The Neptunia franchise has gone a long way ever since its inception. The multitude of adventures Neptune and the gang has been through speaks a decade worth of content with its main titles and spin-offs. The Great Console War between the nations of Planeptune, Lastation, Leanbox and Lowee was easily one of the more interesting ones the franchise has ever done and it has expanded upon that ever since by bringing in more of the real world into its universe.
And if you’ve actually had a sense of déjà vu then you’re not alone. This is actually the first few lines I’ve written down for last year’s Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters when I reviewed it back then and just like how I enjoyed my time playing through it, Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is no different… I hope?
The quirky nature of its cast especially now that our Interdimensional Bug Hunter Neptune is finally taking center stage for the first time is a bit refreshing but also somewhat familiar. She’s by no means a clone of the original Neptune but the uncanny similarity and likeability is there. But what really defines Neptunia as a franchise is its real-world references and jabs at the issues within the video game industry.
It’s plot, its crazy antics and even its laidback and carefree nature of the protagonists are what’s drawing me in every single time. It’s just the kind of game that doesn’t try to overcomplicate itself with intertwining struggles between nations or fighting a threat that could mean the destruction of worlds or even an entire universe. Instead, we’re playing a video game about girls trying to make a video game.
A hilarious story with charming characters
Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is as I said, a video game about girls trying to make a video game. Neptune, this title’s main protagonist, finds herself in another dimension where she ends up stumbling upon a game and a console in an abandoned building. After trying out said game filled with bugs and glitches, she ends up meeting three distinct figures and also the creators of said game.
Reedio, Jagaa and Pippih are what’s considered in this world as the Failure Goddesses, the representation of the 3DO, Atari Jaguar and Apple Pippin and after a brief introduction, they’ve asked Neptune to become the CEO and to develop games with them to restore their former glory.
It’s a pretty simple concept with a clear goal in mind and its one that really blends well considering the eccentric personalities of its cast because I often find myself having too much fun watching the scenes play out in an absurd yet comedic fashion that any serious plot would’ve just been lost in all of that mess anyway. The entirety of its story is absolutely hilarious for something that is filled with nonsense for its fourth-wall breaking antics, jokes about the modern game industry and references to anything and everything related to pop culture.
Meanwhile, the characters in Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution are also really fleshed out each with their own unique personalities that reflect their real-world counterpart. Reedio is probably my favorite in the new cast for being an absolute mad scientist in a lab coat always trying to come up with some weird concoction.
Gameplay hindered by its repetitive combat
Where this tries to fall apart though is its underwhelming gameplay and combat system. Unlike the mainline titles where it all started out as a turn-based RPG, Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters as well as Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution follows, what I would say, as a more modernized RPG where its all action-based. You’ve got your traditional Power, Break and Rush type moves that you can mix and match to your liking which can be mapped to your Y and B buttons on the Nintendo Switch.
There’s a transformation option to change into their Goddess Form and an EXE Drive that acts as a fancy finisher. You also have your Tactical Skills that can range from giving your characters a powerful buff to your attacks, supportive type skills like a cure or resurrection ability and even just your average attack type skills.
And as much as I hate to say it, the concept isn’t particularly bad but it really just fails to keep things interesting for me because battles are often played out with just you mashing a single button until enemies start fainting one after the other. You have a way to dodge and block attacks as well but in normal battles outside of boss fights, you often don’t feel threatened enough to actually fail unless you haven’t been updating your gear to fit the levels of the enemies.
Exploration is also often a miss… the dungeon crawling aspect of the Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution just doesn’t feel as engaging due to the lack of interesting points in the map. Often times I just find myself rushing through each objective only to get blocked by awfully placed enemies in tight hallways and corridors. It almost feels like they’re intentionally placed to get to your nerves and that’s what really frustrates me the most as battles are just boring and repetitive.
The other half of the gameplay is the management sim where you’re tasked with developing new games. Here, you can start by unlocking a genre for a video game like an RPG, hiring a developer to take on the role and after a brief moment, the created video game can get in sales that you would then use to create more games or unlock more genres to dive into. Its not a particularly deep system but its one that helps you gain certain abilities in battle by equipping them to your characters.
A world uninspired…
Exploration is often a miss… well, I’ve actually said that already but let me repeat that really quick just so nobody forgets, exploration is a MISS! Yes, I hate to say it but exploring dungeons is also not on the good side. Aside from getting swarmed by enemies that just rush at you at a moment’s notice, there’s really nothing much to look at. Most areas feel generic and uninspired. You’ve got puzzles and locked doors to whack your brain onto but it honestly just makes exploration tedious than something enjoyable.
The puzzle with the mine cart, a set of colored ores and a furnace is a huge offender for that considering that it just forces you to go back and forth pushing a mine cart from point A to point B only to repeat that a couple more times until you unlock the final door.
Aside from dungeon exploration and the like, you also have your arena mode that gets unlocked in the first half of the story, a Neptral Tower where you can climb through with proportionally increasing difficulty, a race mode that allows you to drive Neptune’s motorbike in a track and a character customization in the form of changing costumes or adding a boatload of accessories that can be obtained through dungeons or bought from the shop.
However, there’s a much-needed issue that needs to be addressed. During my playtime on the Nintendo Switch, I’ve had multiple errors that resulted in Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution crashing which makes me lose some progress everytime it happens. This is extremely frustrating especially since the game’s auto-save feature doesn’t help with this when most of it happens when you’re inside a dungeon where manual and auto-save is disabled.
You’ve got a few save points inside a dungeon but getting a crash before actually getting to save means you have to start over from the beginning of the dungeon. This becomes an even bigger issue for Neptral Tower where you’re supposed to get to at least 10 floors before you can get to a Safe Area.
The Conclusion
Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is a hard game to recommend. On one end, I would 100% play this just for its absurd story and funny moments but on the other, you’ve got a disappointing action-RPG that doesn’t particularly feel special. The combat is flat, button-mashy and unrewarding, the barebones management sim feels more like a mini-game on a timer and exploration is bland without anything interesting to look at.
It’s a huge stinky mess that just couldn’t match up with the same enjoyment I had for the titles that started it all. Not to mention that the errors and crashes on the Nintendo Switch is enough to make me paranoid about losing time and my progress. So, for your sake and mine, let’s just give this one… a hard pass.
Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution Video Review
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