What’s in the Box: Megadimension Neptunia VIIR

If you were wondering, it’s pronounced “vee-two-arr”.

Yes indeed, a (kind of) new Neptunia game is here, which of course means I’ve picked up its limited edition, because I like both Neptunia and Idea Factory International’s approach to limited editions.

I haven’t decided if I’m going to cover VIIR here on MoeGamer as yet; the original Megadimension Neptunia V-II was one of the first Cover Games here and thus we’ve already explored certain aspects of it in great detail. While I mull over whether or not VIIR’s new bits — namely its virtual reality component and its completely overhauled mechanics — are worth another month of in-depth exploration at some point down the road, here’s a look inside the box of that limited edition.

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The box is a nice chunky affair, quite similar in construction to the Gal*Gun 2 limited edition we looked at a little while ago. It’s made of nice, sturdy card with a pleasingly glossy coating, and it definitely feels of much higher quality than some of the earlier Neptunia limited editions.

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It’s pretty chunky, too, despite not having a huge amount of different items inside. The reasons for that will become apparent shortly. I hope you have a decent amount of shelf space left over. I need to rearrange mine for this bugger!

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The inner box is of similarly nice, thick, gloss-coated card, and fully decorated with the chibi forms of the characters typically seen on the map screens for the Neptunia games. It actually took a fair amount of effort to get the lid off upon first opening, but it is subsequently a bit easier to get into. As board game aficionados will know, however, a tight lid makes for good box farts, and VIIR doesn’t disappoint in this regard.

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For some reason, Idea Factory International now has to ship the actual game packaging outside of the main limited edition packaging — supposedly something to do with regulations set by Sony. They do, however, provide a cardboard insert into which you can insert the Blu-Ray case for the game, so if you like to keep your game discs in the LE boxes, you can do so. Me, I like to take the games out and have them on the shelf so they can be accessed more easily.

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Here’s the back of the Blu-Ray case for the game, promising the game’s features, PS4 Pro enhancements (which I believe the original lacked) and, of course, the optional VR support. As with all PSVR games, you need both the VR headset and the camera to be able to play, but you won’t need Move controllers.

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Here’s the inside of the case, and… holy shit, is that a manual?

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No. No it isn’t. But it’s better than nothing, I guess, plus also confirmation that the game will play nice with Remote Play if you have your Vita set up appropriately. Obviously you won’t be able to play in VR if you’re doing Remote Play, but since the VR aspect is only part of the game as a whole, you can probably live with that.

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The inlay for the Blu-Ray case is actually reversible; the back is the same, but the front carries alternative artwork that matches the image on the cover of the LE’s box. Take your pick! I went with the standard Purple Heart NEXT form, myself.

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And here’s probably the main attraction for this particular LE: a Nepgeardam plushie, based on the recurring gag from throughout the series in which Nepgear has apparently built a giant robot in her spare time, but is always seemingly terrified any time it actually shows up to do her bidding. Despite its goofy appearance, it’s a powerful beast, able to be controlled by Nepgear without her even having to sit in its cockpit. If it even has a cockpit.

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The Nepgeardam in this limited edition is obviously somewhat smaller than the real thing, allowing it (her?) to adorn your shelves or table with minimal inconvenience. She’ll even sit up by herself without needing to be propped up against something.

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The back is counterbalanced a little by this adorable “electrical plug” tail. Incorporating cables and connectors into outfits and character designs is a running theme in the Neptunia series; Neptune’s iconic hoodie dress, for example, has HDMI cables as its ties around the collar.

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Nepgeardam unfortunately won’t stand up by herself unassisted because her legs don’t quite bend the right way. You can sort of prop her up against something as seen here, but she’s clearly designed to sit on things rather than stand.

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The quality of the plushie is actually really nice. The details on the face are stitched rather than stickers or transfers, which means that she should stay in good fighting shape for quite some time. The square head also keeps its shape well without containing anything obviously hard, meaning that you can cuddle Nepgeardam to your heart’s content without worrying about either injuring yourself or squishing her head.

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Tucked away beneath the plushie we have a couple of other goodies, first of which is this controller skin. The original Megadimension Neptunia V-II came with a set of decals to decorate an original-model PlayStation 4, so this is a nice complement. You’ll need steady hands, though; a controller is smaller than a console. Obviously.

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And then under that we have a nice hardback artbook to complement the one that came with the original Megadimension Neptunia V-II. This one has a nice matt finish on the cover and a fair amount of heft to it.

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I really like the line art in the inside front and back covers; the purple on black looks great. Anyway, here’s the contents page; we have a substantial section on the characters first, followed by chibi art, rough sketches and finally some official artwork.

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The character section features character profiles and trivia about the goddesses in their “human” and CPU forms, as well as a few “breaking the fourth wall” jokes at their expense.

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The artwork section is particularly lovely, featuring some delightful pictures from longtime series illustrator Tsunako.

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Also included in the artwork section are the various “countdown” promotional images Tsunako drew in the run-up to this new version’s release. If you ever wanted to fantasise about how stinky Big Nep’s feet got after spending all day in those boots, I recommend the image on the left. You know who you are.

Um, anyway. That’s that. There’s Megadimension Neptunia V-IIR. Let me know if you’d be interested in reading some in-depth coverage on the new systems and mechanics in this revamped release — I’m yet to boot it up at the time of writing, but from what I understand the gameplay is actually significantly different to its source material, so I’m certainly up for investigating further.

Also, Nep. You know how I am with Nep. I’m just bummed Nepgear doesn’t have her own VR sequences… although it’s probably for the best, since if I could actually hang out with Nepgear I doubt I’d ever take that headset off again.


More about Megadimension Neptunia V-II
More about Megadimension Neptunia VIIR
More about the Neptunia series

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