lol this review was submitted almost exactly 1 year after my DS review.
http://reviews.minitokyo.net/1608
Ni no Kuni game Review
Ni no Kuni is a fantasy RPG series created by Level-5 in collaboration with Studio Ghibli.
Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi (Ni no Kuni: The Jet-Black Mage) was released December 2010 for the Nintendo DS (Japan).
Ni no Kuni: Shiroku Seihai no Jyoou (Ni no Kuni: Wratch of the White Witch) was released in November 2011 for the PS3 (Japan), and an English release is slated for 2012 by Namco Bandai Games.
Ni no Kuni follows the story of Oliver, a young boy living in Hotroit City. Bereaved by the death of his mother, he breaks the seal trapping Shizuku, a fairy, in the form of a doll. Shizuku offers Oliver hope that if they travel to Ninokuni, a world parallel to Oliver's, they may be able to resurrect Oliver's mother.
The DS and PS3 games share the same world, characters and basic story, but adapted to fit each platform's strengths. The PS3 version is neither a port nor expansion of the DS version but more of a remake from the ground up.
Story & Playability
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Ni no kuni: Shiroki seihai no jyoou/Queen of the white holy ash) is a
fantasy-adventure RPG created by Level 5 and Studio Ghibli, and is their second title in the Ni no Kuni franchise. White
Witch is basically a remake of the Nintendo DS version of the game (Ni no Kuni: The Jet-Black Mage) from the ground up,
and adapted to the strengths of the PS3 system. The story has been rewritten to include two new characters, the
mysterious young girl Cocolle and the titular Queen of Ashes. Overall it still follows the same story points as the DS
game (Oliver travels to Ni no Kuni, a parallel world, in the hopes he can bring back his recently deceased mother, and
has a typical fantasy adventure) but some things are tweaked or presented differently. New characters are integrated
seamlessly in the story (Cocolle shows up in the first ten minutes, as does the Queen) and many other characters, major
and minor, get extra scenes in which their backgrounds are explored. The story continues past where the DS game ends,
setting up the Queen of Ashes as the ultimate baddie instead of Black Mage Jabo. Although some initial reports said the
PS3 game would be twice the length of the DS game, this is not the case -- the story up to Jabo is 2/3rds of the game,
and the new material is 1/3rd (the DS main story was about 35 hours long while the PS3 main story takes about 50.) This
is actually plenty long; the story continues at a steady pace, and doesn’t outwear its novelty, and it leaves fewer
plot points unresolved compared to the DS version. For those who want more, the game includes lots of sidequests which
will extend your playtime, as well as numerous post-game goodies and DLC content.
Ni no Kuni is a classic linear JRPG storyline and setup, and with the game rated all-ages (at least in Japan) it is
relatively simple and quite straightforward. Like the DS game you always have a one-line description of your current
task, so it is easy (some will probably argue too easy) to follow the plot. The story really serves as a vehicle to
present the world of Ni no Kuni, and it is a rich and expansive universe.
Rating:
Graphics
To put it simply, the art of the PS3 game is amazing. It utilizes the PS3’s hardware to beautifully render the game in
HD. The backgrounds retain the soft watercolor feel of many a Studio Ghibli movie, and every scene is brimming with
details large and small. You have full control over the camera in most places, allowing you to spin around and look at
everything the world has to offer (and hopefully find some out-of-the-way green treasure chests while you’re at it.)
This can sometimes get you into trouble though, as the camera will occasionally get stuck in odd angles where you
can’t see anything (or your view is blocked by vegetation) especially if you’re near an edge.
Characters are 3D sprites rendered to look closer to 2D cel style animation, and interact seamlessly with the setting.
Both your party’s characters and NPCs are smoothly animated and never still; have Oliver pause and he’ll look around
curiously, have him pause in a puddle of water and he’ll pick up his shoes and look a little annoyed. Like the DS
game, NPCs from each country/town are distinct (and you can quickly pick out the man from Goronelle who is wandering the
streets of Babanasia just due to his clothing), but there some reused sprites within an area.
