MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies Reviews
The best way to enjoy MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is to realize that the game is a shortish visual novel with action interludes.
If you’re a massive fan of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, or not at all picky about your hack-and-slash titles, you might get a kick out of MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can say is worth the investment for anyone else; outside of a decent multiplayer mode, the game only has a mind-numbingly dull campaign to offer. That mode is so monotonous and soulless — from its endless use of the same enemies over and over again, to its trite and tired narrative — that it drew my attention to just how fatigued this entire franchise is feeling with multiple releases every year. I think it’s time to give Neptune a well-deserved vacation.
MegaTagmension Blanc+Neptune Vs. Zombies is a very solid first attempt from Compile Heart at a multiplayer Neptunia game. While I cannot recommend this game to people who are not already fans of the series this game is a fun addition to the Neptunia series and fans will get a good laugh out of the charm and wit of the story while beating up hordes of zombies as their favorite characters.
Unfortunately, MegaTagmension Blanc hides away its best features in its multiplayer mode, and those looking for a strong single player experience will be largely disappointed.
It’s heavily exploitative with those school uniforms, and that might put you off it, but for existing fans of the girls and their antics, this is another very worthy and thematically spot-on feather in the cap. It also represents one of the stronger efforts at storytelling in the series, aside from Idea Factory’s own work, and that's a good sign for the future development of the series.
It’s not a perfect game by any means, but if you need your cute-girls-destroying-monsters fix, you can’t go wrong with MegaTagmension.
MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies may not be the best game in the Neptunia series, but it is certainly the quickest paced and most action packed of any title. It is a more fitting format for what the game wants to accomplish, and this comes through with cleaner transition from battle to cutscene and vice versa, large and open battles, and a character selection variety that allows you to explore the cast better than ever. Fun, creative, and only a little monotonous, MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is a top notch game worthy of a look.
A strong multiplayer feature buckles under the weight of a middling single player mode.
It would be easy for me not to recommend MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies. The game is smothered by a poor camera, an excess of short load screens, a forgettable campaign, simplistic missions, portions of undubbed dialog and an overall lack of polish. But even with all that, I still managed to have a bit of fun pulverizing the bad guys with a little help from some scantily clad girls online. Is it $40 fun? Hell no, but you should keep it in mind if ever it goes on sale and you've had your run of other, more superior hack-and-slashers.
MegaTagmension: Blanc + Neptune vs. Zombies is one of those games where you definitely have to be either a fan of the genre or a fan of the series to enjoy, and even then you're not necessarily going to enjoy it past the initial playthrough unless you're a diehard fan of these games. The story is bland, the characters have a lot of personality that doesn't always get to shine, and the gameplay is repetitive, even according to musou standards. However, the moments where everything seems to click, it serves this game extremely well.
MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is a welcome spin-off of the Hyperdimension series.
The shallow combat and short stages just don't gel with the the overwhelming customisation and myriad of menus - especially not when it falls back on grinding to drag the experience out. Hardcore Nep-heads might dig seeing the cast in a different setting, but even they'll get an unfortunate sense of deja vu over all the rehashed content.
The Neptunia series of games continues to provide excellent games, this latest entry rising to be one of my favourites in a series I already rank above most others. The roster of characters we all love is present herein, and the action gameplay is a nice change of pace while waiting for the next main series entry. Though I, for one, am eagerly anticipating the next spin-off game, Superdimension Neptune vs Sega Hard Girls.
It’s hard to recommend this title at all for the single player campaign alone. While the combat is fun in short bursts, it can easily get repetitive since most levels require the exact same strategy each time in order to win. However, Neptunia fans should like this, as well as Vita owners looking for an enjoyable online co-op experience.
MegaTagmension is an extremely niche product, made of pure and simple fanservice, reserved strictly to the fans but without any attention to the design itself, which is necessary to guarantee a real entertaining and interesting game experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In the end, MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune vs Zombies is a mediocre action game where its charm and variety rests squarely on its characters.
If you can look past pretty much everything the game offers you may find that there’s enjoyment to be had here.
As a stand-alone title, MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune vs. Zombies does well for itself. The story may be silly, but it is enjoyable enough thanks to the characters. The combat has been refined to be more flexible, and the inclusion of multiplayer increases the game's longevity since the mode can still be played with no one around. As a spiritual sequel to Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, however, the game is a bit of a letdown. Short fighting sessions, a lack of side-quests, and fewer enemies to fight against means the campaign is more of a visual novel that's broken up with little bits of action. Overall, MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune vs. Zombies is fine, but Hyperdimension Neptunia U is stronger for those who want to play with these characters in a more action-oriented setting.
MegaTagmension has grown by quite a few bounds, yet still hasn't addressed the core issue that plagued its predecessor. As a portable game in which things can be handled in bite-sized pieces, some of this is excusable and fits well, but only because the game was designed with short bursts of play in mind. While the story is fun to experience, for the more dedicated gamer, there are superior choices out there in volumes.
The gameplay itself is fun if a bit uninspired. The narrative stumbles from the starting blocks until the finish line, finding itself in more embarrassing scenarios as it progresses. With mission lengths falling terribly short and being the very definition of redundant, there isn’t much value to be had outside of the gameplay. It’s a sad cycle to see the Hyperdimension series fall into; it has officially become what it set out to satirize.