I absolutely love JRPG's and I've been waiting for one on the current generation of consoles to truly hook me in a way that they used to. Before anyone gets offended I'm not trying to say that none of the JRPG's that came out this generation are good, it's just that I haven't felt very strongly for any of them. I like games that try to create a deep world with so much to do that it almost becomes overwhelming. Ni No Kuni is exactly that. It's the game I've been waiting for this entire console generation and I'm so glad it came over to America.
When I first saw screenshots of Ni No Kuni I was blown away by how beautiful everything looked. Upon further research I found out that the game was developed by Level 5 in conjunction with the esteemed anime studio Ghibli. Level 5 has had a lot of cel-shading in their games like Dark Cloud 2, and Dragon Quest VII. They've gotten quite good at this particular art style, so now it looks almost as if everything is hand drawn while at the same time getting rid of all the weird shadow effects that tend to plague the style.
Level 5 has made some quality RPGs in the past, but by adding the Studio Ghibli name they are guaranteed to sell quite a few more copies of the game. Upon playing the game it's easy to see the influence Ghibli had on the game. Their art direction can clearly be seen on all of the characters and monsters. It also comes across in both the anime cut scenes and the in-engine scenes, because the animations are top notch. Everything about the game is beautiful. There were moments where I just took a break to look around. The locations are extremely vibrant and varied it's just...ugh...BEAUTIFUL!
However, if the game only looked pretty, had solid animation, and cut scenes I wouldn't like it as much as I do. It does an excellent job of creating an in depth world, which is entirely backed up by lore. It's easy to get lost in its grand scale. Honestly, it feels like a callback to the 16-bit JRPGs I love so much. There's something about it that fills me with a nostalgic feeling and I just can't help but smile.
The Another World
No I'm not going crazy. The another world is the literal translation of Ni No Kuni. That's because the main premise of Ni No Kuni is that you travel to a magical fantasy world that's separate from life was we know it. The story focuses on Oliver, who is a 13 year old boy that lives in a town called Motorville with his mom. As you might expect Motorville has a large focus on cars, so Oliver is no different. He and his friend sneak out at night to test drive a vehicle they've been working on for quite some time. Things don't go very well and Oliver almost drowns in a nearby river only to be saved by his mother at the last moment. Things seem to be okay for everyone except for Oliver's mom. The sudden shock of almost losing her son causes her to have a heart attack, which she dies from shortly after. This may sound like a major spoiler, but it happens within the first hour of the game and is foundation of the entire story.
With the passing of his mom Oliver shuts himself away in his room where he spends most of his time crying. He decides to pick up the doll that his mom made for him when he was a child and a sudden flood of memories causes him to start blubbering all over the poor thing. Much to his surprise the thing comes to life before his very eyes and begins talking to him in an amazing Welsh accent. Turns out his name is Mr. Drippy and he's the lord of the faeries in another world. He was turned into a doll by an evil wizard named Shadar who threatens the peace of the other world. Drippy tells Oliver that he's the fabled pure hearted one who's destined to defeat Shadar. In an unexpected twist Oliver denies Drippy until he finds out that he might be able to save his mother. With that bit of info Oliver decides to help the lord high lord of the faeries and ends up traveling to a whole new magical world.
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| Mr. Drippy welcomes Oliver to his world. |
The other world is quite literally magical. In order to get there Oliver has to acquire a wand and the Wizard's Companion, which he does with a little help from Drippy. The Wizard's Companion is one of the main reasons I am so enraptured by this game. What's crazy is that it's an actual book. There are hundreds of pages filled with detailed information about the world and it's inhabitants. You can access the companion from the menu at any time outside of battle. Each page is like a scanned PDF. You can move around the page and zoom in. You can see spells, alchemy recipes, a bestiary, maps, an ancient alphabet, and fairy tales. Some of the pages will be missing, but as the game progresses they will fill in. The description of an in game book may not be very appealing, but it's implemented surprisingly well. When you open the book it shows every section you can go to. In order to get where you want you can select it with a cursor, or you can zoom in until it appears. The transitions are smooth and everything feels natural.
In Japan there was also a DS version of the game that shipped with a physical copy of the companion. In that version of the game it was crucial to solving puzzles and advancing in the game. The PS3 version doesn't "need" it quite as much. There are occasions when you'll be asked to decipher ancient text, which can be found inside the companion. There aren't any instances where you have to do this, so if you don't feel like it you can skip it entirely. There isn't actually any reason that you'd have to look inside the companion, but I would highly recommend that you do. The localization of it is incredible. The fairy tales are oozing with personality and it can help you find hidden treasure on the world map.
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| I wish I had gotten a physical copy of the Wizard's Companion. |
The Wizard's Companion isn't the only part of the game that has amazing localization. The same goes for the entire game. There are times when playing JRPGs that I question whether or not certain scenes and characters were changed for the US translation. Sometimes things just seem a little out of place or off, but that didn't happen once during my play through of Ni No Kuni. It all feels so natural, even the voice acting. The world is completely believable.
