Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is not a game for everyone, nor is it a game for RPG fans in general. Instead of catering to a large audience, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory offers a very niche experience for fans of the series, or other offbeat JRPGs.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory realizes the dream of in-game graphics that look like an actual cartoon. This has been one of the series’ strong suits all along, and the third manages to push the concept to impressive heights. Of course, this being a Hyperdimension Neptunia game, expect plenty innuendo and suggestive costumes. Characters are young girls and a majority of the costumes they don accent certain "features." Though bothersome at times, I never felt it got to the point where I was uncomfortable.

As usual, NIS America’s localization is fantastic. Both Japanese and English voice tracks are available, though I was surprised at how little spoken dialogue there is, at least in comparison to the walls of text thrown at players. Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is a chatty game – probably overly so. Even the simplest story points are accompanied by long conversations. Though it does help with character building, sometimes you just need to get to the point. Pressing (Square) during conversations flips on the fast forward option, so that’s a plus.

Unfortunately, a fast forward option isn’t available for battle conversations. A bulk of the actual voice work pops up during battles. The banter is fun, but only in moderation. Characters spout the same lines in every battle, which can become grating as you pack on the hours. Also, unless you want to hear commentary with every jump, only jump when necessary.

I really think Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory misses a lot of opportunities to expand its world beyond overly verbose character explanations. Gameplay is split into two core sections: visiting towns and dungeon exploration. I’ll get to dungeons later on, though towns and overworld exploration are both handled via static, clickable maps. I’m usually not one for running around towns and chatting up NPCs, but the added visuals and chatter do offer chances to get to know the game’s world. You don’t get that with Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, which is a shame considering the setup.

Hyperdimension Neptunia takes place in Gameindustri, an anthropomorphized version of the rivalry between console manufacturers. Each is represented as a nation ruled by a CPU (or console).

In the years since Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Neptune (who represents a theoretical Dreamcast follow-up) has become a slacker. Her job is to keep Planeptune’s market share up, though she is more interested in snacks and playing games. As a result, she’s dropped back to Level 1 and, though Planeptune does okay, it isn’t nearly as prosperous as neighboring nations Leanbox (Microsoft), Lowee (Nintendo), or Laststation (Sony). This is a problem, especially when a citizen’s group begins to question the need for CPUs like Neptune in the first place.

After a disgruntled citizen of Gameindustri wishes for, "No More CPUs," Nepture is transported to an alternate timeline in the year 1989. There she meets a younger Noire (PSOne) and Plutia (Mega Drive), the current CPU of a prosperous Planeptune. From there, Neptune needs to make sense of her situation and help stop a threat from the Seven Sages.

As well as the concept worked in previous games, itdoesn’t have the same punch the third time around. While the first two tackled the "Console Wars" and software piracy, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory seems lost. There are a couple of neat references to the Nintendo/ Sega console tussle, with Lowee planning to invade Planeptune’s territory and Noire’s desire to start her own nation, though the concept is ultimately wasted on lots of self-referential humor that tries a little too hard.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is a massive, massive grind. Some JRPG fans might not so much as blush at the idea, but as someone who has played through a number of JRPGs in the past years and enjoyed myself, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory really got on my nerves. It isn’t that combat isn’t fun, it is just nothing interesting ever comes out of it. Whether you’re 5 hours in or (my current time) 32 hours, the experience is the same. There are attempts to mask grinds with Guild Quests, offering some sort of tangible goal ("Kill 'X' of this enemy…"), but ultimately you’re still just killing the same 5 – 6 enemies in a series of look-alike dungeons.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory’s difficulty is incredibly binary. Battles are either easy or a nightmarish challenge. Common battles are usually over in a few minutes and, as long as you pay attention, you shouldn’t have much of a problem. Later dungeons do feature some stronger enemies, so don’t expect to waltz through dungeons on autopilot, though.

Boss battles, on the other hand, cause the difficulty to skyrocket. If combat numbers go your way, you might stand a chance on your first attempt, but most of the time you’ll need to return to areas and level your team a few times to gain equal footing. A decent number of bosses you encounter feature some sort of health regeneration, which gets to be a pain. Granted, most regenerating bosses are optional and not key to progressing through the story, but you still hit enough in the storyline that the concept gets to be a pain. Expect a few one-hit kill attacks as well.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory does deserve credit for its tutorials. Some require a re-read or two, but each gets to the point and does a good job of explaining each aspect of gameplay.

Dungeon Crawling is decent, though it is largely built on the back of the combat system. Combat is turn-based, though with a bit of an action-y edge. Each turn, you maneuver party members within set movement ranges. Weapons have an attack range, allowing you to attack either one grid space or multiple grid spaces. Obviously, you want to hit as many enemies per attack as possible, so a large part of the strategy involves making sure party members stay in range without crowding each other out.

Once in range, you choose from a variety of attack types. Normal attacks are split between fast, powerful and "break" attacks, which you can use to create combos. There’s a bit of strategy to choosing attacks, especially when it comes to using the "break" attack. Each hit decreases an enemy’s Guard Points, potentially "breaking" an enemy’s guard and lowering its defense.

Additionally, you can unleash magic attacks, though you’ll do better to use magic only when absolutely necessary since they draw from the same point pool as HDD transformations. When activated, these convert party members into their CPU form, giving them access to massive stat boosts and super-powerful attacks. These are mandatory when fighting bosses.

Prior to battles, you can use Symbol Attacks in an attempt to get the jump on enemies. All enemies are visible in dungeons, so you can avoid combat if you want, though it isn’t recommended. Tapping (X) next to an enemy causes your character to swing her sword. A hit lets you initiate a surprise attack, though you must make direct contact. Otherwise, the alerted enemy gets the extra attack. I tried to use Symbol Attacks whenever possible, though enemies get a slightly longer reaction window. Even after the attack animation ends, enemies still get a second or two to get the upper hand. It adds a risk/ reward element, but the time delay is dangerously close to being cheap. However, if you hit an enemy who is at a considerably lower level than your party, a Symbol Attack is an instant kill.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory layers in a number of other systems as well. In addition to setting 4-attack combos, you can also assign EX Finishers, adding a little punctuation to your attacks. The Lily System further feeds in EX Finishers with Assist Finishers. Depending on how you set up your ranks, party members will gain affinity (called the Lily System). Higher Lily Ranks unlock more powerful Assist Finishers.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory will have its fans. As much as I want to count myself as one, the combination of repetitive combat and grinding is a deal breaker. While some JRPG fans may not have much of an issue with grinding, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory seems to push the concept to its limit. Still, the game has an undeniable charm and quirk to spare, which may just be enough for players who enjoyed previous entries.