Monday, September 2, 2013

Hyperdimension Neptunia Franschise: Why do I love these games so much

Another update after, what, 8 months? Oh well, could be worse. Anyways, I thought I'd dedicate a post to these games, since I've recently started the latest installment again after seeing the newest DLC characters and deciding to get one of them.





The Hyperdimension Neptunia games are kinda recent(out since 2010 or so, thanks wikipedia) and are some of the most well-made RPGs for the past years. They are exclusive to the PS3,  and among the many games of this genre I've loved and played they are the ones that are worth the money I spent to get them as a day 1 purchase.


Yeah, they are niche games. Not everyone can stand the girly graphics, the high-pinched voices or the cheesy overplayed story. I get that, but if you can overcome these hates and look at it as a pure RPG fan, you'll soon realize that as the games came out, their gameplay kept getting better and better, with the third and last installment having no bugs(though some people have reported freezes) and a really solid gameplay that can keep you in front of the screen for hours.

The main idea of the story is console wars. One of each of the 4 main "goddesses" represent a different console, with the main heroine representing the Sega Neptune, an console which was supposed to be released but was not after Sega Saturn came out. There is nothing extraordinary in this story, apart from the fact that it's full of inside jokes about the consoles/companies/etc, with most of them popping out in the last installment.


The gameplay is fast-paced, offering a chance to skip all special effects if for some reason you get bored of them and showing only damage, and introducing a mechanic some of you may remember and love like I do, the Break Damage/HP Limit. Most will remember this from FFX, it was an interesting way to show you that you are entering the next level of the game, where 4 digits in hit points or damage are not O.K. any more. The game also offers a way to customize attack combos as you please, while also being able to add passives to each character through the use of ingame "disks", so you can drop more items, more money, get hp/mp regen and more.There's also a friendship system called "Lily System", where characters paired together receive new passives or unique skills.


These games also offers a really big amount of DLC, and while none of them are needed to finish the story, they can make it more enjoyable depending on what you are looking for. In example, there are DLCs for weapons/accessories, new characters, vanity costumes and even some that remove the level cap(default is 99, but if you really love the game and want to play till ever, there are enough packs  to raise the cap to level 999 -not kidding-)

To summarize, I highly recommend that if have not tried any of these games to try them at least once. Or check a walkthrough, though the story might not be up to your liking.The gameplay isn't in any way complicated and can entice you fairly easily. I know I loved it, mostly from the 2nd installment and on, since  I've wasted more than 100 hours for each of these gems, and there was no need to farm, so I never felt bored playing them. 

Here are some more pics, enjoy and thanks for reading!






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