Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

[RockSauron]

I personally enjoying seeing the positive side of delays. Since this game was delayed until 2013, that means they have more time to fix any bugs and perfect the cutscenes. I don't want them to rush this masterpiece.

MAybe so, but the game is already finished and out in Japan so now they're just localizing it. I'm guessing they did this mainly to keep it out of the Holiday rush. Which makes sense, plus, as you said, they'll have some more time to fix things.

[CyberSora]

MAybe so, but the game is already finished and out in Japan so now they're just localizing it. I'm guessing they did this mainly to keep it out of the Holiday rush. Which makes sense, plus, as you said, they'll have some more time to fix things.

Well yes. That and they want to make it 'perfect' since it bombed pretty bad in its home territory.

http://andriasang.com/comz35/

[Rpg Maker]

Sad that it's delayed

Oh well, Fall was looking to be too expensive anyway XD And at least I got Tales of graces to satisfy some of my JRPG itch. Oh well, looking forward to it.

If you got a spare Wii, I highly recommend picking up Xenoblade Chronicles. Tales of Graces is good too, but Xenoblade is up there with some of the best RPGs ever made imo.

[GribbleGrunger]

Ni No Kuni Wizard’s Edition Announced



Namco Bandai have announced on their site a special version of role-playing game Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch called the Wizard’s Edition.

The package will include a copy of the game along with exclusive “golden mite” and “golden drongo” DLC familiars, a Drippy plush toy and a 300+ page hardcore “The Wizard’s Companion Book”.

The Studio Ghibli and Level-5 collaboration launched in Japan last November with a release set for January 25th 2013 in Europe. The game has been said to also include the original Japanese voiceover, which you’ll be able to listen to with English subtitles.

No price has been given for this edition of the game but we’ll keep you updated as we hear more.

http://blog.fancensus.com/ni-no-kuni...ion-announced/

[Rpg Maker]

Hey guys, I believe there is a demo coming out today

[Rabid-Coot]

Hey guys, I believe there is a demo coming out today

2.6gb up now on NA store search.

[GribbleGrunger]

Nearly finished downloading it. From what I've heard, you get 25 minutes to do what you want, including exploring the world view map and two bosses.

[RockSauron]

36% downloaded... probably won't paly till tomorrow. Let me know what you think XD

[Dragonvarsity]

Hey guys, I believe there is a demo coming out today

Nearly finished downloading it. From what I've heard, you get 25 minutes to do what you want, including exploring the world view map and two bosses.

Oh man, that sounds great.

Thanks for the heads up guys. I'll try to install it some point this week.

[fullofwin]

Game looks great! I was pleasantly surprised when the forest guardian destroyed me the first time.

[CirkuzFr3ek]

Well, this stinks.

A possibly amazing demo is out of my reach because my internet and PS3 go together like a swarm of bees and a preschool playground.

[VenemoX]

The demo was absolutely amazing! Everything about this game is fantastic. Last time I had this much fun playing a demo was in 2009 when I played the LBP demo. Definitely gonna buy this game, probably the Wizard's Edition. If you haven't downloaded this game yet go do it now!

[Rpg Maker]

Ni No Kuni is, for a lack of better words, exceptional. From the moment I looked at the graphics, and the world map, and just small things like how the games menus feels, is ripe of the classical JRPG experience. I had my regards about the battle system, but after playing both segments, I can deduce the game is still turnbased and ultimately enjoyable.

I will say this, Xenoblade is without a doubt, the best JRPG of the generation. With no word on Final Fantasy Versus XIII, this is the game I would mark on my calender as far as JRPG is concerned and being the game that will push JRPGs forward this HD generation( Tales of Xilia being an honorable mention).

[arbiekko]

Bought the game for myself in Dec 2012 and let it sit for a while on the table. It started to stare me down: I was worried I'd be committing to something that I'd lose interest in, or discover I didn't actually like any of the mechanics once I got going. With JRPGs I can take or leave the story, that doesn't trouble me much -- but sometimes you get something flat, or uncomfortably different, in terms of gameplay, and if you're a completionist like me that's a terrible thing. You're "stuck" doing all of it because you started, and no other reason.

The gameplay is, happily*, quintessential JRPGing. You go ten feet and learn a new spell. Every step, every quest, you're unlocking something else, furthering your abilities, and in between you strengthen your stats. Like many games before it, it starts small and opens up into a bigger world. As a fan of 1980s and 1990s JRPGs, I'm very pleased with Ni no Kuni's very familiar, if also not groundbreaking or creative, mechanics. This game makes use of 30 years of refined genre elements. It's a streamlined, HD homage. It is as good as the best of its predecessors.

*Happily for me. Perhaps not for some.

