Western reviews of ero-RPG Hyper Dimension Neptunia have seen the game denounced for its “disturbingly sexualized caricatures of young girls” and “depressing stereotypes of vapid, sexy cuteness,” a promising condemnation if ever there were one.
The game is definite niche title even in Japan, and by no means a masterpiece, but has generally received average reviews in Japan and amongst western JRPG fans – however top US reviewer-for-hire site GameSpot considers it a virtual abomination:
This hypersexualized role-playing game degrades the console war with questionable gameplay mechanics, choppy animation, and some truly awful music.
The Good:
* Building combos can be rewarding.
The Bad:
* Characters are disturbingly sexualized caricatures of young girls
* Visuals are choppy and poorly animated
* Music is so repetitive that it verges on painful
* Story does little to build on promising premise
* Random healing system is irritating and poorly executed.Hyperdimension Neptunia begins with a promising premise: It personifies each of the major systems in the so-called “console wars,” lending each its own personality and powers.
But if you’re expecting an amusing deconstruction of the video game industry, prepare to be disappointed. Instead, Neptunia’s premise is a thin excuse for a role-playing game that revolves around hypersexualized young girls.
Thus, key characters amount to little more than disturbing dolls wielding such weapons as a giant syringe.
Characters like IF (short for Idea Factory) and Compa (Compile Heart) have their own look, but otherwise, they’re almost completely devoid of personality, existing only as depressing stereotypes of vapid, sexy cuteness.
With no marketing bribes forthcoming and a (female) reviewer who evidently hates both anime girls and JRPGs, let alone niche ecchi RPGs, such a rating is perhaps none too surprising.
Those interested in depressing stereotypes of vapid, sexy cuteness and disturbingly sexualised caricatures of young girls will find the game to be readily available.
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it's a gamespot review, who cares?
play it, you'll like it or you won't...
personally, gimmie...
Fun stuff to click on "Reply to Fapping Time".
I understand the "it's a gamespot review" part, they've always been one of the gaming sites with the worst reviewers.
Just for the fun of it I went and red her review.. it looks like something a pre-adolescent kid could come up with as far as writing reviews go, GameSpot will never cease to amaze me with how bad their reviewers can be.
Wow I never thought that being sexy would be a bad thing in a video game o3o;;
Oh wait this review was from a girl, who not only hates anime girls but JRPG's as well. So...I don't know about everyone else but I'm going to completely ignore her rating >.>;;
I like anime girls and JRPG's and I intend on getting this game >.<
Biased reviewer is biased -nods-
I am female. I adore the art in this game. Frankly, a shitty game with smexy anime girls is worth playing sometimes XD
I agree with ya XP
sexualizing girls? i don't see any difference with the girls in this game compared to others. i have to -1 to gamespot for this for trying to be different, retardedly different.
Sexualizing 'young' girls.
Who cares imma fap to it and anyone who says different can jump off a bridge!
FAP FAP FAP.
is there something about Kat Bailey exactly, or are people just raging because she bitched about sexualized girls?
in all seriousness, i was just curious if this is part of some trend for her.
i don't recognize the name and frankly i stopped reading Gamespot after Kasavin left as he was the last editor they had who was worth anything.
Part of the issue, of course, is to never trust 'professional reviewers'. If you're a part of any decently involved gaming community, which this more or less is anyway, you already know this.
Youtube is a wonderful source for evaluating a game and how it plays, just from watching gameplay videos. I just wish more people would actually do a little research themselves rather than blindly following reviewers.
It's not. Only to prudes and religious zealouts hate it.
Most hypocritical :P
You know in an age where you can find porn in .3 seconds on the internet, fanservice is just becoming annoying.
WTF This game is bad-ass!!!
She wouldn't know a good game if it snuck up behind her and gave surprise buttsecks
Biased reviewer is biased reviewer. My moralfag sense is tingling.
Gamespot suck. HN is good game for a right person.
Since it's intended for niche market, it's not surprising it gets very low score from GS/Gamefaqs, and not to mention it's reviewed by (female)(biased) reviewer.
Gamespot are a bunch of anti-loli moralfags.
Dude, did you see the tits on some of these girls?
If those are lolis...
I don't know, but every human has nipples. Or the lolis aren't humans?
Sankaku Complex are a bunch of loli weaboos.
I wish I were a loli. Does that count?
Whining about people being weaboos on a website that reports what's happening in eastern asia and on 2ch? How goddamn stupid can one be?
Not all of them are. Don't have anything against them personally, but I really despise the ones who obsess over Japan and such through the sole influence of anime and related material.
Gamespot typical shitty western review website.
Hater gonna hate. They rather have people fapping to 50 year old grannies than the beautiful.
Quick, someone should tell 2ch about this!
I want to see how they respond.
I hope they'll respond it by taking this review to the Pixiv artists and make the reviewer into a running internet joke.
