XDanime

The Hyperdimension Neptunia series has been around since 2010 and there's already 12 games out on the market. How is this possible? Much of these games share the same assets so it's probably why we're getting these Neptunia games at a steady rate. To be fair, though, three of theNeptunia games were improved remasters based on the original trilogy that came out on the PlayStation 3. Aside from one true sequel on the PlayStation 4, the rest of the Neptunia games are side stories. The side story games allow the developers to try something new with the characters, including action, strategy, and idol-raising simulation. Idea Factory International's newest offering is the strangely titled MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies and it's an action game in the same vein as the Senran Kagura titles. It's a “sequel” of sorts to the other action side story, Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, which came out last year.

MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is set in Gamicademi, a high school where the CPUs are all students and are facing graduation. Unfortunately, their graduating class will also the school's last. Gamicademi will be facing its termination, but the CPUs want to save their school. How? By filming a movie to raise awareness (and money) for their school! Neptune, the CPU of Planeptune and the protagonist of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, is the unofficial leader or the unofficial Gamicademi Film Club. However, she takes a backseat in this game because Blanc, the CPU of Lowee, is the star of their movie and this game. Tasked with her new responsibilities as the movie's new writer, producer, director, and star, it is Blanc's responsibility to save their school from closure...and zombies! Actual zombies have invaded Gamicademi for reasons unknown and it's up to Blanc and her pals to improvise by turning the movie into a zombie flick and fight them back.

The gameplay is simple: each scene (chapter) has a cut (mission) to complete, and you generally choose a pair of characters to beat up mobs until they're all gone. There's some mild variation in your victory conditions (beat up a certain type of enemy or a boss) but much of the game is spent on fighting dozens of baddies. The combat is very similar to Senran Kagura, and there's even a new character based on the developers of that game, Tamsoft. There are lots of characters to unlock as you play through the main story in MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombiesalthough it's not wise to introduce freshly-unlocked characters in the later stages since they begin at level one. It's better to just stick with Blanc and build up another character you prefer as a backup to slog through the game's short scenario. You can replay the older stages with the weaker characters so they can build up strength and see how they handle.

Clearing stages earn you items and credits that can be used to purchase weapons, accessories or upgrade parts, all of which can be used to augment your characters. It can be daunting if you want to get every item for every character, have them learn every combo, and level them up at maximum level, but thankfully this game doesn't require all of that. It's really only useful for multiplayer mode, where you can team up with other people can fight foes together, Collecting treasures is actually kind of fun since the consoles that get made are throwbacks to actual consoles and special variants of these machines. Although the game is pretty easy, whenever you're in a pinch, you can also transform into a character's HDD mode, which isn't a permanent transformation but it'll give you some much-needed power.

Sadly, that's all MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies brings to the table. Other games have done the combat better (see: Senran Kagura) and the story is pretty short. The voice acting isn't too great either, although I think parts of it could be intentional since the CPUs aren't exactly great actresses in their “movie.” The graphics are cute and the music is actually really nice but it isn't enough to make up for the repetitive gameplay. The similarities between Action Unleashedand this game are very close, save for the zombie gimmick.

MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies isn't a box office bomb, but it could have been a much better game if there was more variation to the combat aside from defeating mobs within the time limit and if there was more thought put into the main story's presentation. For you Neptuniadiehards, the banter between the CPUs is still present and is frequent in each scene and the multiplayer mode is pretty cool if you have a decent internet connection or local friends who'll play with you.

Hint: Try replaying older levels with different characters. Certain combinations will trigger new scenes with those characters than the ones you used before.

by Djum