I like neptunia...I'm not a fan but I do like their games: they're funny and keep me entertained for as much as I need (usually 30 hours or

I like neptunia...I'm not a fan but I do like their games: they're funny and keep me entertained for as much as I need (usually 30 hours or so) and this game is no difference from the rest.



However, there are a lot of things that don't click with me and it's all because of its "pseudo-mmorpg" feeling that it wants to give to the player.



Ok so let's start with the basics: the main cast is now playing an mmorpg, called 4 goddesses online - hence the name of the game - and they are essentially beta testers and eventually you meet cheaters and crackers and....can we just get on the point?



First of all, the game starts out slowly...and by slowly I mean with at least 60 seconds of logos and a fake loading screen that takes about 1 minute to finish. I initially thought it was a one time thing and I thought it was clever but nope, you gotta sit through both everytime you boot it up and it either makes you wanna play as much as you can in one sitting, or just not bother at all.



Second thing: there's just one slot for saving. Again I get it, it's to simulate the mmorpg feel but even current mmorpgs allows you to create multiple characters (oops?) and while not a big issue it can cause a lot of nuisances in case some others wants to play the game ON YOUR console. So make sure nobody plays the game on your console or you can say bye bye to your files!



Third: game is once again a hub-based world with areas to explore and while I wasn't expecting open world areas like in a real mmorpg, at least allow us to run around the hub city? The areas are okay but very fewer than before and they become easily forgettable after a while.



The combat is good...if it wasn't for the bad AI that controls your characters AND the boss fixating over your character. I tried every tactic but the only one that seemed to work was defense: everything else would make my healer not heal. Also, enemies will constantly - CONSTANTLY - aim your character no matter what and as a result you're forced to kite enemies all the time



Can someone tell me why nearly no action rpg is able to make a bloody aggro list or something on their games?! The only one who made it work was Xenoblade chronicles and that game is old! This is a serious issue as it makes your character essentially a kitter and you either play the tank or just run all the time, since you'll die if you stop and attack



With that out, let me explain the combat itself: you just have one attack button and you'll spam it everytime and if you're not spamming your attack you're spamming your special attacks until your SP is gone. There is no tactics in this game: you use attacks to drain the break bar and then spam your best attacks, including your special attack - which requires 4 bars. I noticed that the best characters to drain the bar are nepgear and uni and they're so broken, they can kill most bosses with ease: I just kept Uni since she's more agile and she can charge up her EX incredibly fast and her elemental shot was doing over 20k per shot



That's it, and you can't even level up characters in the rear: just like old school rpgs you're forced to have them up front and let them fight, or else they won't level up, but considering only few are very good you'll most likely stick with a single group.



I will say this though: the game is promising enough and if they are going to improve it over time, I think we might get a neptunia with better combat and maybe more variation: I still think they should've taken inspiration from neptunia U instead and have a system like that because not all mmorpgs have fun combat and really if I had to take a comparison with a real mmorpg, 4 Goddesses online would be a crappier version of PSO. With pretty much no depth



Overall, it's an alright game and despite having a crash or two, I can recommend it fairly enough, however I recommend it on discount since it's incredibly short (I could plat it in less than 25 hours and I'm a slug of a player) and I'm not sure the online is worth it

Let's hope for a better sequel!

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