Parents' Guide to Megadimension Neptunia VII

Unless you're a fan of anime shows, graphic novels, or video games, you won't likely get much out of this Japanese role-playing game. While the three separate (and complimentary) stories are an interesting approach, and the visual style bests its PS3 predecessors (though it's still nothing to write home about), the combat is standard fare for these kinds of turn-based JRPGs. When it's your turn, you attack an enemy using a melee or ranged weapon and adopt a powerful formation attack with your party members, and after winning the battles and moving on, you spend virtual money to unlock new areas on the map.

The problem is that combat sequences tend to grow repetitive, dialogue sequences are bloated without always making a whole lot of sense, and the save-game system is frustrating because you can't choose where you want to save; instead, there are predetermined save points without an auto-save feature. Plus, there are some scenes of young girls taking a bath together, with barely enough water or hair covering their disproportionately large breasts, topped by sexually suggestive dialogue. Moments such as these are simply uncomfortable to watch or play through. At best, Megadimension Neptuna VII is an average JRPG and certainly not worth the $60 price tag, solely appealing to fans of the franchise.