The bad news is that, gameplay-wise, Game Maker R:Evolution is rather disappointing. It's basically the same awkward combat with a focus on switching characters mid-combo that we didn't love in Sisters vs. Sisters. The dungeon visuals are also exactly the same as Sisters vs. Sisters, so expect to see the same forests and caves and everything else, and some of the level designs are also literally the exact same as before. It's easy to have a pretty sour first impression of the game because so much of it has just been copied over.
The good news is that the rest of the experience is where Game Maker R:Evolution shines. The story is about series heroine Neptune hopping over to an alternate universe where she helps a ragtag group of failed console goddesses take over their version of the world of Gameindustri. Your co-main characters this time are an Atari Jaguar girl (she's my favorite, actually), an Apple Pippin girl, and a Panasonic 3DO girl. The PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and SEGA goddesses, along with their portable console sisters, from the past games also join your party eventually as well. Yes, there are two playable Neptunes in this game.
There are also characters based on developers and third party publishers, too, and From Software, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Square Enix and Konami are all represented with their own busty waifus. None of the characters are actually called these things, of course, but you know who they're supposed to be basically instantly and spend the whole game nodding and going "I understood that reference".
I do love how everyone looks. These characters are so charming and fun. And busty.
What really held my attention in this game is that the main plot really mirrors the real game industry. It's about piracy and bootleg games and systems, and even about the console warz with a z. Sometimes it's a little too real, though, as the Xbox girl is more interested in playing games on the competition's machines than promoting her own console. I'm also happy to say that, ultimately, the goddesses all decide that working together is for the best and console wars are incredibly stupid and are a relic of the past. I love it. Too bad Sony loves console warz with a z too much and will never let it happen in the real world ...
Other than combat, a major part of the game is actually making your own games. It's basically Kairosoft's Game Dev Story with tits, and that's awesome. You recruit developers to make the game and unlock new genres and subgenres and other things as you progress through the story. You also invest in your company to make things go faster and improve working conditions and all sorts of stuff. You make games and get a bigger market share in the world of Gameindustri and it's incredibly fun and satisfying. It's not really all that different from past Neptunia games, but for some reason it really hooked me this time.
One thing I've noticed about these and other anime games, though, is that I don't know why they're all so freaking long! You see pretty much everything the games have to offer after a few hours, but they always stretch on for 30-hours which is way, way, way too long. There just isn't ever enough gameplay to keep you interested for that long, even if there are waifus. Instead of copy and pasting the same stuff over and over to pad the length, as they blatantly did here, you'd think they'd probably be better off making shorter games with more original content.
Part of my issue with the length is also that the games pretty much always have crazy difficulty spikes that are 100% always where I give up and stop playing. You're supposed to go grind, I guess, to catch up to where the game expected you to be, but if you already weren't into the simple repetitive copy and paste gameplay, asking you to backtrack to grind for hours is asking way too much. What do they think people are playing these games for? I can tell you it definitely isn't for the so-so gameplay.
In the end, I don't love that it's mostly copy and paste. and it overstays its welcome by about 20 hours, but I have mostly enjoyed playing Neptunia: Game Maker R:Evolution. I really liked the plot this time around and had a much better time than I did with Sisters vs. Sisters. It's just far more compelling and interesting. I can't speak on past games on other platforms, but if you're an Xbox owner that wants to get into Neptunia, Game Maker R:Evoulution is definitely the best place to start.
My recommendation comes with caveats, though - First, don't pay full price and, second, don't expect to actually see the ending unless you really, really, really, really like grinding. If you're cool with seeing no more than 10 hours of this 30 hour game, and can spend $20 or less to do it, go for it. If not, skip it.
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