Neptune and the gang are back! As you know by now, the series is all about console wars and games publishers which are represented by each girl. This time around the focus is on beloved console maker turned game developer and publisher Sega. Are you ready for a new adventure? Then come check out our Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls review!

 

Superdimension Netune VS Sega Hard Girls main focus this time is on IF, one of the main characters in the series who has made regular appearances over the years. The game is set in an alternate universe outside of gaminindustry. IF has been roaming around on her motorbike looking for a library – the kind of library that not just keeps books, but books that contain the history of the world: the Grand Library. IF eventually finds it and gets to meet its caretaker: Histoire.

Histoire will run IF through the game’s tutorial sections, teaching players how to play the game. IF discovers from Histoire that the books that contain the entire world’s history are disappearing. This can only mean one thing: history itself is disappearing. This means its time for IF to get into action and save the world from disappearing. But, how does one do that? Worry not, because Histoire modifies IF’s motorbike making it capable of time travel. She then tasks IF with revisiting the past to discover why history is disappearing.

The Grand Library acts as your main hub where you can accept missions, buy weapons and healing items, modify your settings and more. Each era you visit gives you a map with an awesome backdrop of beautiful locations – as you explore each dungeon new ones will appear. You can also gain access to new locations and dungeons through events.

Gameplay has changed slightly from previous Neptunia games. This time around there is a little bit of platforming involved. You’ll also be tasked with collecting silver medals as well as finding a baseball in each dungeon. If you do it right, you will earn a golden crown – the game’s version of S rank. But this isn’t the only things you can look for since you can also locate yellow crates that serve as the game’s “treasure chests.” These will provide you with healing items, buffs or even weapons and armor. The platform elements are really fun as they involve jumping on ropes to get to other areas of the map, overcoming gaps, doing a bit of climbing, crawling through gaps and even wall climbing!

Combat has changed a little bit as well, but the basics remain. Some of said changes include a circle appearing after initiating combat, with various shapes above you – these can replenish your health meter or give you some SP to perform magic attacks. In rare instances, you will see a multicolored star that puts you in fever mode which gives you more turns during battle.

Upon initiating a battle, you’ll notice that combat is turn based. Your party members will complete their attacks/healing commands, and then the enemies will take their turn, and so on. You will level up and gain new skills as you progress, becoming stronger as you defeat bigger, meaner and stronger enemies. During combat you can move freely within your action circle – if an enemy is out of your circle, you can position yourself and hit the R button to defend so that you can wait for an opportunity to attack.

Also new is the stamina bar. Once the bar is full you can choose to unleash a powerful attack – this new mechanic is very effective during boss battles. As expected, there is a downside to this to balance the game: maxing out all your stamina means your turns will be slower giving your enemies more hits in a row. This can really hurt you if you’re not careful, so be sure to plan accordingly!

One of the things liked about the story based quests is that there is no set order to complete them. There are four eras you can visit and you can progress the story in any order you see fit. So if you want to do Dreamcast before Master System, you can do so without being penalized. That kind of freedom is great, but there is one caveat though: the quests you pick and choose as you progress in the game will affect the strength of the final boss in the game, so you could end up with a really weak boss or a boss that is too tough, all depending on your actions.

You can changes classes, and this will affect the skills you learn when leveling up. On that note, it is necessary that I mention that you level up on two fronts. Characters level up to improve their stats, making each party member stronger. Class level ups grant you new skills, and these will be dictated by your class. Each character has three classes – they start with the first one and unlock the other two as they rise up the Lily ranks. There are also DLC classes you can purchase for IF and Segami on the PSN.

The graphics are really good and even though the writing is a bit more serious than usual, there is still a lot of humor and puns to enjoy. Japanese audio is available if you prefer that, but I played with English voiceovers which are quite good.

I have had a lot of fun playing the game since the new mechanics and changes have completely revamped the series. I especially loved the platforming and medal collecting aspect. It encourages exploration rather than getting from A to B as fast as you can. The game also offers multiple endings and a New Game+ with tougher enemies and new bosses, and you will also have an opportunity to do quests you couldn’t do previously. I greatly enjoyed playing this one for my Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls review, and I look forward to trying the next game in the Neptunia series!

[review
pros=”Great graphics.
Plenty of content.
Excellent voice acting.
New gameplay mechanics and class system has been added.” cons=”Some quests are on a very tight time limit.” score=92]

Disclaimer
This Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls review is based on a PS Vita copy provided by Idea Factory International.