Pokemon Battle?
I've seen Ni No Kuni's battle system described by many as a cross between Pokemon and the Tales series. That might be the easiest way to explain it, but it's not necessarily correct. It does share quite a few similarities with both though.
Battles in Ni No Kuni are not random. Monsters physically manifest on the world map and in dungeons. They can be avoided, or run into for a bit of battling. Like most games with this type of encounter system if you attack from behind you'll be at an advantage, but if the enemy gets you from behind they have the advantage. When the game begins you can only control Oliver in battle and he's super weak. He can physically attack with his tiny wand, defend, use items, or cast spells. His physical attack isn't ideal, but he ends up being very good with magic as the game advances. These options are shown in a radial menu at the bottom corner of the screen. Using the left stick or d-pad you can switch between options. The similarity to the Tales series is that you can control Oliver's movement with the right stick. He can move 360 degrees, so you can dodge enemy moves and get into position for casting.
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| The human characters are not as durable as their familiars. |
Shortly after his arrival in Mr. Drippy's world Oliver is given access to a familiar, which is a monster created from the power of his heart, which is when the battle system really opens up. Familiars are what make people liken the game to Pokemon. They're tiny little creatures who you can collect and evolve for more power. They can be one of the four signs of sun, moon, star, or planet. Each type has strong and weak match ups against the others. On top of that there are six elemental types to be aware of.
Oliver (and other party members you acquire throughout the game) can fight themselves or call upon one of their three familiars in battle. Controlling familiars works the same as Oliver. You use the left stick to pick their actions and the right stick to control their movement. Every one will have the option to attack, but not all have the option to defend. Some have defend, some have the option to evade, and some can't do anything against incoming attacks. Familiars will learn new attacks and magic through leveling, which are called tricks. Much like Pokemon they can only have a few of these moves at a time and you'll have to manage what they have and what they need to forget.
Familiars are generally better than Oliver, but you can't use them forever. Each one has a stamina bar, which will decrease as long as you are controlling them. If the bar runs out they will become unusable for a short time, so you'll want to switch between the human character and their other familiars at all times. There will also be cases where you'll want to use spells or items and only human characters like Oliver can do that.
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| The battles can be a little overwhelming at first. |
At around the ten hour mark you'll be given the ability to charm the critters you're fighting and make them your own. There are quite a few of them and the capture rates are generally pretty low, so if you want to capture them all it's going to take quite a bit of work. To add in even more fun every familiar has three stages. The first form can be fed a drop to go to the second form. From the second form they must be fed a jumbo drop and you get to choose one of two third forms for it to turn in to. There quite a few options.
The system isn't super complex, but it can be a lot to take in at first. It's a lot to keep track of. I've seen people complaining that the game is too hard, but I've also seen people saying it's too easy. I personally completed the game only dying once. When I did die it was entirely my fault for not healing when I should have. I also tend to grind a whole lot, so take that for what you will.
Refreshing
Ni No Kuni is like a breath of fresh air. As I mentioned previously it's a callback to the 16-bit JRPGs of old, but that's not all that's refreshing about it. JRGs tend to be very melodramatic and the main characters are often as emo and brooding as you can get. Oliver is nothing like that, despite the fact that his mom recently died and he has no one to take care of him anymore. Throughout the whole game he's surprisingly upbeat. Normally kid characters in video games are supremely annoying, but Oliver manages to likable. The game as a whole has a very innocent feel to it. Oliver says jeepers all the time as he goes around mending broken hearts on his way to save a world in peril with his welsh accented pal Mr. Drippy. The overall plot of the game is filled with RPG cliches and anime tropes, but that's exactly what you'd expect from a Japanese RPG. Aside from all the brooding and spiky hair, which normally defines the genre.
It's obvious that Ni No Kuni is a labor of love. Level 5 and Studio Ghibli did their best to combine their talents into a single project. All of that hard work could have been lost if it wasn't for the amazing attention to detail by the localization team. The world is developed in a way that makes you want to explore every nook and cranny and talk to every character.
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| Look at this! How can you not want to meet all of these characters? |
If you've completely written off JRPGs this game won't change your mind. However, if you still have it in your heart to give this type of game a try then you should. Ni No Kuni is the kind of game that used to eat entire summers when I was a kid. It'll take a lot of time to see it through to the end, but it's definitely worth it. I know that once I started playing I had a hard time stopping. The game was released on the 22nd, and since then I've racked up 70 hours of play time, but I completed the main story at around 50 hours of play time.
I could go on and on throwing up my love for the game all over you, but no one wants that. JRPGs of this caliber have been few and far between this console generation. Ni No Kuni took a long time to get here, but it was certainly worth the wait.
-Manny
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