Hyperdimension Neptunia PP: Producing Perfection

While light on what we'd traditionally call "gameplay" and aimed at an even more specific audience than your typical modern Japanese games, Producing Perfection is a solid, character-driven experience that is a lot of fun.

Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection is an attempt to blend the idol management sim with the crazy universe of Hyperdimention Neptunia, and it largely works.

A fun piece of fan service for those who enjoy the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, and management games. The amount of options in-game are light, but the musical score and humor make up for it.

Unexpectedly challenging and fun, Producing Perfection is an excellent idol simulator that's only held back by its limited amount of content and repetitious gameplay.

Unfortunately, this is one instance where Compile Heart simply didn't produce perfection -- but if you just want to hang out with the girls when there’s not some sort of crisis going on, it might be worth a look.

A decent, if feature-light, management game. It’s helped massively by the premise, but the execution, from the cute graphics to the ease of use, might make this worth looking into if you fancy a management sim on the go. Just don’t expect hidden depths – like the generic pop the game asks you to sell, what you see is what you get.

A bizarre game from the Hyperdimension Neptunia universe with poor game mechanics and not very interesting gameplay.

A real miss for Compile Hearts. Boring gameplay and weird development mechanics ruins the experience entirely.

A weak production. Characters and plot are interesting, but the management phase is too thin to keep players involved.

Although the gameplay is sometimes too light for its own good, the relaxing nature of the experience, and the likable cast of idols makes the experience worth trying to some degree. Producing Perfection is such a unique title however, that most gamers will probably want to pass over this experience to something with a little more substance.

Anyone who likes the Neptunia characters would probably rather see them in their own events instead of fawning over a faceless protagonist. If you don't fall into either of those niches, the game doesn't offer anything. It's one simple minigame tied to some lackluster simulation-style gameplay, and it doesn't do anything well enough to carry the title for those who aren't fond of the Neptunia franchise.

To get the most out of the experience, Producing Perfection practically mandates that its players have some kind of working knowledge of the Hyperdimension world to enjoy its trappings. If players are in that category, then perhaps there’s enough here to sustain interest, as the excessive dialogue is really only entertaining for those who know the characters and established lore well.

Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection is one for the hardcore fans of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series who want to see more of their favourite characters break off into another type of game.

It’s so weird and ephemeral that when I got the credits, I wasn’t sure if the game was finished or about to begin. Sadly, that tells you a lot about the actual content. When it was all over, I was unsure if I had somehow missed the “game” part and just watched the cut scenes.

For an idol management game with promise and potential, it's a shame to see Neptune and her friends hit such a bum note – and a really repetitive bum note at that.

For those who aren’t invested in the series, Producing Perfection is a hard-sell, especially to gamers not acclimated to anime/otaku culture. Some of the dialogue is genuinely witty and charming, as is the world of Gamindustri itself, yet tedious concert gameplay and a lack of unique content do little to justify the asking price.

Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection takes an interesting idea and makes it incredibly boring by attempting to use sheer fanservice to drive itself forward.

The game feels like a cheap mobile game where all you do is select menus to progress your characters without having to do anything to determine how much they increase their stats.