Hyperdimension Neptunia is a video game series developed by Idea Factory and Compile Heart that features a wide array of fictional characters originally created by Naoko Mizuno and designed by Tsunako and Minamitsu. The original game centers around Neptune, one of four goddesses who adventures in a world where she can recruit other characters to form a party. Some of the supporting characters are playable depending on the title and also whether it is a remake or an option as downloadable content. Some characters also start as antagonists, and there are a regular set of villains. Most characters are based on and named after the video game consoles, video game developer companies or publishers. [1] [2] The characters have been commented on by game reviewers who had mixed feelings about their designs, personalities and voice acting.
Naoko Mizuno, the creator of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series described the origins of the game and its characters: "First and foremost, I realized there were no games on the market that actually dealt with or parodied the game industry itself. The second thing is that, at the time, characters that changed—that took on different forms—were really popular, but there were none that were cute girls." She developed Neptune as a parody of the game industry with the fictional scenario where Sega was still attempting to reach the top of the console business. In looking back at the games, Mizuno said that she would have like to have had the characters fully voiced, but that the editing in of new scenes and content made that impossible. [3]
Executive producer Norihisa Kochiwa said that character designer Tsunako had developed some designs but had run into complications. The company considered partnering with another company but it did not work out. At the end of 2009, Tsunako had changed up the character designs and color scheme so they fit within the world's setting. Kochiwa said "Had that collaboration been realized then Neptunia would have never been born." Director Shingo Onodera said that "the game was originally supposed to be about 3 princess sisters and a main character. I came in right around when that project was halted and turned into Neptunia." [4]
Mizuno created a new group of main characters for Mk2 in response to the moe subculture trend, especially the concept of the younger sister. "The younger sister characters, like Nepgear, are still inexperienced, and not fully grown compared to their older sisters. One of the reasons behind creating such heroines was that I wanted to depict the younger sisters’ adorable efforts to grow strong and mature enough to save their older sisters and Gamindustri." She also noted there are no male main characters in the series: "I say this because I know; I'm a woman myself. It's so much fun to have private girl talks and have some girl time without boys around." [5]
The character design was done by Tsunako, with another designer named Minamitsu joining the team starting with Victory. Minamitsu had been working on some other otome games, but regards Victory as her first major title. Kochiwa has remarked that working on Neptunia not only from the art and game system aspects, has affected Compile Heart's other titles. Tsunako said Victory was a turning point for the franchise as it helped solidify the relationships among the sisters. [4]
The anime adaptation contributed to the Neptunia character design and development as it presented the characters from a different perspective. Tsunako said "the animators did a great job so as a designer I feel like I was able to learn from them as well." Onodera said "Being able to observe and learn how people from a different industry handled things like direction, script-writing, building tension, plus visualizing characters and their personalities helped me to see what was lacking in the original Neptunia." Onodera also credits the anime and Mk2 for inspiring them to do the Re;Birth versions. [4]
In deciding what maker characters to include, the team worked with Compile Heart and their relations with other companies. The inclusion of Tekken allowed for more characters to cross over from other franchises such as Millionaire Arthur and God Eater . [4]
The main protagonists are goddesses that represent consoles or portable hardware brands in the video game industry. Their normal interacting form is that of a girl, but during combat, they can transform into a more powerful "HDD Mode" of themselves. [6]
The Console Patron Unit (CPU) is a goddess character in the world of Gamindustri, each of whom is named after a video game system and is charge of a domain. Director Shingo Onodera said that in creating the scenario for the first game, the three goddesses had lacked something in their personalities so they gave each of them a gimmick. [4]
Each of the nations in Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 has representatives of the goddesses called CPU Candidates, which turn out to be their younger sisters. Their item counterparts are portable handhelds in contrast to the home console references of the goddesses. Of the goddesses, Vert does not have a younger sister, while Blanc has twin younger sisters. [6]
In the anime, her name is Rei Kiseijyo (キセイジョウ・レイ, Kiseijō Rei). [41]
The Four Felons are members of the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime (ASIC) who were created from the people's faith in the deity Arfoire. [6] They debuted in Mk2. Each Felon is given the title CFW, which in the Japanese version stands for Custom firmware, which is an altered version of the original software inside a video game console.[ citation needed ] In the English version, CFW stands for Criminal of the Free World. [6] Some of the Felons make appearances in the anime adaptation.
