The Hyperdimension Neptunia series is an odd one. Presenting the current console generation as seen through anime-tinted glasses is a bold move and one that holds more potential than is actually realised. Primarily a turn-based RPG of sorts, Hyperdimension continues the franchise trait of including as many copyright-baiting references as possible. Your protagonist, Nepgear, heads up a team of female clichés including the well-worn anime stalwarts such as the feisty one, the overtly cute one and the pair of twins. The game is aimed directly at gamers who indulge in the less subtle anime series that occupy a genre in Japan, filled with simple humour and hamster-voiced heroines. The game isn’t the problem – it’s the presentation that causes problems.
So many great games, so many franchises saved by developers revisiting exactly what it is players want. Hopefully, other developers wallowing in mediocrity can look to these games as blueprints for what they should do going forward.
Oprainfall interviews the translation staff at Idea Factory International about how they tackle localization.
Michibiku's Jenni Lada writes, "Hyperdimension Neptunia is huge. It’s a massive series that covers tons of games, all of which are sort of connected? Though also not really, because quite a few are spin-offs and non-canon. It’s a lot to take in, to be sure. With Megadimension Neptunia VII on the horizon, we here at Michibiku felt like we should offer an overview of the main series’ installments."
