be overwhelming, and honestly, it was at first. It’s disheartening seeing your current party level up so high, then try to switch them out, only to have the newbies be too weak to compete. As the game progresses though, this problem becomes alleviated thanks to a few lenient features the game has included. First, the VP can restart a battle and change up the party, allowing him to throw in a strong party member to help boost the weaker ones. Second, KO’d party members still gain EXP, so having to scramble for your revive items isn’t as important, especially when they gain all of their health upon leveling up. Lastly, once the Teacher is recruited, unused party members can be put into class, leveling them up over time. It still can be a little more time consuming than I would have liked, but it’s also completely optional.

Aside from the game play, Citizens of Earth stands out even more with its unique presentation. Its humor, off the wall enemies, (smiling cops? Bubble Bees? Stop Vines?), and 2D navigation with enemies on the map are highly reminiscent of Earthbound, which is completed by a nearly fully voiced script and a political cartoon inspired art style. The only thing more charming than the hammy delivery of everything the VP does, is the bright, vibrant world filled with on screen enemies, (that can be ambushed and instantly killed if you’re strong enough,) potential party members and NPCs that bring the world to life. If nothing else, this title will surely make you smile across its story mode.

CoE_Screenshots (84)

Yet, its biggest shortcoming brings it down pretty hard, which is the overall speed of the game. My enthusiasm to compete the adventure took a dive after experiencing how slow everything moves. Battles take a long time to start, which isn’t helped by enemies that either absorb attacks, constantly call for reinforcements, or completely heal, making me dread fighting certain enemies. Imagine fighting basic enemies for close to 10 minutes because you want your weaker teammates to level up, but the enemy keeps healing when on the verge of death? Making the campaign sour even more are the constant load times, slowing the game to a crawl. When entering buildings begins to feel tedious, it becomes an obvious issue.

Yes, Citizens of Earth won’t reinvent the wheel, but that’s not what it’s trying to do. Serving as a delightful throwback to some of the greatest RPGs of yesteryear, it does enough to inject its own style, personality and unique mechanics to make it stand out to even the most jaded gamer. Even still, the slow pace of the fights, their generally basic mechanics, and constant loading times cause the VP to fall from grace. Even still, if you’re in need of an old school RPG with modern sensibilities, you can’t go wrong with this ticket.

Final Score: 3.5/5

‘Etrian Mystery Dungeon’ Coming To The U.S. In Spring 2015!

by Josh Jackson

It looks like it’s Etrian Odyssey’s turn to get the Mystery Dungeon treatment.

In a somewhat meta announcement, Atlus announced that Etrain Dungeon will be making its Western debut in Spring 2015! This dungeon crawling RPG spinoff of a dungeon crawling RPG will feature all of the customization, loot gathering and monster slaying you would expect from one of the core games in the series, but with the top down perspective, randomly generated dungeons, and party building that comes with any game with Mystery Dungeon in the title.

This is great news for fans of both series, especially when games of this nature are far from a sure thing when getting localized. Everything from Chocobos to Pokemon have received similar treatment in various forms, and not even huge franchises like those have had every Dungeon game brought over. So needless to say, this announcement will be like Christmas come early for some.

Take a look at the details from the official press release below, then let us know what game you hope gets the Dungeon treatment in the comments!

Main features in Etrian Mystery Dungeon include:
Infinite Dungeons to Explore – Etrian Mystery Dungeon incorporates the random map feature, which changes the floor terrain each time a player enters the dungeon. This core mechanic, inherited from the Mystery Dungeon series, challenges the players with a new maze and stronger monsters every time, offering them unlimited replayability!
Attention to Detail – The Etrian Odyssey tradition of party customization is in full effect for Etrian Mystery Dungeon. After the first journey as a Landsknecht, players can freely choose their party of 4 from up to 10 different class types. While each class has a unique skill set of its own, characters can also unlock new skills through skill trees.
Not Your Grandfather’s Combat – The unique perspective in Etrian Mystery Dungeon means that special care will have to be given when selecting party members and upgrading their abilities. With dungeons chock full of enemies and all the loot and money collected at stake, being 100 percent certain in your party’s abilities is crucial for making it out alive.

‘Persona 5’ Confirmed For A Western PS4 Release!

by Josh Jackson

Atlus revealed what many of us were expecting. Like our Eastern counterparts, the West will also get to sink their teeth into a Playstation 4 version of Persona 5 when it releases alongside its PS3 counterpart in 2015.

While little is known about the highly anticipated sequel to one of the most popular Japanese RPGs on the market, the reputation of the monster collection/teenager simulation dungeon crawler has many a Senpai on baited breath waiting for any information to come to light. SPOILER ALERT: It will contain a Velvet Room and Personas, (unconfirmed, but come on!)

When Persona 5 was announced, the only thing more surprising than the announcement itself was that it was only listed for Playstation 3. At the time, it didn’t sound like too much of a crazy idea, considering the untested, unproven Playstation 4 wasn’t as safe of an investment compared to its well established predecessor. Since then, the PS4 has inexplicably sold over 10 million units in less than a year, many of which have been bought off of the backs of PS3 trade ins. Hey, everyone else is releasing PS3 games on PS4, why not do a simultaneous launch?

Excited for Persona 5? Let us know what your favorite series moments are in the comments!

http://youtu.be/Bt4w4TSWC9E

Goddess Black Heart Has Blessed Us With The Opening Of ‘Hyperdevotion Noire’

by Josh Jackson

If you were eager for more information on the upcoming Western release of Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart, then the wait is over! The people over at Idea Factory have brought us some divine intervention in the form of new screenshots and the opening movie from the upcoming strategy RPG.