Jack Devries of IGN described the characters as "Imagine the console wars between SEGA, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, but an actual war, with each console personified by a big-breasted, scantily clad battle goddess." He wrote that the game has "some well done 3D character models, the dungeons they run around in are all dull, boring hallways." [1] GameSpot in reviewing the first game, described the characters as "hypersexualized young girls", "key characters amount to little more than disturbing dolls wielding such weapons as a giant syringe," and regarding two of the characters IF and Compa "they're almost completely devoid of personality, existing only as depressing stereotypes of vapid, sexy cuteness." [9] Simon Parkin of Eurogamer disliked the game's plain sexism and innuendo: the "characters make lewd comments with all the awkwardness of a children's TV presenter telling a dirty joke." [44] Matthew Razak of Destructoid found the characters "devolve into no more than slightly veiled references to cultural gaming cliches.", and while the actual game was disappointing, he praised the voice acting, writing that despite having bad puns, the delivery was done well. [30] Heidi Kemps of GamesRadar wrote that the main characters "come from the school of modern moe" and that the secondary characters were "just presented as generic blank silhouettes." [45] Kallie Plagge of IGN, in reviewing Re;Birth1, found the game missed chances to use their characters to satirize the game industry and that the characters would repeatedly point out each other's obvious attributes such as tsundere . [2]
In reviewing Mk2, Matthew Bennett, associate editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly critiqued Nepgear's character "Instead of four powerful and beautiful heroines we’re left with one pre-pubescent girl who’s suffering from a severe case of schizophrenia, never quite sure if she’s saving the world, or writing a Dear Diary entry." and also the characters' 3D modeling, which "on paper sounds like a fantastic upgrade, but though offering more emotion, just look out of place against the 2D backgrounds." [24]
Idea Factory business developer Damien Urvois, in promoting the Re;Birth version of Neptunia said that "Nowadays, the demand for moé is quite high overseas, so, we must quickly release the main titles." [46] Executive producer Norihisa Kochiwa said "I think the reason why the series has lasted so long and is loved so much is due to the characters." [4]
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Hyperdimension Neptunia is a series of role-playing video games created and developed by Compile Heart and Idea Factory. The series debuted in Japan on August 19, 2010, with the video game of the same name for the PlayStation 3, which received two sequels, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 and Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory. All three games were remade for PlayStation Vita and Windows. Another sequel, titled Megadimension Neptunia VII, as well as multiple spin-off and crossover games were released for various platforms since then. It has also branched off into a manga, light novel and anime media franchise series.
Asami Imai is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Early Wing. She debuted as a voice actress in 1997 and as singer in 2009 by releasing her first single "Day by Day / Shining Blue Rain" under the 5pb. Records label. She is also well known for giving voices to Chihaya Kisaragi in THE IDOLM@STER, Kurisu Makise in Steins;Gate, Tsubaki Yayoi in BlazBlue, and Ayumi Shinozaki in Corpse Party. She along with Eri Kitamura formed the music unit Artery Vein which is also under the 5pb. label.
Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is a 2011 role-playing video game developed by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, with assistance from Nippon Ichi Software, Gust Corporation, 5pb., and the recently founded company Comcept by Keiji Inafune. It is the sequel to the previous game named Hyperdimension Neptunia, announced on April 12, 2011 for the PlayStation 3, as the second installment in the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise, and is followed by Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory. It was released on August 18, 2011 in Japan, and was released in February 2012 in the United States and Europe. This is the first and so far only game in the series to receive a Mature rating from the ESRB in North America. The sequel contains both new and returning characters, and the gameplay has been updated so as to remove the random encounter feature. New maps and a brand new world feature as well, and the cutscenes have been upgraded from the old 2D visual novel style cutscenes. Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 was made available as a downloadable title on the PlayStation Network in August 2012.
Kaori Ishihara is a Japanese voice actress and singer managed by Style Cube. She was formerly part of Up-Front Agency in which she was involved with Happy! Style and Team Dekaris. She was affiliated with Sigma Seven from 2013 to 2017. She was a member of StylipS until April 2013, alongside YuiKaori and Yui Ogura. As a solo singer, she recorded several character songs for one of each characters. A couple of singles have charted on Oricon.
