Will I like this game?

[Maahniac]

I'm looking for a great game I can play throughout the summer, and not hurry myself through. I've been eyeing Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for a while now, because there's something about the game that appeals to me. It looks fun and interesting, and I adore the Studio Ghibli art. HOWEVER... there's a couple of things that make me uncertain, and I hope people who have played the game can help me.

 

I'm a little tired of open world games right now, with lots of cutscenes and grinding. I was actually very close to buying Final Fantasy X the other day, because I feel nostalgic about the game, but the sheer thought of sitting through cutscene after cutscene (and grinding for hours) is not very appealing right now. Is Ni No Kuni like this? Is it very grindy and story-heavy? It is a JRPG after all, but I kind of hope one of you guys will come and tell me it's not that bad in that regard

 

I don't really mind if the game is challenging or anything like that, and it doesn't matter if it's long either, as I'll probably take my time and spread it out for the entire summer. Should I look for some more action-oriented arcade-like game instead, or would Ni No Kuni be a satisfying game for me to play?

[El Duderino]

On 4/26/2020 at 9:44 AM, Maahniac said:

I'm a little tired of open world games right now, with lots of cutscenes and grinding.

Then you should stay away from Ni No Kuni. The dialogues are going on forever and are mostly very, well, juvenile. The game treats you like a fucking idiot and explains the very basics even until the final boss battle.

You have to walk a lot until you get a boat. Actual fast traveling won't be possible until the end of the game. And as for the grinding part, well, it's horrible. I deeply regret starting this game by now. The only reason why I'll complete it is the lack of missable trophies. Other than that I highly recommend to stay away from the game. Way too many flaws.

[kinggamer1st]

Buddy you might want to stay away from the JRPG genre entirely

[Helyx]

I tried the demo and hated it, but thoroughly enjoyed the full game.

[IntroPhenom]

On 4/30/2020 at 3:23 AM, Faaip de Oiad said:

Then you should stay away from Ni No Kuni. The dialogues are going on forever and are mostly very, well, juvenile. The game treats you like a fucking idiot and explains the very basics even until the final boss battle.

You have to walk a lot until you get a boat. Actual fast traveling won't be possible until the end of the game. And as for the grinding part, well, it's horrible. I deeply regret starting this game by now. The only reason why I'll complete it is the lack of missable trophies. Other than that I highly recommend to stay away from the game. Way too many flaws.

 

I must disagree with most of this statement.   

 

NNK is one of my faves.  While there a substantial amount of dialogue in the game, I would not call it juvenile, but more wonderful, meaning filled with a sense of child-like wonder.  Keep in mind two of the three playable characters are kids, and they're dealing with magic and monsters. 

 

The game explains well how to play; it doesn't beat you over the head with things like 'Remember to press X to jump!'.  And honestly, there's quite a bit to learn.  I will always prefer an over explanation to an under explanation.  Having to scour the internet to figure out something the game could easily explain is the worst. 

 

You do have to walk, but the world is beautiful: lots to see, items to pick up, hidden treasures to find. 

 

When going for the platinum, there are two grinds: one for items and one for monsters.  Both grinds take patience, I'll admit, but fairly easy approaches exist, so the only real obstacles are your own limitations.  

 

@Maahniac  If you're tired of open world games in general, maybe wait.  But don't forget about it, either.

[Alos88]

Even if you enjoy it, I'd be careful with the sequel- I've heard it's nowhere near as good.

[ShadowArctia]

The original Ni no Kuni is one the best JRPG's on PS3, and now that it's on PS4, the same statement applies. The grind isn't bad because there comes a point where you can farm a certain enemy to get fast XP gains. The story is immersive and amazing, the gameplay is satisfying, and the English dub isn't cringe which is a huge plus.

 

I bought the game originally for $25, and seeing it for $15 on the PSN store a couple sales ago is an absolute steal imo.

[punkshepherd]

Is it anything like Dark Chronicle/Dark Cloud 2 or Rogue Galaxy?  It's by the same dev right? 

 

Ive always wanted to try both the NNK games.

[Helyx]

32 minutes ago, punkshepherd said:

Is it anything like Dark Chronicle/Dark Cloud 2 or Rogue Galaxy?

 

Closer to RG, with a dash of pokemon.

[IntroPhenom]

1 hour ago, Alos88 said:

Even if you enjoy it, I'd be careful with the sequel- I've heard it's nowhere near as good.

 

True - the sequel has no business being titled Ni No Kuni, but rather should have been presented to the gaming world as 'From the makers of Ni No Kuni come...this other game!'.  

[punkshepherd]

20 hours ago, Helyx said:

 

Closer to RG, with a dash of pokemon.

 

Wow. Right up my street. Sold!

[starcrunch061]

I will mention that, while the game isn't very grindy, the platinum is. Moreover, the grind feels pretty pointless. While I did enjoy hunting down gold versions of the monsters in the game, I did NOT enjoy completing errands whose rewards were suspect, at best.

 

And yeah, like others, I thought Ni No Kuni 2 sucked. In fact, I might have hated it more than others.

[Cherrywood]

Personally, I wanted to love the game.  Longtime fan of JRPGs, big fan of Ghibli, was looking forward to it for months before it came out on PS3.  Then, when it did, the pokemon style gameplay is what didn't click for me.  It's all about recruiting monsters, leveling them up, using them to fight, and then replacing them with new monsters, rather than leveling yourself up.  It just wasn't what I wanted, which was disheartening at the time.  But if that's what you want, it seemed pretty great.

 

Also, one thing that really was undeniably bad about the game, despite having a Japanese language track option, you really can't play it in Japanese and stay sane.  The subtitles are very obviously a transcription of the English dialog rather than a translation of the Japanese dialog.  Normally that would be fine but when they decided to give one of the characters, the character who really has more dialog than any other character in the game, an extremely thick cockney accent, and then transcribe that into the subtitles for the Japanese track.......it just didn't work at all.  Made it unplayable in Japanese which, if that was one of the things you were excited about and I was because that's how I watch anime, was pretty disappointing.  

Edited October 27, 2020 by Cherrywood