Video Game / Megadimension Neptunia VII

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Gamindustri. A world which exists outside of our reality, where four CPUs protect and rule above each nation.
The nation where CPU Purple Heart rules, Planeptune.
The nation where CPU Black Heart rules, Lastation.
The nation where CPU White Heart rules, Lowee.
The nation where CPU Green Heart rules, Leanbox.

In the past, Gamindustri had been exposed to threats such as the Deity of Sin, and the CPU of the ancient nation of Tari...
But thanks to the efforts of the four CPUs, a lasting era of peace has been maintained.

However, as they enter the CPU Shift Period, their enduring reign is approaching its end...

— Opening Narration

Megadimension Neptunia VII (Shin Jigen Game Neptune VII) is the fourth main game of Neptunia series for PlayStation 4 developed by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, released in late April 2015, as well North America and Europe in February 2016, with a PC port of the NA release debuting in July 2016. A Nintendo Switch version released in Japan on March 2020, with North America and Europe getting the game in the summer of that year. Note that "VII" stands for "Victory II", not the Roman Numeral for seven (although, if one counts the remakes of the three main series games before this, it technically is the seventh game).

Taking place three years after the True Ending of Victory/Re;Birth3^note Victory/Re;Birth3 sets "a few years" after mk2/Re;Birth2, yet the game itself is set in GC 2012, Gamindustri has entered a precarious season known as the CPU Shift Period. During this time, bad rumors about the CPUs have begun to spread the whole Gamindustri. Neptune and the others worry the citizens of their respective landmass will soon call for new leaders to replace them and that their leadership will end.

In these critical moments for Planeptune, Neptune and Nepgear mysteriously disappear. Their destination: a divergent world, nearing its catastrophic end, called the Zero Dimension. They encounter the last remaining CPU of this world, Uzume Tennouboshi, who is desperately waging a lonely battle against a colossal evil known as the Dark CPU.

Will Neptune and Nepgear be able to work together with Uzume in order to save Zero Dimension from tragedy? Thus, the new adventure for Neptune begins in this game…

Alongside with Uzume, this installment also introduces an older Neptune, but unlike the Neptune we know, she cannot transform into a Goddess. However, her personality is generally the same, albeit calmer.

See the teasers here, here, here, here, and here

The game later received the Updated Re-release Megadimension Neptunia VIIR, which incorporates virtual reality segments with the four main CPUs and older Neptune.

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Tropes in Megadimension Neptunia VII:

• Aesop Amnesia: Averted. All the recurring characters come with the Character Development from the Re;Birth games intact. This is especially visible with Neptune and Nepgear, now that the latter has finally been unshackled from her Butt-Monkey status, the pair show how close and supportive they've become.
• After the End: The Zero Dimension is a place that's been utterly ravaged by Dark CPUs, with only Uzume, Umio, and other monsters as survivors.
• Alien Sky: Zero Dimension's sky has bright cracks in it, a good sign that something is very wrong here.
• All Women Are Lustful: In-universe. After the battle with Steamax he throws a bunch of BL (Boys' Love) books all over the room as a last ditch attempt to distract the girls and escape. He seems genuinely convinced that it will work and although the girls are initially outraged by this, they all steal glances at the pages. Even IF cannot resist!
• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Arfoire stages an assault on Uzume's hideout just before Neptune and Nepgear are scheduled to be transported back to Hyper Dimension.
• Alternate Universe: Much like in Victory. While this Neptune is the same as the one from mk2, once again she's been transported to an alternate universe, this time with Nepgear: the Zerodimension in which the whole of Gamindustri was completely destroyed by Dark CPUs. Later they go to the Heartdimension, which lies within the Zerodimension. The Candidates, IF, Compa and the Gold Third rescue the CPUs, all while they learn the shocking truth of Uzume, Umio and adult Neptune.
• Anti-Frustration Features: The bad ending can be averted by simply watching four limited time events which, unless you skip events liberally, you'll always watch anyway!
• Apocalypse How: Kurome attempts a Multiversal Metaphysical Annihilation by fusing Heart Dimension with Hyper Dimension, which would render the latter a wasteland like the former. When that plan is thwarted, she goes for a Universal Physical Annihilation by sending Heart Dimenson's monsters to Hyper Dimension.
• Apocalyptic Log: Nepgear stumbles upon some reports in the Zero Dimension that detail events that occurred in the past.
• Arc Words: Delusions, and anything related to it. The titles for the first two arcs' opening themes contain kanji or phrases that can be read as "Mousou" (Delusion), while the Heartdimension H's opening theme makes it blatantly obvious with its opening titled (translated) "Delusion Catharsis". This hints at the delusion powers that Uzume/Orange Heart wield.
• As You Know: Neptune forgets what the CPU Shift Period is, so Histoire explains it again, conveniently filling the audience in as to what it is as well.
• Attack Hello: This is how Uzume meets Neptune and Nepgear for the first time in Zerodimension.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The Dark CPUs in general. They can destroy physical matter and tear through space and time.
• Awesome, but Impractical:
  • Much like in Victory, the vast majority of Coupling and Formation Skills requires multiple levels of the EXE Drive Gauge, but are only about as powerful as the basic EXE Drives. Even "Superior Angels", one of the most powerful Formation Skills, became slightly weaker in this game.
  • Any Processor Units with the “Prototype” label (for example: Prototype Purple, Prototype Lilac, etc). These processor units provide 10 points of MOV and +60 points for each other trait. The downside is it introduces an SP upkeep cost (20% per turn while in HDD), a game mechanic not seen since before the Re;Birth games.
  • The Next Form EXE Drives. While they only cost 2 EXE Drive Gauge segments to activate, you also have to consume another 2 just to reach Next Form, on two separate turns. In other words, you have to dedicate the entire Drive Gauge to a single CPU. The moves themselves deal maybe around twice as much damage as the normal EXE Drives and not only force the user out of HDD entirely, it also hits them with heavy fatigue, delaying their turn greatly. After all that it's still possible that some hits miss and if it happens to be a single hit move... If nothing else, they make cool Finishing Moves when you just want to play around. Though you can't do anything about being forced out of HDD, the cost is mostly mitigated once you get the Flag item that gives you infinite Drive, which can be carried over to New Game Plus.
