Imagine a world where video game consoles are sentient lifeforms that look like cute anime girls. Now imagine you and your favorite video game console taking on a facsimile of the mega-popular Japanese idol supergroup AKB48 by defeating them in the charts with the power of music. What I just described isn't a bad trip. This is the honest to goodness premise of NIS America's Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection.

Hyperdimension Neptunia PP is an idol-raising simulation game for the PlayStation Vita. It's summer vacation and all you want to do is play video games. However, before you start your game, you end up being transported into a strange world called Gameindustri. There are four nations in Gameindustri, each governed by a Goddess known as a Console Patron Unit (CPU): they are Neptune of Planeptune, Noire of Lastation, Blanc of Lowee and Vert of Leanbox. They have summoned you to Gameindustri because an ensemble of idols known as MOB48 are winning over their citizens, taking away power from each CPU. Your job is to be their producer and shape them all into world-class idols so they can earn their shares of popularity back from MOB48. Initially, you start with one CPU, but as time goes on, you can form a duet, or even a trio. The fate of Gameindustri rests in your hands as you try to produce these lovely CPUs to perfection.

 
Hyperdimension Neptunia PP is one half visual novel and one half iDOLM@STER clone. While the visual novel portions are easy to follow through and offer you choices from time to time, the concerts you hold for your CPU idol are something that left me wanting more. Hyperdimension Neptunia PP has only five songs in the game and just nine stage effects to choose from that can be triggered during the show. Thankfully, there's a lot more customization for CPU outfits and stage props. Each concert last about three minutes and the key to getting more fans is to mess around with camera angles and trigger stage effects whenever you feel is appropriate. It is impossible to lose during concerts. It's not a rhythm game, but rather an interactive music video. Hyperdimension Neptunia PP is not for those looking for a challenge. Since there isn't a firm deadline to the storyline, anyone with patience and common sense can make their CPUs into the #1 idols in Gameindustri and clear the game in just a few hours.

Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection is a cute game, but there's not much to do in it aside from making cute girls look cute on stage. So if that sounds like fun to you, then you know what to do. 

Hint: Remember to let your CPU rest every once in a while. Failure to do so will increase her stress levels to 100%, triggering a Game Over!

by Ray n.