Well , I can't really help it when my eyes and brows are similar to this...

... So I practically look like I'm frowning most of the times , causing some misunderstandings. =.=

Ah , shoot , what do they want me to do , smile for 24 hours or something? :X

( Note : I'm not as muscular nor as suave as Archer though XD ... Nor is my hair white , just that the eyes are similar and all... :cry: )

Well , I can see that some people were...somewhat confused by Neptunia's battle features so I've decided to make a small lil' guide of my own :3

Getting Started

The World Map

Essentially , there are several options available in the World Map.

"Shop" - Simple enough , little explanation is needed. Also , the shop is updated according to your level growth and the progress of the storyline , I'm not too certain about this but I've experimented a little and it does seem to be that case. I've continously grinded my level and the shop is updated when I have leveled up.

"Explore" - Exploration is essentially a form of act to initiate available "Events". Such events will help you unlock new dungeons , some minor information or even aid in the progress of the storyline.

"Search" - Searching is an act of...well , getting your party into dungeons. It is suggested that you enter dungeons which you are confident of surviving in , reckless decisions may result in dire consequences.

"Gallery" - You can view all the available CGs you have unlocked.

Equipment Issues

Weapon and Rings
The only status affecting equipment I have seen so far are only weapons and Rings.
Accessories and Outfitsseems to only affect your overall appearances.
Otherwise , it's pretty straightforward if I must say so myself.

Processor
Processors are rare equipment parts only available to Goddesses. ( CPUs )
Such equipment will affect the character's stats bya fairly significant amount , it will also change their appearances in their HDD form.
Quite a fair bit of them can be purchased at the shop for a whooping price ( 10K per piece... ), whilst unique ones can be found in dungeons , though it may require some effort to find.

Dungeon Exploration

The Dungeons in this game is fairly straight foward. You either search for the required materials , boss , monsters or exit to finish the task.
However , keep in mind the dungeons are also littered with treasures and at the very least , ONE hidden treasure.
So IF is a very critical character in your attempt to comb the dungeons of items due to her special Dungeon Ability.
Neptune , on the other hand , can use her hammer to destroy obstructions.
Compa is a bit more unique as she can use her bell on specific areas to summon unique monsters or simply attract horde of monsters so you can explore the dungeon freely for a limited amount of time , provided that you win the battle.

IMPORTANT : Most Hidden Treasures tend to hold Processor Parts , so ALWAYS scan the Dungeon for Treasures!

Dungeon Ranking

Finishing the Dungeon as quickly as possible results in better gold rewards.
So get your arse moving and stop daydreaming!

Specific Spawn Points

Again , this is another matter which I have experimented in for a while.
For example , if you have taken on a quest which requires you to clear a certain mob of monsters , these monsters may spawn more regularly at specific zones of the Dungeon.
For example , the Lampfish spawns somewhere closer to the North-West area of the ship.
This would help out if you want to top out in the Ranking Scores.

Healing

Healing is a bit of a pain in the neck in this game.
You can't heal like in other RPGs where you simply select the potion to heal yourself.
You HAVE to equip Item Skills and the amount of points you inserted into the Skill means raising the likelihood of using that particular skill.
I suggest pumping the healing related Skills over the status-healing skills early on in the game.
Also , having the skill alone is not enough , you must have the number of required items to EVEN perform the skill.
So check out your skills properly and allocate them in a way of which you won't waste too much materials whilst keeping yourself alive.

Combo and Skill Allocation

In this game , you can edit your movesets.
There are various type of Skill benefits but special moves require extra AP to execute, but if you can manage to juggle the skill allocations well , you can perform lengthy combos before coming to a stop.
Personally , I advice placing most skills at the end of most combos and at points of which you can easily remember it.
There's no point if you allocate a skill and forget the required moves to execute it.

Bullets and Elements

Ranged attacks are sometimes pretty efficient on certain enemies , particularly with elemental damage.
All characters have the capability to shoot , though some characters are better than the other in this.
Elemental Bullets can also be found in your regular dungeon-crawling adventures , so don't miss anything out there!

Status

HP - Obvious...

AP - How many moves you can perform per turn

Sword Symbol - Melee Offence Power

Staff Symbol - Ranged Offence Power

Shield / Sword Symbol - Defence Power

Shield / Staff Symbol - Ranged Defence Power

Fire / Water / Leaf / Rock Symbols - Elemental Defence Power

Strength - Melee Prowess

Vitality - Defence Prowess ( NOT HEALTH! )

Agility - SPEED!! Vroom , vroom!

