Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos review

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By 2025, the Neptunia series will have completed its fifteenth year. Fifteen years of satirizing video game consoles using anime girls is quite a stretch, and Neptune and her crew have shown remarkable endurance, whether you appreciate their brand of humor or not. Primarily role-playing games (RPGs), the quality of Neptunia games has been somewhat inconsistent, but this hasn’t deterred me from returning to them. Let’s commemorate fifteen years with another addition to this puzzling series – a motorbike arcade adventure known as Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos.

This time, our main character will be Uzume Tennouboshi, who shares some connection with the Sega Dreamcast (though I can’t explain why beyond her tie’s spiral). Interestingly, she hasn’t been the lead in any previous games within this series. The story kicks off as Uzame wakes up in a different dimension, having been brainwashed to love Dogoos – creatures resembling dogs with slime-like features, similar to Goombas in the Neptunia universe. It’s unsettling that she must struggle to recall they are actually enemies. As it turns out, the other Neptunia characters are experiencing a similar predicament. Uzume hops on her bike to help them break free of this trance and try to uncover the mystery behind these strange events. Despite its simplicity, this tale is surprisingly more entertaining than many lengthy narratives found in the Neptunia series.

To assist your friends in breaking free from their Dogoo-induced trances, it’s essential to eliminate as many of the slippery adversaries as quickly as possible. This involves zooming through arenas on your motorbike and gathering them before the enemy riders can, with the victor being the one who reaches a predetermined number first. In essence, Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos is all about mastering your motorbike skills, so buckle up!

Managing a bike isn’t overly complicated, but I must admit it doesn’t exactly feel fantastic. Apart from moving and turning, you can also jump to clear obstacles, accelerate with a boost, and skid to make sharper turns. Skidding, in particular, requires mastery because when you do it, the region surrounding your motorbike that collects Dogoos becomes significantly larger. This makes it more efficient to gather a large swarm of these little critters by skidding into them at top speed, which is quite rewarding when executed flawlessly.

An alternative method for collecting Dogoos involves a more aggressive approach, often referred to as “dirty fighting.” This strategy involves approaching your competitor who is collecting slime, and launching an attack to make them lose some of their gathered Dogoos. This tactic is particularly effective when used against opponents who are ahead of you in the collection process. However, beware! The AI opponents will retaliate with both melee and ranged attacks, so it’s essential to stay alert and ready for anything.

In Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos, the core gameplay revolves around collecting the game’s fifteen distinct stages, each offering a unique twist on the Dogoo theme. These stages are strategically divided into five separate worlds, each showcasing different breeds of Dogoos that alter the gaming experience. For instance, Angel Dogoos enable you to soar over chasms, Token Dogoos can be inserted into slot machines for rewards, and there’s a world where Dogoos manipulate your size to help navigate the arena efficiently. These imaginative features keep the gameplay fresh and prevent the continuous drifting from becoming mundane.

As you advance in the game, you’ll gather your beloved Neptunia characters into your team. You can pick any of them to control. Each character has unique strengths and specialties, but I found myself content with Uzume throughout and didn’t feel compelled to switch things up (particularly because her melee skills were top-notch, which aligns well with my preferred combat style).

Besides choosing various female characters, you’ll also earn money that can be used for purchasing new bikes and accessories to enhance their capabilities. While customizing your vehicle to boost its Dogoo absorption area or top speed might seem straightforward, it’s often unnecessary in practice. I managed to finish the entire game with minimal fuss by swapping bikes only once, and I rarely even bothered to install new parts. The challenges aren’t particularly engaging enough to motivate you to upgrade and add some variety, even when revisiting stages you’ve already conquered to tackle optional challenges.

One aspect about Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos I haven’t discussed earlier is its brief playtime. I finished the main story in less than two hours, and while I could extend that by replaying each level and tackling additional goals, it still doesn’t offer much gameplay. Given that it retails for around forty pounds, it’s a hard sell, even for dedicated Neptunia fans.

While I enjoyed playing Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos, it’s not a game I’d suggest you buy right away due to its problematic controls, brief playtime, and limited customization opportunities. The enjoyable arcade action isn’t quite strong enough to outweigh the game’s flaws.

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2025-01-27 18:16