There’s this thing people online do where they start a “Why do you like this?” post by crapping on the thing first. I’m not gonna do that—but I am going to be a little critical. So, fair warning, and forgive me in advance.
TL;DR: Who exactly are the Hyperdimension Neptunia games for? And if you are that audience, what do you love about them?
I’ve played three of the mainline games and dabbled in some of the spin-offs (a couple of which I actually liked). Full disclosure, though: I’ve never finished any of the mainline entries. Maybe I’m just playing them wrong, but they’ve always struck me as incredibly grindy, with super bare-bones JRPG mechanics, sandwiched between cutscenes that feel like feature-length movies made entirely of bad jokes and bits that don't tie into anything.
Like, you’ll get a 40-minute stretch introducing characters, then 15 minutes of Nep giving everyone cutesy nicknames for no real reason, then a hot springs scene where they talk about boobs and poop for way too long, followed by 30 more minutes of exposition—and somehow, we still haven’t hit the opening credits. After a while, I start wondering if the whole thing is some kind of elaborate troll. Honestly, if that is the point, then mad respect
But clearly there is a fanbase—there are like 500 of these things. So: who are you? What clicks for you in these games? What’s the appeal? I just picked up the very first one on PS3 for a second time, and I’m sort of tempted to give it another shot. I’d love to hear from people who genuinely enjoy them. Enlighten me.
TL;DR: Who exactly are the Hyperdimension Neptunia games for? And if you are that audience, what do you love about them?
I’ve played three of the mainline games and dabbled in some of the spin-offs (a couple of which I actually liked). Full disclosure, though: I’ve never finished any of the mainline entries. Maybe I’m just playing them wrong, but they’ve always struck me as incredibly grindy, with super bare-bones JRPG mechanics, sandwiched between cutscenes that feel like feature-length movies made entirely of bad jokes and bits that don't tie into anything.
Like, you’ll get a 40-minute stretch introducing characters, then 15 minutes of Nep giving everyone cutesy nicknames for no real reason, then a hot springs scene where they talk about boobs and poop for way too long, followed by 30 more minutes of exposition—and somehow, we still haven’t hit the opening credits. After a while, I start wondering if the whole thing is some kind of elaborate troll. Honestly, if that is the point, then mad respect
But clearly there is a fanbase—there are like 500 of these things. So: who are you? What clicks for you in these games? What’s the appeal? I just picked up the very first one on PS3 for a second time, and I’m sort of tempted to give it another shot. I’d love to hear from people who genuinely enjoy them. Enlighten me.
