Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart
Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart |
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European cover art
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Developer(s) | Sting |
Publisher(s) |
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Artist(s) | Tsunako |
Series | Hyperdimension Neptunia |
Platforms | PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows |
Release date(s) | PlayStation Vita
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Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart (超女神信仰ノワール 激神ブラックハート Chō Megami Shinkō Nowāru Geki-Shin Burakkuhāto?) is a 2014 tactical role-playing game developed by Sting. The game is a spin-off title of the Hyperdimension Neptunia game series featuring Noire as the main character. The game was released in Japan on May 29, 2014,[3][4][5] and in North America and Europe in February 2015.[1] It was originally a PlayStation Vita exclusive. A port for Microsoft Windows was released in April 26, 2016.
Contents
Gameplay
The game features chibi versions of the original Hyperdimension Neptunia characters which battle against enemies on a tactical grid map.[6][7] The gameplay is turn-based, and map elevation has an effect on characters' abilities and mobility; certain units are more capable of climbing to higher terrain than others, and units take damage from falling.[8] The field maps feature various gimmicks, including rail cars, flaming pits, logs, artillery batteries, laser beams and moving platforms.[9] Each of the playable characters move by traveling along each square of the map grid, however certain enemies are able to take up more than one square on the map grid.[10][11]
Prior to beginning a mission, the player is able to select characters as participating units, equip them, and designate a mission leader. Akin to various other tactical RPG games, the battle system is separated into player and enemy phases, where each side takes turns in moving characters and executing commands. There is a new mechanic known as "Lily Boost", which involves adjacent units developing special bonds that grant special skills and abilities such as goddess transformations; kissing animations are displayed upon activation.[8] During battle, characters can become affected by a series of status ailments which alter the state of battle, which include zombification, cowardice, turning into tofu, meganekko, becoming 8-bit, and infatuation.[9] Items can be crafted from raw materials. The player is also able to customise Noire's room within the "Sim Noire" mode, using furniture purchasable with in-game points.[8]
Plot
Unlike previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games, Gekishin Black Heart is not set within the world of Gamindustri (ゲイムギョウ界 Geimugyōkai?), but instead within a similar but separate world known as Gamarket (ゲイムシジョウ界 Geimushijōkai?).[6] The goddesses of each of the four nations battle against one another for hegemony over the world day by day, however just as Noire is one step away from complete domination, the goddesses' powers are robbed by an unknown force. In order to save the world from destruction, the four goddesses cooperate with one another with the aim of unifying Gamarket.
Characters
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The game features the four main characters from previous games, in addition to a series of 18 new playable characters, each a parody (or an apotheosis) representing a game franchise, genre, or game developer.[6][12]
Main characters
- Noire (ノワール?): Main character central to the game, representing the PlayStation. Voiced by: Asami Imai (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English).
- Neptune (ネプテューヌ?): Original protagonist of the Hyperdimension Neptunia main series, representing the Sega Neptune. Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Melissa Fahn (English).
- Vert (ベール?): Represents the Xbox. Voiced by: Rina Satou (Japanese), Tara Platt (English).
- Blanc (ブラン?): Represents the Wii. Voiced by: Kana Asumi (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English).
- New characters
- Lee-Fi (リーファイ?): A girl in a China dress and hair buns, a parody to Chun-Li of Capcom's Street Fighter. Voiced by: Yuka Ōtsubo (Japanese), Mela Lee (English).
- Lid (リッド?): A woman wearing a bandana and an electronic eyepatch, parody of Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series. Capable of hiding within a cardboard box in-game. Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka (Japanese), Erica Lindbeck (English).
- Resta (レストア?): A girl who likes bananas and frequently thinks of lewd things, a parody of Record of Agarest War by Compile Heart. Voiced by: Kotori Koiwai (Japanese), Kira Buckland (English).
- Estelle (エステル?): A girl in a knight outfit, representing Dragon Quest. Voiced by: Maaya Uchida (Japanese), Janice Kawaye (English).
- Ein Al (アイン・アル?): A character that represents the Final Fantasy series of RPGs, she bears a similar design to Tidus, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy X. Voiced by: Saori Ōnishi (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh (English).
- Poona (プーナ?): A reference to Opoona. Voiced by: Rikako Ito (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh (English).
- Moru (モルー?): A girl with cat ears and hunter clothes, representing Monster Hunter. Voiced by: Sora Tokui (Japanese), Erica Mendez (English).
- Ai Masujima (増嶋愛?): A singing idol, based on The Idolmaster. Voiced by: Satomi Akesaka (Japanese), Sarah Williams (English).
- Ryuka (リューカ?): Her name refers to the Yakuza game series which is known as Ryū ga Gotoku (龍が如く?) in Japan. Her name's consist from the protagonist, Kiryu Kazuma. Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō (Japanese), Erika Harlacher (English).
- Blossom Aisen (ブロッサ・愛染?): Represents the Sakura Taisen series of strategy games. Voiced by: Yuka Terasaki (Japanese), Erica Mendez (English).
- Tsunemi (ツネミ?): A girl wearing studio monitor speakers as hair ornaments along with a Vocaloid-style dress, and is a parody of rhythm games; her name itself consists of the three middle syllables of "Hatsune Miku" when spelled in Japanese Katakana. Voiced by: Yuiko Tatsumi (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English).
- Wyn (ウィン?): A sporty girl donning association football wear with a soccerball balanced on her head, and likes to place the team over herself. A parody of Konami's Winning Eleven series. Her names come from Tsubasa(which translated as "Wing" thus become Wyn) from Tsubasa Oozora of Captain Tsubasa. Voiced by: Hitomi Yoshida (Japanese), Christine Marie Cabanos (English).