Tonight I reached 17 hours of in-game progress, which is still very much the tutorial phase. I am addicted and relieved. As the game becomes more complex, with item crafting, catch-em-all/monster breeding, and free world roaming, I'm getting faster and more proficient in my stat handling, and enjoy micromanaging things. I love the comfort of doing the same thing over and over. The music is excellent. The way menus are structured is excellent. That's more than half of any RPG, the inventory shuffling and management while you fade between snippets of soundtrack. I'm now confident I will hit 100 hours in this game before I finish the main story, and will always enjoy myself.

In this sense, Level-5 has done spectacular work. Ni no Kuni hits all the classic notes and does all the classic things. There was never any requirement that it innovate, of course.

But now for a slight editorial:

A lot of games in the AAA $80 million budget era of 360/PS3 development have been overpraised for basically doing well what used to be done well and is now done poorly. We factor relief into our praise, which like any relief can make you feel more invested and special about an experience, but that doesn't mean it's special on its own merits. Some people have called Far Cry 3 their "game of the year" for not mucking up its very simple premise. I don't think Far Cry 3 is a great game; I think it's a competent game that people are surprised didn't go wrong, and are unduly excited because of that. The same relief-as-praise must be addressed in Ni no Kuni. I put off starting it because I was worried it would be different from the decades of RPGs I've played. It's not different. It's so similar that it feels like it has always existed. So I am loving it and can recommend it; Level-5 and Ghibli uphold the quality of their respective brands and do right by the genre by doing it exactly as it's been done before. However, objectively, the fact is that the game does not innovate. In this sense, it's a very good game with room for improvement. This probably sounds like I'm finding ways to criticize the game no matter what. But relief aside, I have to admit I'm praising familiar concepts that were being done right long before Ni no Kuni. I don't mind this personally. As stated, I put the game on par with the best of its predecessors. But not above them. Those games did innovate in their time. Ni no Kuni does not.

Grade: B-, personal A

[Dragonvarsity]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts arbiekko and Rpg Maker, I've had my eye on this game for quite some time. How did you get the full games though if they're only out in Japan? Or did you just decide to play the Japanese version of the game?

[arbiekko]

I live in Japan. So my only choice is the Japanese version, at least for now.












←←←　

[Dragonvarsity]

I live in Japan. So my only choice is the Japanese version, at least for now.












←←←　

Oh.

...


..........

Well this is awkward. xD

[GribbleGrunger]

That headline needs changing. This game isn't the first RPG for the PS3 that Level 5 has made. Before this there was White Knight Chronicles 1 and 2. Number 2 came with the first game on the same disc for free. They're not bad games actually

[arbiekko]

....there was White Knight Chronicles 1 and 2. Number 2 came with the first game on the same disc for free. They're not bad games actually

I'm enjoying Ni no Kuni a whole lot. Now that you point this out I might go pick up WKC 2 when I'm done with this. It's completely different sort of gameplay but that's okay -- what I'm learning with Ni no Kuni is I absolutely love the familiarity, but in a way that's making me hungry for more RPGs, and I trust Level-5 for proving they understand what makes a classic game. Eager to experience what they do when they try something unorthodox! It's the difference between a game being different because the developers are incompetent, and different because the developers are working against type with full knowledge and appreciation of the type. The low critic scores for WKC are worrying, but if it's Level-5 I want to give it a go. Still have a few weeks left of Ni no Kuni, first.

MORE PRAISE FOR NI NO KUNI + GENERAL COMMENTS

I'm now 25 hours into the game. There's still a linear, tutorial flavor but the game has gotten quite a lot harder and I'm needing to strategize a lot more if I don't want to do the classic grind-200-battles-to-level-up-before-every-boss thing. I like that they keep adding sensible features to the battle system, they really have streamlined a great deal of stuff so when battles get downright chaotic with 15+ characters all on different time cycles you can still manage things. They make it possible to strategically win at a low level with few upgrades. I also learned that the screen fades into red when you go into an area the game doesn't feel you're ready for yet. [EDIT: This is incorrect; the red is just for a certain region which also happened to be difficult for my character level at the time; the world is colorful and shifts between blues and greens and purples and reds in different regions.] So I've been pushing into those parts of the world. Very satisfying. Except for story progress, it looks like you're allowed to go everywhere!

I went down and visited Level-5's Tokyo office. They were shuttered for the new year holiday so I'll be going back, maybe trying to get a peek at their lobby. Making a point this year of going around to all foot-access game studios (Tokyo only) (in 2012 I did anime studios) and taking photos of the buildings, or more if possible. I already loved Level-5 for the Professor Layton series, but Ni no Kuni has me even more stoked. Truly a lot of fun! I stand by my personal A.

[Dragonvarsity]

@arbiekko: How well would you rate the characters/story of Ni No Kuni? And are Ghibli's cutscenes as beautiful as those from some of their feature-length films?