Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2
Encyclopedia
Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 (or Choujigen Game Neptune mk2 in Japan) is the sequel to Hyperdimension Neptunia, announced on April 12, 2011, for the PlayStation 3
.
It was released on August 18, 2011 in Japan, and will be released in 2012 in the United States. The sequel contains brand new main characters, as well as returning characters, and the gameplay has been updated so as to remove the random encounter feature. New maps and a brand new world feature as well, and the cutscenes have been upgraded from the old 2D visual novel style cutscenes. The story focuses on the younger sisters of Neptune, Noire (Black Heart), and Blanc (White Heart) on a quest to save the goddesses after they are defeated and captured by Arfoire. The time period for the game is known as 20XX, which possibly not coincidentally, is the same time period name given to the Megaman series. The game is due to be released as a special edition with a Purple Heart figurine, a Purple Sister figurine, a soundtrack, and an art book. It is being co-produced by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, with assistance from Nippon Ichi Software, Gust Corporation, and the recently founded company Comcept by Keiji Inafune
.
The game now runs on what's known as the Hyper D Battle system during fights. The new system is quite different from the original, but retains actions for each button. However, the game now displays the HP and GP gauges for all the enemies onscreen, as well as a minimap. The most significant difference is that instead of selecting a target when it is a certain character's turn, players can directly control the character, and move them in front of the target they want to attack. The area they can move in is limited to a blue circle. Every character has a certain length to which they can reach (ex. Nepgear can attack one square in front of her, and Gust can attack two squares in front of her). Player turn lengths are variant depending on the actions taken. Skills consume one turn when used, while normal combos can be performed in one turn. The character status gauges, displayed at the bottom of the screen, displays each character's HP, but now displays total AP and introduces an SP gauge. AP still governs the actions characters can take, but there is no longer a set amount of AP per turn. The game no longer retains the original Sword/Gun/Physical/Defend command set, since you can now assign a command to a controller button. You can have up to eight commands assigned at a time, and though only four commands are displayed during battle, pressing R2 will switch the command menu to the alternate set of commands. You can have a different set of eight assigned commands per character. An actual combo counter is now shown in battle, due to the fact that some new attacks can deal consecutive hits in a single turn. This is usually done on most circumstances with an EX Finish. When performing a combo, pressing the same button three times consecutively will usually make an EX Finish available, when the letters EX are displayed next to a command. An EX Finish is a multi-hit combo that deals out high amounts of damage. For example, pressing Triangle three times in a row will unlock the Sword EX Finish when the EX Attack is equipped to the Sword attack. This consumes large AP amounts, but is reliable on dealing fast damage. Status conditions can now be inflicted on both player characters and enemies.
Skills consume a set amount of AP and SP, as well as use up one turn. The range of skills are determined by the circle around the controlled character. When a enemy/ally enters the circle's radius and highlights red, the highlighted enemy/ally (or enemies/allies) are affected by the skill once activated. Types of skills range from primarily offensive, to special attacks, to non-lethal, such as affecting teammates. Unlike the first game, you can use skills to actively heal party members, or revive fallen party members for a set amount of HP. Non-lethal skills can also be targeted at yourself. Players also have the ability to switch between targets, if only one can be affected. Various team attacks can be induced when a mini-character icon appears underneath a player character's icon. When this icon is displayed, certain team actions can be performed with the characters in
The SP gauge is split into 3 sections. When a section is full, a special attack or skill can be used. Skills can be used in battle, which consumes a set number of both AP and SP per usage. One section is filled per 100 SP earned. However, the SP gauge is also used in this game to activate the Sisters' HDD (Hard Drive Divinity) mode. Transforming costs 100 SP. The SP gauge can and will drain while using HDD. When SP reaches 0, that character will revert, in contrast to the first game, where HDD lasts for the duration of the match.
