Megadimension Neptunia VII (PC) Review

The Neptunia series, and this latest entry included, uses an evolved form of the combat system from a lesser known PS3 game known as Trinity Universe. While it does offer quite a bit more variety and customisation than that title, the core system hasn't really grown in the six or so years since Trinity Universe debuted. Each character on the field can string together combos through the action buttons, allowing various combos suited to an enemy's weakness. Characters can also move around the field freely, setting up combo skills or avoiding enemy area attacks.

There really isn't a lot to the combat in Megadimension Neptunia VII, and given how much grinding is required by the story, it's a bit of a pain. Map transitions and enemy encounters take quite a while to load up, and the attacks feel choppy. Skills, as expected from the series, are quite flashy, but end up feeling like overkill most of the time. The enemies feel weirdly balanced, especially in early areas, with some dying with a single basic attack, and others requiring multiple party members to take down.

Between each area, new items can be crafted from a variety of plans and random drops, and here the grinding once again rears its head. Monster drops aren't the most common thing, and Neptune and co. will have to ruin through each dungeon multiple times before they have all the items needed to start crafting. A lot of the systems just feel weirdly balanced, and there's several entirely unique to the Neptunia series, so it can become challenging to keep them all straight.

In traditional fashion for the series, main character Neptune winds up stranded in an alternate dimension after once again shirking her duties as ruler of her country of Planeptune. Winding up trapped in an alternate dimension with her sister Nepgear, she must find her way back home with the help of newcomer Uzume, a mysterious girl with powers similar to Neptune's.

The story is pretty traditional fare for the series, and while it's entertaining, it tends to be a little heavy handed. Those familiar with previous games will likely feel slight déjà vu while exploring the various dimensions, and while there are some minor changes to areas and characters, almost nothing has been radically altered since the previous game in the series. Enemies feel the same, characters are still the same as always, and the flashy visuals don't really pack the same punch after six years of recycling.

Megadimension Neptunia VII doesn't really feel like it's taken any opportunity to improve on so many years of characters, story, and development, and it seems more than content to play just like the same game it's been since 2010. It's charming for a little while, but once the jokes and jabs at the industry start to feel reused, and the combat fails to provide anything new, the experience ends up feeling dull and more than a little cheesy. It offers a handful of new characters, but they don't manage to change the formula that the series has used for so long.