Monster design is varied and colorful, and while most of the monsters (dubbed Imajinn in the game) are the same as the
DS version, there are a few additions and deletions. Boss designs are also impressive -- they are, for the most part,
big and very bad, and quite interesting to look at. Special skills used during battle are also fluidly animated,
especially when you use a character’s ultimate move.
The one disappointment in the PS3 version of the game is that it retains all the 2D, Ghibli-animated scenes of the DS
game, but adds no new ones. I didn’t really expect to see any additional scenes for the DS-shared portion of the
story, but I thought at least the final conclusion would get a new scene. The 2D scenes are fabulous in HD, just like
watching a Ghibli movie, but there just aren’t very many. Sure, the pre-rendered CG scenes are pretty close to the
feel and style of the Ghibli-animated scenes, but not quite.
Otherwise, the combination of HD art and Hisashi’s music really do make this game feel as if you are playing through a
Ghibli film.
(NOTE: I would rate the art 9.5 due to issues with the camera and the lack of new Ghibli-animated scenes. However, I
wanted to rate sound as 8.5, so I am adjusting by rounding the sound score down, the the art score up.)
Rating:
Sound
The PS3 game keeps the same score by Studio Ghibli regular Joe Hisaishi, with some new additions. All the
countries/towns retain their themes, and most of the dungeons do as well (although the Ghost Valley gets a new, quite
creepy theme fitting with the setting). The new pieces are generally used during events (when you save a country/town,
there is a new triumphal piece that plays until you leave) and there is also a new piece for part of the final boss
battle. Hisashi’s style is distinct and very grand, emphasized by the fact the music is performed by the Tokyo
Philharmonic Orchestra instead of being built off of music/instrament samples. The richnes of a live performance can be
fully enjoyed on the PS3 version, which is not limited by DS compression restraints, and really helps bring the game
alive. I really do hope they put out a new soundtrack for this version because I would buy it in an instant -- the DS
soundtrack was a huge disappointment as it didn’t even include all the pieces used in the DS game!
The voice work is spottier. Like the DS game, voice work in scenes is not consistent. Events are a mixture of
pre-rendered CG cut scenes (which are voiced) and standard 3-line text dialogs (which are usually not voiced). This is a
bit disappointing because surely a blue-ray disc would have no problem storing all the dialogue clips (almost every
story scene in Tales of Vesperia/PS3 is fully voiced!) and even if they switched the scene style from pre-render to
3-line text, they could voice scenes more fully. Additionally, you cannot control the pacing in the pre-rendered
portions, so you’d better pay attention!
The voices themselves are strong but not exceptional. Everyone reprises their role from the DS game (a bunch of dialog
is the same) and new characters also have competent voices. The most distinct voices of the new set is the comedy duo
Nikoniko Puchipuchi, but that mostly due to a combination of their thick Osaka/Kansai accent and their amusing manzai
comedy routine. I am wondering how this is going to transfer over to English, since there isn’t really an English
equivalent to the whole Kansai accent + manzai duo = comedy gold cultural phenomenon.
One of my favorite aspects of the sound is a small detail, but one that really immerses you in the world: when you pass
by people, you catch snippets of their conversations. This isn’t just mumbling either - hang out near a merchant and
you’ll hear them clapping their hands and welcoming customers, near children you’ll often hear laughter and snatch a
bit of a song. It helps make you feel like you really are there.
(NOTE: I would rate the sound 8.5 due to the low ratio of voiced scenes, but I can only give whole-number scores.
However, I wanted to rate art as 9.5, so I am adjusting by rounding the sound score down, the the art score up.)
Rating:
Fun
I enjoyed every hour I spent playing Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (so far about 60) and plan to continue
enjoying it while working through all the post-game and DLC extras. Level 5 and Studio Ghibli have created a fantastical
world to explore. Despite playing the DS game and knowing what 2/3rds of the plot would be (and character details which
would be considered spoilers) I still found the story delightful and surprising. Sure, the plot is built on a fairly
standard set of fantasy/adventurer-story tropes, but it does so in a light-hearted fashion and doesn’t bother with
trying to prove itself too hard. There is a lot to see and do in Ni no Kuni which will keep JRPG and Studio Ghibli fans
entertained for hours.
