Hyperdimension Neptunia (Game)

Hyperdimension Neptunia (超次元ゲイム ネプテューヌ) is a 2010 role-playing video game developed by Idea Factory and published by Compile Heart (distributed by Sega) in Japan and NIS America in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe exclusively for Sony's PlayStation 3. The premise of the game is a parody of the real life gaming industry and full of references regarding games, anime, and other forms of media.

The game was released on August 19, 2010 in Japan, in North America on February 15, 2011, in Europe on March 4, 2011, and in Australia on March 31, 2011.

Story
Four goddesses preside over a parallel world called Gamindustri. Aside from warring goddesses of Celestia, the human world below brims with monsters released by the evil powers of Arfoire. One girl, Neptune, falls to the human world during a scuffle between the goddesses. Once there, Neptune hears a cry from the tome Histoire, who has been sealed and kept away from the goddesses by Arfoire.

Characters

 * Neptune (Purple Heart)
 * Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Melissa Fahn (English)
 * The main character of the game, she is the goddess representing Planeptune. She loses her memory after being defeated by White Heart, Green Heart, and Black Heart, and crash lands near Compa's house. She tends to be a character with high energy, and likes to give nicknames to people. She also likes to jump headfirst into danger. However, she seems to be completely different when she transforms into Purple Heart, taking on a much more serious character. Also, unlike the other goddesses, who only change their appearance during HDD, Neptune's voice and personality changes as well. Her name and console is a reference to the cancelled Sega Neptune.


 * Compa
 * Voiced by: Kanako Sakai (Japanese), Cristina Vee (English)
 * She is a girl who attends nursing school, and is the first character to join Neptune's party. After Neptune crash lands in front of her house, she tends to her wounds with bandages, though it takes some effort. She seems to be pretty shy. Her dungeon ability is Monster Call, which can summon bosses at certain points. Her default weapon is a giant syringe, which acts as a sword and a gun. Her name is derived from Compile Heart, the company who developed the game. She also wears the Compile Heart logo.


 * IF (Iffy)
 * Voiced by: Kana Ueda (Japanese), Kate Higgins (English)
 * She is a guild member, and joins Neptune's party after they bump into her during their second dungeon excursion. She seems to be a headstrong character, and likes to accomplish the important things first. Her dungeon ability is Treasure Search, which reveals hidden treasure chests within a given area. Her default weapons are a set of claws, and she also carries a gun for her Gun command. Her name is derived from the initials for Idea Factory, evident by the IF logos on her clothing. Idea Factory is the parent company of Compile Heart.


 * Histoire (Histy)
 * Voiced by: Mika Kanai (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)
 * Although her true form is a tome, she was able to transform into a fairy-like being when Neptune broke the seal on her. Early in the game, Histoire contacts Neptune through her head, and Neptune is the only one who can hear her. She also assists the player by providing the tutorial; Neptune reveals this at the end of the first dungeon.


 * Nisa (Nippon Ichi)
 * Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)
 * Self proclaimed hero. Constantly described as flat-chested, which more often than not, makes her angry. She will become playable through the Nisa Battle Ticket, purchasable for $1.99 through the Playstation Network. Her name is derived from NIS America (NISA for short), the company who released the game. She has large blue hair and sports a red scarf, in a similar fashion to a Prinny. Her name is Nippon Ichi in Japan, which is the official name of NIS in Japan.


 * Gust
 * Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani (Japanese), Cassandra Morris (English)
 * She is a young girl who creates items, usually out of very strange ingredients, and sells them. She travels the world to become a master alchemist. The manual describes her as having a love for money, but knows how to handle it. Along with Nisa, she will join Neptune's party through the Gust Battle Ticket for $1.99. Her name is derived from Gust Corporation, who releases their games under the NIS America label. Her outfit resembles that of a character in the Atelier series produced by Gust.


 * Noire (Black Heart)
 * Voiced by: Asami Imai (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English)
 * She is a goddess who represents Lastation, which comes from the Playstation 3, and is a very individual character. She seems to like to perform on her own, and does things on her own time, but she is quite forgiving and fair. She also seems to have a strained relationship with Neptune, but still operates as an individual. During the story, Neptune finds out that she is giving up her position as goddess. She and Neptune are rivals.


 * Vert (Green Heart)
 * Voiced by: Rina Satou (Japanese), Tara Platt (English)
 * She is a goddess who represents Leanbox, which is a play on the Xbox 360. She is quite intelligent, but is not as strong as she thinks she is. She also doesn't know as much about Arfoire's monsters as the others. In addition, she seems to be slightly arrogant, and Neptune describes her as stubborn. She and Blanc appear to be rivals, partly due to breast size.


 * Blanc (White Heart)
 * Voiced by: Kana Asumi (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English)
 * She is a goddess who represents Lowee, which in itself, is a direct reference to the Wii. Her appearance doesn't exactly match her personality, as she tends to get very loud and angry very easily, and this short temper causes her to take her rage out on others, usually Neptune or the other goddesses. She also has a foul mouth, which can easily be demonstrated in almost any conversation involving her, even during the boss fight with her. Shares a rivalry with Vert, partly because of differing breast sizes, since she is also occasionally described as flat-chested.


 * Arfoire
 * Voiced by: Chiaki Takahashi (Japanese), Laura Post (English)
 * The main antagonist of the game, she will not stop until she defeats the four goddesses and takes over Gamindustri once and for all. She wears very gothic style clothes; black, with a splash of purple. Her hat carries a thorned rose as well. She also has purple hair, which looks similar to Neptune's hair. She used to be acquainted with Historie, but when they split Gamindustri into four parts, Arfoire turned against her. Her name is based off the R4, a Nintendo DS game card which allows the owner to download games, music, and movies for free.


 * 5pb.
 * Voiced by: nao
 * An additional character, her in-game events can be purchased at the Playstation Network. Her name is directly derived from 5pb., the music company nao belongs to. She wears the 5pb. Records logo on her necklace. Because nao speaks Japanese, her in-game events come in English subtitles only.


 * Red
 * Voiced by: Kanae Itō
 * An additional character, her in-game events can be purchased, as in 5pb's case. Her name is directly derived from Red Entertainment. She is a young lesbian girl who constantly travels the world in search of wives, eventually running into IF and declaring her her first wife.