Placing Noire in her first starring role, would-be goddesses will be tasked with amassing a CPU army, creating bonds with teammates, customizing items to fit their playstyle and customizing their home between hard fought conflicts. As the first in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series to step into the world of Strategy RPGs, it’s sure to have plenty of surprises for new and old players alike when it arrives on the Vita in 2015.

Gaze upon the new batch of screenshots, as well as the opening trailer below! Are you planning on picking up Hyperdevotion?

 

Geekscape 342: All About RPGs With The Boys From Saving Throw!

by Jonathan

One thing we don’t cover enough on Geekscape is the hugely popular world of RPGs and tabletop gaming! Both have been on a huge upswing in popularity for the past few years and it’s about time we reflected that on the show! To help us wade through the deep waters as a bunch of noobs, Ivan and Dom from Saving Throw join their buddy Ben Dunn to teach Kenny and I about the new generation of tabletop RPGs. We discuss the new mechanics of D&D and the difference between it and Pathfinder. Also, we suggest some other games to the audience, including horror based ones and the growing popularity of real world games like Puzzle Rooms! It’s a brand new day and age with an old familiar game on this episode of Geekscape!

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‘Hyperdevotion Noire’ Is Headed Stateside! Tsundere Fans Rejoice!

by Josh Jackson

Only a short time after Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2 was announced for an international release, we learned that this wouldn’t be all that we would get from the franchise next year.

Taking its first steps into the Strategy RPG genre, Hyperdevotion Noire shifts focus to the Goddess of Lastation, taking place in the alternate world of Gamarket. As with their original world, the four CPU’s are once again at war for control of the land. When Noire is on the cusp of victory, a mysterious force drains the Goddesses of their power, the group must team up once again to save Gamarket from destruction.

At this point, it’s clear that Noire is the best CPU, right? While seeing how the gameplay will turn out, having the chance to play as Lady Black Heart in the main character role with completely new mechanics for the series is an exciting prospect. Check these reveal screenshots, and tell us whether or not you’re planning on dusting off your Vita when Noire’s game releases. Early 2015 can’t come soon enough!

From the press release:

A Moe Army Awaits! You ain’t never seen the CPUs like this! Lead them in their first-ever foray into strategy RPG gameplay, taking on enemies in a whole new way. You’ll fight off hordes of enemies in turn-based strategy, dodging laser beams and flaming pits, and using dangerous environments against your enemy.
Link up with the “Lily System” The more often characters are in battle together, the higher their bond becomes. Activating the “Lily Boost” grants special stats and abilities, while “Lily Points” can be used to activate ultra-special moves and even goddess transformations. Don’t be shy to build up those battle relationships and seal it all with a kiss!

Check your Status! All kinds of funky things can happen in the heat of battle and characters can be hit with status ailments that are both boon and burden. You can get pixelated, zombie-fied, or even turned into a block of tofu! Some status changes come with their own benefit and cost, so keep this in mind during a fight.

Item Customization! You’ll get tons of replay value with so many ways to boost your gear’s stats! The more enemies you defeat, the more items you can get to customize your gear in whatever way you see fit. Let the great experiment begin!

Livin’ the Noire Life! Life’s not all about grid-based battles. Sometimes Noire just wants to relax at home, and with the “Sim Noire” mode you’ll be able to do just that! Customize the place by buying furniture and accessories with in-game points, and make Noire feel like the goddess she is. She’ll also get to go out with friends and build up her social level!

A New Batch Of ‘Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2’ Make Our Vitas Tremble In Anticipation

by Josh Jackson

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth, was a one of the best surprises of the year, with us going as far as saying that it was one of the best RPGs in years. I mean, what better way to appeal to gamers than to make a game about the console wars framed within a anime-esque magical girl banner? It’s as absurd, (and entertaining), as it sounds.

Which is why we were thrilled to learn a few months back that the second game would also be coming to the West for the Vita! Re;Birth 2, a rebuilt version of the PS3’s Hyperdimension Neptunia mk.2, shines the spotlight on the sisters of the first game’s CPUs, each of which represent handhelds like the DS and PSP. Idea Factory is promising new characters, scenarios and surprises for both new and old, with returning favorites such as IF and Compa, as they fight to rescue the four goddesses of the original.

Have no clue what I’m talking about? Check out the latest batch of screenshots, showing off the colorful characters, world and battles that fill the world of Gamindustri. Hopefully this will make the wait for early 2015 a little more bearable. Nah, who am I kidding. I want it now!

‘Valkyria Chronicles’ Beats All Expectations To Become Number 1 On Steam!

by Josh Jackson

If you were around for the early, painful years of the PS3, you’ll probably remember how surprisingly great Valkyria Chronicles was. Almost seven years after the 3rd person strategy RPG hit consoles, the game was released on Steam this past week, and based on early sales, our love for the title is still as strong as ever.

Sega is reporting that within the first 24 hours, VC has risen to the top of the Steam sales charts, proving that new and old fans alike are enthusiastic about revisiting the trails of war. From John Clark, Senior Vice President of Commercial Publishing for SEGA Europe,

“We’re also delighted at the response from the Steam community which indicates that newcomers to the series are finding it as enchanting and engaging as those who have played it before.”

Hopefully this sends a loud, clear response to the higher ups that we love this series and would like to see it continue. Sales of the two games in the States were tepid to say the least, leading us to never get a chance to play the third game, but you also have to keep in mind that the PS3 had a low user base at the time of release, while the second one was a drastic change for the original, (while avoiding the PS3 altogether and releasing on the PSP). Is there a chance that we can finally get what many consider to be the best game out of the three? At least on the Vita? Sega is one of the few publishers that remembers the handheld exists, so never say never. Pretty please, Sega?

http://youtu.be/_lZxQDc5quM