  • However, averted entirely with the Next Form themselves. The massive power-up they give to skills more than makes up for the 2-Turn-2-Drive wind-up.
• Background Music Override: When a character transforms, the battle theme is replaced with the transformation theme "Will Be Venus". When any of the main 4 goddesses go a step further into their NEXT Form, the previous theme is then replaced with "ABSOLUTE" to herald the ensuing ass-kicking.
• Bag of Sharing: Not the case in Hyperdimension G. During Noire's, Blanc's, and Vert's prologues, they don't have access to any items gathered up to that point; those stay with Neptune. When Neptune goes to reunite with everyone, any items they did collect during their prologue is added to the overall inventory.
• Bag of Spilling: Once again, everyone's lost a lot of levels and all of their sweet equipment between games. There's isn't even a off-hand justification this time around.
• Bathtub Bonding: Two CGs of this occur in the Z arc with Uzume, Nepgear and Neptune (small one in the first, big one in the second).
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: Uzume vs. Kurome in the "Revival" ending path. Histoire decides to unseal Uzume, but remarks that there's a chance that the either the good or the evil version might emerge. Which personality ends up taking over the body plays out like this.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Before the final fight of Zero Dimension Z, Umio comes by with all the friendly monsters to provide share energy. Then, Histoire contacts from the Hyper Dimension to provide shares from there. Then, Hyper Dimension Neptune drops in to aid in the fight.
  • Gold Third shows up during the final fight of Hyperdimension G, just in time to provide the CPUs with their Next Tier Powerup.
  • The Neptunes and Nepgear pull one during the "Revival" ending path, stopping Uzume from performing a Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Affimojas and Steamax cover the Neptunes, Nepgear, and Uzume when it looks like they're going to be overrun by Heart Dimension's monsters.
• Birds of a Feather: The two Neptunes take to each other very well. Makes sense, since they have the same personality.
• Bittersweet Ending: The normal (Ascension) ending has Neptune and Nepgear destroy Uzume's Share Crystal on her request, ending both the Big Bad's and her own life to save Gameindustri from the former's last act of malice.
• Bland-Name Product: All the Godly and Sucky Games that can be produced via disc development have been given this treatment.
• Book Ends: The game's first dungeon is in a ruined city in Zero Dimension and if you fulfilled the requirements for the True Ending, the final dungeon is another ruined city in Zero Dimension.
• Boss Bonanza: Confronting Kurome. In between long cutscenes, you have to fight the Brainwashed and Crazy CPUs without a free transformation, then a Dark CPU, followed by the copy CPUs (if the Heartdimension route is chosen), all without a chance to heal or save.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Kurome kidnaps the CPUs and infects them with negative share energy, effectively turning all their good feelings into pure hatred. Fortunately, the Candidates snap them out of it.
• Brick Joke: In Victory, Neptune wonders as to the whereabouts of her Ultradimension counterpart, and the others point out that if Ultradimension Neptune has all of Nep's lazy ditziness without a CPU's immortality, she would have starved to death a long time ago. In this game, when Adult Neptune encounters Uzume and Nepgear, she's so glad to have finally found someone because she had ran out of portable food and was on the verge of starvation. It's not a coincidence, it's one of several implications that this Neptune is from the Ultradimension.
• Broken Bridge: With the world a mess thanks to a Cosmic Retcon at the start of the Neptunia G chapters, planes are grounded and boats can't leave port, leaving each nation isolated. The only reason the CPUs can get around is by flying, and Nepgear nearly gets shot down by Leanbox forces who tagged her as an unidentified threat.
• Brutal Bonus Level:
  • The Neplunker dungeons, though particularly Neplunker Zero. They borrow many elements from the game that inspired them. You have a limited number of lives to get through the dungeon. There's a stamina meter that drains over time and even faster if bats and ghosts get a hold of you, and if it runs out you lose a life. Even then, other elements like dropping bat guano, steam vents, and falling from too high cause you to lose a life outright. Lose all of your lives and it's game over, no matter how healthy your party is. At least the regular Neplunker dungeon in Hyper Dimension is relatively straightforward and lacks very few nasty gimmicks if you're gunning straight for the Key Item at the end, but Neplunker Zero pulls no punches (and requires the Hyper Bracelet in order to complete, which can only be made with the Hyper Booster Key Item from the regular Neplunker dungeon).
  • Senmuu Labyrinth in the Heart Dimension. Not only is it high level, your vision is limited and your minimap is disabled.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: This game proves that, eccentric as they are, the CPUs are genuinely effective leaders and without them the world falls apart. After Gold Third's leadership is retroactively applied to the nations, Lowee has a dystopian caste system entrenched in its way of life and Lastation is on the warpath, thanks to C-Sha feeling guilty enough about the whole mess and being the source of Lowee's delusion monsters that she tried and failed to act as a shadow ruler while K-Sha is wanting nothing to do with being a leader in general and allowing the Basilicom to be taken by the Order respectively. Leanbox is facing an invasion and only held together because S-Sha needs its resources to achieve an end. Only Planeptune is functioning normally, and only because B-Sha is not so different from Neptune and Histoire remained in a position of authority, although B-Sha herself has problem with monsters.
• Call-Back:
  • Adult Neptune is proficient with both handguns and swords, referencing the first game's Sword and Gun combat performed by the CPUs. Even the pistol she uses is the exact same pistol◊ wielded by her Superdimension counterpart for her gun attacks in the first game.
  • The portable console that Nepgear is named after, and was apparently the menu of Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, reappears... being used BY Nepgear during several events!
  • There are a few mentions regarding the Ultradimension from Victory here and there, but they refrain from being too explicit.
  • When Neptune and Nepgear meet Zerodimension Arfoire, the former explains to Uzume and audience how they fought her many times in previous games, including the anime continuity.
• The Chosen One: Subverted in Vert's prologue. It begins with S-Sha tasking Vert to pull out a Holy Sword, and it's implied that it's no easy feat and someone who does so would be legendary. Vert succeeds... and S-Sha congratulates her on being the 983,067th Wielder of the Sword. Vert is surprised that so many people were able to draw the sword.
