Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online (PS4)

For those of you new to the Neptunia games they are a part of a JRPG gaming series created by Compile Heart, and Tamsoft. Each of the adventures, and even the spin-off entries included in the line-up which are published by Idea Factory Intl. incorporate a lore that mimics, makes fun of, and pokes at the real life gaming industry happenings. Whether it be related to content creators or the gaming community the mostly all girl cast of characters playfully make you think deeply of each aspect of the gaming industry while they deal with their own lighthearted in-game engagements against foe, and friend. The main characters including Neptune, Blanc, Vert, Noire, Nepgear, Uni, Rom, Ram, and a whole host of other characters based on gaming console companies, and PR among other things hail as the CPU goddesses of their respective Gameindustri nations as well as characters of related interest. Usually fighting over Gameindustri shares via all out battles, or saving their nations from certain doom inflicted by a threat of various evil entities the Gameindustri gals steal your heart with their charm, and sometimes lewd antics.

In the newest adventure that is, "Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online", the developer takes the gamer into the world of MMORPGs through a 4th wall breaking Gameindustri MMO Beta that takes the form of a certain game often times mentioned by Vert as one of her favorite online gaming past times. This Beta draws in the four CPU goddesses, and their CPU sister candidates as they take on quests, and advance the story through their usual conversations, and battles. Within "4 Goddesses Online" they find that they are on a quest as guild members to awaken, and restore the power of the 4 Goddesses of Alsgard in order to combat an ancient evil threat that seeks to claim four fabled treasures of immense power for it's own diabolical use. The evil antagonist, through his minions, has obtained two of the relics already leaving two that are undiscovered. This is where Neptune, and the Gameindustri gang steps in ...

Using the new NPC AI controlled guide 'Boquet' as their source of in-game information, Neptune and her eager companions follow the given path to the treasures, and enemies thinking of the quest as nothing more than the MMO experience that it supposedly is. Along the way each goddess, and sister candidate takes on a class role dawning a new look, and a new purpose in the action JRPG combat. Neptune is the Paladin, Noire is the Black Knight, Blanc the Healer, and Vert the Enchantress. Joining the CPU goddess foursome is Nepgear who plays a Mage, Uni who plays a Thief, Rom who plays a Samurai, and Ram who plays a Ninja. Each of the party members join the fray in a mix & match fashion with their own special skill set aligned with their set class roles. Of course you can only play as one leader character at a time, but the others will support you in AI fashion with a tactics focus that can be set via the "Tactics" menu if you choose to take the lonely single player road. The mentioned tactics include options for focusing on defenses, attacking, personality, anything the AI chooses, and a few other choices to varying effect. Also to note is that this game takes the base party formula a step further beyond the single player aspect allowing the players to enjoy MMORPG matchmaking in the town hub of Wishuel while teaming up with actual online players on the PSN. Up to four online PS4 players who own the game can take on the quests through online multiplayer matchmaking made available via a simple bulletin board listing in the town hub area. A bulletin board that houses both "Create a Match", and "Search" options.

Combat in the stacked dungeon environments of this newly introduced Neptunia adventure is a more simple, and action oriented experience than ever before. More akin to a 3D platformer. The characters each have a base melee combo attack tied only to the "SQUARE" button. Spamming "SQUARE" will produce combos thus doing away with the tedious combo micro-management of other series' entries. As far as skills go holding down the "L1" button will bring up one of two selected four option skill sets that are class, and character specific. Each skill is assigned to one of the four face buttons, respectively. Switching skill sets is done by pressing 'Up' or 'Down' on the DPad while in a dungeon area. Item usage is also a thing, and you can assign several quick use items via the "OPTIONS" "ITEMS" menu. These items which can be chosen by browsing, and highlighted through the same means via the 'Right' or 'Left' DPad buttons can then be used by pressing "TRIANGLE" on your controller. This comes in handy when you need SP for skills or healing when you don't have an active healer in your party.

Movement, which is another key feature, is done with a directional tilting of the Left Thumbstick while camera focus is adjusted through a directional tilting of the Right Thumbstick. Jumping for platforming sake is done by pressing "X". Also to note is the lock-on feature which is done with "R1". There's that, and a new blocking mechanic which includes held blocking as well as a timed block which will stagger enemies if performed precisely at the point of contact. Blocking is done via "R2". The powered up versions of the CPU goddesses, and sister candidates this time around are also made available, but visually and functionally different. This function is activated by pressing in "L3" when the character portrait meter fills up through combo'd attacks. It basically increases damage dealing, and defenses for a short time. Enemies which take the directed damage are once again governed by a health meter, and a break meter. To effectively deal damage to the enemy's base HP you must first deplete or guard break the break meter.