New special attacks are confirmed to be in the game as well. Unlike the first game, which referenced classic video games, these attacks reference recent games. Keiji Inafune
, co-creator of the Megaman series, has been confirmed to be used as a summon character during two special attacks. Nisa now uses a Prinny
for a special, and Gust has specials that display the Atelier
characters during the attacks. 5pb is also confirmed to be a playable character, with some of her special attacks being related to the PC game Steins;Gate
, produced by Nitroplus
and 5pb. Games. Characters have numerous specials with references to various games, a notable one shown being performed by Nepgear where she performs a multi-hit combo. During the combo, the coin sound effect from the Super Mario series is heard every time Nepgear strikes.
New sections have been added to the pause menu, and the menu itself has been redesigned. An area called the Costume Canvas has been added. While using the Costume Canvas, players have the ability to load pictures to edit Nepgear's Hard Drive Divinity form costume as they wish. The game also institutes the Lily Rank, which allows you to interact with the characters in your party, as well as check on each party members' current mood. The Lily Rank may also affect the game's ending, depending on which characters have a maxed out Lily Rank by the end of the game (ex. condition for the Planeptune Ending includes Nepgear and Neptune have maxed Lily Rank). You can use items collected during battle on characters. This will affect the target character's mood, as well as certain stats.
The landmass map now consists of a grid, featuring super deformed
icons of characters located on the grid. On the side is a sort of chat bar, which will show you what each character has to say. If a chat bubble has a "!" on it, selecting that bubble will activate an event with that character.
There are several different endings, which primarily depend on the amount of shares a landmass has (in the case of landmass specific endings), maxed Lily Rank for specific characters, and in special cases, if the player has recruited certain characters or witness certain events or not. If the player has not completed the criteria for an ending other than Normal, then the player will receive the Normal ending, as well as any landmass specific endings if the player has at least achieved that criteria. For example, for the Leanbox Ending, the player has to have maxed out Vert's (Green Heart) Lily Rank, and only the Leanbox Respective Share is over 70%. The same similar requirements apply for the other endings.
The Makers ending is attainable if every other character besides the Goddesses (that includes Compa, IF, N1, Gust, and 5pb) has a maxed out Lily Rank and no specific landmass has a share percentage of over 70%.
As for special cases, the Ruling ending is very specific, as you must have only Planeptune Global Shares over 55%, all of Planeptune's Main Region Cities must have over 80% in shares, the three Demon Sword events must be viewed, all of the Goddesses must be in Nepgear's party, and all of this must be done before fighting Magic the Hard. This ending is difficult to accomplish, and can be considered a bad ending, as at least one of the original goddesses dies, depending on the path taken.
Uni (Black Sister):
Ram (White Sister):
Rom (White Sister):
Falcom:
Note: Vert (Green Heart) does not have a little sister in the game, due to the fact that Microsoft
never developed a handheld console of their own, and as such, does not have a character to reference to.
series, due to the majority of the landmass's buildings being colored black. It is usually described as steampunk, and has become slightly more industrialized since the first game. Noire (Black Heart), UNI (Black Sister), Nisa, and various NPC's reside here.
, due to the majority of the landscape being colored white. Compared to the first Lowee, it seems more colorful. Ram (White Sister), Rom (White Sister), Blanc (White Heart), and Gust reside here. Gust was a former resident of Lastation. Interestingly, three certain NPC's who resemble Mario
, Luigi
, and Toad
from Super Mario
also reside here.
, due to the greenery of the landmass. The buildings seem more simple, yet futuristic since the original Leanbox. Vert (Green Heart), 5pb, and various NPC's reside here.
. Three mysterious fairies reside here. This is also the location of the opening battle between the goddesses and Magic the Hard, though they are defeated, and the four goddesses and Nepgear are captured. However, Compa and IF help Nepgear escape.