Meh don't generalize women just because of this moralfag-ette. I'm a chick. I would play this shit just for the chara design if anything.
I get the feeling that 'hypersexual' is supposed to imply that something is wrong, but I can't figure out what.
I'm all for equality, but... having a woman review what is essentially an eroge makes about as much sense as having a man review feminine hygiene products.
"I tried sticking this tampon up my ass. It felt weird, and not at all comfortable. One out of five stars."
See? It makes no sense at all.
"I tried sticking this tampon up my ass. It felt weird, and not at all comfortable. One out of five stars."
That was win.
I don't care if it's the shittiest game ever, I rated it 10 just because a woman reviewed it. She mad.
What if he was gay?
Wouldn't that be biased?
I'm pretty sure gay men do not have vaginas.
yea and I'm pretty sure tampons don't go up the ass.
Then why did we recruit him to do a review on this one lol (Imagines the article using all gay overtones)
don't ask why i know, but they are more comfortable than you think.
Don't think all women will think badly of this game or that she reviewed it badly because she's a woman. I've seen plenty of reviews completely slamming DokiDoki Mahou Shipan that were all written by men and they said exactly the same thing about how the young girls were 'disturbing'.
I think this game looks pretty awesome tbh, and I'm a woman.
Prudes come in both genders and sizes.
Sir, your example is win.
"Lesbian".
I am female.
I love Neptunia, including, but not limited to, the fanservice, and Red-Chan. Sexy women are great for me.
Letting me review it would make perfect sense. A more proper example would be "Letting a male reviewer review a yaoi rape game".
Unless he was gay, he'd not get it, either.
LOL!
Agreed man, agreed.
I saw this theme & wallpaper as well as "ADD ON" packs on the Playstation Network the other day...I really wanted to TRY this game!
Should've known if it was sexual MOE + PS3 it would be FULL Win and that Artefact would mention it
I played it, and honestly, its quite enjoyable. Sure, its not the most compelling masterpiece ever, bu the artwork and the dialogues are interesting and funny enoug. I don't regret buying it, especially with the artbook.
Yep, playing a game just for the "artbook and dialogues", well spent money indeed...
You've never played a visual novel, have you?
I love visual novels and JRPG, but I agree with anon5:56.
Indeed I regret to buying it, but I keep the artbook and sell the game.
silly anon, go back to playing your first person shooters.
@09:04: Nothing, as long as you play good ones. *goes back to playing Bulletstorm*
What's wrong with shooters?
who the fuck are you to judge whats good to spend on and whats not. firstly, your not them, secondly, its not your money, so really, he has full right to tell you to fuck off.
"* Characters are disturbingly sexualized caricatures of young girls"
"key characters amount to little more than disturbing dolls wielding such weapons as a giant syringe."
i dont see anything wrong or bad with this, in what hole does this people live?
OMG there's a people still believe gamespot's rating? lmao..
You will never know a great game out there in this wide wide world if you still sitting inside cave with your gamespot's reviews.
(─‿‿─) V
Gamestop is so biased--only IGN is worse.
I guess that they think "Bolder-punching Chris" is better
"there's a people still believe gamespot's rating?"
Yes, why not? "User Score" usally speaks truth.
I think it's like saying To Love-Ru has too much ecchi in it. They're totally missing the whole point.
It's just yet another situation where the dumbasses had someone who doesn't like JRPGs or whatever review the game. There'll be nothing particularly groundbreaking about the game at all, but the concept itself is amusing enough to be a bit new in the midst of all the other stuff we're used to.
Anyone who gives a game like this a 3 is a moron, plain and simple. You can tell how stupid it is by this line:
"This hypersexualized role-playing game degrades the console war..."
Degrades the console war? You actually gave credence to childish fanboys and irrational marketing bullshit as something worth putting on a pedestal? Again, a good, hearty, go fuck yourself. You don't deserve your job.
This game is hardly ero if you ask me >_>
my biggest upset with the game, as with all games such as this, that there are no subtitles during combat sequences for w/e little excerpts characters may yell out...
i was thinking so....they're suprised that an ero game has...ero in it~?
it's like giving a shooter a bad score for 'characters are disturbingly willing to shoot anything and everything that moves'
Can this even be compared to stuff like ero?
They all look like typical personification girls to me...
Unfortunately most common people will belive it. It's fun getting such review. When most western games do the same of worse.
Funny enough, disturbingly sexualized caricatures of women are considered acceptable in western games. Makes me wonder how the reviewer would react to old grandmas in tights.
Well, some people absolutely hate these things.
Me for example. Can't stand it.
Still, i don't make a point out of people that do like it.
That'd be like trying to stop porn.
And you can't stop porn.
In Soviet Russia the Porn Stops you
completly agree
Fucking female reviewers...
or gays reviewers...