Prepare yourselves for the ultimate showdown as Compile Heart proudly presents the highly anticipated game: Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters on the Nintendo Switch!
The games industry, at large, is problematic at best. There are dozens of criticisms which could be made of the AAA industry; from the way workers are treated and disposed of to the over-inflation of prices and erosion of content to sell later for additional cost. Year-on-year the list grows but you don’t often see developers and publishers genuinely reflecting on their mistakes, business practices and the state of the industry. Perhaps if they did we’d see an overall improvement rather than a gradual decline, you never know.
Thankfully, there is at least one company which genuinely seems to want to reflect on the evolution of gaming – Compile Heart. For donkey’s years they’ve been releasing the Neptunia games, set in a world which parodies and examines the games industry in all its glory whilst also providing light-hearted banter, comedic plots and the occasional smidgen of fan-service.
Split into four regions which each represent a different “major” console manufacturer, the ups and downs of the last 15 years have been tracked with panache through the franchise’s numerous entries. With the release of Sisters VS Sisters, Compile finally brings the smartphone revolution into their universe; but does this spin-off meaningfully push the series forward?
Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters begins with the CPU candidates – heirs to the thrones of the various regions – on a mission in the absence of their older sisters. After confronting a mysterious girl, the candidates are knocked out and awaken two years later to a changed land overrun by new monsters and smartphones. With a certain character still missing, presumed dead, and the powers of the CPUs and CPU candidates severely diminished, it’s up to Nepgear and her friends to save the continent and rebuild their regions.
Despite being a spin-off, Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters moves the overall plot forward in a really interesting way by removing Neptune – the representation of SEGA’s consoles – from centre-stage and letting Nepgear – the representation of SEGA’s handheld attempts – take the lead. There’s much less messing around and more urgency this time around, with the protagonist’s determination driving the narrative.
Neptune as a character is lazy and whimsical, and whilst I understand her appeal to many I just don’t think she makes a good protagonist. Nepgear however demonstrates real character development and responds appropriately to the events around her, giving more insight into the world of GI at large and encouraging the player to care about saving it. This is very much Nepgear’s story, and it’s nice to see her actually get the screen-time she deserves.
As she investigates the Tredi outbreaks and rPhones there are a number of really interesting twists and turns which I thoroughly enjoyed – even if I saw the majority coming a mile off. Side note – whilst I approve of fun etymological links hidden in character names, I can’t help but feel that this time around some of the names could easily spoil the plot for anyone with a passing knowledge of the Japanese language. Seriously, don’t look up the Japanese word for smartphone.
The cheeky humour fans of the series’ have come to expect is still there though, don’t worry about that. Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters never takes itself too seriously and keeps the laughs coming. The writing is also just as sharp and witty as always in its takedowns and references to the “console wars.” Overall, I enjoyed the story of Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters more than I have the majority of recent Nep games and would argue it’s essential for any fan of the series’ continuity.
Gameplay-wise, Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters takes pretty much everything from the main series – RPG combat with customisable combos, special character forms, equipment modification and stat management in instanced battles – with one big change.
Whilst the main series is turn-based, Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters is real-time and action-led. What results feels…off? The combo system works as well as ever giving you plenty of flexibility and depth when building your characters, and there’s also a large roster of playable girls to switch out as and when you want. Unfortunately, most characters feel clumsy and clunky to play and I can’t say I really liked the switch to action overall.
There are some fun designs and interesting weapons, and I do enjoy the fact you can switch character to finish off a combo, but so much of the game – UI style, overall map design, stage assets, menu layout, quest-giving method – is ripped straight from previous titles that I can’t help but wish they’d have pulled the combat directly too.
Saying it feels like previous games isn’t meant as a criticism by the way – I don’t mind it at all and like the way things are organised. It just feels like this could have – should have been a main-series Neptunia game with the similar turn-based combat. It also doesn’t help that the game is rather buggy and prone to crashes on Switch, which is surprising considering the relatively simple dungeons which don’t seem to be as well-designed, unique or interesting as in previous games.
Considering that the majority of the game consists of short VN-style conversations/cut-scenes and jumping into the dungeons, what results is a repetitive experience which just doesn’t feel as refined as it could have been.
Visually, Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters is pretty nice-looking. Compared to previous Nep titles there’s a definite improvement on show and it looks great even considering the Switch’s age. The art style masks many of the potential pitfalls of the hardware and I didn’t get tired of the overall style of characters and enemies; even if I would have preferred some more monster variety and less palette-swaps. There’s also some great audio in here – continuing CH and IF’s recent streak of high-quality sound design – with solid voice acting and some great backing tracks.
All in all, I love the story, characterisations and new characters (Anri in particular) and there are definite improvements in the writing this time around, but I can’t help but feel like CH dropped the ball on the interactive elements of the game and overall polish. Existing fans of Nep will enjoy this, for sure, but I think players outside of the fandom may struggle to see past what, when it comes down to it, is a mediocre action RPG with some promising ideas.
Check out the Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters Digital Deluxe Bundle
Read more reviews here https://invisioncommunity.co.uk/category/review/
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