• Combat Exclusive Healing: Finally Averted. Unlike in previous titles, the player can use healing skills outside battle. This is particularly true when a character is inflicted with Status Effects; especially Poison, Virus, and Skill Seal. Unlike in previous titles, ailment effects now carry over into the course of dungeon exploration for an unspecified period of time, even if your party won a battle.
• The Corruption: Negative share energy drives converts good feelings into pure hatred, which become a major plot point in this game. Kurome uses it on the Gold Third, Warechu and Affimojas to further her plans in the Hyperdimension G arc and then uses it on the Goddesses in order to force them to fight the Candidates in the Heartdimension H arc.
• Cosmic Retcon: After Gold Third deliver a public Curb-Stomp Battle to the CPUs, further bolstering the already existing dissatisfaction with them produced from Affimojas' slander, Kurome rewrites Gameindustri to put Gold Third in charge of the four nations, while almost everyone forgets about the CPUs and even the mere concept of a CPU. Since Gold Third have neither the skills or even the intent to run the nations, they're falling into disarray. It's ultimately fixed by NEXT Purple's Dimensional Slice, which simultaneously cuts through the negative energy possessing Affimojas.
• Crapsack World: Zerodimension. A seriously ravaged Planeptune. It is later revealed that it's actually a depiction of Kurome's desires which are to destroy it along with the whole of Gamindustri. In a more meta level Heart Dimension also qualifies.
• Cutscene Incompetence: Played straight after every single major battle. Be it boosted mooks or bosses, the party is visibly tired after the fight and will often comment on how tough the enemy was, even the victory poses show the characters dropping to the floor exhausted, no matter how much HP you had or how badly you crushed the boss moments before. It might be a case of Gameplay and Story Integration since this game is noticeably harder than previous entries, in which case it's justified. Another level of justification is that for most of the game, the CPU are operating on a minuscule fraction of the share energy levels they're used to, meaning that it isn't until they're confronting the Big Bad that they're fighting at anything approaching full power, and by then it balances out.
• Darker and Edgier: Than Victory/Re;Birth3 and compared to mk2/Re;Birth2 in terms of edginess. The promotional material in particular gives off this vibe, though it is justified since the vast majority of it focused on the Zero Dimension. The actual game strikes a good mix between the seriousness and the comedy, but it is definitely darker than the plot of the previous titles.
  • While mk2/Re;Birth2 was dark, it only really came in while the CPUs were captured. This installment, on the other hand, successfully shows its darkness from the beginning, middle and the end. One Alternate Universe was completely destroyed by giant CPU-like entities out of nowhere, all the main CPUs get curbstomped by a group who possess similar powers to theirs while the mastermind of the story starts to mess up the Gamindustri, and in the final arc, the CPUs are abducted and brainwashed by the mastermind responsible for the problems within the Zerodimension and Hyperdimension. To top off that, the mastermind plans to merge all dimensions and destroy them together.
• Darkest Hour: Happens twice.
  • In the Hyperdimension Neptunia G story, the Gamindustri is stuck in crisis with numerous hoaxes addressed to the CPUs. In order to eliminate the negative view of the CPUs, they decided to hold the Gamindustri Appreciation Festival. Everything goes smoothly until Gold Third intervenes and challenges the CPUs at the final day. Unfortunately, despite their combined powers, the CPUs are no match for Gold Third. As a result, everything goes chaotic. Meanwhile, Kurome takes this opportunity to mess up the whole Gamindustri by making the Gold Third Hyperdimension rulers. The CPUs and the Candidates decide to return to their respective nations to find out what has happened, all while finding out the one who is responsible for the changes in Hyperdimension.
  • In the Heartdimension Neptunia H story, despite Hyperdimension returning to normal state, the CPUs cannot sit back and relax, as the monsters from Zerodimension suddenly start to appear in the Hyperdimension. Neptune, Noire, Blanc and Vert decided to investigate. During the investigation, they are greeted by none other than Uzume. But unknown to them, Neptune in particular, this "Uzume" in fact is Kurome in disguise. Kurome then traps the four of them in the mysterious Heartdimension and reveals that she plans to fuse the Hyperdimension and Zerodimension together. In an attempt to rescue the CPUs, Nepgear, IF, Compa, Uni, Rom, Ram and Gold Third chase after Kurome and save the captured CPUs before they fall into the darkness.
• A Day in the Limelight: Each CPU gets to be the main character for their prologue in Hyperdimension G.
• Developer's Foresight: Going to the Neplunker dungeons normally triggers a cutscene with Neptune at the start and after you've completed them for the first time. However, if you go to them in the Heartdimension H story when the CPUs have been kidnapped or during the Hyperdimension Route, you'll get alternate cutscenes with Nepgear instead.
• Die, Chair, Die!: The Object Destruction feature marks the return of the first game's Hammer Crush feature. Using the Power Bracelet key item, characters can easily destroy objects (such as wooden barrel, chest or wooden crates) easily and get items and Credits. To break a stronger objects like iron barrel or metal crates, an improved Hyper Bracelet is required.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
  • Gold Third are as shocked they defeated the CPUs as anyone else. They thought their new Golden Power would give them a chance to put on a good show - they didn't expect to actually win.
  • In Heartdimension Neptunia H, Dogoo Man manages to deliver a "One Punch" to Kurome of all people in Nepgear's route, and she was even staggered by it. This distracted her enough to allow the group and Steamax to recover the console she was after.
• Disabled Deity: All CPUs and Candidates after Kurome erases them from the minds of their subjects, crippling their share energy reserves. Added to this, the Gold Summits leech their shares even further. The direct consequence of this is a substantial decrease in their power output; they can still transform, but they are considerably less powerful than before.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Dark Purple merged with Arfoire in Zerodimension Neptunia Z, and General Affimojas in Hyperdimension Neptunia G. Defeating them solves the major and pressing issues of the arcs, but all the while there's an air that someone behind the scenes is still moving.
• Disappears into Light: The Swirl Console after shattering in the Ascension Ending, signalling the end of Uzume's life.
