By: RJ (@rga_02)

• Hyperdemension Neptunia Re;Birth 2
• Developer - Compile Heart
• Publisher - Idea Factory
• PlayStation Vita & PC
• Rating - T

If I compared Hyperdemension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 to your days back in elementary school bickering about your favorite console, then Re;Birth 2 would be the same feeling except this time, you’re doing it in the bus ride home. 

Re;Birth 2 takes place about 3 years after the events of Re;Birth 1. Neptune and the other CPUs got imprisoned and it is up to Neptune’s little sister, Nepgear, to rescue them and bring peace and harmony throughout the land of Gamindustri. The plot is nothing home to write about and I found myself wanting to mash the X button so I can proceed to the next scene, but I didn’t. Why? Because the dialog itself is filled with gems. It’s so cheeky and silly, you can’t help but smirk at some of the dialog presented at you. Like with the previous game, the one thing I adore most from this game are the numerous references to the game industry itself. Heck, the whole plot of the game is a huge allegory about the fight against piracy. But it’s more than referencing R4 cards. The game pays homage to other games such as Dragon Quest, Super Mario, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, etc. 

As for the gameplay, the battle system carries over from Victory and Re;Birth 1 but now you can now have up to 4 members out in the field (up to 8 when paired). But besides that, it’s still a very simplistic battle system. You move around the field taking turns to do damage to your enemy. There is no depth to it compared to other jRPGs and it is a bit exploitable. For example, you can easily beat a boss within 4 turns should you choose to just use your E.X Attacks. However, if you are looking for a challenge, the Remake system also makes a return in this game. Apart from changing items in dungeons, or adding items to the shop, you can also increase (or decrease) the difficulty of the enemies should you be looking for a tougher fight or the opposite. In the end, this is an easy jRPG. Apart from random difficulty spikes, anyone without and prior jRPG experience can pick this up and master it within a few battles.

Outside of the wonderful plot and battles, there is little outside of the main game. You can do various “quests” to earn items or cash. But most the quests are just you searching for items or killing various enemies. And apart from three required quests, you can complete the game without even checking a majority of them out. There is also one new feature in the game called Stella’s Dungeon. Stella’s Dungeon is a mini game where you can send Stella and her cat Felis off to their deaths (or victory) to various dungeons so they can gather up items for you to use. Equip them up with various weapons and select a location and they will to the rest in the background while you proceed throughout the story. It’s actually quite a fun mini game that I found myself toying around with a lot.

Speaking of dungeons, they are very bland. I still stand by my previous statement from Re;Birth 1 that they are just a step above from the dungeons that you would find in a Persona game. They are sometimes bright and colorful, but it’s just very boring to look at. Same goes with the monsters. Sure it’s cute to see a Dragon Quest slime inspired monster. But once you see them over and over again and the only stark difference you see is just a different color pallet, your eyes will want to gravitate towards something else. But the blandness doesn’t apply to the characters themselves. All the main characters are wonderfully drawn and just vibrant. Even you can find some charm in Nepgear who is less exciting than her sister. There are certain eye catchers involving the main characters than a few people might find off (such as one scene where there are some tentacles involved) but those pieces of art are few and far between and it shouldn’t discourage anyone from proceeding.

I said that this game would be your console war on the bus ride home. Spouting out the same emotions, but this time at a different location. And that is what Re;Birth 2 felt like. It felt more of an expansion than a sequel, but I still found myself enjoying it at various moments. Mainly because of the all the humor and references being presented towards you. It’s just so silly you can’t help but to wonder what the characters will say next. And that is what Hyperdimension Neptunia is all about. A huge parody about the game industry you love. A boring battle system, but laced with clever writing. All presented in the cutest way possible.