Hey hey hey everyone! Pengu here, and I'm throwing out a review for another one of my favorite games that I've ever played, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. This was one that I followed somewhat closely during its development, one of the only games that I've ever followed exceptionally closely outside of a particular series in which I'll review later.
When a trailer came out showing the gameplay as well as the story scenes, I was in pure awe. When I found out who was helping with it (Studio Ghibli), I was foaming at the mouth. When it was reported as a Japan only game, I was raging hardcore until I saw in a later issue of Game Informer that it was slated for a US release. Ni No Kuni was one of the first games that I bought the moment that I bought a PS3. But let's move to reviewing the game, shall we?
When the game itself starts, we're granted with a bit of a look into the post-prologue, in which we're introduced to the in-game graphics, looking something like this:
We're then treated to the opening credits, giving us occasional glimpses as to what's going to be happening in the game (You know, what most games, especially RPGs, tend to do). After the credits, we're treated to the game's first animated cutscene, resembling this:
Now, there may be certain differences, but unlike many RPGs that do this, do not be fooled for a second: During in-game voiced cutscenes, characters are just as expressionate with full mouth movements (though moving to the japanese text) and everything as they are in the animated cutscenes.
The animated ones just help give it that feel of a traditional anime. And the quality of it definitely lives up to Studio Ghibli standards. It's by far still one of the most beautifully made games that I've ever played.
The soundtrack helps add on to both the beautiful feel as well as the whimsical nature of the game. Like more of the medieval-ish RPG games, it takes advantage of using an orchestra rather than having instruments more modern in nature. Here's some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5QNU7PDs44The main menu and opening credits song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRb6Z-fKpzUThe first village (not the opening town) you visit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAbkzOVVe3YThe Fairygrounds. One of my favorite songs. Has a swanky, yet whimsical sound to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAbkzOVVe3YThe Decisive Battle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Jlhl2mRW0Fragments of Hearts - The ending theme.
These songs meld perfectly into the game, and you'll notice a lot of the battle music (as evidence with The Decisive Battle) will incorporate the main theme into them somehow, and again, they'll do it pretty well.
Now, I've prattled on about the more irrelevant stuff, so let's move onto the story. Before I do though, I want to make a note about the ending theme: It is a beautifully made song in general, but once you've played through the game and listen to the lyrics again, it becomes one of the saddest songs in the game. And as I explain the story, you'll see why.
In this game, you play the role of Oliver - a young boy who is extremely shy as well as polite to those he doesn't know, but much more outgoing and open to those he knows and has bonds with, such as his good friend Phillip. One day while gathering groceries, you run into Phillip who tells you that the project you've both been working on is ready to go. After being goaded into it by Phillip, you decide to sneak out after your mom falls asleep to go check the project out.
Unknown to Oliver, he's spied upon by a mysterious woman and her pet bird (who can talk!), who peg him as the boy who will save the world, and they plan to kill him before he gets the chance.
Back in Motorville, Oliver makes it to Phillip's garage, and Phillip uncovers the new vehicle being worked on. They decide to test it out, and thus comes into one of the saddest introductions in a video game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Jlhl2mRW0(skip to :15 to avoid the uploader talking)
After that tragic scene (which actually made me tear up a little when I first saw it), Ollie boy holds up in his room, grieving the loss of his mother. But when he cries on his stuffed toy that his mother makes for him, it springs to life, calling itself Drippy, Lord high Lord of the fairies, and tells Ollie that he can travel to Drippy's world and save his mom. They gather the necessary tools (A spellbook and a wand) and make their way to Drippy's world, where Oliver being a quest that, while starting off with a simple purpose, turns into one that will save both of their worlds from being driven into the darkness that is after him.
Typical RPG story, right? Wrong. First, Ni No Kuni is filled with twists and turns, some obvious, some far from it. There are some that you'll see coming from a mile away, and others that will have you be like "wait...what?!" Second, even though this is about a little boy's mother dying and him going on a quest to save her...don't be fooled in thinking this is a child's game with a simple story. While starting off with that pretense, the game's story goes very deep, and occasionally very dark as well. Ni No Kuni has one of the most intricate, carefully woven stories that I've ever seen in a game, period, and whether thats' Studio Ghibli's hand or not (since they're pretty good at that) is unknown to me.
Going into that aspect, don't dive into this game thinking you know what happens. For example, many who play this are going to jump into it thinking that the other world is part of Ollie's imagination...that his quest and everything he goes through is a sort of Alice in Wonderland situation of him coping with his mom's death. It's not. The game makes it
very clear early on that the other world Oliver travels to is in fact another world entirely, and not some part of his subconscious or anything like that. Everything Oliver experiences, all the twists that happen, and all of the trials are very real to him, and not some kind of dream.
What struck me the most with Ni No Kuni's story wasn't the early death and the following quest to save/avenge his mother, since that in itself is a common theme in RPGs (Tales of Phantasia, as an example). But what's different about Oliver is the
age. This isn't another RPG with a mid teenage (aka 15-18 years old) hero avenging someone in their family and having already an established personality/identity. This is a story about a little boy who I feel is no older than 11 (though wiki sites peg him as 13), who not only has to deal with his mother's death (and does it more like someone his age), but throughout his quest, is forced to grow up and become the one who is destined to save this other world that actually does exist. So to me that made the story that much more interesting.
Now, let's talk about gameplay!