When it comes to the character setup this time around each Goddess, and Candidate has two base equipment items including a weapon and a piece of armor. Weapons can be bought through the town hub's "Chaos Factory', and further upgraded through the "Gion Blacksmith" using obtained materials from fought monsters. Character applied accessories, which were once stat influencing, are more of an adjustable visual feature this time around that can be moved, enlarged, or altered via the "Costume" menu for superficial purposes. You can find accessories in the dungeons via chests or item pick-ups. They can also be bought from Pierre's Emporium which acts as the town hub's general store. When applying accessories through your menu you'll find manual options for moving, and altering the accessories as well as an X, Y, and Z coordinates adjustment with options pertaining to each movement and appearance setting. Something else worth mentioning is that your party members can each hold gems in their inventory. Gems act as the buffs we've often seen in other menu listings in the series. Gems can be bought through the Gem Shop at the main town hub of Wishuel, and will do things such as increase damage, and defenses as well as make skills more effective among other things.

The town hub of Wishuel that I've spoke so often of in previous paragraphs is where things get started, and things are managed. You'll find in place NPC avatars that offer simple dialogue flavor text as well as highlighted ones with exclamation marks over their heads that trigger cutscenes which forward the game's narrative. There's also a 'Training Ground' that houses the initial tutorial lessons in hands-on form as well as a 'Cathedral' where you can save your game, view the gallery of collected cutscene art, and pay for prayers that add bonus effects to the dungeon outings. Other available hub locales include the shops I mentioned such as 'Pierre's Emporium', the 'Gem Shop', the 'Chaos Factory', and a 'Costume Outlet' . The 'Chaos Factory' serves as a means to buy more powerful equipment, items, and weapons while the others are fairly much self-explanatory. Outside of that the key structures such as the 'Guild' allows you to do the usual quests for currency, and items. It returns in a new fashion though with guild ranks that simply offer more updated and increasingly challenging quests as you progress. For that matchmaking opportunity I mentioned before you'll simply need to click on the Wishuel billboard, and select the option that suits your fancy from there.

The world map where you'll be visiting dungeons follows a familiar Neptunia layout. Points of interest, or dungeon locations appear on a point-by-point path as you forward the plot, complete key quests, and battle foes of greater and lesser importance. Speaking of quests they do vary at the 'Guild'. They include menial tasks such as monster killing, or material gathering as well as boss fights that act as pivotal points in the story being told and forward the game through attached character related conversations. In the dungeons in which these quests are fulfilled you'll find mobs of monsters, multi-layered areas, conversational events, hidden items, warp monuments, town teleports, and bosses. The locked chests which also are a feature require a key to unlock, and harbor more treasured items, so it's a good idea to backtrack every now and then.

Graphically, '4 Goddesses Online' is a notable upgrade from past series installments. The environments are more vividly portrayed, and vastly more detailed in a way that is quite similar to the latest 'Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" Twitch game. The character models look more impressive as does the decent variety of enemy baddies. The game's design harbors an oddly more mature look outside of the similar series' anime art shown in each of the character conversations. The soundtrack is also impressive as is everything else about the game. It's a refined gameplay experience that seems less about character based menu micro-management, and more about in-game party management. The party setup is definitely a key feature in the new Neptunia game as each character contributes something unique to the combat.

The Verdict ...

As a long time Neptunia fan I was completely surprised by how much things had improved, and by how Compile Heart and Tamsoft were able to once again find another noteworthy topic of discussion regarding the real world gaming industry to embed in their adventure. I loved the various character conversations that discreetly talked about the MMO gamer culture, in particular. The fact that things like guys making characters that are girls, and girls doing the opposite were mentioned makes this game all the more relative. The presentation is also something to write home about. Everything about this game was an improvement upon what had been established in past entries of the series, outside of the highly unnecessary loading screen at the start of the game that seems like a bad joke. The new class based mechanics, and new party focus added something cool to the staple Neptunia formula. I personally liked the fact that players can now party up with actual people online. It really pushes that MMORPG focus home while keeping the story intact for players to enjoy. I have to say that, "Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online" is my new favorite Neptunia game! Vert's increased level of girl-on-girl perversion really strikes a chord! ... Just kidding, lol! It is an Awesome game though! It's coming to the PS4 on Tuesday October 10th, 2017! Don't miss out!