Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2: Sisters Generation Review (PS Vita)
Story
This game takes place in alternate universe of Gamindustri with a separate continuity from Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1. Meaning, this game is not a sequel of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1. The story also emphasises on the CPU Candidates, who are the younger sisters of the CPUs.
The four CPUs along with one CPU Candidate were tasked to fight a criminal syndicate called ASIC at Gamindustri Graveyard. However, all five of them were overpowered and captured. After a certain amount of time has passed, IF and Compa, friends of Neptune and Nepgear, try to rescue all of the CPUs. They only managed to rescue Nepgear however, and the three of them will work together to rescue the rest of the CPUs back.
The game's story is interesting and as always, the character interactions in the game are fun and humourous to watch. The multiple endings in this game also flesh out each main character's story thoroughly, and the new Ending is also a welcome addition compared to dreaded evil Ending in this game. Characters are also mostly likable, although many of them still have stereotypical character traits. This game is noticeably more darker than the other Hyperdimension Neptunia games, due to one of the Endings. The humour is still present in the game, however, and many of them can make you laugh if you don't take it too seriously.
Gameplay
1) Progression and Exploration Section
The progression and exploration play similarly like previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games. You can roam in the World Map, enter Cities and interact with NPCs, accept Quests and enter dungeons. Any Events will be highlighted in the game, indicating which one is your next objective in the game. Most of the time, you have to go to dungeons filled with monsters, and go to to objective markers to view cutscenes and fight bosses.
The Remake system returns from the first Re;birth game, where you can create items from Plans that can be obtained by talking to NPCs in the game or obtaining them from dungeons. Not only do creating Plans allow you to create items, it also allows you to manipulate the dungeon's statuses such as altering treasures or spawning tougher monsters. However, to create Plans, you need the necessary storage and materials to create it, and you will get more storage space as you progress in the game.
Quests play similarly like previous games, as most Quests require you to defeat certain number of enemies or collect certain amount of materials. As some monsters or items can only be found in dungeons in certain criteria, you may need to alter the dungeon's status by creating the necessary Plans. This is also present in previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games.
Shares are also present in this game, which may dictate the game's Ending that you may obtain in the playthrough as well as for recruiting new party members.
One new feature present in this game is the Stella's Dungeon, where you can send Stella to explore dungeons and collect items for you. Although some items are for Stella's usage to explore each dungeon, clearing the dungeons may net you items for you to use in the main game. The amount of time taken to clear a dungeon varies in real-time, so you can leave the PS Vita console on standby mode for the time to lapse for Stella's exploration.
2) Leveling, Customisation and Upgrading Section
You can buy equipment such as weapons, armour, and accessories from shops. As you progress in the game, newer equipment will be available for purchase. However, creating equipment from Plans may give you faster access to even stronger weapons, so it is recommended to do so.
Each character have their own sets of Combo Moves, such as Rush Combo, Power Combo, and Guard Break Combo. You can customise her moveset as long as you have enough CP. More powerful moves will cost more CP to use. You may also choose to create Game Discs that have numerous passive effects in battle, but you will need the necessary Idea Chips to create them. Idea Chips can be found while obtaining treasures and harvest points in dungeons.
Leveling is similarly easy in this game. Defeating enemies will net you experience points, and by gaining levels the characters will benefit of stats increments as well as learning new skills.
3) Combat Section
The combat is turn-based battle system, where each character in your party takes an an action accordingly, as well as enemies. During her turn, you may choose to attack enemies using combo moves, use a Skill, use items, or other actions. Unlike Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1, you can control up to four girls in a party.
Each enemy has their own levels, stats and abilities, Like previous games, enemies have both HP and Guard gauges. Depleting the Guard gauge allows you to deal higher damage on the enemy's HP, and enemy is defeated if it's HP is down to zero.
All playable characters in this game have access to SP Skills and EXE Drive Skills. SP Skills are special bilities that each girl can use, such as healing or stats boosting. EXE Drive Skills are the ultimate attacks that each girl may have, which can damage enemies severely. However, you can only use SP Skills by spending SP, and EXE Drive Skills once you have filled up the EXE Drive Gauge enough.
Some girls in the game can use HDD forms, which allow them to have stats boost as well as more powerful SP Skills. Lily Ranks are also present in the game, where having high Lily Ranks for a girl will have good passive effects.
4) Gameplay Conclusion
Although the overall gameplay is good, there are no major innovations in the gameplay area compared to Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1 or Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2. Thus, any Hyperdimension Neptunia fans should not expect any major gameplay innovations from playing this game. Stella's Dungeon is a notable addition, but not extremely great or rewarding in the long-run other than getting the associated Trophies. Also, Stella's Dungeon exploration times for different dungeons can be really a hassle to wait, thus DLC regarding it should be purchased to cut down the exploration time. The reuse of many dungeons and enemies from previous games can be extremely striking and annoying, as well.