Intelligence - Ranged Capabilities

Mentality - Magical Defence

Luck - Critical Rate

Types of Combo Skills

Switch - Changes member which is placed behind the character in the Formation Screen

Combo Link - Boosts your AP by a certain amount after the attack

Transformation - Allows the character to transform into their HDD form

Disc - Similar to Combo Link , but Magic oriented

Early Party Impression

Neptune - Despite her size , she can easily deal the most damage amongst the trio. Her transformation can also boost her abilities by a significant amount.
Her overall status is pretty impressive , though her defences can be upsetting at times.
However , she's easily the one dealing the most damage most of the time.

Compa - Her defences are pretty crappy and so is her melee prowess levels , but her ranged capabilities make up for it.
She ain't exactly the one doing the most damage most of the times , but she's pretty useful at times since she can help lower the Guard Meter of the Boss enemies quicker than the others.

IF - Her offence level isn't quite as high as Neptune , but her defences are remarkable , so is her AP points.
The only problem is her offence levels , her physical prowess is somewhere around the centre of Neptune and Compa , whilst her pistols are hardly doing any damage to the enemy.
Still , she can bring the enemy HP down by a fair bit due to her AP allocation.

Combat Tips

Bring down the fastest Enemy - It's advisable to bring down any enemy whose about to have it's turn soon. Do that and you might just finish a battle unscathed. It's pretty much something like Mana Khemia to be honest.

Spam the HP Healing Skills - You can't heal your characters by your own will , so you have to just clap your hands together and pray that they'll heal themselves , so this is why it's important to prioritize healing skills in the game.
... Not to mention purchasing materials if neccessary for the skills.

Guard Meter is priority for bosses - Some bosses have such strong defences that it may be impossible to take down unless you break the Guard Meter. So it may be wise to experiment around with their weaknesses and try various attacks , provided that the boss is one heckuva tough nut to kill.

Kill , Combo Link , Exit Combo - If you killed an enemy with a Combo Link , accept the Combo Link benefit and exit the combo , you will still have the amount of AP you gained , so move on to another enemy!

Transform early in tough battles - The HDD is more useful than you'd think it would be in dangerous battles. Neptune's combat capabilities would rise by a fair bit and enemies are pretty much screwed in a sense.

Combo Skills are Important - Combo Skills are very , very important. They do take up a lot of AP , but they also do a lot more damage. Adding things up , two attacks which makes up the AP value of one skill =/= same amount of damage.
If you juggle Combo Links well with special attacks , you may be able to deal devastating damage.
It's tough at first , but it's simply the matter of memorising where you allocated the skill slots.

Well , that's all I can think of for now , so adios people!

Hyperdimension Neptunia features characters which are... well , personifications of existing game companies and gaming consoles.

Neptune ( Purple Heart )

She is , apparently , based off Sega Neptune , which was stopped when it was in mid-production and thus , was never released to the general public.
In her "human form" , she is well... hyperactive and can be considered daft to a certain extence , but when she transforms , she becomes not only beautiful , but also rational , dependable and well , strong-willed to a certain extence.
She is also , apparently , the strongest amongst all of the four Goddesses , but she still got booted out of the order when the three decides to gang up on her.

Noire ( Black Heart )

Apparently , she represents Playstation 3.
She strives hard to make a mark for her own land and despite her apparently strict and forbidding nature , she does have a "cute" side to herself.
When she transforms... let's just say her existing nature had... a x2 effect.

Vert ( Green Heart )

Naturally , she represents the Xbox360 console.
As Vert , she is quiet and well , feminine , though also a crazy addict of games but as a Goddess...well , she's pretty much the same.
Despite her "lady-like" nature , her words does bite and she does offend others at times with the...err...chest size issue.

Blanc ( White Heart )

Another reason to love the Wii... Well , if you like lolis.
As Blanc , she is surprisingly shy , but naturally , all bottles have a limit before they overflow.
But as a Goddess , she is generally more aggressive in nature... Or rather , she doesn't mind speaking up for herself when she's angry.

Compa

She is based off the company "Compile Heart".
Compa is very gentle in nature and she cares for others as a nurse-in-training would , but the only fall back is that she's about as air-headed as Neptune in her human form.

IF

Pronounced as ( I-eaf ) , she represents Idea Factory.
IF is generally straight-forward in nature , but she is a pretty good person despite her blunt words at times.
Eh , you can consider her a semi-Tsundere if you want to , though I reckon Noire is the Tsundere here :P

Nisa

She represents Nippon Ichi , apparently.
Well , not sure about you guys , but I'd label her as the female version of Shishigami Bang , a hero wannabe who lacks the ability to do so.
Rather than being manly like Bang, this one is a bit more on the cute side.

Gust

A(nother) loli who is a crafter and a trader.
She's fairly money-minded despite her... appearances.
Oh yeah , she represents Gust.

