Is Ni no Kuni that good?

All that crap? No. Most of it? Yes.

No spiky haired people with 10 foot swords. The world map is wide open, but the dungeons, forests, etc. are a tad linear. Multiple paths to follow, but not much exploration. These are kids trying to stop a greater evil to save a parallel world, all while the main character is trying to cope with his mother's death and save her. The voice acting is ok, but you can always switch to Japanese. The battle system is unique, but familiar at the same time and requires quick-thinking, quick action, and some strategy.

The game is fantastic and is honestly a top 3, if not the best, JRPG to come out this gen.

Whoever translated the thing to English did an outstanding job, and the voice acting is excellent IMO... this is one of the real strengths of the game. I don't think there's anything about technology destroying the world. You do have some elements stuff, but just fireball spells and ice spells like any RPG has (at least that I've seen so far).

Dungeons are pretty much linear with an occasional offshoot that will have a treasure chest or something. The main story is linear, but there's a lot of side quests and bounty hunts and stuff to do if you want a break from it. As far as grinding, I haven't had to do any yet because I do all the side quests in an area before I move on with the main story. This pretty much replaces grinding with interesting stuff to do. Following this method, I haven't had a hard time with boss fights at all.

I know a lot of people are worried about it being a kiddie game. I had this concern myself before I bought it. In another thread, I said I equate the game to the movie Shrek. Yeah, Shrek is a kid's movie, but an adult can enjoy it just as much as a kid can. That's what Ni no Kuni is like.

Problems I have with the game (and these are minor):

1. The game tells you what to do too much, instead of letting you feel smart. Let's say you're in a certain situation where you know you have to use a certain spell. In the dialogue they'll say, "hey shouldn't you use such and such spell?" rather than let you figure it out for yourself.

2. The game might be a little too easy. Like I say, I do the side quests before moving on which give me extra EXP, but I think all but one boss fight I beat on the first try so far.

Really, what we have here is a game that transcends the genre. It's just a great game. I think it might singlehandedly make JRPGs hugely popular again. If you like JRPGs, it is a definite must have game. If you don't like JRPGs, you will probably still like it. It's one of those games that sucks you in, and you want to play it all day (with work, sleep, school being a nuisance!)

Does it have a White Witch or is that a dumb title added on to get Western interest?Tixylixx

[QUOTE="Tixylixx"]Does it have a White Witch or is that a dumb title added on to get Western interest?DaRq_MiNoS

The game is fantastic and is honestly a top 3, if not the best, JRPG to come out this gen.

[QUOTE="DaRq_MiNoS"][QUOTE="Tixylixx"]Does it have a White Witch or is that a dumb title added on to get Western interest?DontGetBigIdeas

So far (41 hours in) it's a 9/10 game for me. I'm not a fan of anime and I can't stand most JRPGs mostly because of their cliche storylines, cliche characters, cliche dialogue and so on.

I would feel comfortable calling it the best JRPG of this gen. BTW, anyone else keep thinking of Narnia when they read the part about the White Witch?

I've logged a little over ten hours so far. I plan on taking my time with this one which shouldn't be hard now that I'm back working (:(), but I like getting paid more (:cool: )

I do wonder if at least some of the hype is due to there having not been many good JRPG's this gen. It's a glass of water in the desert.ItsEvolution

Agreed, especially if you're strictly talking about JRPGs, in which I only liked Xenoblade Chronicles (wii) and Resonance of Fate (ps3) this gen. I'd like to apply the analogy to the 2012 GOTY nominees as well - was not a good year for gaming.

I really wanna play this game, but with all of the games I've already got on my plate, just buying a PS3 and all, I just don't have the time to play it xD.

This game is more fun than a sack full of drunken monkeys.

depends on if you can get through the absolutely horrible writing and voice acting of Oliver. he is a horribly ignorant, idiot little boy. i find it hard to sympathise with him at all considering how stupid he is. first of all... i dont know many 13 year olds that say "jeepers" constantly, or "golly" for that matter. second of all, the simplest of details seem to allude him constantly. like someone in the second world will look like someone from motorville... AND THE FAIRY NOTICES IT AND NOT OLIVER... oliver has been looking at these people literally all of his life, how does he not notice? there are other instances of this in the game as well, not just with people. sadly, it doesnt go away after a while either, im 15-20 hours in and oliver is still just as oblivious as ever. the other characters in the game are brilliant, however. both writing and voice acting.... makes you wonder who wrote oliver and why they still have a job.Geminon

I like Oliver as a character. He's unimpressive and dumb, but is extremely innnocent and kind-hearted. They keep calling him the "pure hearted one" and a character even comments he "doesn't look powerful at all." As for the cheesy slang, Oliver is from a 1950s setting.

how are the skills? are the skills flashy looking?krayzieE99

Yes, the game is great. Now go buy it and have fun. ;)

bset RPG of this generation in my opinion and the best JRPG I've played in even longer.

This is one of my most anticipated games for the year and it's good to know that it's getting an overall good response. I have it on order, but I probably won't get to it for a month or so (until I can finish Far Cry 3 anyway) but I have a feeling I'm going to like it.

Is it just me, or does it take an obnoxious amount of time to level up your familiars? Not their actual level, but their new metamorphosis level. Maybe I'm just anxious, but it just seems to be taking forever for me to level up my Mitey Mite to his third level. The first level was relatively fast, but the second level it takes 20 points, and all the treats I've been finding barely nudge the bar for each trait. Even the ones that have the double green squares. Kravyn81

Uh...not really sure if you're understanding my statement.

My Mitey Mite is a level 20. I can't metamorphose him yet until I reach his growth limit which is 20 which determines when I can change him to the next form. I'm currently at 18/20 growth limit. You increase the limit by feeding them sweets. That's what I'm talking about. It's taking a long time and a lot of treats to increase that growth limit which, after you reach it, THEN you can metamorphosis to the next iteration.

EDIT: Oh! Nevermind. I got it.