Overview: Turn-based JRPG which also pokes fun at the genre. It is a remake of Hyperdimension Neptunia (PS3) (2011).
20190802:
Today I continued my mission to break even on my Humble Bundle purchases. For the Humble Neptunia Bundle, I did some reading and most players enjoy VII best and Re;Birth1 (RB1) second best. With that in mind, I decided to play RB1.
Setup:
* Playing with New Content 2 Colosseum + Characters DLC. [On Steam it's 2 but in-game it's 5].
* At first when I couldn't find my gamepad I thought I would play with the keyboard. But I realized the setup of a gamepad was probably more efficient and continued my search for it. Xbox controller.
* Fullscreen with resolution 1920 x 1080.
Gameplay Log:
Booted up the game but then spent 19 minutes trying to find where my controller went (19 minutes total)
Played Virtua Forest and completed it.
Couldn't figure out how to save and exit the game.
Decided to try to save progress by going into the level. Still wanted to figure out how to exit.
Tried to look it up. Didn't understand. Eventually figured it out: from overworld it's Main Menu > System > Exit. (89 minutes total; 70 minutes session game time)
Played some more. Completed Monster Cave. (2.9 hours total; 1.7 hours session game time)
(3.6 hours total)
I try playing with the DLC characters for a little bit. They're OP. Saved fight against Monster & Noire / Black Heart as File 6.
Went back to File 5 to fight as Neptune / IF / Compa. Used a lot of items and went for an all out end and was close. If I had switched weapons on Neptune and had full different commands then maybe.
Grinding. Save as File 7. I want the fun of beating Black Heart without OP DLC. (7.0 hours total)
Facts/Tips:
How to save & quit:
: On the overworld, go to the menu > System > Save/Load/Exit
: In a dungeon, the only means of saving is by going to a designated Save Station. Quitting is done as above.
Meaning of stats:
: STR = physical dmg., VIT = phys. def., INT = magic dmg, MEN = magic def., AGI = turn order, dodge rate, probability of escaping, TEC = accuracy, LUK = crit rate, MOV = maximum move distance per turn (source: Steam thread)
Steam Game Time: 7.0 hours total
20190803:
Today I played a little bit more.
Gameplay Log:
(7.3 hours total)
I read that mental defense is better than physical defense.
I was curious how the stronger/weaker enemies plans affected the game. Other than making enemies stronger/weaker, they don't.
(10.8 hours total)
Steam Game Time: 10.8 hours total
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Funny (pokes fun at the genre and itself)
+ Cute
+ Introduces mechanics at a slow pace
Neutral:
~ At times a lot of story is delivered
Minor Con:
- Why are the DLC characters so powerful?
- The Quest system slows the game down; I guess the main reason for it's existence is for the distribution of shares among the different game systems
- The crafting system is not fun, because most of the materials required to craft aren't available in the early game
Con:
- Various game mechanics are laid out but they are implemented at a snail's pace; depending on the system, here are possible fixes: 1) create a feeling of progression, 2) reveal the system when it becomes relevant, 3) make the progression visible, and 4) omit the system from the game (if a system's impact on the game is essentially irrelevant, then why include it?)
Summary:
Going into the game, I thought I'd be playing just another JRPG. The game, however, surprised me with its cute story. With that being said, the game's mechanics can feel lacking. I want to strategically make use of various systems, but at the end of the day it just feels like minimally grinding levels is sufficient to progress through the game's story.
At the end of the day, I would recommend the game to fans of RPGs.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PC) (2015)*
*Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PS Vita) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Hyperdimension Neptunia (video game) > Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (Wikipedia.org)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (Steam Store Page)
 |
| Purple Heart (Neptune) |
20190802:
Today I continued my mission to break even on my Humble Bundle purchases. For the Humble Neptunia Bundle, I did some reading and most players enjoy VII best and Re;Birth1 (RB1) second best. With that in mind, I decided to play RB1.
Setup:
* Playing with New Content 2 Colosseum + Characters DLC. [On Steam it's 2 but in-game it's 5].
* At first when I couldn't find my gamepad I thought I would play with the keyboard. But I realized the setup of a gamepad was probably more efficient and continued my search for it. Xbox controller.
* Fullscreen with resolution 1920 x 1080.
 |
| Compa, Neptune, and IF face off against Arfoire |
Gameplay Log:
Booted up the game but then spent 19 minutes trying to find where my controller went (19 minutes total)
Played Virtua Forest and completed it.
Couldn't figure out how to save and exit the game.
Decided to try to save progress by going into the level. Still wanted to figure out how to exit.
Tried to look it up. Didn't understand. Eventually figured it out: from overworld it's Main Menu > System > Exit. (89 minutes total; 70 minutes session game time)
Played some more. Completed Monster Cave. (2.9 hours total; 1.7 hours session game time)
(3.6 hours total)
I try playing with the DLC characters for a little bit. They're OP. Saved fight against Monster & Noire / Black Heart as File 6.
Went back to File 5 to fight as Neptune / IF / Compa. Used a lot of items and went for an all out end and was close. If I had switched weapons on Neptune and had full different commands then maybe.
Grinding. Save as File 7. I want the fun of beating Black Heart without OP DLC. (7.0 hours total)
 |
| Setting Neptune's equipment |
Facts/Tips:
How to save & quit:
: On the overworld, go to the menu > System > Save/Load/Exit
: In a dungeon, the only means of saving is by going to a designated Save Station. Quitting is done as above.
Meaning of stats:
: STR = physical dmg., VIT = phys. def., INT = magic dmg, MEN = magic def., AGI = turn order, dodge rate, probability of escaping, TEC = accuracy, LUK = crit rate, MOV = maximum move distance per turn (source: Steam thread)
Steam Game Time: 7.0 hours total
20190803:
Today I played a little bit more.
 |
| Black Heart (Noire) |
Gameplay Log:
(7.3 hours total)
I read that mental defense is better than physical defense.
I was curious how the stronger/weaker enemies plans affected the game. Other than making enemies stronger/weaker, they don't.
(10.8 hours total)
Steam Game Time: 10.8 hours total
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Funny (pokes fun at the genre and itself)
+ Cute
+ Introduces mechanics at a slow pace
 |
| White Heart (Blanc) and Green Heart (Vert) |
Neutral:
~ At times a lot of story is delivered
Minor Con:
- Why are the DLC characters so powerful?
- The Quest system slows the game down; I guess the main reason for it's existence is for the distribution of shares among the different game systems
- The crafting system is not fun, because most of the materials required to craft aren't available in the early game
Con:
- Various game mechanics are laid out but they are implemented at a snail's pace; depending on the system, here are possible fixes: 1) create a feeling of progression, 2) reveal the system when it becomes relevant, 3) make the progression visible, and 4) omit the system from the game (if a system's impact on the game is essentially irrelevant, then why include it?)
Summary:
Going into the game, I thought I'd be playing just another JRPG. The game, however, surprised me with its cute story. With that being said, the game's mechanics can feel lacking. I want to strategically make use of various systems, but at the end of the day it just feels like minimally grinding levels is sufficient to progress through the game's story.
At the end of the day, I would recommend the game to fans of RPGs.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PC) (2015)*
*Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PS Vita) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Hyperdimension Neptunia (video game) > Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (Wikipedia.org)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (Steam Store Page)
Date/Time
Friday, August 2, 2019
@
12:00
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