Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Review

A refreshing game filled with old and new touches 

Over the years of gaming's history, I think it's really easy to suggest that the RPG (Role Playing Game) genre really is a hard type of game to consume and engross in. While in Japan and other Asian countries people are used to playing long and stretched out games such as these, in the West it's a hard sell for games such as 'Final Fantasy' and the 'Tales of...' series due to the fact that we are very much used to hard-core sellers such as 'Call Of Duty', FIFA that really don't make us sit through a long ordeal and that it takes forever to do something. I personally think our mind set (Western audiences) when it comes to gaming is that everything should be instant and fast paced and we don't have to 'explore' a game such as 'Call Of Duty' or 'FIFA' in great depth. Don't get me wrong there are rare occasions when a certain RPG may appeal to the masses and is worth while playing to the maximum such as 'Skyrim' or perhaps 'Pokemon' for younger audiences. When it comes to the game of 'Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Which', I think it not only appeals to the young and older audiences, but it does something completely different than the ordinary RPG in that it takes old and familiar gameplay ideas from games such as 'Final Fantasy' and 'Pokemon' and has brought it a new artistic style that is enjoyous to watch thanks to Studio Ghibli.

Ni No Kuni tells a story of a boy named Oliver. Oliver lives any-town USA and finds himself caught in a rather interesting situation. Without spoiling anything, all I'll say is that Oliver is eventually pulled between two different worlds; providing a rather interesting scenario that the game builds itself upon by Helping a saving people in one world whilst doing the exact same in the other.

Oliver soon finds out with the help a fairy called Drippy, in order to regain what he has lost, he must defeat the evil wizard Shadar. It's clear as soon as you first lay your eyes on the game how incredibly beautiful and artistic the game looks. There is reasoning behind it's 'anime' look. While some of it is down to the esteemed Japanese game developers 'Level-5', the majority and the artistic mark that you'll probably notice straight away is done by the famous Japanese animated film studio - Studio Ghibli.

The amount of range and diversity that goes into not only the gameplay look, but also the 'anime-esque' cut-scenes that have clearly been done by Ghibli themselves look spot on which to an extent got me thinking that this whole game can and should be driven down to a 2 hour Ghibli movie. With this animation influence backing them, Ni No Kuni is very much a vibrant/colourful game; character designs are simple yet poignant and effective. The different array of lush environments ranging from deserts, volcanic areas and snow-lands again really blend the fantastic with the grounded to create a diverse landscape to explore. Like with most animated titles I watch, I'm not really too fussed over the English dubbing due to the fact that it's a weak argument to get into. By saying this, the voice acting in this game is rather done well and you can't really fault the stars who play these complex yet fun characters. Like with the animation, the gaming soundtrack is also noticeable as it does add to that sense of loosing yourself whether you are in a moody, happy or tense part of the game and can stick in your head for a while. It's rather impressive that they brought in celebrated composer and conductor Joe Hisashi which really makes this game feel like a really long but enjoyous Ghibli film.

When it comes to gameplay, Ni No Kuni shines in that department by smartly taking influences from two popular RPG franchises (Pokemon and Final Fantasy) and blending them together to create something that is rather fast-paced and fun to play. For the most part, the gameplay doesn't really feel repetitive since you are going in different places in the game and are facing different opponents which again adds to the amount of the depth the whole game has.

While you can play/fight as the main character Oliver and other human characters, it is not advised. Instead what you do is you can catch any creature you want and raise it as your own. Using these creatures called 'Familiars', Oliver and friends can keep a buffer zone between them and enemy parties. Each character you play with can have 3 Familiars actively associated with them and by fighting with them, they'll level up and grow stronger with the items you give to them and the moves they learn over time. Mixing and matching captured Familiars is the aim of the game, but the real beauty here is that you can derive as much or as little out of capturing an array of different creatures just like in 'Pokemon'. The game never really ties you down or forces you to capture and train a specific monster, un-less you want to. Ni No Kuni generally provides a linear path through the story, though there is plenty enough side content like bounties, finding treasures and 'Hearts' to keep you busy.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Which is an extraordinary but different RPG that captures the essence of the old RPG games that so many people have grown up with and love. The result of this speaks for itself, Ni No Kuni is a game that every RPG lover should play. Even if you have never really played an RPG and still the love the art design behind Studio Ghibli, then I wouldn't hesitate into jumping in and playing through a long but engrossing story with characters you'll learn to appreciate. So if you're looking for a worthwhile time-sink that hit's all the right notes, look no further than Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Which.

9.0/10 Alex Rabbitte