Megadimension Neptunia VII arrived in 2015 as the first game in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series built for PlayStation 4. Compile Heart and Idea Factory developed and published it. The sequel to Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory later came to PC and Nintendo Switch. It holds a 6.8 out of 10 across six outlets.
Trailer, via コンパイルハート.
Neptune and Nepgear in the Zero Dimension
The setup is pure Neptunia. Neptune rules Planeptune as its goddess. Her sister Nepgear fights beside her. The two are warned that a “CPU Shift Period” is coming — a stretch when the people of Gamindustri might abandon their divine rulers for newcomers. Before they can prepare, a mysterious old game console pulls them out of the Hyper Dimension and drops them in the Zero Dimension.
That world is ruined and full of monsters. There the sisters meet Uzume Tennouboshi, a fellow ruler with amnesia. She is a tomboy, serious and straightforward, though she has a dreamy side. She also carries a megaphone as her default weapon. The three team up to reclaim the wasteland and beat the giant Dark CPUs so Neptune and Nepgear can get home.
The game splits into three individual chapters, one per dimension, each with its own title and its own story.
Uzume Tennouboshi and Orange Heart
Uzume is voiced by Mariko Honda and represents the Sega Dreamcast. She has amnesia like Neptune once did, but where Neptune is flippant, Uzume is earnest. She later turns out to be the CPU of Planeptune in the Zero Dimension, the same role Plutia fills in the Ultra Dimension.
She gains the ability to transform into Orange Heart. The shift changes her from tomboyish and serious into girly and childish, though she can still be serious in a fight. The source describes it as a contrast with Neptune’s change into Purple Heart.
Gold Third is a group of four trying to take over the four nations of Gamindustri in the Hyper Dimension. B-Sha represents Bandai Namco, plays hero, loves money and fears monsters. She rules Planeptune. K-Sha represents Konami, attends Lastation’s military academy, turns ruthless with a firearm and falls in love with Noire. She rules Lastation.
C-Sha leads the group, represents Capcom and rules Lowee, where her own corrupt government later tortures her. S-Sha represents Square Enix, rules Leanbox, sends Vert on missions and has another side. Kurome Ankokuboshi is the main antagonist — the dark side of Uzume, technically the original Uzume, and one of the Dark CPUs. Her goal is to merge every dimension and destroy them into nothing.
DLC adds Million Arthur, God Eater and Nitroplus as characters.
Next Forms and Unit Turn-based Battles
The game uses a new battle system with a different combo structure from earlier entries, though some similarities to the old games remain. Positioning matters a lot. When it becomes the player’s turn, they pick a character and move freely around the battlefield. Battles run on a four-member party “Unit Turn-based” system.
Each goddess has a “Next Form,” an extra transformation phase stacked on top of her existing goddess transformation. These forms change combat style, and they also change the character’s personality.
The gameplay places strong emphasis on the positioning of characters.
Three Dimensions, Three Chapters
Megadimension Neptunia VII wants three stories and gives each one a chapter. The Zero Dimension chapter pairs Neptune, Nepgear and Uzume. The Hyper Dimension chapter covers Gold Third and the four nations. The third chapter draws on both dimensions and the scheme Kurome is running.
The themes are fantasy, science fiction and comedy at once. The modes are single player, and the perspective is third person.
| Chapter | Dimension | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| One | Zero Dimension | Neptune, Nepgear and Uzume |
| Two | Hyper Dimension | Gold Third and the four nations |
| Three | Both | Kurome and the dimensional scheme |
What the 6.8 Says
The 6.8 out of 10 comes from an IGDB critic aggregate covering six outlets. That is the only published score the source gives. It is a middling number for a game that arrived as the series’ first PlayStation 4 entry.
The Next Forms are the mechanic the source singles out. They change combat style and personality together. Uzume carries a megaphone as her default weapon and gets a full transformation of her own into Orange Heart.
The rest of the pitch is familiar ground. Gold Third parodies four game companies. The DLC roster adds three more characters drawn from other properties.
What the source does not give is any ranking of the three chapters, any word on how the ports performed, or any claim about who the game is for. It gives the score, the structure, the cast and the battle system. That is the whole record.
The score is the part worth weighing. Six outlets is a small sample, and 6.8 sits in the middle of the scale. It says the game was received as competent rather than exceptional. Nothing in the source contradicts that, and nothing in it argues the number should be higher or lower.
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