Although I’ve known and appreciated other’s love for the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, I’ve always had a handful of problems with it, but not in the way most might think. While nearly all of the franchises entries fit the bill for a formidable JRPG, they are intensely convoluted, and rarely appeal to newcomers. So will a hack-n-slash spin-off made by the Senran Kagura and Onechanbara developers change my opinion, and others? Let’s look for the positive and negatives for this verdict.

Gameplay:

The game’s combat does the job, but could offer a bit more here and there

One of the classic staples of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series are its RPG roots, present in the party system(s), enemy attack patterns, revive items/ potions, and more. Removing such a beloved facet is likely worrying to some fans, but Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed’s gameplay still remains solid, even under all the changes. It does lack a noticeable presence of challenge from the previous games, but the tight controls still make it clear that this was a work of passion, instead of a way to fill in the gap between development cycles.

Story/ Design:

The game continues the wacky dialogue and tensions of previous installments

As with every Hyperdimension Neptunia game, Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed introduces a plethora of new characters. Even though I have criticized the series for not adapting to newcomers, I still appreciate the efforts that are put in to make it apparent that these are fresh additions to the series. The story also takes a more comedic turn than previous entries, which is certainly fitting considering how much tediousness had been going on before. This basically fixes the irony the series was plagued with for the last couple of titles.

Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:

Some could say this offers a lot more than the Senran Kagura trademark fighting

There may not be a clear visual difference between the designs of Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed or other spinoff releases such as Hyperdevotion Noir: Goddess Black Heart, Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection, and so on, that does not mean that the effort isn’t palpable. The character designs will still likely please a JRPG fan, without being too predictable or generic. The aforementioned new characters also have prominent voice acting roles, adding even more charisma to a game that needed it to succeed.

Conclusion:

Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed is ridiculously less complicated than it’s name might suggest, although this is a good thing. There have been nearly four games over the course of six years along with an abundance of remasters and spinoffs, but Idea Factory figured out the proper way to give the franchise the rest without stalling the series. This way, it feels revolutionary, even though it may not feel that way in the long run.

Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed gets a 7/10 (Average)

We’d like to thank Idea Factory for giving us a code!

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