Part 16: Capitalism

Last time on Hyperdimension Neptunia the narrator completely lost it after someone talked about cats and hasn’t come back yet. Um and stuff happened I guess? Now on Hyperdimension Neptunia…

So, um, I guess I’ll do this narration thing? Okay, Compa totally agreed to help some Avenir guy again even though they’re, like, super evil.

Video- “Avenir’s Solicitor”

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Ahem. ‘The train was attacked by monsters. Please save the survivor!’
Whatwhatwhat? Helping Avenir again? I dunno about helping out our sworn nemesis!
Besides, don’t their employees carry giant boomsticks they make at their factories?
Chian said Avenir doesn’t make weaponry for human us, due to their president’s motto.
Plus, the employees themselves aren’t bad people. You shouldn’t be picky about which lives deserve saving, Nep-Nep!
There is no line to draw when saving lives. Now, let’s hurry over to the site where the train was attacked.

I don’t know, just seems like we should be beating them up, not saving them.

Video- “Critical Information”

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Oh, so the guy we saved totally acted like he knew us. It’s weird though because I’ve never seen him before.



Ganache: I’m honored to be rescued by such a beautiful lady, but… who are you?
Are you the employee we were asked to save? Your company requested we come here and get you.
Ganache: Oh, Ms. Comp and IF. Where’s Ms. Neptune? I’d expect her to be running around in here causing havoc before you.
…Have we met before? I apologize, but I don’t recall your face. How… could I forget someone I’ve met?
Ganache: Oh… Oh?! A-Are you Ms. Neptune? My, my. You’ve gone through… quite the transformation.
You were a spunky little girl when I saw you at the… well, nevermind. Please ignore my ramblings.

I totally forgot to ask him if he was some kind of creepy stalker dude when he told us the Tech Expo was back on.



Tech Expo? I thought it was cancelled!
Ganache: Well, no. It’ll go on as it usually does. Perhaps the news hasn’t made it to the public yet. Please, forget what I said!
How could we? Chian was so disappointed… If you’re telling the truth, this’ll be great news for her.
…That’s true. You said you’re preparing for the Expo. What does Avenir plan to showcase there?
Ganache: Oh, come now. Do I look like I’ve got loose lips? A big mouth? Do I seem like a stool pidgeon? I can’t just tell you!
…But between you and me, we’ve been preparing for this Expo since the company started.
Which means this is something that’s been in the preparation stages for three years!
I’m sure you’ll eventually learn more about the Expo if you tune into the radio.
…

And then after the dude left that crazy lady with the white hair came up out of nowhere again.

Video- “The Black Fate”

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Whoa, you again? You’re persistent. Nep-Nep, you should hurry and… Oh yeah, you already transformed.
…You wish to fight again? You’ve lost once already. Care to make it twice?
Tch! I like that you know just how to tick me off. Makes me want to hit you for massive damage!
Before that, I’d like to know why you’re coming after me.
I apologize for any wrongdoings I committed against you in the past, but Compa and Iffy need more clarification.
We’re destined rivals, but I don’t intend to explain myself to you. If you want to know, defeat me first!

She’s kind of a jerk.



Boss Battle: Black Heart
Another fight with Black Heart. Despite the fact that the scene is clearly intended to be just after that rescue, it does let us go back to the world map so we don’t have to do this in the state we ended the dungeon in. This is good becasue she’s definitely stronger than she was the first time. She’ll reliably do at least 60% or so to whoever she picks on even at the level I’m at if she tosses both attacks their way, so make sure that people have their items set up to heal them if she takes them below half. Otherwise she’s got a really good chance of just straight dropping them. She has a few attacks, but they pretty much all do the same damage. If you beat her last time you can probably do it again here.

Also she’s a huge liar.



You look the same, but you’ve changed so much. How can you look so proud while involving humans?
You initiated the battle. Tell me about who I am.
…
No way! I’ll admit this was a draw, but there’s no way Lastation has lost!
What are you bringing up Lastation for? What are you talking about?!
I know! What if Lastation is actually a huge transforming robot…?
That’s fresh. It’s possible on Planeptune, but here? I don’t think so.
Don’t talk down about my homeland! You’ll definitely regret it one day.
She’s running away! Nep-Nep, get her! …Whoa, y-you’re already…?
Aww, candy wrappers. I’m outta juice today. Until next time, lady. Well, let’s go back and get some yummy food.

We headed back to tell Chian the good news, but now we’re getting kind of worried it wasn’t so good.

Video- “Good News”

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Oh, please. You owe us for coming here to tell you.
Radio: …Broadcasting public information from the Basilicom.
The Tech Expo, said to be cancelled a few days ago, is now re-opened under the sponsorship of the Parliament.
See, told ya! The Expo’s on like monkey kong! You heard it too, right everyone?
Chian: Yeah, but… Parliament sponsorship? What do you think that means?
I have a bad feeling… Actually, I think I have only bad feelings about this.
We heard what that employee said. They’ve been preparing three years for this.
Chian: The Expo’s theme is ‘weaponry,’ but that was only decided on this year. How would they have prepared without knowing…?
But if they knew in advance… No, what if they’re the ones who forced the decision?!

These Avenir guys are up to no good.



True. It’s a lot of effort just to get attention. They must be draping a cloak over their real objective.
Chian: They’re probably planning to absorb the entire industry. The Expo is perfect for them to flex their mechanical muscles.
For reals?
Chian: Who knows. All I’m certain of is Singe, the representative, wishes to replace everything on Lastation with machines!
Wh-Wh-What? He wants a world of robots? Does he have a machine fetish? Is he a cyborg looking for love?
Chian: He just hates humans. He doesn’t know how to trust them.
Avenir has a ton of employees, but all the manufacturing is done by machines. There’s little for humans to do there.
Most are in marketing or run errands like buying materials… They just support the machines.
I see. Then, there must be very few humans working at their headquarters.
Chian: Right. Anyway, I hope nothing bad happens at the Expo…

Next Time on Hyperdimension Neptunia: Tricks! They’re up to no good indeed!