Disclaimer
I was sent a free copy of Super Neptunia RPG to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
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Table of Contents
What is Super Neptunia RPG
Super Neptunia RPG is a a sidescrolling turn-based RPG out now on Steam, GoG, PlayStation, and the Nintendo Switch. The game features your favorite lovable goddesses in a new, unique adventure. The game is not considered cannon to the Super Neptunia lore, but it does give fans of the series another chance to spend time with their favorite group of goddesses.
Hook
Neptune wakes up in a strange 2D world without any of her memories. She is thrown into the world with only a stick, her hunger, and a magical book that glows when she is near an ally. Travel across this strange new 2D world in search of your memories and make a few allies along the way. Take up quests for additinion income and use your formation to conquer any foe and boss that comes your way. Will you beat the game like the protagonist you were meant to be, or will this be the end for Neptunia and her friends?
Gameplay
Super Neptunia RPG is your typical sidescroller adventure. Players will move through the world, completing quests and fighting off monsters. Players control a four player team each with unique set of abilities. The game uses an interesting mix of turn-based and real time combat mechanics to craft its unique gameplay loops. Each character can perform as many actions as they can if they have enough initiative and action points. Each action costs AP to cast. AP is automatically generated over time. While the game doesn’t use a stamina or mana system for a characters abilities, they will have to wait for AP to charge. Luckily, you can hold down left trigger to speed things up.
While you are stuck with the same four characters for the entirety of the campaign, there are mechanics to help refresh the team. Players can change the formation of the party during combat to change the abilities they can use. They can also buy items that teach characters new abilities. This helps players take full advantage of typing as they travel across the different biomes of the world.
Review
I’ve played a couple of Neptunia games and like them enough to keep trying more. I very much appreciate the fun meta humor and who doesn’t like cute anime girls? Super Neptunia RPG is a bit different from the rest of the series in that it is 2D. It isn’t quite the engaging metroidvania I was expecting from the few bits of media I saw before hand, but I appreciate the chill laid-back gameplay loop it offers. While there are a few bugs and some performance issues, I don’t mind having this game on my Steam Deck. The game has cute art and great voice acting, but I found the story and gameplay a little lacking. The battle system is interesting, but I found the grind a little too much for the casual game it is trying to be. It isn’t the worst grind I’ve experienced, especially when compared to the rest of the series, but it was slow enough where I started to lose interest.
Aesthetic
I like the cute anime girls, but the world doesn’t feel too interesting outside of that. The cities were bland, and the worlds around them feel a bit generic. There wasn’t much I wanted to explore, and a lot of the exploration felt like busy work that was put in to extend a lack luster story. It isn’t an ugly game by any means, but it doesn’t do much to stand out. As of writing this, I struggle to remember a single biome, city, or even monster. I do like that I can see the weapons I attach, I always love to see my character get cooler as the adventure goes.
Story
The story in this game isn’t terrible, but it isn’t anything to run towards. I wouldn’t recommend this be your entry to the Neptunia games, but it is good enough for those who want to see more of their favorite character. The meta humor is well done and I got enough of a laugh to keep pushing through the game. I will certainly forget ever playing this game, but it isn’t a game I minded playing. What did ruin the game is the grind, more on that below.
The Grind
The grind for this game is its weakness. These games have been grindy before, but at least there was a fun story to work towards. Here, because the story is just okay, the grind becomes hard to justify. You can skip a lot of the encounters by jumping over them, which helps, but not enough. I feel like if I were a bigger fan and more invested in the series I would enjoy it more, but here we are. The problem is that the super fans have already played this game, and the casual fans should probably go play one of the main series games instead.
Combat
I have very mixed feelings on the combat system. On one hand, it uses creative mechanics in a way that makes the game feel unique for the first few minutes of a playthrough. The problem is that strategy in this game doesn’t really matter. I found that most of the time, I could just spam the same two abilities and clear most of the encounters. I didn’t even bother teaching new abilities to my characters because it really didn’t matter. The game is casual enough to mindlessly play around my toddler’s schedule, but I don’t know if I could pick it up more seriously. In short bursts, this game feels perfect for the gamer who doesn’t have much time, likes the Neptunia games, and doesn’t want a huge commitment.
Conclusion
Super Neptunia RPG is just fine. The game has solid bones, cute characters, and it offers a good enough experience to be worth it at a discount. If you’re a fan of the series, this is an easy way to get more time with your favorite character. If you are not a fan of the series, you should check out one of the main games and move from there. I think the combat is creative and worth trying once, and it makes for a good portable Steam Deck game. That said, wait for the sale.
You can pick up Super Neptunia RPG on on Steam, GoG, PlayStation, and the Nintendo Switch.