SerTapTap
Member
Developer: Idea Factory
Publisher: Idea Factory International
Platform: PS4
Genre: Turn Based Parody JRPG
Release Date: April 23rd, 2015 (JP), February 2nd, 2016 (US), February 12th, 2016 (EU)
Limited Edition: SOLD OUT
Summary
Gamindustri has entered the CPU Shift Period, a time of turmoil where people's faith in CPUs is in great flux. Neptune manages to stumble into a different dimension as usual. The game features three full stories following the whole cast of CPUs and the new Gold Third, representing major (Japanese) third party companies.
You may have heard of this as "Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory 2". The Japanese title was changed a bit from usual as well, so it seems "Hyperdimension" as a title isn't sticking around (but Hyperdimension is still the "canon timeline").
Features
- 1080p 60 FPS
- Improved battle animations
- Shiny new high res character portraits
- A chapter for each nation, focusing on that nation's CPU
- Two Neps
- Real, per character transformation sequences
- A NEXT level of transformation for the main CPUs that changes attack properties rather than simple base stats.
- Dungeons of the same theme that actually differ in layout
- Drastically improved New Game + features
- Significantly more tactical combat due to a revamp of skill/attack/EXE damage
- EXE drive is not maintained during battle and is no longer an instant win button
- Non-neglected Nepgear
- Possibly the most new music in a game in the series
- A significant leap in general polish
- NEPGEARDAM
Characters
There's tons! You can read up on them on Idea Factory International's offical site. Each character represents a gaming brand. developer or aspect of gaming.
Screenshots
Yes they're in Japanese, I took most of my screenshots while playing the JP release.
FAQs
- Is this the 7th Neptunia game?!
- -No. It's the fourth mainline game. The series almost always makes an abbreviation joke with it's numbers.
- Can I play this before the other games in the series?
- -Less so than most series, but this does follow some direct events of Victory/Rebirth3's True Ending (it also partially retcons them to make more sense). The game introduces you to the characters well enough though, which is the most important factor in enjoying it. Basically, play 3 if you can but it's no big deal and it doesn't spoil much.
- What's Canon?
- -Mk2 (rebirth2), Victory (rebirth3) and Victory 2 are canon and take place in sequence. Remember that the Vert, Noire, and Blanc in Victory/Rebirth 3 are from a different dimension and technically different from the CPUs in this game.
- Is this an improvement over Rebirth 3?!?
- -If you've only played the Rebirth games, you might not be familiar with how major each upgrade in quality each "main" Neptunia game is. Yes, this is a big leap over Rebirth 3 (and no it doesn't have the silly SP system)
- How long is it?
- -Maybe 60 hours first playthrough, depending on how thorough you are
- Is this game super grindy?
- -Only if you're bad at it, a completionist, or going for the Platinum Trophy.
- What's different from the prior games, mechanically?
- -Too many to go over in this format. There's a rundown on my site covering the notable changes
- How thorough is the dub?
- -I'd estimate 50% coverage tops.
- Should I go for true ending first?
- -Please don't. New Game + has a lot of great features now and stressing yourself over Shares the first playthrough will only harm your experience. NG+ goes by extremely quick now.
- (Swearing sounds) Is the Japanese dub included at least?!!?!
- -Yes, it's free DLC and should voice most scenes that aren't voiced in English.
- Should I just use the JP dub?
- -It's a trade off, since you'll miss a lot of combat/map dialog.
- Tara Platt isn't Vert?!
- -She was busy. Don't read too much into it. But yes, Rom's VA seems to voice Vert (not in Rom's voice, obviously...)
- DLC?
- -There were many outfits, weapons, level cap packs, coliseum battles, and characters in the Japanese DLC. Until launch we won't know how much IFI is charging for them, but they're usually all available at once.
- When should I buy DLC?
- -If you want it, character/cosmetic DLC should usually be bought as early as possible so you can actually enjoy the new character to the fullest. Weapon DLC should usually be ignored as it will be unreasonably OP. Level cap DLC is highly unnecessary unless you're doing DLC coliseum challenges.
- PC WHEN (labored breathing)?!
- -No official word on this. Expect it to be several months post release, like every other PC release from IFI. But Fellistella didn't work on this game so it could be different. Basically who knows.
Spoiler Etiquette
The story isn't super twist-heavy or anything, but it's one of the more spoiler-vulnerable games in the series so please air on the side of caution with story details and hide any spoiler images behind a link .
(eg: Story Spoiler:
Bowser Dies
Links
Playstation Store link: Not up yet
Limited Edition: Here, but sold out.
Official English Site
Sir TapTap's (yes, that's me) guide to Victory (2)
Another English guide, not by Sir TapTap.
A pretty complete Wiki about the game, but it's in Japanese.
Editor's Note: I've played about half of the English release (review copy, review not done yet) and I've beaten the JP release 3 times so feel free to ask any questions.
