|
|
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online
|
|
|
|
|
|
Graphics & Sound:
The Goddesses are back! By now, you’ve probably at least seen Noire, Blanc, Vert, and of course, Neptune, in one of the many games they have starred in as there have been several now. Usually they’re Hyperdimension, but this time we’re in Cyberdimension, Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online.
If you like anime girls, you will love this game. The four Goddesses represent a wide variety of looks, from shy and timid childlike to voluptuous, buxom women. You can bet there’s someone for your tastes there. They also have a few choices of clothing. In general, they’re relatively skimpily dressed in bright, vivid colors. In town, you have chibi characters that are 2D, since you’re only pointing at places to go. These little characters are adorable! Your enemies are typical RPG monsters. You’ll fight skeletons, goblins, bats, plant-based foes, and blobs. There’s nothing outstanding about them, but they are well-done.
You can choose to play your game in English or Japanese. With both choices, the voicework is superb. They do a wonderful job matching the voices to what you think the characters would sound like. As far as I can tell, it is the same voice actors from the other games that I have played. The music changes based on the areas that you enter. It’s your typical RPG sounds. You’ll also get little effects, like the sound of the swords striking an enemy. |
|
|
Gameplay:
The entire concept of Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online is quite meta. The four Goddesses rule over Gamindustri, a world in another dimension. Lastation is ruled by Goddess Black Heart (Noire). Lowee is ruled by Goddess White Heart (Blanc), Leanbox is ruled by Goddess Green Heart (Vert). Planeptune (Neptune) is ruled by the Goddess Purple Heart. This time, they are beta testers for a new online game, an MMO. They are each playing a different class (Enchanter, Paladin, Black Knight, and Cleric). You also might remember their little sisters, if you’ve played the series before. You will see Uni, Nepgear, Rom, and Ram as well. They’re playing as even more classes. Bouquet is a guide who will show you around the online game. She’s an NPC (for you and in the game), but she is an A.I. character who can learn based on the Goddesses’ interactions with her. All of the NPCs will feel more lifelike to the Goddesses.
Inside the game, you are in Alsgard. There is a tree of life in this world, Leanverde, which spawned all life on this world. A long time ago, Demon King Jester tried to steal the magic from Leanverde, but the Goddesses of the world sealed him away. The Goddesses left the world after that to rest. They made some sacred treasures: the Amethyst Glass, Black Diamond Sword, Moonstone Hairpin, and Emerald Mirror, to store their power for the world with a proclamation that when the world needs them again, four more Goddesses will appear. Yes, we are playing a videogame inside the game we are playing and the characters are exactly what was prophesized inside the game. It’s all very meta. Your job inside the online game is to gather the treasures to bring back the ancient Goddesses to save the world.
Wishuel is a town where you can spend time outside of battle. In Wishuel, you can talk to people, buy supplies, trigger events, and more. You can take quests at the Bulletin Board. These quests can be done with up to 4 people online. I have yet to find anyone to play with, but that’s to be expected since the game hasn’t released yet. You can also do different quests at the Guild and these quests can advance the story. You can take as many as you want at once, so take plenty. You can redo a quest after you’ve already completed it once, if you happen to want to. In the Cathedral, you can save your game and pray. Prayer will produce varying effects, depending on how much you spend. There’s even a training ground where you can go to get the hang of fighting and your various moves. |
|
|
Difficulty:
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online does not provide different difficulty levels. If it’s too hard for you, you’ll simply need to grind until you level up. I’d say that, by default, it feels like a Normal difficulty level. You’re not going to have a cake-walk if you try and run through too fast, but you’re not going to walk all over everything right away either. If your party leader gets KO’d, you will automatically be returned to the city. You’ll automatically be healed there, but you’ll need to get back to where you were going again, so it can be quite frustrating.
Depending on what you are trying to do, sometimes the quests can be a problem. You’ll need to get like 8 of an item, and you might forget where you found the first 7, so you don’t know where to find another one. Sometimes the quest place will tell you where to search, but in others, you’ll have to hope you can remember where it came from as there is no way I have found to check out information about the items.
|
|
|
Game Mechanics:
It’s taken me a little bit to get used to the mechanics in Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online just because the controls are slightly different. (X) jumps, and for some reason, I keep jumping instead of attack first. (Square) is your main attack and I highly recommend using (R1) to lock on first. It’s very hard to hit the enemies without locking on, frustratingly hard. You can also attack using the skills that you have learned. You will learn more skills as you level up. To attack with these skills, you will need to hold (L1) and press one of the other buttons. When you hold (L1), it will show you the skills and you can set these skills up in the (Options). You can use the D-pad to switch out to a different set of skills. (R2) will let you guard. You can also guard at just the right time to attack back. (Triangle) uses the items you have set. When you need to boost your power, press (L3) to activate your Awakening (after the gauge is full). (Options) opens the Menu, where you can see your status and swap out equipment. You can also set up your Skill Sets here. Skills require SP. You can fill your SP by attacking. You can also switch out which character you are playing as in the Menu. Simply change the party leader. You’ll see glowing spots on the ground and press (O) to pick up items at these spots.
You will have a mini-map in the top right corner of the screen. You can see where you need to go and what you need to find on this map. There are also points that you can warp from one place to another. Note that as soon as you step on them, you will warp, without being asked if you really want to. If you want to make the map bigger, you can press (Options) and you’ll see it on the right side. This can be really useful to figure out where to go next.
Overall, Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online is a solid RPG with bubbly, bouncy characters. If this is enough for you, you’ll love the game. Personally, I wanted a bit more story but I appreciate the overall feel of what is there. If you like the Goddesses, check it out for yourself. |
|
|
-Cyn, GameVortex Communications AKA Sara Earl |
|
Related Links:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