Like most RPGs, Ni No Kuni is all about exploration. From exploring Motortown (aka your city), to traveling to the other world and exploring cities, dungeons, and having a world map, NNK is traditional that way. Unlike some RPGs though, NNK isn't completely open in the sense that while there are many buildings in certain towns, only a few can be entered. Certain paths are also set, meaning that you can't wander off of them, though there are more paths than one to reach a destination. Dungeons and towns are both like this, so in a sense it's about as open in town/dungeon exploration as much as...say Rogue Galaxy is. But despite this, the game doesn't feel linear to me in the slightest, and having an open world map helps with that.
On the world map, you'll start out with only being able to walk around, and as you progress, you'll gain new modes of transportation to help you sail across to different continents, and eventually fly as well. When you're walking or sailing across the map, you'll run into monsters that will be walking around as well. It's slightly random since monsters are always generating.
The map itself is a combination of top-down as well as not:
Going into battles, here is where the game gets interesting. Battle wise, Ni No Kuni is a mix of Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy. When you engage a monster, you'll be taken to a new screen, aka the battle screen.
In here, you can walk around, gather green (HP) and blue (MP) orbs that drop, walk up to the enemy and attack directly, use magic (which if you mainly use Oliver, you'll be doing a lot), items, or the like. With party members you can switch between, but like with games such as Kingdom Hearts, they'll be doing their own thing when you're not focused on them.
Another thing you'll be doing a lot (here's where Pokemon comes into play) is summoning your familiars to battle. Familiars share their summoner's HP and MP, so every hit that Oliver's familiar takes, for example, is HP that Oliver himself will lose. Familiars will all have different commands they can do; all can attack, some can use magic, some can defend, and some have special skills.
On bosses, there's another option that arises every so often: When you successfully deflect a boss on the right move or use the right attack, a golden orb will drop from them. This golden orb will completely restore the health of the person that picks it up, as well as allow them use of their really special attack (equivalent to FF's Limit breaks). Certain characters such as Oliver will do high damage with their special attack, others will heal the party, and the like. There is one catch to this, though. Unlike games that have you orchestrate said attack, ANY of your characters (whether controlled by you at the moment or not) can pick up the orb and initiate their special attack. So if there's a boss particularly weak to something, you'll want to switch to the appropriate character and grab that orb first before one of the others does.
Outside of both battles and the main quest, there are things to keep you motivated and fill out that game length. One of the game's main sidequests is restoring people's hearts.
Early on, you'll learn that Shadar, the Dark Djinn, has stolen parts of people's hearts if they stand against him. With locket in hand and the right spells handy, Oliver can extract the appropriate piece (which are really just emotions) from someone who has an abundance (you'll come across Enthusiasm, Love, Kindness, Courage, and so on), and give it to the person who is lacking that piece. To be able to retrieve new emotions from people, you'll have to go through a trial to get it (which is surprisingly a pain at times in the difficulty sense). People who lack an emotion show it well, and even being the main sidequest, it's also an integral part of the story as well.
Another sidequest is gathering Merit stickers for doing good deeds. Doing the above sidequest is a great way, others will have you fight a monster, create an item, gather a rare item, or the like. The more difficult the quest, the more merit stickers that you can obtain. For every page that you fill out, you can go to Swift Solutions and choose your reward...ranging from a stat boost, to fun little extras (being able to jump), to other types as well.
Finally, there's Bounties available as well. Every so often when you visit a Swift Solutions building, there will be a new monster added to the bounty. Defeating monsters will earn you a decent amount of gold, a nifty item, and a fair amount of merit stickers depending on the difficulty of the monster.
BUT WAIT, THAT'S NOT ALL!
When you recruit Estelle and gain her special harp, you'll have the ability to permanently recruit most monsters from the field into your party. Now...here's where the Pokemon bit REALLY comes in:
With each monster, you can build your affinity with them by giving them food. Every monster has a specific type of food they enjoy the most, and different types of food will go towards increasing a different one of your monster's stats (for example, chocolate bars go towards raising their attack). But you can only give them a certain amount of food before they get full, and you'll have to work off their fullness by battling. You can also give them different gems to teach them different skills. Some monsters won't take certain gems, though.
And here's the best part: After your monster hits a certain level, you can evolve them into a more advanced type. Once they've evolved, they'll go right back to level 1, so you'll have to build them up again. But build them up to another set level, and they'll be able to evolve once again to their final form (which you'll get to choose what they evolve into with both evolutions). Again, they'll go back to level 1, and you'll have to raise them up again.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S STILL MORE!
Remember how I mentioned some characters wanting items created? Well, you'll have the ability to craft items once you hit a certain point in the game. Whether by recipe or by blind luck, you can craft a variety of items, though relying on luck can leave you with junk if you're not careful. You'll learn to be able to craft items of all sorts ranging from weapons, to armor, to regular items as well, to even rarer items that will serve you well in the game.
Now, go ahead and take a breather.
That was a lot to take in, I'm sure, but like with other games I've talked about, I've still barely even dented this one. Overall, I was very impressed with Ni No Kuni. Sure, it had its bad moments (like most do), but I feel like the good very much outweighed and shined more brightly than the bad, and made this a very entertaining and highly replayable able for anyone who enjoys a good RPG and a good story to go with it. It's a game I'd recommend to pretty much anyone wanting a good fantasy game.
