Let's talk about Cyberdimension Neptunia [SPOILERS]

It's Nep-Nep time!


Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online was a game I was both excited for and worried about.  On paper, it sounded really exciting: Hack 'n Slash Action-RPG in an MMO setting.  But seeing videos of it in action, I had a different impression.  Combat looked a bit stiff, graphics were rather poor, and gameplay looked repetitive.  But I'm stubborn and I was prepared to buy and play through it.  I was sadly hit with a ton of disappointments when I first started.

Things that disappointed me:
- The beginning is so long with lots of talking
- Environmental graphics were not that good
- Camera angles can be awful and the environment can sometimes block the entire screen
- Enemies looked cheap and lazy
- Combat felt stiff and clumsy
- Lots of revisiting areas (though I kind of suspected that from previous games)
- No exciting item drops like in a real MMO

But after about 6 hours into the game, things started to change:
+ I got the 4 little sisters, they're so much fun to play!  AND THEY'RE SO CUTE!
+ More skills were added and combat suddenly got a lot more interesting
+ There are a lot of original music for once!
+ Revisiting areas and killing the boss over and over felt relaxing and somehow familiar
+ And then I realized it's very similar to Phantasy Star Online, one of my favorite games
+ Boss fights can be quite challenging and preparing my team for them is entertaining
+ Story took a different turn and it really got me into it

The familiar feeling of grinding and farming felt almost cathartic despite it usually feeling like a tedious chore in other games.  The fact that it reminded me of the days of playing Phantasy Star Online is probably what got me really into the game.  I finished the main story, then the MMO's game story, and stopped right afterwards because post game was mostly just grinding and farming to fulfill quests and I really wanted to move onto new games.  It took some time to get used to, but learning how to dodge, parry, and use skills effectively really changed how combat felt.  I liked arranging my party and leveling them up.  Switching between the different characters and utilizing different skills kept the game from being monotonous.  The character designs are great.  Tsunako did a wonderful job.  Bouquet is flippin' adorable!  I really like all the new and different outfits the characters wore, especially after seeing them in their familiar attire for so many games in a row.  The game has a lot of flaws, but it was well worth playing through and I had a lot of fun.