Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Preview

Have you ever wanted to play a Studio Ghibli film?  Well Level 5 studios is giving you the chance by bringing the insanely stylized RPG Ni no Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch state side for all of us to get our hands on.

Ni no Kuni's story revolves around a young boy named Oliver.  After his mother dies rescuing him from drowning, his tears animate a doll his mother has given him.  The newly animated friend introduces himself as the fairy "Shizuku" and rewards Oliver with a spellbook and a new world to explore.  Oliver takes to the adventure filled with monsters, magic, and mayhem all in the hopes of reuniting with his mother once again.  There isn't much in the way of imagination that this game is lacking.  Its style is on par with its wackiness and it doesn't look like the game will get much less ridiculous the more hours you end up pumping into it.  But of course, my knowledge of the story beyond that is limited as I cannot read Japanese.  However, as with any RPG, it takes more than story to build up a game to my liking (or hopefully anyone's). 

Gameplay for Ni no Kuni looks fun and intuitive.  It is real time and looks to have many different systems that other games have utilized in the past.  All together, and as anime looking as it is, I cannot wait to try it out.  The characters are controlled in real time, you have the ability to summon Pokemon style familiars along with your own magic abilities.  It looks as if you can control any of your familiars as well as yourself with a seamless switch.  Mid battle menus are bountiful and necessary but as a reprieve to the player, time seems to freeze while you select an appropriate spell or item.  The over-world looks expansive and open with plenty of baddies to muster your magic against.  The battles are not random, but in some of the trailers/gameplay I watched, a few of the enemies were able to run faster than your character, making the battle unavoidable in essence.  But who would want to avoid the battles?  It would be an insult to the beauty and crazy cool factor Level 5 and Studio Ghibli has offered us.

This games beauty can only be challenged by its style, that being said, it's reception in Japan is all of the highest regards. This looks like it turned out to be a fantastic RPG release, and what better way to experience it than with extra content for the North American release?  There is also of course extra content available via DLC that we get on top of the extra content not available for the Japanese version of the game.  I of course do not know what extra content they mean, but anything bonus is a bonus right? 


I wish I knew more about this title for all of you but I just recently learned of its existence entirely a few days ago.  Regardless, if you are a fan of the RPG genre (or just a fan of Miyazaki films) this is not a title you should let sit on the shelves.  The game was released in Japan on both the Nintendo DS and the Playstation 3 but to my knowledge the PS3 version is the only localization effort in the works.  The PS3 version is also a little different, picking up with more story then when the DS version left off as well as supposed differences or so around the middle.  Keep an eye out for this sweet looking title sometime early 2013.






In unrelated fighting game news:


I have another 3 part tutorial up for Street Fighter X Tekken. This time showcasing Lili and what she can do. Similar to the Asuka tutorial I cover most of the basics. If you're looking to endulge yourself in a little SFxT style school girl action, check it out.