When NIS America released the first of what would become three Hyperdimension Neptunia video games a couple of years ago, it was a fresh and light-hearted take on video game fanboyism with female idols taking the roles of the major video game consoles of Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. The player took the role of Neptunia, who represents the former SEGA game consoles. The second game, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, repeated the formula with mixed results when it swapped personifications of home consoles for handhelds.
Now, with Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, developers Compile Heart and Idea Factory are at it again - this time with Neptunia going back in time to a representation of the video game industry in 1989. With it comes a handful of changes to the series. Some are for the better, but most seem like change for the sake of change.
Gary Green said: The concept for a good sequel is not a complicated thing. You take your original idea and expand on the lore, then you fix anything that was broken the first time around. You might want to introduce some new features too; This is fine so long as you don’t go overboard, and you don’t change the overall flow of the game. Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory ticks all of these boxes, so surely then it should be the perfect package? Well, almost. It really is rather good.
Michibiku's Jenni Lada writes, "Hyperdimension Neptunia is huge. It’s a massive series that covers tons of games, all of which are sort of connected? Though also not really, because quite a few are spin-offs and non-canon. It’s a lot to take in, to be sure. With Megadimension Neptunia VII on the horizon, we here at Michibiku felt like we should offer an overview of the main series’ installments."
Our interview with the good folks over at Idea Factory International where we discuss topics like localization, favorite games, and upcoming titles!