The PS3 version is tailored for the strengths and weaknesses of the system, much like the DS. While the DS game had a
heavier focus on puzzles (using both the physical copy of the Magic Master book and a stylus+touch screen) the PS3 game
is built more on exploration. Dungeon puzzles are generally simpler (you don’t have to spend ten minutes looking up
clues in the Magic Master) but the dungeons themselves are designed to encourage backtracking and fully plumbing their
depths. The battle system is also completely reconfigured. Instead of the dynamic turn-based system of the DS, you have
a real-time battle system which takes place on a 3D field. There is still a turn-based aspect to it as you give commands
to the character you’re controlling and they then do that, but you can cancel and give a new command (ie cancel an
attack and guard if you see the boss charging up a spell). Each command lasts a certain amount of time and takes a
little while to be available again. At first the system feels a bit unwieldy, and it is best to spend your first few
battles getting use to it. Eventually you get allies whom the AI controls in battle, although the AI is a bit dumb (if
you set both allies’ strategy to “focus on healing” what is likely to happen is that neither heals, since they
expect the other to do it.) Once you settle into a rhythm though, the system works out fine, you just have to keep a
close eye on your allies’ stats.
The game is pretty easy (it IS rated all-ages, and a lot of the Japanese commercials seemed aimed at elementary
school/middle school kids), and there is a lot of “hand-holding” in the game -- your current objective appears at
the top of the screen whenever you open your item menu; the mini-map contains a star pointing to where that objective
can be fulfilled; persons of interest in a town are marked on the mini-map with a blinking dot. There is not a lot to
challenge you apart from boss battles and occasional puzzles, so don’t expect too much in that category.
All in all this game is the bigger brother of the DS version, and improved in just about every aspect, making a good
game great. Reports have said that Namco Bandai Games is bringing this to the English market although a release date
(apart from 2012) are vague. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later, as I think this game will appeal to many RPG
fans. I am definitely going to buy this again and play it in English, and if you like RPGs I suggest you do so too.
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.6667 (very good)
Reviewed by Tama-Neko, Jan 16, 2012
Comments
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Tama-Neko Jan 16, 2012
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CyanideBlizzard Retired Moderator Jan 17, 2012
You should of held out for just a little bit longer and made it a one year anniversary!
I have to admit, this is the one game where my expectations have remained somewhat in check and I've been doing my best to avoid watching and reading as much about the series as possible so as to not make the hype overwhelming. After reading this review, I feel I'm rather ready to hype myself as much as possible, cause it sounds like those expectations will not only be met, but exceeded completely.
As in terms of the review, it made me realize how much I have missed your reviews as well. I'm especially a sucker for how completely balanced this entire review is, and each section is a treat to read as well. The review definitely informs an individual and also allows them to make a very educated understand upon if the game will be for them or not, and even if not it offers that bit of intrigue, while also offering comparisons to the DS release a year ago.
Fantastic review Tama!
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angelxxuan Banned Member Jan 17, 2012
I have been wondering what you've been up to, well this settles that ! I haven't heard of this game, but I don't know about such things unless I encounter a review somewhere or I attempt to find it, most of my friends aren't into these sort of games. by the review alone it sounds like something I will/would enjoy if I ever do encounter it. I rather like how you do the game reviews, and it seems we have the same "taste" in gaming since I have started reading your reviews, I always want to venture and try to find them after you do a game review for some interesting reason. I also like the other review that you linked to, easy to compare that's for sure.
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flyindreams Jan 20, 2012
Not much to add apart from great review, as always. *Almost* makes me want to buy a PS3 to play this game :) I'm still holding out hope that they might localize the DS Ni no Kuni game, but it doesn't seem like there's been any news at all on that front... Maybe I should just suck it up and import the JP version :<
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