Ni no Kuni was marketed as a Studio Ghibli product, and that’s certainly what got me interested. The artistry and subtle worldbuilding in their movies has always enthralled me, and this was notable as their first* video game collaboration. (After Miyazaki was reportedly very disappointed with early PC adaptations of Nausicaä, there have been no Ghibli-related games aside from Ghibli-adjacent Lupin and Future Boy Conan adaptations, and some of their designers freelancing on various projects.)
The game delivers on that premise, partially. The almost painterly look of the overworld and the character designs are unmistakably Ghibli-like. It also boasts a Joe Hisaishi score, which is suitably grand but not broad enough; you hear the same tunes so many times that they will leave you gritting your teeth by the end.
This is a fairly typical JRPG. It can be slow and grindy at times, but it captures a sense of adventure and scale and the sidequests feel worthwhile. Each monster you fight can be captured, like Pokeymans, which means most of them have the same scale. I was hoping for more with visual appeal but only a few of the monster designs really grabbed me so I had a few of the default ones all the way through. They also evolve which resets their level to 1. This can feel unfair but it just encourages you to swap around so it’s not a bad thing.
Ni no Kuni was a DS game first, with a physical book to refer to, drawing runes on the touch screen, and turn-based battles. The PS3 version has extra plot and some revamped stuff (and more importantly, was actually localised), but loses some of the “point” of the original by making spells merely selectable in a menu and including the book in a clumsy digital viewer. The battle system is now more freeform, roaming around with skill cooldowns and AI-controlled partners. Unfortunately the AI is pretty shocking, with limited customisability, and again hampered by clumsy menus. I also found that simply mashing the attack button would get me through most battles. They just didn’t feel exciting for the most part.
So the game has a lot of flawed systems, but I generally felt positive after play sessions. I took the game at its pace, taking my time to explore, and enjoying the writing and surprisingly good English dub. Drippy steals the show with his Welshisms and loveable accent, of course. The plot is built on cliches but I still liked meeting new characters and seeing it unfold; besides, I guessed wrong on the twist so there were surprises!
The game can feel disjointed, pulled in different directions: the result of a movie studio helping with a game, and the game being reworked for a different platform and market. Cutscenes are sometimes animated but mostly rendered, and dialogue occasionally is voiced before dropping back to text. It can feel that the strongest aspect of the game is its fantastical world, but as you backtrack more the novelty fades and it becomes more video game-y. There’s a Ghibli-like experience in here, but stretched out and paced very differently. Once again I’m criticising but I’m fighting it because I really did enjoy the game on the whole (but I feel like I’m talking myself out of it!). The fact is, you can’t just enjoy this as a Ghibli fan, you have to be prepared to get through a whole JRPG in the process, and all that entails. Also the final boss is cheap and the credits underwhelming… I suppose it’s the journey that’s important, not the destination.
