Right, where to start?! Ni No Kuni is a PS3 exclusive port of a Japanese DS game, created by Level 5 (Professor Layton series and White Knight Chronicles) and scenes animated by the legendary Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle). It was release Feb 1st 2013, and right now not many people know of it! It's a light-hearted, charming and simple RPG with a lengthy plot and tons of re-play value.Story:
If you didn't know, it's a single player game but awesome if you play it with others, as I did with my wife. It starts with a young 13 year old boy, Oliver in his home town of Motorville. I don't want to give away too much as you'll all have to play the game! But I'm sure you would've already found this out by now, his mother dies. This is a major plot point in which Oliver gets taken into another world, Ni No Kuni. Lead by his tiny companion Mr Drippy: King of the fairies, you adventure deep into this unknown and wonderful world exploring every inch of colourful awesomeness. Oliver is a wizard, being able to cast spells with his stick-wand and spell book, The Wizard's Companion. This book will be practically empty as you start the game, but as you progress you will be able to restore the pages one by one, gaining knowledge and spells. You'll meet loads of new and different characters on the way, my favorite being King Tom, the cat ruler of his kingdom Ding Dong Dell. Everyone calls him 'His Meowjesty', genius.
Through the game, you will meet a few main people having their own problems who will eventually join you on your quest. The game starts off simple and gets really good with loads of things to do, but probably about half of the way in, it dips and adds a load of 'filler'- time where you get to do whatever you want and not much story-wise happens. This soon picks up and gets better, so hold in there as the ending is what you're playing the game for. During the times where you get to socialize with townspeople, you'll find that all around the world, there are people with broken hearts, where the Dark Djinn Shadar has stolen a piece of their heart that you'll have to restore. Each individual's story is unique and interesting, so be sure to explore in towns and the world map!
Familiars:
In the world of Ni No Kuni there are creatures born from the emotion of a persons soul, these are called familiars. You will encounter so many of these creatures in your journey that you won't know what to expect. You will shortly gain a spell to form one of your own familiar, helping you with everything that Oliver can't do in battle. You will be able to tame these creatures and 'metamorph' them into stronger versions, no, not Pokemon. My favourite is a cat, named Sir Purr, pirate lord. Ha, just look at him!Battles:
The battles aren't random, which most of you'll remember since other games (Old style Final Fantasy's) used them all the time. In Ni No Kuni you will see familiars roaming around on the world map and in dungeons alike. It depends on your characters/familiars' levels whether these roaming beings will charge straight into you or run away screaming. Upon starting battle it's fairly simple, each character in your group gets three familiars of your choice, and you can choose who you want to control. What I like about the battles are:
- You don't feel restricted - You can run around, attack and cast spells without being glued to a spot.
- You can choose your own play style - Since you are allowed to pick the familiars, you can decide on spells, defense or all out attack.
- They're often, but not all the time - This has been a pet hate in most other games. There's more to the story telling and gameplay than fighting!
Save Points:
Not so interesting, but necessary. As this isn't your usual game that auto saves every 2-5 minutes, you'll want to know that there are many instances in which you will have to play for at least 15-30 minutes without saving. This didn't bother us RPG veterans, but may be annoying for some. Other than that, you will be able to press start and save at any given point in towns and on the world map!
Graphics & Animation:
The rendering and quality of the game is amazing and colourful, with a great frame rate and literally no loading time. Attractive and appealing comparing to a vast majority of other games today. Most of the story will be told with in-game graphics, and just like other great RPG's of our time it's filled with text that you'll have to read. I'd say about a third of the game you'll actually hear the characters talk with subtitles and clips which is plain awesome, since we loved Drippy's accent and some of the things they say!
What you all want to know is; how often to we get to watch good old Japanese animation? At major plot points like right at the start, leading up to events and obviously a couple of times at the end, this is where it'll grab your attention and feel like more than a game. Taking up roughly an hour of animation, it fits in nicely without being spoiled and/or boring, I just wish there was a bit more of it.
Should You Get Ni No Kuni?:
Definitely, if you own a PS3 and even remotely like RGP's, Ni No Kuni won't let you down. It's a well told, perfectly laid out game with loads of fun errands to do, amazing music, land to explore and characters that you'll love.
The main story will, on average take up just under 40 hours. But!.. If you get to that point and want more, you would've got a quarter of the trophies so there are tons of errands and extras to satisfy your needs. Post-game hours will clock up an additional 40-60 hours depending on your style of gameplay, totally worth the platinum though! This is one game all PS3 owners need, and one that made me proud. Get it here.
My Rating:
8.5/10
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