Well , I don't really care whether they ban loli , school or perverted Anime anymore , the Winter Listing of Anime was nothing but Ecchi that it can stay under my feet.

Winter 2010
Infinite Stratos - A typical Harem situation where the male finds himself in a...very "uncomfortable situation"
Freezing - Something like Queen's Blade but less perverted
Rio -Rainbow Gate- - Eh , some Yuri implementations?
Dragon Crisis - This is indeed a crisis for your blood levels
Is this a Zombie? - If I watch this any longer , I'd turn into a zombie
( There's probably more? )

Autumn 2010
Hyakku Ryouran Samurai Girls - The outlines are killin' me , so is the cheesiness of it.
Sora no Otoshimono Forte - I won't bother watching it
Motto to Love-Ru - Another series which I won't touch
Yosuga no Sora - ....They might as well make a H out of this instead
( Missed some , I reckon )

Summer 2010
Highschool of the Dead - Overrated is overrated , this one sucks big time.
Seitokai ai Yakuindomo - Not directly perverted , but it still sucks
( Haven't watched some of 'em )

Spring 2010
Shin Koihime Musou 3 - .... Well , history have never been this perverted... nor twisted.
Kiss x Sis - ..... No comment
Ichiban Ushirou Dai Maou - Well , I have mixedopinions for this one.
Ikkitousen - Not. Gonna. Bother
( Probably missed some )

...As for the rest , why bother?

Choppy storyline
Half-assed concepts
Unoriginal settings
Lame introductions( Or is lame through out it's whole Season worth of episodes )
Is essentially little more than an eye candy for , particularly , the male viewers.
They might as well turn the entire Anime industry into H.

Well , speaking of the ban , it may just be empty words , 'cause perverted stuff are still getting released here and there , according to Sankaku Complex , though it's only limited to several companies.

.... R.I.P , Anime , well , at least , that's the case until some of the good stuff starts getting released again :3

THIS ISN'T A GORRAM REVIEW!!

..... Eh , did I just say something?

Anyways ....

Storyline
.... OH THE CHEESINESS!!
Well , it IS a NIS game after all.
I mean , seriously , even though I knew that the game was about the "Console War" , I have never really expected it to be so cheesy to such an extence.
Your character , Neptune , was sent off to the world below just because she didn't take part in the arguments and as a "sacrifice" to end the "Console War".
Then , she reappears as a loli and is told to find all the Key Fragments to free this Miste , whose supposedly the creator of the Goddesses.
... Well , this game have it's nosebleeding moments like in Agarest as well.
I don't really have much to complain about the storyline , since it is pretty much NIS and all , though I've just one thing that I want to reprimand them for.....
.... WHY ARE ALL THE CHARACTERS FEMALE!?

Gameplay
Well , I can't really label the gameplay as being one of the best , but it's certainly unique enough to make it a bit better than most typical JRPG games.
This game generally involves a dungeon crawling gameplay , though even the gameplay itself seems kinda cheesy at times =.=
In terms of combat , it is quite similar to recent JRPGs , for example , it have a "Break Gauge" system similar , but acts in a different way compared to FFXIII. The actual gameplay is... Well , JRPG-ish I suppose.
It's a turn based RPG and it utilises a "Turn System" similar to that of Mana Khemia.
It also have a "Transformation" system where some of the characters ( Like Neptune ) can turn into their "HDD Form" and well , naturally , their looks and stats improve :3

...Enjoy...ability?
.... Eh...
Well , I guess it'll be perfect for those who kinda like those typical "Magical girl" kinda Anime and can put up with the cheesiness and "innocent" perversion included in this game.
High pitched voices( Oh , you can switch between English and Japanese voices ) and all this "Moe" can be a bit unbearable at times.
Still , I must admit that there are some pretty good jokes in the game.
Also , unlike most games where the character portraits are stationary , they DO blink and have this motion where they seem to be breathing... Though it's fairly unnatural most of the time XD
... Oh , the first fan service scene is that of Compa trying to wrap some bandages around Neptune.... andwhy isn't she wearing anything?
..... Well , I don't feel much for lolis anyway*Lies*
....... The thing on my nose? It's ketchup. *Lies*
... WHAT!?

Just purchased the game and it burnt a solid hole through my wallet , that's for sure.

Anyways , I'm yet to try the game since my PS3 is being hogged onto by someone else right now :cry:
I'll give an impression as soon as I tried it.

...Still , something is telling me that I shouldn't have bought all these Japanese games out of impulse.

Certainly , one of the prime factors of global warming is methane , a form of gas which is mainly caused by livestock as something as simple as fart will contain methane. ( And yes , I'm serious about this )

However , it certainly is a stupid excuse and a coverup since Global Warming is mainly caused by thepresence of CO2 ( Carbon Dioxide , if you don't know what CO2 is , your living under the rock for a millienia ) and the fact that forests are getting chopped down all the time.

