STORY:

Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth 2 offers another story that involves our all time favorite gaming consoles. But you don`t have to play the first Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth on vita to play this one since both games offer a different story or should I say a different dimension of Gamindustri. The story is quite straightforward, you play as Nepgear (Neptunes younger sister as well as a CPU Candidate) and your goal is to save Gamindustri from destruction by freeing the four captive CPUs (Goddesses which maintains the balance of Shares in the game world) from their binds. But even the story is quite linear, the character interactions what makes this game quite enjoyable since they do throw in some humor and a little bit of anime-like situations. The characters also have some unique characteristics especially the four main CPUs and their CPU Candidates (Little sisters) which adds flavor to the wall of texts you will be encountering. (Visual Novel Style)

GAMEPLAY:

Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth 2 shares the exact same elements from it`s first game but of course with a few added content. The game uses a turn based battle system which utilizes different combos (Rush, Power and Break Combos). These combos can be freely customized by the player as long as they have enough points to spare before the cost exceeds it`s limit. Each type of combo commands do different effects like Rush commands focus on high hit counts, Power commands focus on bringing down the pain (low hit count) and Break commands which focuses on destroying the enemy`s guard points (if the guard points reaches 0, a "guard break" will occur greatly reducing that particular enemy`s defense). The "remake system" also comes back from the first game in which you can manipulate in game elements like changing what type of enemies appear in a certain dungeon, what types of items you get on dungeons, expanding the shop`s selection and unlocking various stuff as long as you have the necessary "plan" (An item which you can find throughout the game world) and "memory" (another item you can get on the game) to spare. The new feature added in this game are: Stella`s Dungeon (which serves as a mini game where in you send Stella on dungeons to gather items and defeat monsters. Sending Stella to a dungeon and waiting for her to come back uses actual minutes in real life) and the maximum number of active battle participants are 4 instead of 3 from rebirth 1. The game also features an EXE gauge where in you can add another additional combo to your existing combo commands when the bar fills to a certain point. The EXE gauge can be filled via dealing damage to enemies and you can also unleash EXE Attacks (that consumes a certain amount of EXE Gauge) which is extremely powerful than your typical skills. It also features transformation for CPUs and CPU Candidates which boosts their combat capability by a certain amount as well as their cool factor~

MUSIC:

The music fits the theme since the game is about cutesy anime like scenario and characters. Expect to have a lot of cute sound effects and music. The game also features dual audio where in you can select Japanese or English for the voices. I highly recommend you to pick what suits you (I personally prefer Japanese) since both voice actings are good.

FUN FACTOR:

The fun part in this game lies within two parts: the humor in the story and the battle system. The quirky characters along with their humorous conversations will surely make your adventure worth while. The battle system is also enjoyable and the awesome skill and attack animations serves as eye candy for the rpg enthusiasts. The game also has a disc development feature where in you burn discs that has various effects when equipped (You get to choose what perks you want to add) and some discs can be so godly (in terms of effects) that it is named by various popular games. (The Hyperdimesion Neptunia series is a parody of various gaming merchandises, items, and devices.

REPLAYABILITY:

The game features a New Game+ and multiple endings which will need multiple playthroughs or save files to unlock everything. There is also a colosseum for hardcore battles and DLCs which can will extend your time with Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth 2.

SCORE:

7 cats out of 10

Pros:

-Very good battle system

-Customizable combos

-Remake System

-Disc Dev let`s you add your own customizable effects to your characters.

-Cute Anime graphics

Cons:

-Linear story

-If you're not a fan of anime cutesy, this isn`t a game for you

-Enemies feels like a reskin of each other (No big difference in them except for their appearance)

-Some battles are quite easy (Enemy AI is kinda dumb) but tedious because of their insane amounts of HP and GP (Guard Points)

-Not for hardcore RPG lovers