Idea Factory International’s MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies sees Blanc take the lead role in this latest Neptunia spin-off game, and just like the various other spin-off games, it is a bit different compared to the main series. Playing through MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies was an interesting experience that kept the franchise’s signature humour while attempting to build on the action combat that was first introduced in Hyperdimension Neptunia U.

Now while I said the game keeps franchise’s humour the game’s story isn’t that great. The main plot of MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is that the CPUs wish to learn more about human culture, and so they decide to enrol in Gamicademi, but there is a problem, the academy is set to be closed by the end of the year due to the fact there aren’t enough potential new students. Therefore, in an effort to attract new students, Neptune, who is president of the film club, decides to make a movie and enter it into an amateur film contest. Neptune hopes that if she wins the contest it would attract more students and save the school. While Neptune has good intentions she is struggling, and as such, Blanc gets involved as writer and director. Shortly thereafter all the CPUs, CPU candidates and nearly every well-known character from the Neptunia franchise gets involved.

However, during the filming of the zombie movie, real zombies begin appearing near Gamicademi, but instead of putting down the camera to fight them, Blanc decides they should work the fighting of the real zombies into the movie.

The story and overall plot aren’t spectacular, in fact, I would say it is one of the weakest in the Neptunia franchise, but it was rather amusing, especially when the conversations shift from the game’s story to the movie story. The movie sections are rather cringe worthy as Blanc is pretty much making stuff up as she goes along. Away from the movie the game’s story is a bit mixed, as the characters are pretty relaxed about zombies attacking the school they wish to save, and to make matters worse the antagonist isn’t revealed or even mentioned until just over the halfway mark.

While the story and overall plot aren’t that great. The game’s humour and some interesting scenes help make the story more entertaining. If you are a particularly big fan of the franchise, there are moments that will have you laughing and/or perking your interest (I can see a lot of fan-fiction being made because of this game).

While the story and plot aren’t that strong, the game is carried by its combat. MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies uses an action based combat similar to Neptunia U, but with the stripping removed. The combat in this game takes a bit of time to get used to as there are several button combinations for switching characters (you select two at the beginning of each match) and using skill abilities, but once you learn the controls the combat is really enjoyable and responsive. The combat also introduces support characters that provide short-term buffs such as increased power, defence and health regeneration.

For me, combat is the redeeming feature of this game, and in many ways, I think the developers felt the same, as the transitions from story development to combat began to get smaller and smaller as the game progressed.

Outside of the story and combat what else does MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies offer? The game offers an improved character setup system that allows you to increase each character’s health, power, defence and techniques with ability points that you receive for levelling up. Besides from the improvements to the character setup, you can also create treasures that happen to look like various consoles and handhelds. You can create these treasures by collecting treasure pieces of enemies; once a treasure is completed, you are rewarded with a new costume.

Before I finish up I want to mention the game’s multiplayer mode. The multiplayer mode is an online/ad-hoc co-op mode that allows up to 4 players to take part in various quests, but unfortunately, I can’t say much, because every time I went looking for a match I couldn’t find anyone online.

Regarding any issues with the game, there was nothing major. The only real issue of note was some frame rate dropping when there were a lot of particle effects on the screen.

Conclusion:

While MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies’ story is somewhat forgettable, the game’s humour and action combat makes the game a worthwhile experience.

Score: 8/10

For more information on MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies, visit http://ideafintl.com/blanc-zombies/.