This makes things suddenly seem a lot more interesting when the other goddesses learn this and notice that, for the first time in history, two of the goddesses are almost able to become friends instead of trying to kill each other. This is a recurring plot element in the game that touches upon a lot of surprisingly deep subjects seeing as how, unlike every other JRPG protagonist in existence, Neptune does not want her memory back. Now as predictable as it is for an RPG to involve amnesia, Neptunia executes it in a surprisingly unique manner where Neptune does not know her past, but you do. Within the first ten minutes of the game, Purple Heart is nearly killed by the other three goddesses and she drops down to earth where she gains a human form, goes by the name of Neptune, and has amnesia. Now one may notice something that is not right with that description right away, that being that Sega is personified despite them dropping out of the console market years ago, but the explanation for that is given shortly. These goddesses are Black Heart, representing Sony, White Heart, representing Nintendo, Green Heart, representing Microsoft, and our main protagonist, Purple Heart, representing Sega. In fact, the only other known attempt of an allegorical take on the video game industry was a train wreck of an OVA that can best be summed up with the words “rapist Tetris.”Įssentially the approach of Hyperdimension Neptunia is that each major company is personifies as one of the four goddesses who have been at war with each other since the dawn of time. While there have been plenty of games in the past that have tried to be funny, there are few that have attempted to take aim at the very industry they are a part of. Okay I admit that I could be leaving some context out but that is basically it. To put it bluntly, it is about sexy, scantily clad, anime chicks fighting monsters, and it is all an allegory for the video game industry. So if one is reading this and is not aware of this game’s premise, than hearing the premise alone will probably be enough to increase one’s interest in the series. However, the first Hyperdimension Neptunia does have some interesting elements that make it stand out from some other JRPGs and, similar to that of Astonishia Story, it is still an interesting game in its own right, albeit not the most well designed and presented, and it even does some things right that its successors did not. It is also worth noting that there are a lot of cases of early installment weirdness when you compare the original game to its successors and the transition could be rather jarring. If the later games did not exist, then it would be recommended just for its uniqueness and charm, but both Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 and Victory have improved upon the first game and would be recommended more so if you are interested in getting into the series. Some think it is a good game while others simply appreciate it for starting the series and believe owning the game itself is just a novelty. That being said, the quality of the first game still seems to be up for debate among fans of the series. However, seeing as how the game got many highly improved sequels as well and there being a large RPG library on the PS3 that I have not even come close to playing all of, I was glad to be introduced to the series and to have bought the system. Even then I would not say the game alone was worth the purchase of a PS3 seeing as how, despite its personality and charm, it does have issues. Now for the question as to whether it was worth it or not, if the game was still at its ridiculously high price than it would not be worth it, but thankfully it was reprinted and is now more affordable. In fact, I was so interested in the game that It was what prompted me to get a PS3. There were easily a lot of noticeable issues with gameplay and presentation, but its personality was so intriguing that I wanted to play it anyway. I have looked up as much as I could about the game and was almost decided to get the game used for $80 despite it looking far from a well designed game. I remember when I first found out about this game, I was incredibly fascinated by it due to its premise alone. Shortly after its release, demand was so high that prices for a new copy of the game that it went for up to $120 new on Amazon. Despite receiving mostly poor reviews from critics and a lot of gamers themselves, its unique premise and ideas helped it put Idea Factory on the map. Technically the entire series is an interesting subject when it comes to games but the first game is especially so. The first Hyperdimension Neptunia was definitely an interesting game.
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