Post by bramblett05 on Mar 3, 2015 18:29:42 GMT
I'm a Final Fantasy Tactics fan I played it on PSone 3 times and PSP another 3. I'm also a huge Neptunia fan because chaining combos and the game reminds me of .Hack and combining the two together is a interesting experience and one I though I would never see. The characters who now have a chibi look now which means short, but they still can be dangerous. As a tactics style game it's basic but retains everything from the Neptunia universe to still keep it new and very different. The intro alone is worthy of a few watches thanks to a cutscene viewer which was missing from Neptunia games.
Battles are your basic move and attack with noting that it's weird I can't move in a certain direction the way I want to like for instance trying to dodge a cracked floor while going for an item or enemy meaning you don't have total control of pathway but that's not really an issue but more of a head scratcher. Characters all resemble a iconic character from different games, companies and developers like Compa or Compile Hearts who does return in the form of DLC which IF always delivers on. Placement is important as other units can boost your attack if placed on either side of you with a peck on the cheek and for later battle you will need all the pecking you can get as it also adds to your meter which can make a CPU change to their HDD form or enable you to do a super move.
Another thing added is a sim like mode which you can buy items with sim points as you buy from the shop but I didn't feel it as useful or fun as the dungeon mode from Re:Birth 2 and though it's a neat concept it may take more diving into so I can get a better idea of it. The layout doesn't involve a world map but more of a town that includes options to shop, make disc, weapons and visit the sim portion of the game and hotel to watch cutscenes and listen to audio. Voice work remains unchanged and still has the humor of the other Neptunia games and Noire carries the weight of "main character" pretty good with her sectary.
Levels aren't huge like other tactic games but the environment can be full of traps or shortcuts for treasure and looks pretty good. On top of story missions (they have a star next to them) there's repeatable missions for items and have a rank to determine how hard it is and level grinding you will do for items to make weapons and other equipment. On talk about HDD portion of the game, you can change your CPU when you have 30 of your lily meter filled but once changed it last for 3 turns so strategy is needed on when is the best time to use it.
The world isn't Gamindustri this time but Gamarket so even if you see a hero or villain you recognize, this is a different universe so think of this as a side story. Characters are a plenty in the game as there's 22 characters not including DLC and Histoire is not playable but does serve a pretty good purpose as giving you a rundown on current missions. Length is a really good bit with a 30+ hour story not counting replaying levels and doing side missions and I can see myself replaying this a couple more times if not more.
Final thoughts: Sting did a fantastic job with this and the intro is really awesome and if there is a sequel I hope we get more CG videos in it with the continuing of the style. Lots of variety in the missions and the story is pretty good and the action is great once you get deep into it. Will this keep you busy until Re:Birth 3 hits: yes most definite with trophies and grinding for items.
Pros: Tactics game with Neptunia vibe. Characters galore. Great length with replay value. Character style fits great.
Cons: Weird directions that won't let you make your own path. The Sim part just feels empty and needs more depth.