Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch is a creature collection rpg set in a lore filled fantasy world. The game doesn't bring anything new and mindblowing on the table. Instead it focuses on refining the already familiar concepts. For example, the combat system overall is in my opinion the single most polished aspect of the game. It's mostly in real time, which in my opinion surpasses the usual turn based combat system in the genre. Once you get the hang of it, it's very intuitive and fair. One of the coolest things in the game is that they made a whole book with over 300 pages, which explains to the player how the world works without breaking the fourth wall. It really feels that the book is from the world.

The foundation of the story reminds me a little of The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende. You play as a young boy named Oliver, who tragically loses his mother. This drives Oliver to isolate himself from the world. He is lost and afraid in life and can't get a hold, as you'd expect from anyone going through such a event. While grieving his plush toy becomes alive and gives him hope and guidance. His name is Drippy. A fairy from a different reality with a very strong personality. Drippy is a well respected figure in his world, at least in his own words. He leads Oliver to the world of Ni no Kuni, a typical fantasy world with all kinds of creatures and a classic fight between good and evil.

I have a slight issue with the story. Many others have praised it. I don't find it to be the best quality of the game by a long stretch. It's not terrible, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing special either. Some characters have actually great backstories and there are many great lore drops. The world and lore itself isn't the problem. Its even great! What's not great in my opinion is how convenient everything is for our protagonist. Oliver befriends many different characters on his journey. Most of the time it seems that the relationship between Oliver and other characters just instantly become deep and trusting. One time you basically heal a broken family literally with a wave of the wand and suddenly they all love and care for each other and are your best friends. I get that the game was designed for kids (and has magic), but it still doesn't have to be dumb with the logic. Take for example any older Pixar movie. Lets say Toy Story. It's definitely meant for kids, but even adults enjoy the film because the interactions of the characters are humane. Many characters don't seem to have but only one layer Shrek . Some do, but most of the time their character is made clear with the first interaction and that's how they are going to be. It doesn't make me invested in the plot if most of the characters are this one sided and shallow. But don't take this the wrong way, there are moments of greatness in there. In the post game content you meet a mysterious character who shares a short yet profound statement about our existence as humans, which left me frozen for a solid minute.

Before I wrap this up I want to make a notion, how Japanese entertainment media often has this unique ability to shove itself full of goofiness. If you have played the Yakuza games, you will be pleased to see how Ni no Kuni is full of similar bizarreness, though not to the same extent.

Here's a small list of all the things I liked in the game:
- Studio Ghibli cutscenes (sadly there aren't too many of those)
- Combat
- Goofy errands and interactions
- The fairies and how they talked x)


Thanks for taking the time, means much <3

i like this game and im not a weeb

stampylongnose

Ghibli movie that came to live. Originally played this on PS3 but still holds up and looks better on PC

I couldn't get past how horrible the Action combat with menu combat menu felt. The story looked like it would be a good one and the world building that was being set up looked intriguing, but there was no way I was going to be able to get past that combat system.