Idea Factory, 2013
Windows, PSP Vita 和 PS3*
Idea Factory, 2013
Windows, PSP Vita and PS3*
这游戏能出现在 PC 上令所有人始料未及。《超次元游戏海王星:重生(Hyperdimension Neptunia - Re;Birth 1)》的故事发生在一个名为“游汐叶界”(Gamindustri)的世界中,“白鹭之滨”(Lowee)、“黑土边域”(Lastation)、“绿茵箱庭”(Leanbox)以及“紫曜之都”(Planeptune)四国陷入了一场名为“主机大战”(Console War)的永恒冲突当中。前三个国家分别指代了 Wii、PlayStation 以及 Xbox 游戏主机,而最后一个国家则代表了一款在上世纪九十年代被取消了的游戏主机——世嘉海王星(SEGA Neptune)[1] 。
其中最匪夷所思的便是对于游戏业界的种种隐喻,游戏一开始众“主机女神”(console goddesses)联手将“紫曜女神”(Planeptune goddess)从主机大战中剔除出局。所以你必须帮助失去所有力量和记忆的海王星,这个已被取消的游戏主机化身去夺回本应属于她的地位并拯救整个“游汐叶界”。再也找不出比这更奇怪的背景故事了。
A game that no one expected to see on PCs, Neptunia is set in the world of Gamindustri, where four nations – Lowee, Lastation, Leanbox and Planeptune –, are locked in an eternal conflict called the Console War. The first three nations clearly represent the Wii, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, while the last one is a reference to the SEGA Neptune, a cancelled console from the 90s.
In one of the most bizarre industry metaphors, the game begins as the “console goddesses” join forces against the Planeptune goddess and remove her from the Console War. And so you must help Neptune, a powerless and amnesiac personification of a cancelled console, to return to her rightful place and save all of Gamindustri. Hard to find a weirder premise.
整部《超次元游戏海王星:重生》就是一次对于电子游戏,尤其是日本独立游戏界的愉快致敬。你最初的两位伙伴康帕(Compa)和艾芙(IF)分别是本作的发行商 Compile Heart [3] 和开发商 Idea Factory [4] 的化身。你遇到的大部分角色都影射了某些日本公司和游戏系列,并且敌人、地下城、攻击招式、道具、笑话乃至整个机制中关于其他电子游戏的梗更是多如牛毛。比如,你可以根据自己的喜好来烧录能够提升状态的游戏光盘,并将其作为配件装备起来。
抛开另类的设定不谈,《超次元游戏海王星:重生》就是一款标准的硬核 JRPG。游戏的故事剧情通过 2D 的过场动画(带有双关和粉丝向的内容)进行叙述,而简单的地下城则是在 3D 的第三人称视角下进行探索的。
一旦碰触到敌人便会进入回合制的战斗,战斗中角色可以在一定距离内自由移动,每种武器和技能都有着不同的攻击范围。该作中功能强大的装备和锻造系统、女神们的特殊形态、各色敌人、多种的状态效果以及许多可用的伙伴(DLC 中还有更多)让游戏的深度给人留下了深刻印象。你可以对伙伴们的能力、战斗倾向、外观和战斗阵型进行定制并与其他角色组队以获取特殊的奖励和组合技。
战斗可能会非常困难,所以你必须在某些节点反复地刷任务,并重复造访地下城以获取经验道具和材料。不过有一个有趣的功能:你可以对地下城进行“重新编程”,以添加新的怪物和掉落物或是提高难度。
游戏大获成功后便很快推出三部续作(还有这三部的重制版)、相关的漫画和动画,以及诸如回合制策略 RPG 和偶像养成类的衍生作品。《超次元游戏海王星》是一款非常小众的作品,但却能够与玩家产生完美的共鸣。
Neptunia as a whole is a light-hearted tribute to video games, especially the Japanese indie scene. Your first two companions, Compa and IF, are the personification of Compile Heart and Idea Factory, the game's publisher and developers, respectively. You'll meet more characters alluding to Japanese companies and series, as well as countless other video game references in the form of enemies, dungeons, attacks, items, jokes and even entire game mechanics – like how you can burn game discs with status boosts of your liking and equip them as accessories.
The unusual setting aside, Neptunia is a standard yet solid JRPG. The story is told via 2D cutscenes (with its fair share of puns and fan-service), while the simple dungeons are explored in a 3D third-person camera.
Touch an enemy and you enter turn-based combat, where characters can freely move a certain distance and each weapon/skill has a different range. The game shines on the impressive amount of depth underneath, with a robust equipment and crafting system, special goddess forms, diverse enemies, multiple status effects and many companions to use (even more with the DLCs). You can customise their powers, attack types, appearance, battle formation and pair them with other characters to gain special bonuses and combos.
Battles can be very tough, so you'll have to grind at some points, usually by doing side-quests at the guild and revisiting dungeons in pursuit of XP, items and materials for crafting. An interesting feature here is the ability to “re-program” dungeons, adding new monsters, different item drops or raising the difficulty.
A huge hit, the game quickly got multiple sequels, manga and anime versions and a series of spin-offs, such as card games and an idol-raising sim – a total of 19 games as of 2021! Neptunia is an extremely niche game, but one that perfectly resonates with its audience.
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1 译者注:原本是世嘉(SEGA)打算作为世嘉土星(SEGA Saturn)的升级产品而推出的游戏主机,但在索尼(Sony)突然宣布加入主机市场外加世嘉自身准备不足等诸多因素的作用下,该机型被迫取消。
2 译者注:此处指该游戏的官方英文版。
3 译者注:Compile Heart(俗称“地雷社”,因为时常让玩家感觉踩雷)成立于 2006 年 6 月 2 日,母公司为 Idea Factory。公司名称源自已倒闭的日本游戏开发商 Compile。
4 译者注:Idea Factory(简称 IF)成立于 1994 年 10 月 26 日,原 Data East 职员太田康一和桑名真吾为其创始人。