Methane is certainly a serious factor , but shouldn't we tackle the MAIN problem first? It certainly feels like some sort of propaganda to mislead the people into believing that methane is the main reason of global warming.

Carbon Dioxide is mainly caused by deforestation and modern activities. The gas itself have a special property to trap heat from the Sun and this will result in the planet to heat up since it have the ability to...well , trap more heat.

Essentially , think of Carbon Dioxide as a jacket. The more you have, the more stuffy it is , no?

Deforestation ,too , causes global warming. As many of you would know by now , trees , when they photosynthesize , exchanges Carbon Dioxide for Oxygen around the surrounding air and lesser trees and plants means more Carbon Dioxide in the air.

Having more Carbon Dioxide will lead to the melting of the ice caps in places like Antartica , which in turn will lead to flooding , irregular temperature patterns and even changes to the Earth's climate and seasonal changes.
Despite how they appear , those gigantic blocks of ice contains a hell lot of water in them so if they melt , it'll turn Earth into an overflowing cup of water.

Other impacts of deforestation includes the reduction of fresh water available for the planet ( Fresh water is only 1% of Earth's water supply and we can only use a certain percentage of it since most of it are in the form of ice ) and on mountainous regions , it may even cause an avalanche.

The reason is simple , the tree roots have the ability to form a grip on the soil , preventing it from...say... sliding all around the place when it rains.
Most of these rainwater goes right into the river as well , which also causes flooding.

...Wait a second , why am I going off topic? :o

Well , anyways , to put it simply , try to be as eco friendly as possible. I try to take public transports , recycle whatever I can ( Though it's a pain in the neck , I'm too lazy to do it at times :P ) and well , just do anything within your convenience to cut the slack on the Earth's gaseous problems.

I'm not the type to go all the way out to protect Earth ( Hell , there are some activists who are so enthusiastic that they may even go against the law to protect Earth. Why , Indonesia had arrested some activists because they hampered with their economic growth ) but I DO do things within my convenience.

So , hopefully , this blog will enlighten some of you guys and at the very least , recycle some paper so less trees have to be chopped down :3

And no , it's not a video game or anything , but an actual term.

It refers to the "age" which technological advancementand scientific breakthroughs happen spontaneously within a few years.
Naturally , it's a referred term to a possible "future" of which humans have the technology of what we see in Sci-Fi Movies.

Of course , Star Destroyers and lightsabers ( You can't even control light flow in that manner) is a bit far fetched , but robots , deaging pills and other nutty inventions you can think of may be invented in the near future.

It does seem a bit unrealistic , particularly the inventions involved in the "Singularity" , but actual projects are actually going on , such as the methods of deaging and the inventions of machines that can "think and upgrade" themselves , causing their intelligence levels to surpass that of humans. Though currently , their roughly about as intelligent as a mouse.

Or maybe even the transfer of a "human mind" or rather , "conscience" to that of a robot ; immortal and efficient.

However , these have , after all , clashed with religious values of all races. Toying with the issues of life and death is particularly touchy from a religious point of view and abandoning one's flesh for steel does sound fairly...heinious.

So essentially , the point of today's blog is to ask whether you guys believe in the Singularity. Personally , I believe...half of it. I don't reckon it's gonna happen in 2045 for one , nor do I believe in the robot crap , but I DO believe in intellectual machines and deaging processes , after all , deaging have been proven...on mice that is.

Well , then again , mice have similar DNA structures to our own ( Believe it or not , that is EXACTLY the reason why they use lab rats for medication and vaccination experiments ) so I suppose deaging might prove possible in the future.

YEAH , IT'S VALENTINES DAY!!

*Realises I'm single*

......

DAMMIT!!

Anyways , hope you guys have a fun time with your spouse / wife / husband / girlfriend / boyfriend / crush / friends / whatever or whoever your going out with during Valentine's Day.
...Maybe I should give out some chocolates during White's Day.

Well , I'd be talking about the Singularity in the next blog ( Tommorow ) and I supposeit'd be best tosave the complicated science talk for tommorow :P

'Tis truly a miracle , after much coaxing , I've decided to join Facebook :X

....Seems like the living legend that doesn't use social networks like Facebook have ceased to exist.

....Well , anyways , I'm , very naturally , not using my real name ( In fact , I'm calling myself Emiya Shirou on Facebook right now :P )

Anyways , my profile images is this... ( To make it easier to find me )

The nickname's ( Unholy )

Well , I would appreciate it if you guys add me in Facebook , 'cause I'm trying to hide from my friends' friends :X
The power of the "Find Friends" system is truly frightening , even if your using a false identity :o