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
It was released on August 18, 2011 in Japan, and will be released in 2012 in the United States. The sequel contains brand new main characters, as well as returning characters, and the gameplay has been updated so as to remove the random encounter feature. New maps and a brand new world feature as well, and the cutscenes have been upgraded from the old 2D visual novel style cutscenes. The story focuses on the younger sisters of Neptune, Noire (Black Heart), and Blanc (White Heart) on a quest to save the goddesses after they are defeated and captured by Arfoire. The time period for the game is known as 20XX, which possibly not coincidentally, is the same time period name given to the Megaman series. The game is due to be released as a special edition with a Purple Heart figurine, a Purple Sister figurine, a soundtrack, and an art book. It is being co-produced by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, with assistance from Nippon Ichi Software, Gust Corporation, and the recently founded company Comcept by Keiji Inafune
Keiji Inafune
is a video game producer and illustrator. He was the former head of Research & Development and Online Business and Global Head of Production at Capcom, best known as the illustrator and co-designer of the character Mega Man, as well as the producer of the Onimusha and Dead Rising video game series...
.
Gameplay
The gameplay for the sequel has been revised since the first game. Instead of dungeons consisting of one big map, each dungeon is split into sections, through which the main characters Nepgear, UNI, Ram, and Rom must travel through to proceed. The random encounter feature in the first game has been removed, instead replacing them with monsters who will appear in the dungeons and begin to chase the player on sight. Various actions can be carried out while in the dungeon. Small cubes can be picked up by pressing the X button while near them. When approached by an enemy, pressing Square will swing your weapon in front of you. When an enemy is encountered this way, Nepgear's party gains an upper hand through a Symbol Attack. Some crystals must be picked up while in a dungeon. They are marked by a "!" sign on the minimap. Other items can be interacted with as well, including suspicious areas and exits that lead to other dungeon sectors.The game now runs on what's known as the Hyper D Battle system during fights. The new system is quite different from the original, but retains actions for each button. However, the game now displays the HP and GP gauges for all the enemies onscreen, as well as a minimap. The most significant difference is that instead of selecting a target when it is a certain character's turn, players can directly control the character, and move them in front of the target they want to attack. The area they can move in is limited to a blue circle. Every character has a certain length to which they can reach (ex. Nepgear can attack one square in front of her, and Gust can attack two squares in front of her). Player turn lengths are variant depending on the actions taken. Skills consume one turn when used, while normal combos can be performed in one turn. The character status gauges, displayed at the bottom of the screen, displays each character's HP, but now displays total AP and introduces an SP gauge. AP still governs the actions characters can take, but there is no longer a set amount of AP per turn. The game no longer retains the original Sword/Gun/Physical/Defend command set, since you can now assign a command to a controller button. You can have up to eight commands assigned at a time, and though only four commands are displayed during battle, pressing R2 will switch the command menu to the alternate set of commands. You can have a different set of eight assigned commands per character. An actual combo counter is now shown in battle, due to the fact that some new attacks can deal consecutive hits in a single turn. This is usually done on most circumstances with an EX Finish. When performing a combo, pressing the same button three times consecutively will usually make an EX Finish available, when the letters EX are displayed next to a command. An EX Finish is a multi-hit combo that deals out high amounts of damage. For example, pressing Triangle three times in a row will unlock the Sword EX Finish when the EX Attack is equipped to the Sword attack. This consumes large AP amounts, but is reliable on dealing fast damage. Status conditions can now be inflicted on both player characters and enemies.
Skills consume a set amount of AP and SP, as well as use up one turn. The range of skills are determined by the circle around the controlled character. When a enemy/ally enters the circle's radius and highlights red, the highlighted enemy/ally (or enemies/allies) are affected by the skill once activated. Types of skills range from primarily offensive, to special attacks, to non-lethal, such as affecting teammates. Unlike the first game, you can use skills to actively heal party members, or revive fallen party members for a set amount of HP. Non-lethal skills can also be targeted at yourself. Players also have the ability to switch between targets, if only one can be affected. Various team attacks can be induced when a mini-character icon appears underneath a player character's icon. When this icon is displayed, certain team actions can be performed with the characters in
The SP gauge is split into 3 sections. When a section is full, a special attack or skill can be used. Skills can be used in battle, which consumes a set number of both AP and SP per usage. One section is filled per 100 SP earned. However, the SP gauge is also used in this game to activate the Sisters' HDD (Hard Drive Divinity) mode. Transforming costs 100 SP. The SP gauge can and will drain while using HDD. When SP reaches 0, that character will revert, in contrast to the first game, where HDD lasts for the duration of the match.
