Omega Quintet review: repetitive and uninspired missions

Idea Factory International; PS4; £44.99

JRPGs have long had bizarre plots that make little sense. Omega Quintet is no different. You control 5 teen pop-stars, known as Verse Maidens, who are unexplainably the only ones who can prevent their city being overrun by other-worldly monsters known as Blare. Whenever a Blare appears, you are sent to confront it, all while being followed by cameras that broadcast your battle to the hundreds of adoring fans in the nearby city.

With such a ridiculous plot you would expect Quintet to focus more on gameplay rather than story. However, the complete opposite is true. The amount of squabbling, debating and genuine filler talk among these static characters through uninspired 2D cutouts becomes unrelenting. Once the satirical joke about Japanese Idol culture is understood, it all just goes on much too long, at points feeling like hours between sequences where anything actually happens.

Perhaps the creators thought it would make things more interesting by hyper-sexualising each girl. While manga comics have often portrayed teenage girls in skimpy clothes, this game takes it to ridiculous levels. For example, during battle sequences your characters clothes deteriorate, eventually leading to your Verse Maidens in nothing but underwear. It’s all slightly uncomfortable, especially when the screen focusses on one characters head being pushed into another’s bosom.

While reminiscent of previous Compile Heart game Hyperdimension Neptunia, the system implements many original ideas, notably having a Voltage Gauge that allows you to see how citizens are reacting to the televised fight. As the gauge goes up and down your Verse Maidens receive different perks, giving an extra lair of intricacy to an already complicated system. It all takes a while to get used to, not helped by the avalanche of awful tutorials, but once understood it’s a joy to use.

With such a great battle system Quintet feels like a missed opportunity for greatness. There’s a solid foundation underneath the overlong story, repetitive missions and hyper-sexualisation just waiting to be found. “It’s a pretty repetitive labour being a Verse Maiden,” quips one of the girls after a few hours gameplay. I couldn’t agree more. Hopefully, in time, the PS4 will get the JRPG it deserves.