Megadimension Neptunia VIIR (PC) Review

By Athanasios 15.02.2019

Review for Megadimension Neptunia VIIR on PC

From video games and manga, to anime episodes, and, of course, all sorts of merchandise, the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise has managed to expand quite a lot, and in a very small amount of time. Even to this day, however, after many main games, spin-offs, and so on, this remains nothing more than a niche experience that's not exactly for everyone. Well aware of that fact, the developer hasn't been eager to refine its recipe, evident at how, while generally well received, Megadimension Neptunia VII didn't really bring something new to the table. Even worse, and typical of the company behind it, the game's updated version once again became a reality way too soon - obviously a cash-grab move, more than anything else.

Typical of the Neptunia series, the story revolves around the misadventures of a group of CPUs; goddesses, who are actually sexified video game consoles - as if consoles weren't sexy enough to begin with. Going into detail won't be necessary. For those who aren't aware of that already, Megadimension Neptunia VIIR isn't some well-written epic, but a satire of the industry's tropes, with lots of fluff dialogue in-between each scene… lot's of fluff dialogue.

With that being said, even fluff can be fun if done right, but the Neptunia humour seems to be running dry. As a result, few but the most hardcore of fans will enjoy what is basically the same exact thing all over again, albeit with a bunch of new mechanics, or whatnot. This is really one of the main issues with Megadimension Neptunia VIIR. It's not like this had a The Legend of Zelda-esque formula that didn't require much change - this series begged for change.

…But no. This doesn't change much, and thus, provides little incentive to pay one more visit to Gameindustri if you have done so before, especially since this pretty much carries a bunch of old flaws, and has a couple of new ones. Once again, this can get pretty grind-y (and thus, boring), and, once again, the enemies are quite the unbalanced bunch, with the vast majority of them being piece-of-cake punch bags, while others require your party to be at full power. Most of all, however, this is an extremely repetitive adventure that feels the same from start to finish.

Screenshot for Megadimension Neptunia VIIR on PC

Also, the story on offer is probably one of the worst in the series. Not so much in terms of concept, as the franchise was never about deep, complex scenarios, but more in terms of execution. Simply put, this has always been at its best when it didn't take itself too serious, and this kind of fails at that, as it is hard to give a damn about 'The End of the World' when 90% of the quest revolves around fluff or fanservice-y cut-scenes where the girls just have fun. Visually, while this definitely looks better than past titles, it feels like it belongs in the PS3, and not in that charming, retro kind of way, but in that cheap, we-didn't-even-try one.

As for the 'R' update, it makes some small changes, and adds VR support… sort of. Basically, it just adds a room where you can interact with the girls one-on-one, either by using your headset, or by simply using your gamepad. Are these moments any fun? Not really. Hearing the goddesses delivering their monologues is, in all honesty, the best insomnia cure money can buy - and none of it is sexy, or titillating, or funny. None. Of. It.

The main issue here, however, is that it's just another "customary" Neptunia update; one that came way too soon, and whose only purpose was obviously to milk fans of their leftover money. Even worse? It actually downgrades the original in a couple of ways, by excluding a bunch of DLC characters, having only one auto-saving slot, and by parting ways with the bloom effect, as well as the overall lighting quality.

Screenshot for Megadimension Neptunia VIIR on PC

Cubed3 Rating

4/10
Rated 4 out of 10

Subpar

Unless an avid fan of all things tied to the Neptunia series, there's little reason to try the borefest known as Megadimension Neptunia VIIR. Repetitive, with not much humour, and with a profound unwillingness to add something new, or at least fix past flaws, one can easily find a better JRPG fix.

Developer

Compile Heart

Publisher

Idea Factory

Genre

Turn Based RPG

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  4/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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