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 While the overarching plot remains the same, NISA and Gust have been replaced by a wealth of new industry-aligned characters, and the storyline/jokes receive a complete overhaul.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 [...]
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