Overview – developed by Compile Heart, Felistella, Idea Factory and published by Idea Factory International, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1+ is a remake of the original JRPG that launched the fourth wall breaking franchise. Experience the original adventure with Neptune and her friends, packed with all extra content included. This title is available for PlayStation platforms, with a link 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 Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1+ 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. (Images used were provided by Idea Factory International via Presskits).
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Unfortunately, there have been some complications with the game running via PlayStation 4, so my coverage will only be discussing the content I was able to experience. I will be referring to the game as Neptunia Re;Birth1+ for the sake of brevity. I have also covered other games in the Neptunia franchise, which you can find (HERE).
Story – Gamindustri, a world protected by four goddesses, the Console Patron Units (CPUs), who are locked in a conflict in Celestia known as the Console War. The CPUs are fighting to become the only goddess to rule, with the CPU of Planeptune, Neptune being defeated and sent to the land below. Upon crashing into the monster infested lands of Gamindustri, Neptune loses her memories, meeting Compa and IF, who assist her in her quest to recover what she has lost.
Gameplay – Neptunia Re;Birth1+ is a dungeon crawling JRPG, where the player controls the self-professed heroine and protagonist Neptune. As Nep-Nep, players must complete quests across several chapters, as the amnesiac goddess attempts to recover her memories. In the early part of the adventure, Neptune will be accompanied by Compa, with IF joining a short time which is where the party system comes into play.
There are six slots in the party for the player to fill out, with three in the front that will be active and three in the back to offer support. As the player explores the dungeons, like the Virtua Forest and the Monster Cave, the front party members will appear and follow the leader. The dungeons are dangerous locations, where monsters roam around the different areas, attacking the party leader if they notice them in the dungeon.
If contact is made with a monster, a battle will begin entering a separate arena space. During battles, the combat uses a turn based system, where the party and monsters will make their moves based on turn order. Turn order is determined by the agility of the combatants, with the fastest characters going first and the character priority shown in the top right of the screen. But there is a way to make sure that party can get priority in combat.
Before combat in the field, if the player manages to attack the enemy, they will get an advantage called the Symbol Attack. However, if the enemy hits the leader before the battle starts, they will get a surprise attack advantage and strike first. It is important to get the advantage, as the enemies will it hard if the party is weakened, or they are unprepared for battle. Once the battle starts, players have a few options when they make their moves.
The options in battle are as follows;
- Normal Attack – chain together up to four attacks together in a combo. There are three different attacks types that have different affects to them. Assigning skills in the combo menu allows players to customise the available attack chains.
- SP Skill – Unleash special moves on enemies using SP points, these are unique to each character and cost varying amounts of SP. There are offensive, defensive and support skills that can be used.
- Defense – the character will brace themselves and end their turn, reducing the amount of damage they will take.
- EXE Drive Skill – these are super moves that use up the special EXE Drive Gauge, allowing them to perform their ultimate skills.
- Alternate actions – this allows players to access the secondary functions in a battle by pressing the toggle button.
- Transformation – Neptune and the other CPU Goddesses can use 20% of their total SP to transform into their powered up form. Activating HDD mode will increase the stats of the goddess, alongside boosts tied to special equipment.
- Switch – pass the turn and switch to the character that they are partnered with if available.
- Item – use an item to restore lost health, expended SP and more before passing the turn.
- Run – if the battle is too much for the party, players can attempt to flee from the combat by moving to the edge of the battlefield, but there is a chance this may fail. Story battles will have the escape option disabled.
During combat there are a few different mechanics that will affect the flow of battle. The main mechanic that players must focus on is the guard break meter. As damage is done to enemies, through normal attacks and Skill attacks, the guard meter will be drained gradually, with increased damage if dedicated Break Attacks are used. When the meter is depleted, the enemy will enter break state where their defense drops significantly.
Then there are the Power Attacks, which are the heavy attacks that pack a real punch. These hit even harder when the enemy is in a Break state, allowing for strong enemies to be taken down faster. The last basic attack is the Rapid Strike attacks, which are weaker isolated combos. These attacks fill up the EXE Drive gauge, with one level to start but more can be unlocked. When the EXE drive is filled, special EX Finish moves can be used to end a combo string.
At the end of a battle, if all of the enemies have been defeated, the player will be awarded with experience points, money in the form of credits and the chance of items. When the party members reach set experience milestones, they will level up and increase their general stats. At different levels new skills will be unlocked, with combo attacks, SP Skills and EXE Drive Skills. Party members that haven’t been knocked out in the front and back position will gain EXP.
Between battles, the party will be able to freely roam the dungeons, moving from area to area, encountering more enemies as they go. There will also be points where items can be found, which are search points that are scattered throughout the dungeon area. The items within the dungeon include crafting items, or resources that can be sold for credits. Players can also find special items through the treasure search feature, which expands away from the leader.
While exploring the different locations, players may find event markers if the dungeon is tied to the current objective of the chapter. When the marker has been reached, the event scene will play out. These can include simple story segments, which push the narratie of the adventure along. However, some of the events will result in battles against powerful enemies, with some event battles having additional battles tied to them.
