Megatagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies (Or as I abbreviate it to: MBNVSZ, or just Megatag), is a charming blend of Visual Novel and Hack’n’Slash that combines cutesy anime visuals with fun, Dynasty Warriors-esque gameplay. Megatag is set within the Megadimension Neptunia universe, set in the world of Gamindustri, where various Goddesses, known as CPUs, befriended Humankind and have set out to attend school to learn more about Humans…With Human birth rates falling, Gamindustri’s prestigious academy is facing closure due to a lack of attendees; to avoid this, however, the CPUs propose to create a short film to draw in more students to enrol into the school (Personally I don’t know how this relates to Human birth rates..?)…
…When all of a sudden, the school is invaded by zombies…From which our lovely CPUs use to film a Zombie Survival movie. Yep. That’s the plot! Upon starting the game, you’ll notice that the majority of characters are based off of famous videogame companies, such as Famitsu, you’re treated with a glimpse of the game’s visuals, appearing more as a blend between the comical, childish htheme of a game such as Yokai Watch, whilst being based on obvious anime influences like K-ON, or Lucky Star; definitely a bizarre choice, given the two’s
contrasting visuals, but oddly enough Megaten commits to this style well, adapting it into a visual treat.
As stated previously, Megatag is a fusion of Visual Novel, and Hack’n’Slash gameplay elements, with the core story of the game being conveyed with text, and the combat of the game being set in arena-like stages with multiple enemies, bosses and environments to interact with. Players, as expected, can pull of Combos, Abilities, and even Finisher Moves.
You play as Blanc, the uptight, serious and no-nonsense protagonist, who enlists as a voluntary Director and Scriptwriter for the project as Member Zero. It’s your job to direct the film, survive the zombie infestation and make the best indie film ever. Throughout your filming, you can earn new weapons, accessories and outfits for each of your merry playable characters.
Now, one part of this game that I will criticise, and note that this is an opinion, is the voice acting within the game from the Zombies, ROM and RAM, specifically, is bad – Not quite Chaos Wars bad, but still underwhelming and slightly cringey nonetheless. The story as well is nothing to truly get invested into, with it being so simplistic in nature. However, that given, this game doesn’t focus on plot, or stellar voice acting, or brilliant worldbuilding, but instead focuses on girls just having fun, performing ridiculous hijinks, having a bit of banter with eachother, and generally being carefree, so I’ll let these criticisms slide…
Now onto the things Megatag does right – For starters, the spritework in this game is absolutely gorgeous, with breathing, blinking and lipsynced sprites, it seems that the fine folks over at Idea Factory really pushed their budget in this margin, and even outclasses some finer games’ spritework such as Persona 4 or Professor Layton – One thing that does creep me out however is the synchronised breathing between multiple sprites…I mean…It’s just so entrancingly terrifying…
…I mean just watch closely:
…Unnerving, right…?
Dramatics aside though, Megatag’s gameplay is both addicting and visually impressive, with particle effects, flashy lights and animations firing on all cylinders when pulling off those big-hit combos. Enemy models as well look stylised and detailed enough to feel believable in an anime, with most having unexpected animations and attacks. I did attempt to dabble a little in the Multiplayer of this game, however I had a hard time trying to find a single lobby; from what I could see though, the Multiplayer was simply more of the same, with more of a focus on beefed-up superbosses and raid bosses.
Overall, Megatagmension Blanc + Neptunia VS Zombies is a silly, short hack’n’slash visual novel-esque game that’ll entertain you if you’re into cutesy girls doing cutsey, random things in a school environment – If you’ve had exposure to the Megadimension universe before, into anime such as K-ON or Lucky Star, or are just looking for something different to shake up your Hack’nSlash life, certainly pick up this game. If, however, you’re a newcomer to these types of games, visual style, or haven’t played a Megadimension game before…I would say there’s better out there.
I would rate Megatagmension Blanc + Neptunia VS Zombies, a 7/10.