• Dissonant Serenity: Unlike the earlier, overtly hostile victims of Kurome's brainwashing, the CPUs sound completely cheerful while expressing their desire to torture and kill their family and friends.
• Double-Meaning Title: The initials "VII" in the title have two meanings. One is that the game is a sequel to Victory (as in, V II - "V Two"). The second is that, if you count the Producing Perfection, Action Unleashed and Hyperdevotion games or the remakes of the three main series games, this is the seventh game of the franchise.
• Don't Try This at Home: Ram says this after S-Sha feeds adult Neptune an awful-tasting potion to wake her up.
• Downer Ending: When Kurome unleashes the Brainwashed and Crazy CPUs on the other protagonists, Purple Heart starts gleefully strangling her younger sister until the other Neptune rescues her and insists that they just give up on the CPUs. In the Ascension and Revival ending, Purple Heart's split-second look of horror at what she was doing convinces Nepgear that an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight is still possible. In the bad ending, Kurome will go on to fuse the dimensions and wreak havoc with the brainwashed and dark CPUs.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: The CPUs who recently acquired their Next Forms, are captured at the start of Heartdimension H, leaving everyone else without a Next Form to gather up and save them.
• Dude, Not Funny!: After defeating Kurome's Evil Knockoffs of the CPUs, Neptune boasts that fakes standing no chance against the originals is common sense in games and anime... within earshot of Uzume, who they've recently learned is the embodiment of Kurome's detached conscience. After seeing her reaction and getting chewed by Noire, Neptune sheepishly apologizes. Fortunately, Uzume didn't take it too personally.
• Earn Your Bad Ending: Subverted. Seeing the events to avert it barely requires going out of your way, and it's impossible to save the game in a position where you can't double back.
  • Averted in VIIR. This Updated Re-release removes both the Bad and Asecnsion endings. You are not allowed to proceed past what would be the Point of No Return during the Heart Dimension arc in VII without first watching all 4 of the Goddess' dream events, nor are you allowed to proceed during the Planeptune interlude of the Zero Dimension arc without completing what would've been time-sensitive quest, nor complete a Nation chapter in the Hyperdimension arc without watching that nation's shares-based event.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • The Dark CPUs. Along with them resembling the recurring four CPUs, all of them were created by Kurome with the intention of destroying both Zerodimension and Hyperdimension.
  • Kurome. She and Uzume are literally the same person, with Kurome being the true Uzume, and the good Uzume being her conscience.
• Evil Is Petty: Steamax wages an edit war with Nepgear over an online article about Neptune.
• Evil Knockoff: During the Heart Dimension route in Heart Dimension H, the CPUs are forced to fight against several replicas of themselves. They are so weak and half-baked that their personalities are straight up stereotypes: Neptune's a Cloud Cuckoolander who just spouts gibberish, Noire's only line is an Evil Noblewoman's Laugh, Blanc's a berserker who can only speak in roars, and Vert's a brainless bimbo. The CPUs sheepishly question if that's what they're actually like.
• Exact Words:
  • Adult Neptune is ordered to stall Vert and Nepgear. They agree and even manage to go toe to toe with the two CPUs. However, Adult Neptune calls off the fight and leaves partway through, pointing out that nobody told them for how long they had to stall. This is one of the hints that Adult Neptune is actually working to subvert the villains from the inside.
  • Earlier, she promised to consider releasing Croire from her Nep-Note if the tome fairy helped her and Nepgear find ingredients for medicine to save the greviously injured Uzume. Upon fulfilling the task, Croire is outraged when Neptune casually decides to keep her imprisoned, reminding her that she only promised to consider letting Croire free.
  • Affimojas promises Kurome that he'll help her retrieve the Swirl Console. Once all the parts have been assembled, he suddenly demands a fee from Arfoire and Adult Neptune. Just because he promised to give it to them doesn't mean he ever promised it would be free.
• False Reassurance:
  • Arfoire is touched when Adult Neptune tries to stop Uzume from finishing her off after their fight... only to let out a Flat "What" when Neptune insists on pinning and stuffing her alive into her Nep-Note (it's not as gruesome as it sounds).
  • After the Brainwashed and Crazy CPUs appear, Noire scolds Neptune for joking about their intention to kill their sisters. Then states that they need to torture them first.
• Fanservice: The most fanservicey game in the main series to date.
• Fighting Your Friend: Partway through Heartdimension H on the "Revival" and "Ascension" paths you have to fight Brainwashed and Crazy CPUs.
• Flat "What": Several times throughout the story, like Neptune's response when Histoire tells her to come back so she can be lectured some more.
• For the Evulz: Exploited and played straight. Kurome's true motive for her Roaring Rampage of Revenge is not made clear right away, nor is the nature of her plan. Once it's explained, she's basically a Chess Master who just wants to watch the world burn.
• For Science!: Said by Neptune as she and Uzume contemplate the idea of using fish eggs to make pudding...and their eyes are set on Umio.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Uni does this to Nepgear in the Heartdimension arc to stop her from hysterically rushing in to rescue the CPUs that Uzume (actually Kurome) and Dark Purple just kidnapped. Uni's no less desperate to save her own older sister, but realizes that the two of them alone don't stand a chance, and they need to recruit as much help as possible.
• Gratuitous English: The paper airplane-riding stickmen enemies, in the Japanese audio, speak entirely in English (eg. They'll always shout "OK! OK!" at the beginning of their turn, and belt out a big "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" when they die.)
• Golden Ending: The "Revival" ending. which is also the True Ending.
• Gondor Calls for Aid: When Hyper Dimension is overrun by monsters from Heart Dimension everyone comes to fend them off. Not only do people like the nations' militaries and hunters help out, but folks like Order members and even AffimaX lend their hands.
• Guide Dang It!:
  • Getting the Revival ending requires a long and delicate series of conditions right from the word go, and can be screwed up at any point with no indication you've done so. Specifically, you have to see every optional event in the Z Dimension chapter, no matter how inconsequential most of them seem. You further have to view a shares-based event for each nation in the Hyperdimension during the G Dimension chapter, which are completely un-hinted-at, and complete several time-sensitive quests in the Planeptune sequence, which can be timed out ridiculously easily. None of this directly pertains to the true ending except in hindsight, and the normal ending doesn't hint at any of the specifics. Downplayed considering a completionist might stumble onto this accidentally while a casual playthrough could miss all of it. Considering Compile Heart's track record of endings, this comes off as more attainable on the first playthrough.