New special attacks are confirmed to be in the game as well. Unlike the first game, which referenced classic video games, these attacks reference recent games. Keiji Inafune
Keiji Inafune
is a video game producer and illustrator. He was the former head of Research & Development and Online Business and Global Head of Production at Capcom, best known as the illustrator and co-designer of the character Mega Man, as well as the producer of the Onimusha and Dead Rising video game series...
, co-creator of the Megaman series, has been confirmed to be used as a summon character during two special attacks. Nisa now uses a Prinny
Prinny
are a fictional race of creatures in Nippon Ichi's video games. First appearing in Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, they have appeared in all later titles by the company, as well as on various merchandise such as hats and plush toys...
for a special, and Gust has specials that display the Atelier
Atelier (series)
The Atelier series is a series of role-playing video games developed by the Gust Corporation since 1997, primarily for the PlayStation consoles , though portable versions for the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable have also been made. Two of the games in the...
characters during the attacks. 5pb is also confirmed to be a playable character, with some of her special attacks being related to the PC game Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate
is a Japanese visual novel developed by 5pb. and Nitroplus, and was released on October 15, 2009 for the Xbox 360. This is the two companies' second time collaborating together after Chaos;Head. A port to the Windows operating system on the PC was released on August 26, 2010 and a port for Sony's...
, produced by Nitroplus
Nitroplus
Nitroplus Co., Ltd., stylized as nitro+, is a Japanese visual novel computer software company that has developed a number of visual novels, including eroge. They have also have been collaborating with TYPE-MOON to create the light novel series Fate/zero. Their works usually have dark themes such...
and 5pb. Games. Characters have numerous specials with references to various games, a notable one shown being performed by Nepgear where she performs a multi-hit combo. During the combo, the coin sound effect from the Super Mario series is heard every time Nepgear strikes.
New sections have been added to the pause menu, and the menu itself has been redesigned. An area called the Costume Canvas has been added. While using the Costume Canvas, players have the ability to load pictures to edit Nepgear's Hard Drive Divinity form costume as they wish. The game also institutes the Lily Rank, which allows you to interact with the characters in your party, as well as check on each party members' current mood. The Lily Rank may also affect the game's ending, depending on which characters have a maxed out Lily Rank by the end of the game (ex. condition for the Planeptune Ending includes Nepgear and Neptune have maxed Lily Rank). You can use items collected during battle on characters. This will affect the target character's mood, as well as certain stats.
The landmass map now consists of a grid, featuring super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
icons of characters located on the grid. On the side is a sort of chat bar, which will show you what each character has to say. If a chat bubble has a "!" on it, selecting that bubble will activate an event with that character.
Plot
The sequel takes place in 20XX, some unknown time after the first game. The four goddesses are shown fighting Arfoire, who has activated her HDD powers. The goddesses are quickly defeated, and Nepgear surrenders. They are held captive in the new landmass known as the Industry Graveyard. IF and Compa arrive there as well, and find out that their friends are in trouble. They attempt to proceed, but a giant mech by the name of Judge blocks their path. In an attempt to stall for time, IF singlehandedly fights Judge while Compa frees Nepgear. They return to find IF damaged, and Nepgear tries to fight Judge. Unfortunately, the mech is too powerful for them, so Nepgear uses the last of her energy to temporarily blind Judge, while passing out in the process.There are several different endings, which primarily depend on the amount of shares a landmass has (in the case of landmass specific endings), maxed Lily Rank for specific characters, and in special cases, if the player has recruited certain characters or witness certain events or not. If the player has not completed the criteria for an ending other than Normal, then the player will receive the Normal ending, as well as any landmass specific endings if the player has at least achieved that criteria. For example, for the Leanbox Ending, the player has to have maxed out Vert's (Green Heart) Lily Rank, and only the Leanbox Respective Share is over 70%. The same similar requirements apply for the other endings.
