Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed Review by: lolid23 - 8.5/10
A fun musou game with a little of fan service. Man! It's been a long time since the last time I posted something here on vizzed, it's been more than 3 years, my last post was in 2014, since then, I did many things: I graduated from high school (I'm a university student now), I got 100 subscribers on Youtube, I travelled to Europe with my mom, etc...I also got a Playstation Vita partially for this game. Yes, Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed was my first PS Vita game and it's one of the reasons why I have a PS Vita, the game isn't a PS Vita exclusive anymore, but I still recommend getting a Vita for the original version...I really like this game.
Story: Let's be honest, the story isn't one of the best parts of this game, the Hyperdimension Neptunia games are an interesting case where at least almost every game in the franchise is independent of the rest in regards to story and backgrounds, in Superdimension Neptune for example, IF and Neptune don't know each other until they meet for the first time in the game, in this game, we don't know if Gamindustri has been saved more than once or not, or it has always been peaceful...in reality, it doesn't matter, the story really isn't much more than ''the CPUs and CPU candidates have to complete quests for the journalists Dengekiko and Famitsu so that they can write an article, at the same time, next-gen mech has to be defeated''. Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed was my first Neptunia game, because of that, I'm 100% sure that it's a good place to start with the series, the story isn't the best, but, really, the events are better than the story itself, I've said it before and I'll say it again, this game has entertaining cutscenes that can make you laugh, and this being a Hyperdimension Neptunia game, I'd say that this game has a sense of humor, a sense of humor that sometimes uses suggestive dialogue, (“That doesn't mean we'll treat this like a panty-flashing picnic'') and as such, may not be liked by everyone...in my opinion, this game can be very funny, like similar games.
Graphics: I will admit that I have exaggerated about the quality of the graphics in this series in the past...I've said that the graphics in this game (and other Hyperdimension Neptunia games for the PS Vita) are very bad or horrible...that's going a bit too far, but that said, the graphics aren't exactly very good either. The 2D art looks really nice as always, I really like Tsunako's style and she is a great artist...the rest of the graphics however are...perhaps ''okay'' is the word that makes them more justice, the 3D models for everyone, the playable characters, the monsters, and all the bosses, look nice I guess, but all the other 3D elements found in the game don't look particularly good, overall, it kind of looks like a game that could run on the Gamecube or Xbox, the 3D graphics aren't the worst even for an anime style game, it looks better than Pangya: Fantasy Golf on the PSP, that's for sure...still, it gives the impression that the game isn't pushing the system, and comparing this game with Persona 4: Dancing All Night, the PS Vita version of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X, or even the PS Vita version of Blue Reflection (and I can name more games of course...), it's not on the same level, those games, and many others, have better graphics.
Sound: The soundtrack in the game is very enjoyable, and the english voice acting is very good, I always play this game with english voices, in my opinion, the voices are fitting for each character and the acting is great, I've heard a little of the japanese voices of the characters and...sometimes the english voice acting is better, to be honest. I don't give this section a higher number because it's not the best soundtrack in the series and also the fact that, like other Hyperdimension Neptunia games, it reuses many themes used in previous games, and that annoys me, I hate a little the fact that these games reuse many themes, and this game is no exception, at least I really like the music at times.
Addictiveness: It's not the most addictive game in the genre, sure, but I'm someone who has played this game for more than 95 hours, I can say for sure that this game is very addictive, and even when it's not the best game in the genre, I still keep coming back for more, lncreasing the Lily Rank between two characters, trying to beat the Gamindustri Gauntlet, and beating the Neptral Tower, it's very fun. The gameplay is similar to games like Dynasty Warriors or Senran Kagura, you have a character in a 3D environment fighting with several enemies at the same time, there are two attack buttons excluding special attacks, one for a weak attack and another for a strong attack, you can use button combinations to attack with combos, and there is a gauge (SP) for special attacks. There is another gauge that fills as you defeat enemies and eventually you can transform into the HDD form of the character you are using, Dengekiko and Famitsu don't have an HDD form but they can use the previously mentioned gauge to transform as well, even if they aren't goddesses. The gauge (called EXE gauge) is also used for the strongest attacks, which consume the whole gauge, and if the characters are transformed, the transformation ends immediately. The quests don't have the biggest variety, with all of them being just of defeating a specific number of enemies, a boss (or bosses), and acquire an item (or items), there are irregular quests that have a special criteria to overcome, but in general the objectives are the same, you have to eliminate all enemies, for example, you just have to get a special criteria or use a different mean to complete the quest (an irregular quest can only be completed with attacks that use SP, for example). With this being a game developed by Tamsoft, I guess it shouldn't be a big surprise that this game has fan service during the gameplay, the ''Costume Breaks'' are actually implemented in the gameplay in the sense that when the clothes of the character you are using tear, she takes more damage but also lands critical attacks more often, you can later equip outfits that tear more easily, outfits that are already torn, and indestructible outfits, I recommend using the default costumes, however.
Depth: The main game is short, but the Gamindustri Gaunltet and Neptral Tower are enough to make you come back for more, and even after you beat the Neptral Tower, you can still come back to increase the Lily Ranks between the characters, which increase when you pair a character with another, this can be another game where you can spend many hours of your life, as I said, I have played this game for more than 95 hours and I still play it.
Difficulty: Some missions can be very difficult, the fact that this isn't the most complex game in the genre probably means that it's not the most challenging game of its kind, the enemies usually have only one attack, and the final boss isn't the most difficult final boss of all time, it can be easy if you know what you are doing, I'd say that the hardest quests are when your characters don't have enough levels maybe, or when a few of the attacks of the bosses are deadly, the quests that are unlocked when you beat the game also come to mind, overall, it's a difficult game at times, but it's not the worst.
Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed is a game I really recommend, it might not be the best game in the musou genre (even the PS Vita version of Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is awesome), but nonetheless, it's a very fun game that can make you come back for more a long time after beating the game. By the way, you get a trophy for starting the game, in other words, I have been a good Gamindustri journalist today :D
Graphics
6 Sound
8 Addictive
10 Depth
8 Story
6 Difficulty
7
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