Overview – developed by Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory International, Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is the latest entry in the fan favorite JRPG series. As Older Neptune, take on a new adventure in a parallel universe where Neptune is the president of a game company, dealing with Game Makers, Pirates and a mysterious Cursed Game. This title is currently on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, with an Xbox Series version soon and links to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Idea Factory International for providing the copy of Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution that was used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note, I will only be discussing the core mechanics of the game, preventing any of the surprises being spoiled for players. I have also previously covered other games in the Neptunia series (as well as other Idea Factory games), with a link to this coverage available (HERE). I will also be referring to the game a Nep Game Maker for the sake of brevity.
Story – Older Neptune, a girl who has been dimension hopping and explored many worlds, arrives in a parallel Gaminudstri, where game makers are at war for market share. Exploring the area, she happens upon a mysterious game in what appears to be an abandoned building. With her interest piqued by this, she plays the game and encounters three goddesses that were branded failures. They ask her a favor, to become the president of their company and help to try and resurrect their company.
Gameplay – like other Neptunia titles, this is a dungeon crawling JRPG taking place across the world of Gamindustri. The game is separated into multiple chapters, with a visual novel style presentation to the story. The narrative progresses by completing story objectives, including travelling across the Gamindustri, battling monsters and interacting with characters. There are also secondary objectives for the player to complete, providing rewards for success.
The player will move between the home base of Victory Plaza and the different areas of the world, expanding the map and unlocking new dungeons. During the game, the player will control a party of up to four characters, a first for the series with new characters joining the party at set points in the adventure. While inside the different dungeons, the player can explore the different areas, finding treasure, opening new paths and battling monsters.
The monsters that players encounter will spawn throughout the dungeons, roaming around different points. If the enemy sees the party leader, they will attack and initiate battle. However, the player will be able to gain the initiative in combat by attacking them, either from behind or by timing it right when being charged. Once the battle has been initiated, a loading transition will occur and the action will transition into the battle arena.
Combat in Nep Game Maker has the fast paced action that the series is known for, with some new element that make this one stand out on its own. For this release, the player has two combo chains that they can mix and match inputs, creating combos that flow together with little restriction. Each of the combo attacks end with a big strike, which sets the player up to activate the special system that makes battle in this game unique.
At the end of a combo, the player will get a prompt to switch to another character, activating the “Link Chain” mechanic and providing combat bonuses. Each time the player performs a chain between party members, their link level will increase with special attacks occurring with each successful switch. The higher the link level during battle, the more damaging and spectacular the attack that will occur. There is no limit to the number of times that chains can be made.
Combo chains can be disrupted and lost during the flow of battle, causing the bonuses to be lost. This will often occur when the active character in the party takes damage, with the other way being the player missing the timing to switch. Thankfully the timing window to switch is fairly generous, allowing for combos to occur often. The chains aren’t the only way to deal significant damage in battle, as the playable party members have special unique abilities.
Each of the playable characters have special powers that they can use. The first are the tactical skills, which can be activated when the TP bar is filled, allowing for special abilities to be used (these also allow items to be used). Then there are the Drive skills, split into EXE Drive and Link drive. The EXE Drive is available at Link level 1, allowing for their ultimate attack to be unleashed. At Link level 2, the Link drive can be used, an enhanced attack using party members for support.
The final element of battle to discuss is the Transformation ability, where the party members can unleash their all-powerful goddess form. In this form, the party member has increased power and other bonuses, making it perfect for the player to start a counter attack against strong foes. This form is temporary, lasting until Goddess Time ends and if the player uses an EXE drive, they will do massive damage to enemies and end the transformation immediately.
After a battle has been completed, the player will be given rewards based on the challenge of that encounter. Players will be given experience points (EXP), credits and company points (CP), with a random chance to earn bonus items. When characters in the party earn enough EXP they will level up, increasing their base power, unlock new combo attacks and skills that can be used in battle. The combos can be customized freely, with two combo routes that can be used.
If the party is completely defeated during combat, the game over menu appears, with the option to retry, prepare their party and retry, go to title screen or load data. This provides the option for players to easily get back into the action, with little downtime aside from the loading screen. That is the only significant flaw with this release, as there are a lot of loading transitions, which take less than 10 seconds to complete each time they occur.
