Idea Factory International is bringing us the latest installment in the long-running Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise with Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online. This time around, it’s a game in the action-RPG format. Are you ready to enter their MMO world? Learn more in our Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online review!

 

Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online – Trailer

After what seemed like an eternal loading screen (about 2 minutes long), I was greeted by Neptune, one of the Goddess in the world of Gamindustri, and the main face of the series. She and the other Goddesses (Vert, Blanc and Noire) were given beta keys for a new version of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 4 Goddesses Online, in which they set out on a quest to free the game’s 4 Goddesses and hunt down the Demon King. Following Neptune’s briefing on their world and the characters, which was nicely done by breaking the 4th wall and talking directly to me, we went on to the tutorial level of the MMORPG to get a feel for the controls.

If you’ve ever played an action RPG before, then you’ll feel right at home in this one. You can have your main character (the one you’re controlling) jump, attack, use items and inspect treasures with the face buttons, while the shoulder buttons will allow you to block, dash or use special attacks acquired over the course of the game. There’s some extra depth to things, but that’s pretty much the basics to give you a rough idea of what to expect, and the tutorials do a nice job of gradually showing you all elements.

You are only controlling the leader character of your group during the real-time battles, while the other three of your party will be working based on the strategy you end up selecting from a list, which can go from using skills to the maximum to using them based on the character’s personality. This customization element will make it possible for you to make the most of your group’s abilities while overcoming their inherent weaknesses based on the role they play.

 

When you’re not in a dungeon fighting monsters, you’ll probably be hanging around town where all the fun RPG stuff happens. The map is a static one, with avatars scattered around and a couple of key buildings to which you’ll move a cursor around to trigger dialogues or to enter locations. There’s the classic merchandise vendor, a church to pray (which gives your party perks for the next dungeon you visit), a guild in which you can accept side quests (that can range from killing a certain amount of a specific monster to gathering items), and a few others that will have a specific purpose to help you upgrade your characters. Even if most of this MMORPG parody is of the single player variety, you’ll alos be able to visit a place where you can start quests with other people (real humans, just like you!).

There’s a lot of different ways the game is rendered, and it’s all done in a visually pleasing way. While in town, like I mentioned before, you’re looking at a beautifully drawn map with avatar characters around the place, also static on the map. It’s colorful, but not too much to have your eyes burning, and everything you can interact with is easily identifiable. While in battles, you can see the power of the Unreal Engine 4, as the game has some beautiful dungeons with lots of details and great character and monster animations.

I have to say, I was a bit worried when I started the game and it took a solid 2 minutes of a loading screen before seeing the main menu (I hadn’t even started the game yet!). But that quickly faded away when I started talking with Neptune. Being a newcomer to this series, I didn’t know any of the characters, but early on there was enough information told to me to get me up and running without having played all the other games, so that’s something I really appreciated.

Afterwards, I moved on the battles where I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was handled and how easy it was to pick up. The difficulty was also right on spot for me, where it was not too easy to have you laughing in the face of bosses, but also not too difficult to require a couple hours of grinding each time you want to move forward with the story. The way the pre-defined strategies for the others characters are set up reminded me a bit of how Final Fantasy XIII played, and all the ones I’ve tried seemed well implemented and fitted my needs and how they were defined.

 

And as for that shiny platinum trophy that this game offers, it seems like it should end up on my list eventually, but not before a couple dozens of hours. Nothing from the list seemed out of this world to get, so as in most RPG games, I think it’s just a matter of getting there, but if you enjoy the game like I did, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Final Thoughts
Idea Factory International has given us a real winner with this release. The story and the occasional breaking of the 4th wall contribute to giving us a solid world with fun gameplay mechanics and a quirky story. It features an upgrade system and great dungeon crawling that keeps you coming back for more. It’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed a good action RPG, and Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online has done a great job and grabbed my attention, making me want to look at all the other games in the series.

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PSN Price (PlayStation 4): $49.99

Disclaimer
This Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by Idea Factory International.