Review: HyperDimension Neptunia Producing Perfection

Get your training wheels on, ladies, because a new producer is in town and the fate of Gamindustri hangs in the balance!

Pros:

• Cutesy Japanese Anime style graphics.
• Really good head nodding J-Pop soundtrack. Best listened to with headphones.
• Short tutorial takes place at the beginning but you can bring up the tutorial overlay at any point.
• Plays as a micro management game as you guide your idol through concerts and press events, climb the score board to dominate the charts.
• Four different characters to pick from and each have their own unique story and all play differently.
• Controls once learnt are easy enough and the game uses the rear touch pad for activating HDD moves, You can use the touch screen in the menu or use face buttons.
• The story overall may sound a bit pants but in truth, It will be one of the most craziest and weird story lines you have ever taken part in.
• You have a set amount of days in which to get your idol to number one in the charts and all actions will take varying amounts of days to finish.
• When you are not taking part in concerts, You can build up your stats with the various side jobs for your idol. Things like promo events or a days recording at a studio. Taking short breaks or sending them to study will increase your stats quicker but also drain your days away.
• Your idol can  hang out with the three other idols and become friends, Even recruit them into a duet ensemble or a group.
• It is possible to try and have relations with your idol as you take time out of your busy schedule to have some quiet time with them.
• When your idol is doing a concert, You can set everything up first, Pick their outfit, the stage and any special effects that can be used during the performance. Your job when she is performing is to control the camera and initiate the special effects at your own will. Timing it with the song and crowd reaction will increase your odds of a better concert score at the end and gain more fans.
• At the end of each concert you will get a score and rank that will take into account special effects usage, timing and your camera work.
• The camera in concerts has a wealth of options from close ups to up skirt to over head, Ten you can flip them around or tilt it to the side.
• You can unlock new items to dress up your idol by doing jobs or performing well in concerts.
• Once you finish the game you unlock a new game mode and can re play the story with a different character via a new game plus style option. In new game plus you keep all your unlocks and can use them again on the other characters if applicable.
• The new game mode unlocked is one in which you can just play the concerts and do as many as you like.
• There are 5 songs in the game to unlock and each idol will have their own favourite song which will increase their ranking score.
• Detailed glossary style section where the game images will flip to a  portrait view and show off all the characters in the game, Here you can swap out items and clothes to see the different styles.
• When playing a concert solo you can build up to do a HDD move which is basically a special move where they change into their secondary “revealing” costume and the crowd always go nuts!!(wonder why)
• With all actions you may trigger the stress bar to fill, Filling it to 100% will result in a game over. You take holidays or short breaks to lower the stress level.
• The game is very easy to play and is a really good chill out game that at first seems like a interactive novel but in essence turns into quite an addictive little management game.
• Depending on your actions in game and how you answer qte questions, Determines the idols ending and how the game changes so you can see different results on every play through.

Cons:

• A steep learning curve as you attempt to take in all the options for concerts and jobs etc.
• The game itself is very short and you can easily get through the story in but a few hours.
• There are only 5 songs in the game and for a game that has a highly decorative history such as this, This is bad news for long time fans.
• The game is really easy and you never really get in any trouble.
• It is possible to play through the whole game just pressing a few buttons and not pay any attention and still come out in first place.
• In concerts you canliterally spam the special effects over and over to get a good rank or not do anything at all and still do well.

In Summary, The game is a nice little game with loads of humour and playability. Its one big downfall is the fact that the game is so easy and can be finished in a few hours. Now this is the first I have played in the series, But I know that just 5 songs in the game is stupidly small and borderline insulting. I still do not know the proper way to do concerts but yet I got the top rank a few times. I found I enjoyed the game more than I thought I would. It started off slow and confusing, Bit like my first day at school! For any pixel porn fans out there, The boobies are in the game and mover “very well” and get mentioned a lot in the game. I apologise for mentioning it but it is right there in yo face! Boobies aside, The game is a fun distraction for a few hours and is a nice game to wind down with but in terms of long time play it falls way short. It has made me track down other earlier titles so its a win win for the game series!