The Makers ending is attainable if every other character besides the Goddesses (that includes Compa, IF, N1, Gust, and 5pb) has a maxed out Lily Rank and no specific landmass has a share percentage of over 70%.
As for special cases, the Ruling ending is very specific, as you must have only Planeptune Global Shares over 55%, all of Planeptune's Main Region Cities must have over 80% in shares, the three Demon Sword events must be viewed, all of the Goddesses must be in Nepgear's party, and all of this must be done before fighting Magic the Hard. This ending is difficult to accomplish, and can be considered a bad ending, as at least one of the original goddesses dies, depending on the path taken.
Characters
All existing characters will return, as well as new main characters and supporting characters. The new main characters have the task of rescuing the goddesses from the first game.CPU Candidates
Nepgear (Purple Sister):- The main protagonist of game, and the younger sister of Neptune. As all the new main characters are portable handheld references, in contrast to the home console references made by the original four main characters, she represents the Sega Game Gear.
Uni (Black Sister):
- The younger sister of Noire (Black Heart). As her name implies, she represents the Sony PSPPSPPSP most commonly refers to the PlayStation Portable, a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment.PSP may also refer to:-Computing and programming:*Corel Paint Shop Pro, a graphics editor...
.
Ram (White Sister):
- The first little sister of Blanc (White Heart). Her name is derived from RAMRam-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
(Random Access Memory).
Rom (White Sister):
- The second little sister of Blanc (White Heart). Her name is derived from CD-ROMCD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
(Compact Disc - Read Only Memory). Because Ram and Rom are twin sisters, it can be assumed that as a pair, they represent the Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
.
Other
Cave:- Brand new NPC in mk2. Representative of Cave Co.Cave (company)Cave Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game company, known primarily for its manic shoot 'em ups. Cave remains one of the most active makers of arcade shoot-'em-ups in the Japanese market...
, another video game company. In a recent announcement, she will be receiving a Battle Ticket to make her playable.
Falcom:
- New NPC representative of Nihon Falcom Corporation, a Japanese computer game company. Along with Cave, a new upcoming Battle Ticket will make her playable.
Note: Vert (Green Heart) does not have a little sister in the game, due to the fact that Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
never developed a handheld console of their own, and as such, does not have a character to reference to.
Settings
Because of the time lapse, the four landmasses have undergone changes. Each area introduces new NPC's, and certain NPC's have moved landmasses from the first game.Planeptune
The original hub world used in the first game, as well as Neptune's first location. The entire landmass contains more of a futuristic feel compared to the first game. Neptune (Purple Heart), Nepgear (Purple Sister), Compa, IF, and various NPC's reside here.Lastation
A direct reference to the PlaystationPlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
series, due to the majority of the landmass's buildings being colored black. It is usually described as steampunk, and has become slightly more industrialized since the first game. Noire (Black Heart), UNI (Black Sister), Nisa, and various NPC's reside here.
Lowee
A direct reference to the WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, due to the majority of the landscape being colored white. Compared to the first Lowee, it seems more colorful. Ram (White Sister), Rom (White Sister), Blanc (White Heart), and Gust reside here. Gust was a former resident of Lastation. Interestingly, three certain NPC's who resemble Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
, and Toad
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
from Super Mario
Super Mario
Super Mario may refer to:*Mario , a video game series by Nintendo- Video games :*Mario, the star character of Nintendo's Mario series...
also reside here.
Leanbox
A direct reference to the XboxXbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, due to the greenery of the landmass. The buildings seem more simple, yet futuristic since the original Leanbox. Vert (Green Heart), 5pb, and various NPC's reside here.
Industry Graveyard
This is an entirely new landmass created by Arfoire herself, due to her new powers. The landscape contains the ruins of notable artifacts in video game history, such as the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. Three mysterious fairies reside here. This is also the location of the opening battle between the goddesses and Magic the Hard, though they are defeated, and the four goddesses and Nepgear are captured. However, Compa and IF help Nepgear escape.