NOTE 1: Entry is a WIP and I will accept editorships,
NOTE 2: I really do not trust the Pixiv results, can someone try to help me with that part?

About

Hyperdimension Neptunia is a JRPG game series based on the Console Wars. The series features moe anthopomorphisms of various consoles, handhelds and game development companies, and focuses on aspects of digital piracy and gamer culture.

Origin

In 2009, Japanese video game developer Idea Factory collaborated with Compile Heart, a subsidiary of themselves, to release a game named “Hyperdimension Neptunia” for the Playstation 3 console. The game was released in Japan in 2010 and internationally in 2011. The plot surrounding the game involves the protagonist Neptune (based on an unreleased SEGA product codenamed “Neptune”) who is a Console Patron Unit, and one of four goddesses in the game’s world "Gamindustri", who lost her memories following a defeat to the other three goddesses. She teams up with two other characters named Compa and IF (who represent the primary developers) and the trio embark on an adventure to restore Neptune’s memories, encountering many friends and foes on their journey. The game was published by SEGA in Japan and Nippon Ichi Software in Western territories. The plot, which includes several jokes and references to other video games and internet culture, and the appeal of the characters, contributed to the game’s success, and in turn warranted a sequel.

History

Since the release of the first game, there had been two subsequent games with a fourth game due to be released. The first of which, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, released in 2011, introduced four new characters; Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram, the sisters of three of the CPUs, as well as including new supporting characters and villains. The game's storyline focuses more on software piracy, and has the original villain's impact on the story increased as a result.

In 2012, the third instalment in the series, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory was released. The game returns to the Console Wars theme of the first game, but based around the 16-bit era. Several years after the end of the second game, Neptune is thrust into a parallel dimension that features a version of Gamindustri set in 1989. This game Introduces new playable CPU characters, based on the Sega Genesis and another based on the Turbo-Grafix16 (known as the PC Engine in Japan), as well as including a third new CPU as the game's primary antagonist, who is based on the Atari 2600.

Megadimension Neptunia VII, released in 2015 and set to be released early 2016 for the international market^[1], features an Older Human counterpart of Neptune and a CPU based on the SEGA Dreamcast and includes new transformations for the goddesses. The game takes place throughout three different and completely new dimensions and is the first localized title without the Hyper- prefix, replacing it with Mega- instead.

Spin-Offs

There are several spin-offs games within the series, including a Senran-Kagura style Beat-em-up, an Idol Sim game, mobile spin-offs, and a strategy RPG focusing on CPU Goddess Noire. Remakes of the three currently released core games for the Playstation Vita have also been released for the PC, which included improved soundtracks and game mechanics to address issues present in the original versions. Upcoming spin-offs have been announced as well; including a crossover with the Sega Hard Girls franchise^[16], and a game focusing on CPU Goddess Blanc^[17]. These games take place in alternate universes that are more or less the same as the originals, but exist separately to account for the abundance of new characters added ever since the first game came out. There are also several manga adaptations of the games.

Anime

An anime adaptation of the series was produced by David Entertainment in 2013. The plot and continuity of the adaptation are separate from those of the game, but elements of the three games released at the time of its airing are present. The series was dubbed by Funimation^[5] in 2015.

Online Relevance

WIP

On Reddit, a subreddit dedicated to the franchise exists, called r/gamindustri, named after the world in which the series is set in. The subreddit was created in 2013. On November 10th 2013, redditor Rubydragon79 posted a thread^[11] about CPU Goddess Noire to the r/awwnime subreddit. The thread’s subject referenced a voting contest held from September 1st to 29th of 2011 to determine who will be the protagonist of a spinoff game^[12] (which Noire would eventually win, the spin-off being called “Planet Destroyer Black Heart” in Japan and “Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart” in the west^[13]). The post obtained over 180 upvotes. Another voting contest was held from November 6th to December 4th 2014 on Compile Heart's website, that once again asked fans to vote for their favourite character; who would then be cast as the next lead in another spin-off game^[14]. This time around, CPU Goddess Blanc took first place, which meant that she would be cast as the main protagonist in the upcoming spin-off^[15]. The title in question was announced at 2015's Dengeki Bunko Spring Festival. ^[17]

A thread was posted on the 4chan, video game board /vg/ on Nov. 21, 2013, declaring itself to be the 290th general thread about the games ^[6], as well as a total 12777 archived threads as of this writing ^[7].

There is also a dedicated forum^[2], two wikis, ^[3][4] a TV Tropes entry,^[8] a least ten pages worth of pixiv entries^[9] and around 9000 entries on DeviantART ^[10] for the franchise.

Fandom

WIP

The series storyline and characters have built up a dedicated fanbase over the years. Various mods have been created for Left 4 Dead 2. Others have created a series of fan-animations of the Game Grumps featuring the characters from the series of video games.

Search Interest

References