  • You want to break the objects in the dungeon the Power Bracelet alone can't? Then you need the Hyper Bracelet, which requires both obtaining the development plan (which can only be obtained by leveling Planeptune's Industry to Level 5) and the Hyper Booster Key Item (which requires completing the Neplunker Dungeon in Hyper Dimension). The game never actually tells you how to get the plan or where the Hyper Booster is.
• Guilt-Based Gaming: If your party members are low on HP when you enter the menu, they'll beg you to heal them.
  Neptune: Hey, you, sittin' there across the screen. Could you maybe heal me?
• Hate Sink: The first Neptunia game to introduce this type of character. The Gold Third might have curbstomped the CPUs, but none of them have any intention to rule over the Gamindustri, once the CPUs learn their backstories. Affimojas and Steamax might be responsible for the chaos within Gamindustri with their hoaxes, but true to the franchise's nature, they also have some quirky moments. Finally, Kurome might be a revenge-seeking Omnicidal Maniac, but the backstory is pretty tragic. But goodness, you CAN hate these NPCs:
  • A female member of Order mercenaries in Noire's story. Introducing herself as a member of Lastation's Basilicom to Noire and Uni, she intended to use the hijacked Basilicom to invade the other nations, just for the sake of profit. She is also working in cahoots with Kurome. She tries to eliminate K-Sha by destroying the Lastation's Golden Summit tower, K-Sha's power source, once her role as the puppet leader of Lastation is finished and she also almost killed Uni.
  • Azna=Leb in Blanc's story. Claiming to be the leader of the so-called Lowee's Revolutionary Army and the inventor of the License system, he spends most of his time hindering Blanc and C-Sha's friendship by pitting them against each other, then framing them as criminals. When the monsters start to invade Lowee, he just leaves his fellow Revolutionary members and the rest of Lowee people to save his own skin. It is immensely satisfying when Blanc lands a punch to his face during the final part of her story.
• Heroic BSoD: Uzume when she regains her memories and finds out she's Kurome's "good" counterpart.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Uzume in the "Ascension" ending. She asks Nepgear to shoot the crystal that keeps Kurome and her alive and then proceeds to fend off a horde of monsters while the others escape to safety. While her death is offscreen, it's still quite heartbreaking.
• Hitbox Dissonance: The area in which you trigger a battle on the field is much larger than a monster's model would suggest, so sneaking is a bit more trouble than it should be.
• Honor Before Reason:
  • In the True ending route, Neptune and Nepgear run back to save Uzume, even though she stayed back so everyone else could get to Hyper Dimension to defend it.
  • Histoire unseals Uzume even though there's a chance the Kurome personality might end up inhabiting the body.
• Hotter and Sexier: Hoo boy is it ever. The game balances its overall darker tone with the increased fanservice and more-obvious-then-ever sexual jokes, and it's not just in the risqué event CGs and boob-jiggle either. Standout moments of dialog include older Neptune making a You Need to Get Laid to Arfoire, and Vert blatantly asking Nepgear for consent.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The first fight against the Gold Third. They take no damage and can knock everyone out in one hit (they do take slight damage in VIIR, but their damage output is still too absurd for any chance at winning). The kicker about this? They never expected to win the fights.
• Jiggle Physics: Cranked up to eleven. From transforming to battle poses, boob mechanics ensue.
• I Choose to Stay: Nepgear decides to stay in Megadimension to help Uzume defeat Arfoire, instead of taking the chance to return home, which frustrates Uzume.
• Ignored Enemy:
  • After adult Neptune literally drops into Negpear and Uzume's fight against Arfoire, their conversations completely interrupts the fight until an impatient Arfoire calls back their attention.
  • During Blanc and her sisters' "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight against a Brainwashed and Crazy C-Sha, the White Sisters try to remind her of the graffiti they drew in Blanc's novels. Their indirect admission to doing so enrages Blanc to the point of seemingly forgetting about the fight to chase down her sisters, much to C-Sha's shock. Subverted, as Blanc sucker punches her once she lets her guard down.
  • In the Hyperdimension route of the Heartdimension H arc, Affimojas sharing his and Steamax's fetishes seems to make everyone forget that Kurome's standing right in front of them until she complains.
• Ignored Epiphany: After Arfoire tricks Adult Neptune, Uzume and Umio's into feeding her their disliked foods to escape from the Nep-Note, the three decide to avoid similar events in the future by simply excluding them from their available ingredients. When Nepgear suggests trying to overcome their dislikes, they unanimously decline.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Kurome's penchant for brainwashing leads to the CPUs doing this for their respective nations' Gold Third members in the Hyperdimension arc (except S-Sha, who was merely misled into an antagonistic role), with the roles reversing later in the Heartdimension arc.
• Image Song: Aside from the game's main opening sung by the usual singer Nao, the three arcs each have their own short openings sung by the voice actresses for each arc's principle characters.
  • Zerodimension Neptunia Z: Sung by Uzume
  • Hyperdimension Neptunia G: Sung by Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and Vert
  • Heartdimension Neptunia H: Sung by Neptune and Uzume
• Infinity +1 Sword: The Infinidisc. As in Victory and the Re;Birth series, this Super Rare-category blank disc has Lv.5 capacity for all three colors. Unlike in Victory and Re;Birth series, you can't even get this disc until you defeat the True Final Boss.^note The Infinidisc is a reward for completing an S-Rank quest. However, while the enemy you need to kill for that quest is in a dungeon that is accessible before the party takes on Kurome (In both the Ascension and Revival paths), the enemy you need to find and kill in order to rank up your Quest Rank from A to S in order to unlock that quest in the first place is in a dungeon that is accessible ONLY on the Revival path, after you punch Kurome's ticket for good.
• Interface Screw: The Senmuu Labyrinth disables your minimap while you're in it, and reduces your visibility drastically.
• Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence: You need the Power Bracelet for you to break items in the overworld. This includes a cardboard cutout blocking an item in the dungeon before you can unlock it. Swing your sword at it as much as you like, it'll just bounce off. Even then, you'll be able to break any ones with blue backgrounds, but need another upgrade to break the cardboard cutouts with gray backgrounds.
• In-Universe Game Clock: A very subtle and easy-to-miss example, but the Menu-Clock Icon signifying your Playtime is actually showing the current Real-Life time of day.
• Last Episode Theme Reprise: The game's main theme plays during the fight with Kurome in the True Ending.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: Kurome traps the CPUs in devices that let them experience their greatest desires. The nature of Heart Dimension lets the others see what those desires are as well.
• Luck-Based Mission: The first Duel Boss in Noire's G Dimension chapter, with a side order of Rocket-Tag Gameplay. It's a Glass Cannon versus a Glass Cannon, and K-Sha can use EXE Drives at will. Without an obscene amount of grinding, victory or defeat will be determined by what attacks the AI uses.
• Macguffin: The Swirl Console. It sucks the Nep sisters into the Zerodimension in the first arc, and AffimaX spends much of the second arc trying to collect its parts. The Big Bad Kurome's (and by extension, Uzume's) actual body is sealed inside.
• Male Gaze: To ridiculous levels. Nearly every Skill, transformation sequence, victory pose and level up pose focuses the camera on the girl's assets, particularly the rear.
• Malicious Misnaming: Neptune (both of them) calls Arfoire "Arsnore" or "Arbore" just to get on her nerves.
• Memento Macguffin: In the Revival ending route after defeating Kurome for good, Uzume leaves Nepgear her Visual Radio to remember her by. Shortly afterwards, the Visual Radio is hooked up to Uzume's console in order to improve the odds that Uzume comes back instead of Kurome.
• Merged Reality: If two dimensions end up at the same coordinates in space-time, they will fuse together into a single dimension. Under normal circumstances, of course, it shouldn't be possible for dimensional coordinates to change in the first place. But Kurome is able to use her control over Zero Dimension to do just that, with her end-goal being to merge it and Hyper Dimension together, guided by the unique signals sent by the Golden Summits in Hyper Dimension, and thus put it and all its inhabitants under her dominion to do with as she wishes.
• Meta Girl: Exaggerated. Neptune is Medium Aware and abuses this at every chance she gets. From complaining to the developers for putting the cast through hardships or obtrusive game mechanics to addressing the player, she tears through the fourth wall like it's made of butter. Her antics are pretty much a trademark of the series. Older Neptune is no slouch in this department either, with Vert musing about their shared traits after she attributes Nepgear's growth to her level going up.
• Metal Slime:
  • The Metal Dogoo line of monsters, as usual. The best variety gives ten million experience when defeated.
  • The Hall of Fame King enemies are rare and have a tendency of running away, but they grant tons of experience if they're killed.
  • The Metallic Gabacho enemies are also rare, but drop lots of money if you manage to take them out.
• Mind-Control Eyes: The Brainwashed and Crazy HDD CPUs have their eye color dulled and their power-symbol pupils glow in various colors.
• Mood Whiplash: It may be Darker and Edgier than past entries, but the humor's still there. One notable example is late in the Heartdimension H Arc, when Uzume properly regains her memories as Planeptune's CPU and realizes that it wasn't as bad as Kurome made it out to be... and then the rest of the group (who saw the flashback due to the nature of the Heartdimension) jump in, bewildered at how she and Umio are so casually skimming the over the revelation that the latter Was Once a Man.
• Multiple Endings: Wouldn't be a Neptunia series game without several endings.
• Mundane Utility: In one sub event Neptune realizes that she's put on some weight. She loses it through transforming repeatedly.
• Myth Arc: Despite the story being divided into three different arcs, the story itself is all about the CPUs facing the so-called CPU Shift Period and tracking down the one who responsible for the troubles of both Zerodimension and Hyperdimension.
• Mythology Gag: Nepgear is her Re;Birth series version, with several times where she repairs technology in the Zero Dimension.
• Nerf:
  • The damage output of....well, everything. Except for special attacks which were buffed to ridiculous levels, EXE Drives, formation/coupling skills and even regular attacks were nerfed considerably. The best way to deal proper damage without spamming specials is to exploit the new "Parts Break" and "Combo Trait" mechanics.
  • Even the weapons get this one too. Remember Gehaburn, the infamous Infinity +1 Sword from mk2 and it's remake, Re;Birth2? The good news is: you can obtain this, Nepgear's final weapon after you complete a certain S-Rank quest, and it still retains the similar stats as the most powerful weapon in the entire game (STR +1000 and INT +500 plus full access to all four tiers of combo slots across the three attack types), beating out even her strongest DLC weapons save for one in STR only that also drains her health by 33% per turn with use. The bad news: this so-called "renegade CPUs consuming Malice Sword" now reduces Nepgear's VIT and MEN with -1000 and -500 points respectively. As the icing on the cake, it also reduces her LUK down to -9999 points.
• Next Tier Power-Up: Neptune, Noire, Blanc and Vert gain new powers called NEXT Form which uses up an EXE Drive Gauge whenever they transform. Story-wise, it comes from Hyper Share Crystals, a result of the CPUs' Share Crystals and Gold Third's Gold Crystals fusing.
• Nonstandard Game Over: Getting a game over in the Neplunker dungeons, whether by losing all your lives or your party wiping out, gives a special game over screen in the style of Spelunker.
• Not What It Looks Like: Gold Third crashing the CPU tournament in the first place. They were acting cocky because of their newfound Golden Forms, but they didn't expect to actually win, and had no desire to supplant the Goddesses the way they did. And then comes Kurome, starting to mess up the whole Gamindustri...
• Oddly Named Sequel: Despite the Ultradimension characters not making an appearance and the change of title from Hyperdimension to Megadimension, this is the sequel of Victory due to the emergence of Ultradimension Neptune.
• Out of Focus:
  • Uzume is a major character in the Z and H Arcs, but is completely absent from the G Arc in-between since it focuses solely on the events unfolding in Hyper Dimension while she's still in Zero Dimension.
