By: RJ (@rga_02)

• Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation 
  
• Developer - Compile Heart
  
• Publisher - Idea Factory
  
• PlayStation Vita & PC
  
• Rating - T
  

In the past, I’ve compared the Hyperdimension series to the days where you would bicker among your peers regarding about your favorite console of choice in the playground. This installment however would be a low budget movie. One that you would find being sold at the gas station next to the playground for dirt cheap. You know there are better films out there, but from time to time you long for some cheap frills.

With any low budget film one shouldn’t expect a quality plot. By now everyone should know that the Hypdimension series aren’t the pinnacle of videogame writing. In this installment, Neptune finds herself teleported to an alternate late 80s universe of Gamindustri. Along the way she partners up Plutia (based on the unreleased SEGA console called Pluto) and the alternative versions of the CPU goddesses such as Noire to defeat the Seven Sages and find a way to get back to her original universe. Unless you are a die-hard Hyperdimension fan you probably won’t care for the plot that much. However I still found myself to not fast-forwarding the dialog because most of the time, it’s just flat out silly. If there is one thing you have to praise the series for, it’s for the dialog. When watching low budget films, you are bound to come across awful but really funny dialog. The same applies to this game. Combine that with videogame references, you really can’t help but smirk from time to time. This is a very silly game and that isn’t a bad thing.

Unfortunately though, the thought behind the writing wasn’t applied to the mission based structure of the game. What you experienced in previous Hyperdimension games, you’ll experience here. You view events, fight a boss. Ditto with the side quests. All you do is beat monsters and gather materials to earn credits or various items. Rinse and repeat.

I’ve said in the past that the battle system in the Hyperdimension series were a bit simplistic compared to its jRPG counterparts out there. It’s still simplistic, but it has been spruced up a bit with some tweaks to add some depth here and there. You can now have a fifth combo slot, which really comes in handy during the boss fights. Other tweaks include gaining SP while you attacking your foes with your regular attacks (or vice versa). That would probably be my most favorite addition to the game. You are no longer bound by using up your SP Charger to refill your SP gauge when you can just get into battles.

Speaking of battles, this game can get very grind heavy. Especially towards the later chapters of the game where there is just a huge difficulty spike with the chapter boss. But the great thing about grinding in this game, you can speed it up the battle process by just either tapping the screen or holding the L button. (You can also do this in previous Re;Birth games). 

While not a battle related tweak, a new feature added to this game would be in game achievements that rewards you with stat related boosts such as HP boosts. For example, if you have a knack for picking up very item you see in the dungeon, your LUK stats would increase. 

For those who enjoyed Stella’s Dungeon from Re;Birth 2, that makes a triumphant return in this game. You still send her off to her imminent failure or victory to various dungeons for her to gather up items for you. While it isn’t necessary to use this feature in the game, it’s quite a fun time waster.

When you are watching a low budget film you would notice that the set of the film would be something generic. Enough to establish the location of the film. Be prepared to traverse through the same generic dungeons (but with different names) over and over again in this game. You will get tired of seeing them within 2 chapters of the game. They make the re-colored routes in Tales of Xillia blush. But hey, at least they are more vibrant than the dungeons you would traverse through in Persona 3 & 4. With the cheap set also comes some low budget tunes. Expect to hear the same tunes that you’ve been hearing since the first game (spoiler, you’ll be hearing them again in Neptunia VII), but the revised version of the over world theme for Gameindustri is strangely soothing.

 A low budget for a film doesn’t make it bad. You can find some enjoyment out of something down to earth once you accept the fact that you won’t be getting anything grand. Same goes with Re;Birth 3. It isn’t your high budgeted jRPG you would find from the likes of Square. It’s a mid-tier jRPG with light hearted fun and some cheeky dialog.  But that comes with the expense of having a decent world to look at and a deep battle system. If you can disregard those, then you’ll find your self nepping up you enemies without a care in the world.