At this point, I feel like my Vita is a dedicated entryway into the world of Gamindustri. Considering that four different Hyperdimension Neptunia games have been released for the handheld in the last year, it’s easy to see why. Now that we’ve played not one, but two fantastic RPGs, dived into the strategy role playing realm, and even tried our hand at producing and managing their careers as singers, it’s about time the series took the action route. In Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, (a strange name for a non-Wii U title,) Gamindustri meets Dynasty Warriors in an over the top, horde slaying beat em up with the CPU and CPU Candidates doing the thwomping. But how well does a traditionally turn based franchise cross over into the action genre?
Now that the world is at peace, what’s a goddess to do aside from play games all day? Unfortunately, gaming doesn’t make a compelling news story, so when game journalists, Famitsu and Dengekiko, are tasked with writing up stories on the lives of the CPU’s and their little sisters, a little encouragement pushes them towards getting off their lazy butts and completing a few quests. Or at least, that was the plan. But when quests suddenly start popping up at an alarming pace, the gaming goddesses are forced to take up their weapons once again and fight off the overwhelming amount of monsters that have appeared while finding out who’s behind the sudden influx of requests. If our two writers are able to get a great story in the process, then even better!
Hyperdimension Neptunia U features ten unique characters to play as, which naturally include the CPU’s, their little sisters, and the addition of Famitsu and Dengekiko. Each character has a set of unique, (although limited,) combos and special moves that are designed to harm waves of enemies at once, and vary from slow and powerful, long range, or fast with a high hit count. As missions progress, each character builds up experience, unlocks new equipment and discovers new special attacks to put even more pressure on the more difficult enemies. With the option of taking on these missions solo, or pairing two characters together, each one is varied enough to feel unique while still accomplishing the same tasks.
Keep in mind, on top of all of these options per character, the CPU’s wouldn’t be much without their HDD forms. These serve as a temporary transformation that boosts attack power while changing their combos completely, essentially feeling like separate characters. Making it incredibly easy to wipe out foot soldiers and bosses alike, despatching dozens of enemies at one time with your powerful, special attack right before the transformation ends is ridiculously badass, all of which is done without a hint of a frame rate dip. Naturally, you have to fight for that meter, which fills up for the idle partner while the player character defeats enemies. If theirs is full, the player character will get their fill. Switching is as easy as tapping the down button on the D-Pad, so managing the meter is one of the more strategic aspects of Neptunia U, especially when it comes to the end game content. If you’re more passive, you could always fill your meter by tearing your clothes to shreds… Wait, what?
Yep, as you probably know if you’re reading this review, (and if you didn’t, welcome to the madness!), as characters take damage, their clothes rip up until their so-called armor “breaks,” resulting in a brief mid-battle cutscene that shows the girls in suggestive positions in nothing but tattered duds and underwear. Story wise, in a desperate attempt to cover up, they transform into their HDD forms, which come with their own, handy outfits! In other words, you get instant access to their most powerful forms faster if you let their clothes rip. Considering this game is developed by Tamsoft, the designers behind most of the Senran Kagura games, it’s not really a surprise since that series has made wardrobe malfunctions famous in recent years. Still, there are few moments more uncomfortable than when you’re playing as one of the sisters, (especially the pre-teen Rom and Ram,) and their butts and chests jiggle in slow motion as the clothes fly off. With that said, the game offers unlockable costumes that don’t break, break easily, or are pre broken depending on player performance, so kudos to the developers for giving the player the choice to shape their own game play experience.
Speaking of the experience, we can’t ignore the dialogue. As expected from a Neptunia game, its personality and charm shine through both in and out of quests. It’s clear that a ton of care went into the character relationships, with unique chatter between almost every possible team. When not fighting to the death, special events expand on the personalities of everyone involved, which range from fourth wall breaking gaming commentary, balking at the absurdity of their clothes tearing, and even a “GamerGate” ethics in journalism quip! While not as laugh out loud funny as the main games, considering nearly every line is voiced with both Japanese and English voice options on an individual character basis, what’s provided is plenty when you take into account that this is an action game rather than an RPG. Either way, it’s still more than serviceable for the franchise faithful.
Despite how varied the mechanics and characters can be though, one major issue that most games of this nature encounter is its repetitiveness, and U is no exception. Each character’s move set is insanely stylish, but with only a few combos per character, you’ll see everything each one has to offer soon after picking them up. Not only that, but the game offers little incentive to experiment, leaving players to stick with the combo that works best for them, rinse and repeat. The main story mode never gets particularly challenging either, making its hundred-ish quests a breeze. Every once in a while, the game throws a curve ball at you, either by hiding objectives, asking you to collect items or hunt down a certain enemy, but at the end of the day, each one is accomplished by beating everything into submission.
Yet, U redeems itself in a big way when it comes to the post game content. After spending 12 hours or so completing all of the quests in the main story, a wealth of new missions and modes keep the fun going. If you think you’ll just be able to blow through these stages like you were able to in the campaign, think again. To survive, you’ll have to pick your attacks carefully, manage your meter better than ever, and know when its best to just quit the mission, store your earned EXP, and live to fight another day. In addition, an arena mode pits the CPU’s against each other in one on one battles that unlock powerful accessories, and a tower mode which sends two of the girls into a multi-tiered challenge where they must fight off increasingly powerful enemies. On top of collecting enemy medals, (coins that opponents drop at random once defeated and can be used to unlock stat boosts, weapons and accessories,) and boosting the group’s friendship, (or Lily Ranks,) for in game perks, and you have a game that will potentially last for much longer than expected. If I were to be extra critical, I would have liked it if the arena mode’s difficulty didn’t range from one hit kill, one hit death or a legitimate match, if it let you fight against other Vita owners, (assuming they exist,) and that collecting medals and boosting Lily Ranks wasn’t such a grind-fest, but these issues don’t detract from the experience too much. Besides, what kind of Neptunia game would this be if it didn’t have insane trophy grinding?
Most impressively, Hyperdimension Neptunia U has become a game that I just can’t put down. Perfect for the portable experience, the quests, bonus content and grinding feel tailor made to be played in short bursts. That’s not to say that I haven’t had hours long sessions, (and I’ve had many,) but with as fun, colorful and fast paced the action turned out, it’s no wonder that the addiction has set in. If you love Neptune and friends in all of their self-referential glory, then this is a no-brainer. If you’re a beat em up fan who desperately needs something to play on the Vita, then U is more than a worthy purchase. While the anime inspired style, its repetitive nature, and the whole clothes tearing thing might not be everyone’s cup of tea, you might just be surprised with how endearing this game can be. Try it, you’ll be glad you did!
tl;dr
+ Successfully brings the style of the Neptunia games to the action genre, with flashy attacks and combos to go around for its varried cast.
+ A lengthy campaign filled with a plethora of quests, unlockable items and game industry satire.
+ Post game content improves the game a great deal, adding modes and missions that make you re-think the game.
+ The same tongue in cheek script that we’ve come to expect from the series, complete with dual language options for individual characters.
+ The clothes tearing option adds to the strategy while being entirely optional.
– Combat becomes repetitive with only a few attack sets per character. The twenty characters, (including their HDD forms,) doesn’t alieviate it enough, and is only amplified by most of the objectives revolving around killing everything in sight.
– Some unlockables are absurdly grind heavy, artificially extending the replay value with enemies that give few rewards and a slow moving Lily Rank mechanic.
– While fun for what it is, the arena mode is a missed opportunity, with wildly unbalanced difficulty settings and the lack of a PvP versus mode.
Final Score: 4/5
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