Graphics
For a PS Vita remake of Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, this game has pretty graphics that replace the 3D models used in the cutscenes of the original mk2 game with the pretty 2D portraits. Again, I prefer the 2D portraits and I find them to be nice to look at. Dungeons and enemies designs however, are still recycled from previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games.
Performance of the game is rather solid, and I only rarely encounter framerate drops at certain occasions during exploration or battle.
Sound
Like previous Re;birth game, this game's soundtrack is good, but still lacks of new themes to be enjoyed by players.
This game also offers both English and Japanese voice options. Personally, I prefer the English voice acting, as their voices fit the characters much more to me.
Replay Value
In comparison to other Hyperdimension Neptunia games, this game offers the highest replay value. You may attempt to view all Endings of this game, challenge tough Colosseum fights in the game, complete every Stella's dungeons or attempt to get all Trophies.
Conclusion
Again, this is a good Hyperdimension Neptunia game with several improvements from the PS3 version, but that does not mean this is an extremely improved version of it. This game is still a pretty title to play on the PS Vita console, but it is not a game that player should play in the public. The story itself is not a major improvement or deviation from the original game, aside from a new Ending inclusion and many changes to the game's playable human characters. The reuse of many game assets is a major issue as well, and it takes great patience to tolerate those after playing many Hyperdimension Neptunia games back to back. It is still a good title to try out, especially for Hyperdimension Neptunia fans.
Score
Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Final Score: 7.5/10 or 32/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Good storyline.
- Multiple Endings.
- Well-written and funny dialogue.
- Funny game references.
- Easy-to-learn and fun combat.
- Challenging enemies and bosses.
- Nice animations.
- Good music.
- Pretty character portraits.
- Nifty Remake system.
- Dual audio.
Cons
- Reuse of many game assets like character models, enemy models and music.
- Boring dungeon designs.
- Not a major improvement from the PS3 version.
- Stella's Dungeon can be excruciatingly long to complete.
The CPU's younger sisters are the new main stars of this game.
This game takes place in alternate universe of Gamindustri with a separate continuity from Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1. Meaning, this game is not a sequel of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1. The story also emphasises on the CPU Candidates, who are the younger sisters of the CPUs.
The four CPUs along with one CPU Candidate were tasked to fight a criminal syndicate called ASIC at Gamindustri Graveyard. However, all five of them were overpowered and captured. After a certain amount of time has passed, IF and Compa, friends of Neptune and Nepgear, try to rescue all of the CPUs. They only managed to rescue Nepgear however, and the three of them will work together to rescue the rest of the CPUs back.
The game's story is interesting and as always, the character interactions in the game are fun and humourous to watch. The multiple endings in this game also flesh out each main character's story thoroughly, and the new Ending is also a welcome addition compared to dreaded evil Ending in this game. Characters are also mostly likable, although many of them still have stereotypical character traits. This game is noticeably more darker than the other Hyperdimension Neptunia games, due to one of the Endings. The humour is still present in the game, however, and many of them can make you laugh if you don't take it too seriously.
Gameplay
1) Progression and Exploration Section
Explore Dungeons, take out the enemies, and proceed to your objective point.
The progression and exploration play similarly like previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games. You can roam in the World Map, enter Cities and interact with NPCs, accept Quests and enter dungeons. Any Events will be highlighted in the game, indicating which one is your next objective in the game. Most of the time, you have to go to dungeons filled with monsters, and go to to objective markers to view cutscenes and fight bosses.
The Remake system returns from the first Re;birth game, where you can create items from Plans that can be obtained by talking to NPCs in the game or obtaining them from dungeons. Not only do creating Plans allow you to create items, it also allows you to manipulate the dungeon's statuses such as altering treasures or spawning tougher monsters. However, to create Plans, you need the necessary storage and materials to create it, and you will get more storage space as you progress in the game.
Quests play similarly like previous games, as most Quests require you to defeat certain number of enemies or collect certain amount of materials. As some monsters or items can only be found in dungeons in certain criteria, you may need to alter the dungeon's status by creating the necessary Plans. This is also present in previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games.
Shares are also present in this game, which may dictate the game's Ending that you may obtain in the playthrough as well as for recruiting new party members.