  • Neptune actually complains about how she (and the other CPUs) suffer this for much of the H Arc.

• Permanently Missable Content: You can lock yourself out of the the Good/True Ending as early as the Zero Dimension chapter. If you do not view a Histoire event during Neptune's Hyperdimension interlude, you will be locked into the normal ending. In Neptune's prologue of the Hyperdimension chapter, there are time-sensitive quests from Histoire that must be completed and will expire without warning if you don't pay attention. To be fair, the tutorials do suggest prioritizing Histoire's quests, but downplay their importance, and nothing suggests they'll influence something that happens 40 gameplay hours later.
• Pop Quiz: Invest enough in PR in each nation, and you can take the Millionep quiz. The questions require you to know about the characters and the world, each correct answer gets you items and equipment, and if you get every question in every quiz right you win one million credits.
• Power at a Price: CPUs and CPU Candidates transforming takes some of their nation's shares. This doesn't apply to the Gold Third's transformations, however.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Kurome. The only reason she doesn't completely traverse into No-Nonsense Nemesis territory is because she doesn't have enough energy to use her powers fully or means to break the seal that has her chained to Heart dimension. To top it all off, she's hellbent on revenge against Gamindustri and ellaborates a quite complicated plan that spans all the game's dimensions where she uses at least 10 people as pawns for her evil design.
• Put on a Bus:
  • The Ultradimension from Victory/Re;Birth3 is essentially absent from this game. While its story comes up at several points, Plutia and Peashy are relegated to DLC characters for the Scout system, though it's revealed that Adult Neptune is actually the missing Ultradimension Neptune teased at in Victory/Re;Birth3.
  • Pretty much all of the recurring Maker characters from the previous games, aside from IF and Compa, don't appear in this game. This was likely due to the move onto the next-gen console and to make room for the Gold Third and the new DLC characters.
  • Kei, Chika, and Mina are missing save for a letter from them. Their presence would have prevented or at least mitigated some of the troubles experienced by Noire, Vert, and Blanc during their respective routes in the Hyperdimension G arc.
• Random Encounters: Unlike previous games, you travel on the world map now, and the encounters work like this. Dungeons still use Pre Existing Encounters.
• Replay Mode: As in Victory, the game has the option to replay cutscenes, but only in certain places.
• Ret-Gone:
  • In Hyperdimension Neptunia G, any knowledge of the original CPUs suddenly vanishes, thanks to Kurome's alteration. Nearly everyone treats them as if they were strangers, even those who should be familiar with them. Several countries also have their history rewritten, like a license system being introduced into Lowee, or Lastation being a warmonger nation. Strangely enough, however, Vert's game account wasn't gone and her guild is still up, for some reason..
  • In the end it's revealed Uzume erased everyone's memories of her when she sealed herself away.
• Rewarding Vandalism: Destroying objects in dungeons sometimes gives you items and credits.
• The Rival: The Gold Third serves as this for the goddesses.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Uzume and Kurome's outfits differ not only in the latter wearing a darker palette, but also inverting this trope by far showing much less skin.
• Sequel Escalation:
  • One tier of heroines powering up isn't enough? How about a second tier with Next Form?
  • The battles themselves become bigger at times with Giant Battles, which come with their own mechanics.
  • Exaggerated for “Superior Angels”, especially in human form. The HDD version is similar as in Victory, but slightly altered to make it even more awesome.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: The Nepstation chapter previews stop happening after the third and final act starts, just as the plot takes a turn for being genuinely dark.
• Shout-Out: This series has its own page.
• Stat Grinding: Like in Victory, you get a boost in stats when you complete some challenges. Like jumping, getting ambushed, doing absolutely nothing (for up to 5 hours!)... If you're willing, you couldget a bunch of boosts in INT, TEC, and AGI before your first battle.
• Story Arc: Unlike previous Neptunia titles, the story itself separated into three individual chapters with different stories for each dimension, each with a unique title:
  • Zerodimension Neptunia Z - Twilight of the Desperate CPU: Neptune and Nepgear are blown to Zerodimension, where they stumble across Uzume and an adult-size Neptune. Neptune and Nepgear must find a way to get back to Hyperdimension while facing the Dark CPU.
  • Hyperdimension Neptunia G - The Golden Leaders, Reconstructors of Gamindustri: The CPUs are beaten and their leadership usurped by a faction called the Gold Third. Neptune and the others must find out what's happening in their respective nations, all while find out the one who responsible for the changes in Hyperdimension.
  • Heartdimension Neptunia H - Trilogy Finale: Into Legend...: A dimension full of mystery. It is revealed this dimension is a result of amalgamation of both Zerodimension and Hyperdimension where the CPUs must track down the ultimate mastermind.
• Story Branching: Halfway through the H arc, the player is given a choice between two routes. One continues in the Heartdimension with the CPUs, IF, Compa, Adult Neptune and Uzume. The other returns to the Hyperdimension with the Candidates and Gold Third trying to stop Kurome from obtaining the Swirl Console. The events of both routes still happen at the same time; however, so it's more a matter of Another Side, Another Story. However, VIIR will simply railroad the player into the Hyperdimension route, followed by the Heartdimension route.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Both Neptunes separately come up with the idea of naming the Big Bad Kurome Ankokuboshi (her name is technically Uzume).
• Stumbling in the New Form: At the climax of the first act Arfoire takes direct control of a Dark CPU and starts pursuing the heroes. They send someone back to scout her out, and discover they have plenty of time — while Dark CPUs don't strictly adhere to the Square-Cube Law, Arfoire's new perspective is all sorts of messed up and she keeps tripping over.
• Subsystem Damage: A Parts Break system is introduced in this game, essentially replacing Guard Break feature from Victory and Re;Birth remakes. Some enemies and bosses have extra parts that you can break to decrease their defense, disable their attacks, and earn extra credits, items, and experience.
• The Syndicate: The Heretics (both Moderalists and Extremists) in the previous games are people who work under the Basilicom, but do not worship the goddesses in their native land, thus they're often looked down upon by both the Basilicom and the general population of Gamindustri. The AfiMax, on the other hand, establish themselves to be worse than the Heretics (the Extremist-type in particular), as they're spreading the hoaxes to the whole Gamindustri in shadow to gain more profit.
