Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1

The super dimensional console war series Hyperdimension Neptunia is headed back to its roots with the latest instalment launching a few days ago in western markets. Titled Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 and published exclusively on the PlayStation Vita by Idea Factory International, the main goal was to provide a well-deserved port of the original 2010 PlayStation 3 RPG, while bringing it up to the standards set by more recent instalments. It was a considerable feat considering that Hyperdimension Neptunia featured the old (button-mashing) battle system used by Trinity Universe, and not only lacked challenge but became repetitive very fast. This wouldn’t have by any means been a case of simply splashing a new coat of paint over old content. But was it worth the time and effort to port over? Read on to find out!

Storyline

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 once again takes place in the land of Gamindustri, in a state very reminiscent of the original game. After a fight involving the four CPU goddesses of the nation: Neptune (Planeptune – Sega Neptune), Noire (LaStation – PlayStation), Blanc (Nintendo – Lowee) and Vert (Xbox – LeanBox) who is being goaded on by a mysterious force, Neptune comes crashing down from the sky with no memories of her past. Allying herself with a nurse by the name of Compa, the “Wind Walker” of Gamindustri IF and other representations of game companies and consoles, she travels the land looking for her lost memories as a CPU and to put an end to the growing threat that looms over Gamindustri.

Nothing has changed with the approach Hyperdimension Neptunia takes towards storytelling since its first instalment. Originally based off the “console wars”, Re;Birth 1 is filled with gaming parodies/references, generally cattiness between the CPU goddesses as representatives of rival “nations/brands” and is generally meant to be taken as a light-hearted and entertaining experience for the gamer. While the overarching plot remains the same, NISA and Gust have been replaced by a wealth of new industry-aligned characters, and the storyline/jokes receive a complete overhaul. This means that even if you have Platinum’ed the first game, there should be plenty of fresh content for you to enjoy a second time around.

Design / Music / Voice Acting

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is aesthetically similar to Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, with the PlayStation Vita’s OLED monitor contributing to the bright and vivid details presented on screen that in my opinion surpass the quality of my own television. The character/enemy models are well designed, visual-novel style character portraits are detailed and there are very few issues in terms of frame rates or animation. Many pieces of CG artwork return from the original game as well, with the added bonus of a “boob jiggle” effect upon using the touch screen. One issue of note however is that several of the environment designs and themes seem to have been simply lifted from previous instalments, and after several games, it is time for the development team to think up of some new, truly distinct dungeons for players to romp around in.

The background music is fairly unremarkable, reaching the standard of previous games with many familiar tracks added to the mix. Voice acting however was most probably the biggest area for concern with Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 considering the shift if localizer/publisher from Nippon Ichi Software America who previously handled the RPG franchise to Idea Factory International. Fortunately the localizers managed to keep the same standard of comedy / pop culture / gaming references throughout, and also retained the original English voice cast. If you prefer, it is also possible to switch between the English and Japanese voice acting.

Gameplay

As mentioned earlier in this review, one of the biggest changes to Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth from its predecessor is the battle system. Originally it made use of the “Trinity Universe” system which relied on combinations of button presses to perform attacks – which depending on the combo may result in a skill subsequently being  used. Characters remained still all throughout the battle, and relied on the combo system to do everything from transforming to “disc summoning”. There was also a convoluted and unwarranted healing item system that, especially at the beginning when learning the ropes, you were better off hoping that your characters HP didn’t fall too low.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth integrates a battle system similar to Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, where up to three characters take part in turn-based battles against one or more enemies. During each characters turn, they can move around within a particular radius and then attack any foes that land within their area of attack. General attacks are reminiscent of the original battle system, with three different attack types to form a combo. These three attack types include Rush will builds up the combo gauge, Power that deals the largest amount of damage to an enemy and Break attacks which quickly lowers a foes GP (Guard Points) which when depleted allows the player to deal additional damage against them. Other familiar features include a wide array of skills for each character, EXE gauge which are powerful attacks only usable upon filling the EXE-gauge through combo attacks and the ability for any of the goddesses to transform into their CPU form. Honestly, aside from a slight difficulty increase that can be dealt with by a little bit of grinding, there is little defining this battle system from past games.

Outside of the main storyline which progressively unlocks new areas and regions for Neptune and her allies to visit, the ‘Guild System’ is also reintroduced in the game. As with earlier instalments, these requests require you to do the usual assortment of menial RPG tasks from defeating X number of enemies to collecting Y of a particular item. If you are like me, then you could go through several chapters forgetting this system even exists, until the distribution of and changes in shares it offers is required for a particular event/ending. One of the few notable new inclusions in Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth is the new “Plans” system, where you can trade in items and megabyte capacity to unlock new items in the store, add a new dungeon to the world map or alter enemies/maps that you come across. Difficulty changes are incorporated into this system.

Final Words on Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is what the first game should have been originally, and it was good to see that much like GUST with Atelier Rorona, that Compile Heart decided to return back to their original works and produce something noteworthy. With improved visuals, gameplay mechanics and another hilarious storyline – this should be an enjoyable experience for any fan of the franchise. However with Idea Factory International already confirming their intention to publisher Re;Birth 2, I am left hoping that they will try and add more new features into the mix than a couple of new characters and a plan system – with little setting this apart from the previous two RPG instalments. Especially after having to endure Producing Perfection back in June which received a pitiful grade of D-, this has restored my faith that good things can come from this franchise.

Also, while digital-only, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth is also available in Australia!