One new feature present in this game is the Stella's Dungeon, where you can send Stella to explore dungeons and collect items for you. Although some items are for Stella's usage to explore each dungeon, clearing the dungeons may net you items for you to use in the main game. The amount of time taken to clear a dungeon varies in real-time, so you can leave the PS Vita console on standby mode for the time to lapse for Stella's exploration.
2) Leveling, Customisation and Upgrading Section
Customise each girl's equipment for better advantages in battles.
Each character have their own sets of Combo Moves, such as Rush Combo, Power Combo, and Guard Break Combo. You can customise her moveset as long as you have enough CP. More powerful moves will cost more CP to use. You may also choose to create Game Discs that have numerous passive effects in battle, but you will need the necessary Idea Chips to create them. Idea Chips can be found while obtaining treasures and harvest points in dungeons.
Leveling is similarly easy in this game. Defeating enemies will net you experience points, and by gaining levels the characters will benefit of stats increments as well as learning new skills.
3) Combat Section
Four girls in combat.
The combat is turn-based battle system, where each character in your party takes an an action accordingly, as well as enemies. During her turn, you may choose to attack enemies using combo moves, use a Skill, use items, or other actions. Unlike Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1, you can control up to four girls in a party.
Each enemy has their own levels, stats and abilities, Like previous games, enemies have both HP and Guard gauges. Depleting the Guard gauge allows you to deal higher damage on the enemy's HP, and enemy is defeated if it's HP is down to zero.
All playable characters in this game have access to SP Skills and EXE Drive Skills. SP Skills are special bilities that each girl can use, such as healing or stats boosting. EXE Drive Skills are the ultimate attacks that each girl may have, which can damage enemies severely. However, you can only use SP Skills by spending SP, and EXE Drive Skills once you have filled up the EXE Drive Gauge enough.
Some girls in the game can use HDD forms, which allow them to have stats boost as well as more powerful SP Skills. Lily Ranks are also present in the game, where having high Lily Ranks for a girl will have good passive effects.
4) Gameplay Conclusion
Good gameplay, but no major innovations.
Although the overall gameplay is good, there are no major innovations in the gameplay area compared to Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1 or Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2. Thus, any Hyperdimension Neptunia fans should not expect any major gameplay innovations from playing this game. Stella's Dungeon is a notable addition, but not extremely great or rewarding in the long-run other than getting the associated Trophies. Also, Stella's Dungeon exploration times for different dungeons can be really a hassle to wait, thus DLC regarding it should be purchased to cut down the exploration time. The reuse of many dungeons and enemies from previous games can be extremely striking and annoying, as well.
Graphics
Pretty graphics for a PS Vita game.
For a PS Vita remake of Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, this game has pretty graphics that replace the 3D models used in the cutscenes of the original mk2 game with the pretty 2D portraits. Again, I prefer the 2D portraits and I find them to be nice to look at. Dungeons and enemies designs however, are still recycled from previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games.
Performance of the game is rather solid, and I only rarely encounter framerate drops at certain occasions during exploration or battle.
Sound
Good voice acting and soundtrack. Soundtrack however, lacks of new themes.
Like previous Re;birth game, this game's soundtrack is good, but still lacks of new themes to be enjoyed by players.
This game also offers both English and Japanese voice options. Personally, I prefer the English voice acting, as their voices fit the characters much more to me.
Replay Value
High replay value.
In comparison to other Hyperdimension Neptunia games, this game offers the highest replay value. You may attempt to view all Endings of this game, challenge tough Colosseum fights in the game, complete every Stella's dungeons or attempt to get all Trophies.
Conclusion
A good Hyperdimension Neptunia game that surpasses the original version on PS3, but not by much.
Again, this is a good Hyperdimension Neptunia game with several improvements from the PS3 version, but that does not mean this is an extremely improved version of it. This game is still a pretty title to play on the PS Vita console, but it is not a game that player should play in the public. The story itself is not a major improvement or deviation from the original game, aside from a new Ending inclusion and many changes to the game's playable human characters. The reuse of many game assets is a major issue as well, and it takes great patience to tolerate those after playing many Hyperdimension Neptunia games back to back. It is still a good title to try out, especially for Hyperdimension Neptunia fans.
Score
Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Final Score: 7.5/10 or 32/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Good storyline.
- Multiple Endings.
- Well-written and funny dialogue.
- Funny game references.
- Easy-to-learn and fun combat.
- Challenging enemies and bosses.
- Nice animations.
- Good music.
- Pretty character portraits.
- Nifty Remake system.
- Dual audio.
Cons
- Reuse of many game assets like character models, enemy models and music.
- Boring dungeon designs.
- Not a major improvement from the PS3 version.
- Stella's Dungeon can be excruciatingly long to complete.
- Small framerate issues when exploring in dungeons.
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