- Lady Wac (レディ・ワック?): A parody of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. She dons various items and characters from Pac-Man as accessories, and is the oldest girl in the game. Her name is a parody of the sounds Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man make. Voiced by: Kumi Sakuma (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English).
- Generia G (ジェネリア·G?): A girl with military knowledge and a fascination of mechas. A parody of the Gundam and Super Robot Wars games. Her design is based on Talia Gladys from the Gundam series. Voiced by: Eri Sendai (Japanese), Kira Buckland (English).
- Saori (サオリ?): A girl of a bishōjo game who dreams of falling in love, despite never experiencing it. She is most likely based on Shiori Fujisaki from Tokimeki Memorial. Voiced by: Ayaka Suwa (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English).
- Vio (ビオ?): A girl with a pistol and an umbrella, a parody of Resident Evil (known as Biohazard in Japan). Her names originally came from slight change of Leon S. Kennedy spelling in katakana (Riion) of Resident Evil 4. Voiced by: Amika Takahashi (Japanese), Mela Lee (English).
- Sango (サンゴ?): Dresses in old fashioned Japanese clothing, a parody of the Dynasty Warriors franchise by Koei (known as Sangoku Musō in Japan). Voiced by: Sanae Fuku (Japanese), Lauren Landa (English).
- Little Rain (リトル·レイン?): Voiced by: Teramoto Haruko (Japanese), Natalie Hoover (English).
DLC characters
Additional playable characters can be added to the game via paid DLC.[13]
- IF: From the previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games within the series. Voiced by: Kana Ueda (Japanese), Kate Higgins (English)
- Compa: From the previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games within the series. Voiced by: Kanako Sakai (Japanese), Cristina Vee (English)
- Tiara: Character from Fairy Fencer F who makes a cameo appearance. Voiced by: Kaori Ishihara (Japanese), Natalie Hoover (English)
- Sting: Character representing Sting, the developer of the game. Voiced by: Ai Nonaka (Japanese), Abelina Sabrina Rios (English)
Development
The project was initially announced during the Game no Dengeki Kanshasai 2013 festival.[3] The game is produced by series producer Naoko Mizuno, producer Higashiro, and development producer Hikaru Yasui.[14] The opening theme song is "Jet Black Sustain" (漆黒のサステイン Shikkoku no sasutein?) performed by Asami Imai and produced by 5pb.,[15][16] and the ending song is "Hug" by Marina.
Reception
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The game received positive reviews in Japan. Famitsu gave the game a review score of 31/40.[21] The game sold 28,397 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan, placing fourth place amongst the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week.[22]
In the West, it received mixed reviews. It received an aggregated score of 68.33% on GameRankings based on 21 reviews[17] and 68/100 on Metacritic based on 24 reviews.[18] Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 3.5 out of 5, saying "Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart offers great gameplay with the unfortunate caveat that you’ll need to waste more time than expected waiting on enemies to enjoy it."[20]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 2015-01-07, "Hyperdevotion Noire" Set for February in North America and Europe, Crunchyroll.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 2013-03-17, Hyperdimension Neptunia's Noir/Black Heart Gets Her Own Game, Anime News Network.
- ↑ 2013-12-05, Noire Gekishin Black Heart debut trailer, screenshots, Gematsu.
- ↑ 2013-12-24, コンパイルハートからHOTなプレゼント!PS Vitaの新作ティザームービーが公開 ― 『モンスターモンピース』のオットンの様なキャラも, Inside-games.jp.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 2013-11-26, First look at Noire Gekishen Black Heart, Gematsu.
- ↑ 2013-12-03, First gameplay screenshots of Noire Gekishen Black Heart, Gematsu.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 2014-05-23, ノワール様はぼっちじゃない! 美少女武将を仲間にして「超女神信仰 ノワール 激神ブラックハート」でゲイムシジョウ界の統一を目指そう, 4gamer.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 超女神信仰 ノワール 激神ブラックハート - SYSTEM, Compile Heart.
- ↑ 2013-12-04, New Screenshots Of Noire’s Spinoff Show The Neptunia World As A Strategy RPG, Siliconera.
- ↑ 2013-12-26, 『超女神信仰 ノワール 激神ブラックハート』に待望の続報! ノワールファンが震え上がるスキャンダルのスクープも!?【電撃PS特報】, Dengeki PlayStation.
- ↑ 2014-01-20, Noire’s Vita Spinoff Turns Video Game Genres Into Characters, Siliconera
- ↑ 2014-06-23, Sting And Fairy Fencer F’s Tiara Join Noire’s Strategy RPG This Week, Siliconera.
- ↑ 2013-11-26, Noire Gekishin Black Heart Japanese release date set, Gematsu.
- ↑ 2014-01-17, 今井麻美さん12枚目のシングルは『超女神信仰 ノワール 激神ブラックハート』オープニングテーマ『漆黒のサステイン』, Famitsu.
- ↑ 2014-01-20, 今井麻美さんが歌う『超女神信仰 ノワール 激神ブラックハート』OP曲が3月26日にCDで発売! 『コープスパーティー BLOOD DRIVE』OPも収録, Dengeki Online.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2014-05-20, Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1328, Gematsu
- ↑ 2014-06-04, Media Create Sales: 5/26/14 – 6/1/14, Gematsu.
External links
- Official website
- Official website (Japanese)
- Pages using vgrelease with named parameters
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- Articles using Video game reviews template in single platform mode
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Articles with Japanese-language external links
- 2014 video games
- Compile Heart games
- Hyperdimension Neptunia games
- Japanese role-playing video games
- PlayStation Vita games
- Science fantasy video games
- Sting Entertainment games
- Video game spin-offs
- Video games featuring female protagonists
- Windows games