Did you miss out on the 2016 release of Megadimension Neptunia VII? Do you wish to experience a more updated version with some VR elements? Then here’s your chance to experience this with Neptune and the other goddesses of the beloved Gamindustri in Megadimension Neptunia VIIR! Acting as an updated version of Megadimension Neptunia VII, Megadimension Neptunia VIIR allows fans of this long running JRPG series a chance at enjoying some updated graphics and gameplay due to a new engine being used. Plus, with VR, you can now see the glorious goddesses in a way unlike ever before.

Megadimension Neptunia VIIR is an updated version of Megadimension Neptunia VII released in 2016. With this new version, players can once more experience the story of Megadimension Neptunia VII but with an updated engine that allows better stability and smoother graphics. Players will also get the chance to meet their beloved Gamindustri goddesses using a PSVR headset as Megadimension Neptunia VIIR comes with VR capabilities. With battle mechanics improved and VR, Megadimension Neptunia VIIR offers a lot to newcomers and some new things to enjoy for those who played the original version. It’s time to re-enter the battle to save the numerous worlds of Gamindustri in Megadimension Neptunia VIIR!

Megadimension Neptunia VIIR is an updated version of the 2016 Megadimension Neptunia VII title. Once more we join Neptunia and her friends as they find themselves in the Zero Dimension, which is about to come to a close due to an onslaught of dark CPU forces. Joining Uzume Tennouboshi, Neptunia and her sister Nepgear, the two must fight to save Zero Dimension before it’s too late. Meanwhile, another strange event is occurring outside Gamindustri where a portal has opened leading to our world! The player—which is you—will now be able to meet the Goddesses and interact with them as they learn more about you. Saving a world and meeting Goddesses… Megadimension Neptunia VIIR is definitely bringing you on a wild ride to say the least.

In 2016, publisher Idea Factory alongside developer Compile Heart released Megadimension Neptunia VII. While it wasn’t perfect and had some flaws here and there, Megadimension Neptunia VII was yet another solid entry in the long running series dating back to the PS3 era. Now in 2018, Megadimension Neptunia VIIR arrives on the PS4 as an updated version of the 2016 title with added VR gameplay. We here at Honey’s Anime were given copies of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR and we immediately jumped in to see what has changed in this new version. Join us now as we discuss our time spent with this rather long running franchise in our review of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR for the PS4.

We’ll assume you’ve played the other Megadimension titles, but in case you haven’t, we shall explain what’s going on here. Players control Neptune, a goddess living in the gaming world of Gamindustri. Here, various gaming consoles—based loosely off the consoles in the real world—are represented as worlds and are ruled by each goddess. Megadimension Neptunia VIIR follows Neptune as she gets involved in a new gaming world—Zero Dimension—that is on the brink of disappearing due to a battle brewing. The story for Megadimension Neptunia VII hasn’t changed much though so if you played it in the past, you’re going to know what to expect in Megadimension Neptunia VIIR.

Now with the base synopsis out of the way, let us talk about the gameplay. Megadimension Neptunia VIIR is a turn-based JRPG with the usual mechanics returning from the series. You’ll enter battles when you touch enemies on a map and/or if an event dictates a fight and from there you use several of the girls and maneuver them on screen to hit the enemy with attacks. The big element of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR—just like the past titles—is that each girl has a dual form that changes their appearance and allows for heavy attacks and special moves. With Megadimension Neptunia VIIR, the biggest changes come in the form of a revamped battle system from Megadimension Neptunia VII that allows combos to be set during battle and new moves that can be unleashed on the enemy. We won’t say these changes are groundbreaking, but they do help Megadimension Neptunia VIIR feel slightly more polished than the original version from 2 years back.

Another change from Megadimension Neptunia VII is that everything in Megadimension Neptunia VIIR looks sharper. Enemies have stronger visuals, characters look updated and Megadimension Neptunia VIIR runs super smooth. We played for several hours and aside from one or two crashes—this was more during the VR segments though—we never ran into framerate drops and issues like we did in Megadimension Neptunia VII. Megadimension Neptunia VIIR doesn’t look extremely impressive as the graphics for the series are beginning to show a bit of age, especially during the special move sections. Overall though, Megadimension Neptunia VIIR looks and runs significantly better which we can’t complain about. Now, let us dive into the biggest addition to Megadimension Neptunia VIIR and that is the VR element. We have some good things to say as well as some bad things.

Easily, the most celebrated element of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR is the VR addition. During some sequences or when in the “Player’s Room,” VR allows for players to interact with the cute goddesses of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR. What is good about this is that you get to see Vert, Neptune, Blanc and other girls in VR as they interact with you wearing their quite revealing clothes and just make you laugh with their funny banter. Players can react to the goddesses by making motions with their head in yes or no maneuvers, and the reactions of the girls will change as you do this. Play more of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR and you’ll unlock more events for the VR as well as more items to customize your room in game.

Unfortunately, while having the girls in VR is cool, that’s about all you can enjoy in Megadimension Neptunia VIIR’s VR mode. There isn’t much to do here aside from ogle at the goddesses and just customize your room. We wish the main game of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR would have utilized the VR element in some way but it doesn’t. All you do is stare at girls and occasionally respond with simple movements…that’s it. What’s even worse is that staring at them reveals a rather sad truth about the girls of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR…they look strangely out of focus. We tried messing with our headset settings but for some reason, all of the girls just had blurry visuals that really add to our ho hum experience with the VR portions of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR. Maybe a future patch will fix this but for now, don’t expect the girls too look perfect.

Megadimension Neptunia VIIR might have added a VR element and some slightly updated gameplay mechanics/visuals but for the most part those who have played the original Megadimension Neptunia VII—which came out in 2016—might feel this is an unnecessary title. Don’t get us wrong, folks; we still like Megadimension Neptunia VIIR as it’s a solid JRPG with a solid turn-based style—which has been revamped for the better— and tons of cute gaming related dialogue and homages. Yet, Megadimension Neptunia VIIR doesn’t add much beyond the VR portion and thus if you trekked through the original you might feel that asking $59.99 for a slightly updated version isn’t really worth it. However, if you did miss out on Megadimension Neptunia VII then playing Megadimension Neptunia VIIR will be perfectly fine as it’s a solid entry in the series as a whole. Here at Honey’s Anime we recommend Megadimension Neptunia VIIR only to those who are diehard fans of the franchise or really love VR anime girls…which we understand why you of course would.

Megadimension Neptunia VIIR is at a whole a solid remaster/update—whichever you want to call it—of the previous entry we say two years ago. While the VR elements are neat and it’s cool to see the girls in this spectrum, more could have been done with the VR to warrant this basically full price update title. Those who missed out on Megadimension Neptunia VII though will no doubt love Megadimension Neptunia VIIR and we think even those new to the series will enjoy this solid JRPG. Are you planning to pick up Megadimension Neptunia VIIR when it releases in May? Let us know down in the comments below. Remember to keep coming back to our hive for even more gaming news, reviews and articles done by us here at Honey’s Anime!