To conclude our wonderful Idea Factory International Appreciation Week I thought it would be nice to reach out to our readers and ask, “What does Neptunia mean to you?” The Hyperdimension Neptunia series takes a lot of flak from some of the mainstream outlets for its fan service and over the top content. However as fans of the series we know it is so much more than that.
The reaction to our question was very positive with readers such as @KirbySonicfan saying “Neptunia means a lot to me, the characters are amazing, the games are great. but most important, it made me make friends.” I can relate to this, I’ve made many long lasting friends on Twitter due to my love of the series and finding others with similar feelings. It’s ironic that a game centered around the console wars can bring gamers together of all walks of life in this way.
Our very own William Haderlie gave me a long response, which is on par for him, but it was very on point with some of my own feelings. He said, “Neptunia expresses the fun of anime in the mileau of a classic JRPG. Both of those things are fairly rare on our shore. And its ability to be both serious at times and also extremely fun makes for a compelling package. It has also been fun to see how the developers themselves have grown as a production studio in its development. You can see them spreading their wings in real time. But most of all, its just fun to play due to story and RPG mechanics, so I always enjoy my time in that world so much that I miss it when it’s gone.” That series has grown so much in just five years. We all remember the original PS3 release of Hyperdimension Neptunia, where the story was great yet the gameplay had some issues. Idea Factory has not only improved the combat and gameplay with every release since, they have created a combat system that I would rank as one of the turn based systems out there. I believe Idea Factory International has also improved on the localization as the series has moved forward as well.
The Neptunia series has also brought some users back to JRPGs after there was a pretty big dry spell of niche games around 2010. Our very own Azario Lopez said “The series brought me back to the JRPG world and video games after a 5 year video game dry spell. I owe a lot to the franchise.” This was followed up by @Zaku_John saying “Great series with great characters. Fun gameplay that reminds me of why I loved JRPG’s in the first place.” The Neptunia series is a breath of fresh air to genre and there still is really nothing else like it out there. What other series not only pokes fun at itself, but the industry as whole? I can’t think of any.
For some the Neptunia series is a gateway to check out other niche JRPGs. This is what @KitsuneHawk had to say “Well, for me, I think it’s the series that got me more interested in following niche/obscure titles.” It makes me happy whenever I see something getting others to check out some of the crazy niche titles I enjoy because you never know what you’ll like till you try it out.
To our Co-Owner Crystal Colwell the series means girl power! Here’s what she had to say “The Neptunia series represents (among other things) total girl power! Just like in real life there are boobs and strong, powerful, crazy women everywhere.” I absolutely agree, not only do all the character have all different shapes and sizes, but they are all very strong willed. These ladies are heroes, make no mistake about it.
I think overall our review manager Josh Speer sums up what I think about the series best “A series that fully understands the ridiculous nature of the industry and deftly parodies it, while still embracing what it means to be a gamer.” I couldn’t agree more, this is a series made by gamers for gamers. It never takes itself too seriously, and it doesn’t have to. It is a reminder that games are supposed to be fun above anything else. I for one am truly grateful for all the hard work that has gone into the series thus far and look forward to many more adventures with these beloved characters.
Here are few more of the wonderful responses we got from our readers:
@oprainfall Neptunia is my fav game series to date. After all my years of playing I have yet to find anything else as awesome as Neptunia!
— Amber Shine (@FastFoodAmazon) April 12, 2016
@oprainfall Neptunia has given me something to really enjoy and has made me an overall happier person
— Sup4h (@supershadow195) April 12, 2016
@oprainfall Best Game NEPE…ahem.. EVERR! The games means alot to me; Charming & Lovely characters, Cool stories, Funny jokes, Fanservices.
— Tooru (@NarukamiTooru) April 13, 2016