Outside of the main story objectives, there are some extra challenges for the player to take on. The dungeons can be traversed on a motorcycle, which can be used for time trials when each area has been 100% explored, adding a reward to fully exploring areas. Then there is the Victory Plaza, the home base for the company where their HQ is located. While in the plaza, the player can develop discs to grant new abilities, collect creators to use for developing discs and more.
The Victory Plaza can be upgraded and enhanced in a few ways, through investment using CP to improve different aspects of the company and the party, as well as decoration options. The player can also run commercials, distribute DLC and even send creators to different areas. There is also the option for players to be able to change how their HQ looks, with different appearances based on game genres. These looks also have references to their genre hidden within them.
When the player develops discs, they will be able to equip them to characters in the party. The resources that are needed for developing discs are a Genre, Style, Creators and Idea Gems. Players earn resources during play, with creators being recruited from emails, Idea Gems from dungeons/side quests, with Genres and styles being unlocked from progression. There are also events that can be encountered during development, with positive and negative effects that can occur.
There is also the Node System, which allows the player to improve the company HQ, unlocking new features, including improvements to development and the building itself. Then we have the world map, where players are able to expand the areas they can explore. In order to expand the possible areas that players can go to, points and “permits” are needed to unlock new areas. A small amount of areas will be available to start, with more opening as the story progresses.
Last to discuss is the end of chapter report, where players will be given a rating based on several factors, including the number of enemies defeated, the level of the HQ and more. This will provide rewards based on the performance of the player, with the highest ranking that can be obtained being an S and the lowest a C. The earning support adds that little more depth to the game experience, giving players an extra challenge to take on during the game.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the control system for Nep Game Maker is easy to pick up, with all of the inputs laid out in a comfortable way. There is an in-depth tutorial that will teach the player the ins and outs of the game systems, with on screen inputs that the player can use as a reference. During battle, the recommended chains will have the button tied to it on screen, as well as the special skills appearing when available. The game is comfortable to play and very reactive, with zero input lag.
Difficulty – there is no option to adjust the difficulty of this release, with the challenge being uniform throughout the game. This can be difficult for some players, but if the player takes the time to grind some levels, they can alleviate the struggles in high level areas. The game has a forgiving checkpoint system, allowing the player to retry battles if they are defeated. There are also safe zones that let the player save in dungeons, with special items that heal all party members.
Presentation – the visual style for this entry has the signature anime look to it, blending 3D models and 2D artwork together perfectly. The 3D environments have a lot of vibrancy to them, with a lot of variety to the locations and details, especially the Victory Plaza that can be customized with different decorations. The visual novel scenes utilize Live 2D, making the flat character models used for the scenes more expressive and lively.
The sound for Nep Game Maker is excellent mixing the established themes and melodies, with new compositions that are unique to this release. The different musical elements for the soundtrack work together well, fitting each of the areas and situations they are tied to. There is the choice of English and Japanese voices, which are performed fantastically. The English cast features the talents of Melissa Fahn (Invader Zim), Cat Protano (Honkai: Star Rail) and Dawn M. Bennet (Freedom Planet 2).
Final Thoughts – I am a Neptune enjoyer and one that was looking forward to getting hands on with Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution. I am happy to say that the wait was worth it, the gameplay is as fun as it always has been, especially with the new mechanics and party expanded from 3 to 4. The action in battles flows much faster, with spectacular attacks that really push the limits of the system. There is some minor slowdown, but it doesn’t negatively impact the gameplay experience.
The overall quality of the game is fantastic, with the only real complaint that I can make is the loading transitions, which can be a little frustrating but doesn’t hinder the game. I am happy to recommend this game to everyone, whether you are an existing fan or are picking it up for the first time. There is something to enjoy for everyone, even those who are into the history of gaming, with references to classic games and consoles like 3DO, Apple Pippin and Atari Jaguar.
In the end, I give Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution a final score of 4.5/5. This is an excellent entry in the Neptunia Franchise, with all of the in-jokes and self-aware humor that are trademarks of the series. The new mechanics, expanded systems and overall flow of gameplay make it an easy to pick up experience, allowing everyone to enjoy this new adventure. If you want to check it out for yourself, a link to the different versions of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
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