Androcer

In general, the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise is indeed an interesting one. Very anime-ish in it's design and it does indeed tend to go toward a somewhat perverted humour. But that isn't bad at all. It's actually what makes the games so charming! But back to the game at hand, the third installment in the main series: Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory. My god, this game. Likable characters, nice graphics, fun gameplay and a decent soundtrack. You have the usual cast of the four CPUs: Neptune, Noire, Blanc and Vert. The CPU candidates also make an appeareance, though Nepgear is the one you'll be looking at the most. But wait, there's more! This game also introduces new characters to the series! One of which being Plutia, or Iris Heart. She's an adorable sadist. That's all I have to say. The graphics and general design of the game is, as stated earlier, very anime-ish. I, myself, found it to be very enjoyable, though! It's no lie say, that the entire game looks like it was taken straight out of an anime! Everything from the characters to the in-game areas is that "anime". The dungeons themselves are pretty good, I'd say. They are rather unique and looks interesting. I really wanted to go explore them myself, but when you encounter the enemies, it just gets that tiny bit more enjoyable. The enemies range from "Aww, that's adorable!" to "The heck is that thing!?!", something I do indeed appreciate. But this is also where the only real drawback in the graphics/design department is. They re-use dungeons and enemy designs. A lot. Though, to be fair, they do a good job at making the dungeon layouts different (well, most of the time), so it's not unbearable. I don't have a whole lot to say about the soundtrack. "Why is that?" I hear you ask, and I shall answer thine question! It's incredibly forgettable. Now, the soundtrack itself isn't bad, just... not that amazing. Don't get me wrong, there are indeed a few hidden gems in this game, two of which being "Uni's Theme: Version V" and "Yellow Hearts' Theme". These aren't the only ones, it's just the ones I'm able to remember. And that is despite having played the game a few hours ago! And it's a shame, really. The soundtrack of the franchise in general is really not that amazing. When I'm going to play a JRPG for the first, the things that mean the most towards me liking or disliking it, is: the story, the soundtrack, the gameplay and the gameplay. Personally, I'd say this game nails them all, except for the soundtrack one (ok, the story is decent at best. Happy?). It's been a problem since the first game and granted it has become better with each title (except for Producing Perfection. That game is "meh" on pretty much all aspects...), there's still quite a ways to go, before it'll become really good. Here's hoping for Victory II to have an amazing soundtrack! I'll go over the gameplay very brief since it's got a lot in common with most other JRPGs. The menus' is as you'd expect. Press a button for something to happen. Press a button to talk to people. Press a button to view events. Press a button to enter a dungeon. Not a whole lot there. The overworld is hardly any more complex. You move your character around and press a button to initiate battle (or you can let the enemy sneak up from behind!) You can pick up items and search for hidden ones. You can jump, which is totally badass, as well as open the main menu to change equipment and make combos. Battles' are quite easy to understand as well. You position yourself so that you can attack the enemy with your sweet homemade combos, use SP-Skills or EXECUTE EXE-Skills (I'll find the way out myself....)! With the press of a button you open another menu that allows you to transform, flee, switch with the backrow party member or use an item. And that's really the gist of it! All in all, this game is great. The characters personalities, as well as the characters themselves are enjoyable and fun to watch and be with. The graphics and general design of the game is light on your eyes and rather creative, though they tend to re-use areas and enemy-designs. It's also a very anime-ish style game, which might scare off some people. The gameplay is easy, enjoyable and fun. You can quickly get into it. The soundtrack is decent and very forgettable. It shouldn't be the reason you would play the game. I'd say the game makes up for it's flaws with what it does good, and that is also why this game stands as my favourite game of all time, right besides Ōkami.