There will also be event markers that appear on the world map, which will guide the player forward on their quest to recover Nep’s memory. Players can also interact with other characters outside of events, providing information and details about the world. Be careful when progressing with events, as some of the interactions may be missed if the story moves too far ahead. It is also important to save before events as event battles may be lost resulting in a game over.
Outside of the dungeons and events, there are side missions and quests that can be taken on. These involve the player collecting specific items, defeating a set number of target enemies and more. The different quests are accessed from the guild menu, with different rewards attached to them, including credits and items. Most of these quests are optional, but they can be very important for increasing the battle capabilities of the party.
Credits can be used in the shop, where items, equipment and accessory items can be picked up. New weapons, armor and support items will be added to the shop as the game progresses. By purchasing improved gear, the party can be prepared for the journeys ahead. The shop isn’t the only way to obtain new items, as there are a couple of different crafting systems that players can use. These systems are the Disc Dev and Plan crafting.
The Disc Dev is a special system where players get to create special discs, offering power-ups and special powers. By combining Idea Chips and Blank Disc items, players can create a variety of support items, increasing the stats of the character it is equipped to. Then there are the Plans, which will be able to alter the game by unlocking new features and items. To activate plans, players will need to collect the required resources, which will activate the plan.
By using the plan system, players can unlock the Coliseum for extra side battles, alter the difficulty of battles and unlock new items like costumes. It is important to decide which plans to activate, as there are memory restrictions that are tied to plans. Different plans use up a different amount of memory, so not all plans can be used if there isn’t enough memory. Luckily, throughout the adventure, there will be the chance to obtain memory expansions.
Over the course of the adventure, the shares for Gamindustri will change. These shares are the faith that the people have in the CPU goddesses, which will change as the player completes quests. Depending on the level of the shares for goddesses, there may be effects that are given to the goddess with a high amount of Shares. There are five share percentages, one for each region/CPU and “other” which are not allocated to a goddess.
The last thing to discuss is the additional content of Neptunia Re;Birth1+, which consists of all previous DLC that was released. This content can be toggled on or off from the DLC menu, but most of them have restrictions to be activated. Included in the DLC content, there are support items, giving players an advantage from the start, additional coliseum battles and level increases for the player. There is also the ability to recruit some special party members.
As part of the DLC contents, characters from other Neptunia games will appear, including CPU goddesses from later games. These characters include Plutia and Peashy from Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, Uzume from Megadimension Neptunia VII and even Chibi versions of Compa/IF. Each of the characters have their own unique skills, equipment and powers that can be used in battle, offering players a wide variety of options for battles.
One of the most interesting additions through the DLC is the inclusion of bonus dungeons, which have special effects tied to them. The most valuable of the dungeons is the LILY-AD dungeon, which can be used to boost the Lily Rank of the party. The Lily Rank is the bond between characters, with the level showing how close they are. By increasing the Lily Rank, special support skills and boosts will be made available when they are paired as front and back partners.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls
Controls – there is a rather comfortable control system, with all of the important inputs being shown on screen for menu navigation and battles. The inputs during play are fairly responsive and intuitive, offering players a smooth experience during play. While playing the game, there will be tutorials explaining the gameplay, which can allow players to get used to inputs fairly easily. This gives the game the ability to pick it up easily.
Difficulty – this is a rather challenging title, with only a single default difficulty setting. The difficulty of battles can be quite high, which is most prevalent during the boss battles. Due to this some players may find themselves struggling, so it can be helpful to grind weaker enemies to level up. It is possible to ease some of the challenge with the Plan system, but make sure to save as often as possible, as death can lead to significant progress loss.
Presentation – from a visual perspective, the game is very pleasing to the eye, with the high quality 2D art that the franchise is known for, alongside the vibrant 3D worlds. All of the 3D models look clean and detailed, with a fantastic use of color that make them stand out against the different environments. The dialogue and event scenes look good, with some animated cutscenes and stills that emphasise the story as the narrative progresses.
The music for Neptunia Re;Birth1+ is very good, with all of the music themes that hhave become iconic with the franchise. The mix of light pop style melodies, heavy rock and atmospheric compositions work very well together, creating a balanced and robust soundtrack for players. There is the choice of English and Japanese voice lines, featuring the talents of Cherami Leigh (Dorohedoro), Melissa Fahn (Boruto) and Christina Valenzuela (Shantae).
Final Thoughts – As has been established with my previous coverage, I am quite the fan of the Neptunia franchise. So I was very happy to get the chance to play Neptunia Re;Birth1+, but sadly due to some technical difficulties, my experience was limited. From what I was able to experience, the story was engaging and I enjoyed what I was able to play. The combat was a lot of fun, with the combat system that felt intuitive and flexible.
There is a little bit of a grind to the game, as it can take a while to unlock items for plans, as well as levelling up party members, which some may find longwinded. I very much enjoyed the inclusion of the DLC content, with the characters from later points in the timeline being added to the game. This added a lot variety to the experience, allowing for multiple party configurations and more flexible combat opportunities throughout the game.
Unfortunately, I am unable to recommend the game or provide a score, as the hardware issues I faced meant I was unable to fully experience the game. What I was able to experience was a lot of fun, with the combat being fun and responsive, what I experienced of the story was engaging and the additional characters were fantastic to play as. If you do want to check the game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below, but be aware that there is the chance some issues may occur.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 