Neptunia Game Maker (R)evolution Review

thesixthaxis.com:

I love the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, but for a long time now it feels like I’m a fan of everything but the actual video games. Nep Nep and her crew of humanised game-console gals are unforgettably hilarious and consistently endearing, but there’s been nothing consistent about the Neptunia video games as of late. Each one has been a standalone spinoff adventure with their own canon and their own gameplay – and rather than building off the previous games to improve and expand, each one seeks to rebuild the wheel and comes out equally rough as a result. Despite lifting a lot of the combat and gameplay from its predecessor, Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters, the same issues persist with Neptunia Game Maker (R)evolution.

For fans of the characters and lore in the Neptunia series, I’d say that’s the strongest aspect of Neptunia Game Maker (R)evolution by far. For one thing, longtime fans will appreciate that the protagonist of this game is Older Neptune, a dimension-hopping variant of the usual protagonist Neptune who we haven’t seen since she appeared in what’s arguably the last mainline entry in the game series – Megadimension Neptunia VII. This time around, she’s in a new dimension and helping three failed game console goddesses turn their luck around and form a thriving game company kingdom.

My favorite part of a Neptunia game is seeing what real-life consoles and game series they turn into an adorable anime girl, and this game might have some of my new favourites. Your three girl-failure goddesses are Pippeh, Jagaa, and Reedio – based on the real life Apple Pippin, Atari Jaguar, and 3DO consoles respectively. I’m obsessed with the sporty cat-girl look Jagaa rocks despite being a math-obsessed weirdo, and the playful quirky mad-scientist vibes of Reedio are top-notch.

It’s just a shame that these incredible new characters are strapped to such an unfun video game. Neptunia Game Maker (R)evolution is a blend of the dungeon-crawling action combat of the last game and a