Christine Marie Cabanos is an American voice actress of Filipino descent. Some of her roles include Azusa Nakano in K-On!, the titular characters in Squid Girl and Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Mako Mankanshoku in Kill la Kill, Hisone Amakasu in Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn from the Viz Media redub of Sailor Moon, Shiemi Moriyama in Blue Exorcist, Silica in Sword Art Online, and Minori Kushieda in Toradora!. In video games, she voices Nepgear in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, Chiaki Nanami and Himiko Yumeno in the Danganronpa series, Filia and Fukua in Skullgirls, Amitie in Puyo Puyo Tetris, Elec-Tron in Vitamin Connection, as well as the Poplins in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is an action role-playing game developed and published by Idea Factory with the assistance of Compile Heart. It is the third installment in the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise. Set in the year 1989, the story takes place after Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 in an alternate dimension to Gamindustri, bringing more insight to the "Console War" story arc. The game was released in Japan in August 2012 and in North America and Europe in 2013.
Tsunako is a Japanese video game creator and illustrator who worked for Idea Factory. She has designed and illustrated characters for various games and print media. She is best known for illustrating the Hyperdimension Neptunia video game series, published by Idea Factory and developed by Compile Heart, as well as the Date A Live light novel series, written by Kōshi Tachibana.
Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart is a 2014 tactical role-playing game developed by Compile Heart and Sting Entertainment. The game is a spin-off title of the Hyperdimension Neptunia game series featuring Noire as the main character. The game was released in Japan on May 29, 2014, and in North America and Europe in February 2015. It was originally a PlayStation Vita exclusive. A port for Microsoft Windows was released on April 26, 2016.
Hyperdimension Neptunia is a 2010 role-playing video game developed by Idea Factory and published by Compile Heart in Japan, NIS America in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe exclusively for Sony's PlayStation 3. It is the first installment in the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise, and is followed by Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2. The game is a take on the seventh generation era "console war" among the three major home video game consoles: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed is a hack and slash video game developed by Compile Heart and Tamsoft and published by Idea Factory International. As a spin-off title in the Hyperdimension Neptunia game series, it was announced by Compile Heart at the 2014 Dengeki Stage Event when the game was being created by Tamsoft who is known for their work with the Senran Kagura and OneChanbara games. The game was released in Japan on August 28, 2014, and in North America and the PAL region in May 2015 for the PlayStation Vita.
Megadimension Neptunia VII is a 2015 role-playing game in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series by Idea Factory. It was released in Japan on April 23, 2015, in North America on February 2, 2016, and Europe on February 12, 2016. The Windows version was released on July 5, 2016. A Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan on March 19, 2020, and was released in North America and Europe on July 28, 2020.
Sega Hard Girls is a Japanese multimedia project produced as a collaboration between ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint and video game company Sega. The project re-imagines various Sega video game consoles as anthropomorphized goddesses who appear all over modern Japan. The project has inspired a light novel series written by Tōru Shiwasu with illustrations by Kei, which was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko Magazine between 2013 and 2014, and an anime television series adaptation titled Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls by TMS Entertainment, which aired in Japan between October and December 2014. A crossover video game with Idea Factory's Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise, Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls, was released for the PlayStation Vita in Japan in November 2015, and in North America and Europe in October 2016.
Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection, known in Japan as Kami Jigen Idol Neptune PP is a life simulation and rhythm video game developed by Compile Heart and Tamsoft and published by Idea Factory in Japan and NIS America in North America, Australia and Europe exclusively for the Sony PlayStation Vita. The game is a spin-off of the Hyperdimension Neptunia game series. The game was released in Japan on June 20, 2013, in North America on June 3, 2014, in Australia on June 5, 2014, and in Europe on June 6, 2014.
Super Neptunia RPG is a side-scrolling role-playing video game in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series developed by Artisan Studios, with assistance from Idea Factory and Compile Heart. It was published by Idea Factory for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows via Steam. In the game, Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and Vert, all suffering from amnesia, oppose Bombyx Mori, a group that forces citizens to create 2D video games while forbidding other games.
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link)Joining her are Compa (a representation of publisher Compile Heart) and IF (developer Idea Factory). You're pretty much stuck with these three throughout the entire game until near the very end.
Neptune is suffering from amnesia, and with the help of a mysterious voice named Histoire and a few friends she picks up along the way, she goes on a journey to regain her memories.
Despite my initial thoughts, the voice acting has certainly improved as well. The previous game really didn't do a great job of differentiating the voices, as it felt like almost everyone was trying to do their best impersonation of Cristina Vee's Compa instead of setting themselves apart. ... Special mention has to go to Melissa Fahn for channeling the old Sailor Moon dub for Neptune, and the aforementioned Cristina Vee doing really well playing against her usual type as the vulgar tomboy Croire.