• Take That!: The descriptions of the members of the Gold Third definitely come off as jabs to the respective game companies they represent. For example, S-Sha is a failed movie maker, while B-Sha asks for payment for every single damn thing.
• Taking the Bullet:
  • In the Planeptune arc, IF shields Purple Heart from a monster Arfoire left behind as she escaped with Steamax, having regained her memory of just how important Neppy is to her, though Purple Heart manages to get her to Compa for treatment. Later, Warechu takes Kurome's curse aimed at Chuuko, turning him into a mindless monster until he's eventually defeated by Purple Heart and B-Sha.
  • In the Lastation arc, Black Sister shoves her sister out of range for the M-Gear's virus-filled Deadly Gas, nearly dying before K-Sha saves her.
  • In Uzume's flashback, the grassroots youth who was most devoted to her sacrifices himself to save her from yet another assassination attempt, though he reincarnates as Umio.
• Theme Music Power-Up: Multiple examples. As with Fairy Fencer F and unlike previous Neptunia games, these power ups override the current background track.
  • The CPUs get one when they activate HDD. The Hyperdimension CPUs get another one when they activate their NEXT forms.
  • The Gold Third quartet get one when they activate their Gold Form. That same theme is re-used for EXE Drive attacks.
  • During the True Ending, the trilogy's main opening theme plays during the final battle between Kurome and Uzume.
• This Is Reality: When Neptune remarks that the collapsed buildings and cracked sky of Zero Dimension look like something out of a game, Nepgear says that this shouldn't be happening in reality.
• Three-Point Landing: S-Sha during her Gold Form Transformation Sequence.
• Time Skip: The game set three years after Victory and four years after mk2.
• Title Drop: "Mega Dimension" is seen in the opening video, and in the lyrics for the main theme "Vision of Telativity", indicating that the localized term for "Shinjigen/New Dimension" existed way before there were plans to do so.
• Trailers Always Spoil: The live gameplay during the 2015 Dengeki Games Festival that shows off the CPUs' Next Forms as well as Adult Neptune. The battle during that gameplay is from the final arc, the Heart Dimension arc, and the battle itself, against Dark White, takes place almost near the end of the trilogy.
• Transformation Sequence: Exaggerated. Another tradition to Neptunia titles; the transformations have been amped up to look more flashy and epic, complete with theme music and uh...choreography.
• Trapped in Another World: Neptune once again is sucked into another dimension. This time though, Nepgear is with her from the start.
• Vetinari Job Security: The Hyperdimension G arc explores this after the Gold Third usurp control of Gamindustri and are retroactively made leaders by Cosmic Retcon. None of the Gold Third have the experience necessary to run a nation, nor were they even intending to. K-Sha abandons her post completely, allowing a PMC with plans of war with the other nations to take control of Lastation. S-Sha is only interested in her own agenda and only runs Leanbox to help fulfill that agenda. C-Sha attempts to run the country from the shadows, but this only lets a corrupt politician turn Lowee into a dystopia that operates under a draconian class system. The only nation that runs affairs more or less normally is Planeptune, because the nation is used to running in spite of Neptune's laziness, and B-Sha proves to be just as lazy and willing to let Histoire handle the administrative aspects, but her fear of monsters still makes it difficult to deal with the Delusional Monster plague.
• Video Game Stealing: IF and Older Neptune have an SP Skill (Item Steal and Steal Charge respectively) that allows them to steal an item from a foe. You can only steal one item from each enemy in a fight, there's a chance it will miss, if the foe has two possible item drops it will only drop the more common one, and it costs IF/Older Neptune's turn to use; but you can repeat the process as many times as you want until it successfully lands, it costs O SP to use, and it's completely independent of the Random Drop, making these two skills a godsend for Item Farming.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: The battle against General Affimojas marks the point where you'll have to focus on the Parts Break mechanic, since the cape he wears makes him Nigh-Invulnerable to non-elemental attacks, even from skills and EXE Drives. Even with the CPU's NEXT forms, you'll have to consider updating their combos to include elemental attacks in order to destroy his cape and properly do damage to him.
• Wham Line: Twofold, regarding both Uzume's nation and the Big Bad's identity.
  Kurome: Planeptune. That's the name of your... No, that's the name of my nation.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • The cat Noire befriends during her prologue disappears partway through and is not brought up again.
  • Linda/Underling. Despite being alive during the true ending of Mk2/Rebirth;2, that's the last we hear of her, leaving Warechu the last remaining member of ASIC to appear.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Uzume lays into Nepgear for stepping out of the transport chamber right before it would've brought her back to the Hyper Dimension, botching her one opportunity to go home.
• With This Herring: Played for laughs in Vert's prologue. Once she becomes a soldier of Leanbox, S-Sha gives her 100 credits to start her journey.
• Yandere: K-Sha to Noire. She starts off as a Clingy Jealous Girl only to rapidly mutate into Gun Crazy due to her own insecurities and Kurome's psychological warfare. She gets better later on, though.
• You Know the One: Everything about Ultradimension from Victory/Re;Birth3 (such as characters or events) is obscured in some dialogues. Most notably are Rei Ryghts/Kiseijou and her CPU powers; the former is referred to as "the CPU of the ancient nation of Tari" in the prologue and Nepedia, while the latter is referred to as "the CPU power from another world" by Croire and Uzume before the Final Battle with Kurome as Dark Orange ensues.
  • During the middle part of the Zerodimension Z story, when Nepgear asks about human Neptune's origins the latter says the CPU of her home is "Plu-someone"^* Plutia/Pururut AKA Iris Heart. This is because her having spent most of her time travelling through one dimension or another rather than staying at home, and therefore never meeting her face to face. This foreshadows that this Neptune is indeed from the True Ending of the aforementioned previous installment.
  • At the end of Hyperdimension G, Histoire mention she had an ally with experience in hacking come to their world. It's implied she requests help from Anonydeath in tracking down the "Secret Organization AffimaX" base, especially with Noire (who was the target of his Villainous Crush) feeling discomfort at the mention of the hacker, although his name isn't mentioned.