Date played: December 6th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 10/10
WOW! I am a huge Myazaki fan, Spirited Away and Ponyo are easily in my top 5 movies of all time and I've been salivating over screenshots of this game forever. Finally, I get to see it for myself and it did not disappoint. Ni No Kuni is an old school RPG by Level 5 that uses Myazaki's art style and plays like a mix of Eternal Sonata and maybe Pokemon. It feels like the JRPG that people have been asking for since the start of the generation, it's what Final Fantasy XIII should have been, it's what Blue Dragon could have been, it's what PS1 and PS2 RPG fans enjoyed.
The demo has two levels, a forest and a volcano. I started with the forest and it sticks you in a boss fight right away. The first thing that struck me is simply how amazingly beautiful this game is. It really took my breath away... Unfortunately, I got killed quickly in the first fight because I didn't know I could move the character. When the battle starts, I got to choose between fighting as Oliver, the hero, or a cute little orange beast with a sword. I went with Oliver, casting spells, using skills and blocking. The game uses a weird turn-based/real time hybrid system in conjunction with cooldown and mana limits. It's hard to explain but it works really well. I could easily dodge enemy attacks, reposition myself and choose spells without feeling too much pressure.
After the boss fight, there was an adorable voiced cut scene that led me to the world map. Yes, this game has a world map and it looks amazing. I should also note the fantastic orchestral music that plays throughout. I eventually reached a lovely town. I couldn't enter though as one or two guards felt really depressed. So I used some spells to borrow enthusiasm from one guard and share it with the other who was then willing to open the gate. Yep, you read that right, I borrowed enthusiasm.
The volcano level was a timed affair complete with dangerous paths to navigate and an evil fire boss. This time though, I had another party member and more creatures to play with. I had three little beasts to control (one at a time) as did the little girl in my party. Combat started to feel more strategic as I brought out different monsters to fight different enemies. Honestly, this is the most fun I've had with an RPG in a VERY long time and am now totally hyped for this game.
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 10/10
WOW! I am a huge Myazaki fan, Spirited Away and Ponyo are easily in my top 5 movies of all time and I've been salivating over screenshots of this game forever. Finally, I get to see it for myself and it did not disappoint. Ni No Kuni is an old school RPG by Level 5 that uses Myazaki's art style and plays like a mix of Eternal Sonata and maybe Pokemon. It feels like the JRPG that people have been asking for since the start of the generation, it's what Final Fantasy XIII should have been, it's what Blue Dragon could have been, it's what PS1 and PS2 RPG fans enjoyed.
The demo has two levels, a forest and a volcano. I started with the forest and it sticks you in a boss fight right away. The first thing that struck me is simply how amazingly beautiful this game is. It really took my breath away... Unfortunately, I got killed quickly in the first fight because I didn't know I could move the character. When the battle starts, I got to choose between fighting as Oliver, the hero, or a cute little orange beast with a sword. I went with Oliver, casting spells, using skills and blocking. The game uses a weird turn-based/real time hybrid system in conjunction with cooldown and mana limits. It's hard to explain but it works really well. I could easily dodge enemy attacks, reposition myself and choose spells without feeling too much pressure.
 |
| Yes, the game looks that good. |
After the boss fight, there was an adorable voiced cut scene that led me to the world map. Yes, this game has a world map and it looks amazing. I should also note the fantastic orchestral music that plays throughout. I eventually reached a lovely town. I couldn't enter though as one or two guards felt really depressed. So I used some spells to borrow enthusiasm from one guard and share it with the other who was then willing to open the gate. Yep, you read that right, I borrowed enthusiasm.
The volcano level was a timed affair complete with dangerous paths to navigate and an evil fire boss. This time though, I had another party member and more creatures to play with. I had three little beasts to control (one at a time) as did the little girl in my party. Combat started to feel more strategic as I brought out different monsters to fight different enemies. Honestly, this is the most fun I've had with an RPG in a VERY long time and am now totally hyped for this game.
