Our review of Level 5's lighthearted follow up to the PS3 darling JRPG.
Post Date: 4/21/18
From the starting moments Level 5 sets the stage for a adventure straight out of the fairy tale, it's a classic story with betrayal, perseverance through adversity and good versus evil with some hints of anime tropes. Now when I say it like this it may come of as demeaning but I truly think the mixture is quite endearing. It's like Level 5 took dashes of Spirited Away paired it with The Lion King and made a compelling story for Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum on his journey to build a new Kingdom in which everyone can live in peace. Aided by his mysterious companion Roland, a president of a nation who comes from our world. It's an interesting dynamic between an established leader and a young prince thrust into king-hood. Suffice to say that a coup takes place in Ding Dong Dell, Evan is forced to escape and so he sets out to establish a new kingdom called Evermore. Evan is ever the optimist as he endeavors to create a world without war, a world of peace and unity. And so the quest to unite the world in peace begins. I won't go into the plot point for point but some of my favorite things about Ni no Kuni II are the kingdoms you visit, each with unique themes and stories. As you venture between each of the Kingdoms to get the rulers to sign the Declaration of Interdependence you find that a corruption is present in the higher echelons of the respective governments and as Evan always does the right thing, he sets out to cleanse the kingdoms. The world and characters are colorful and fun, one in particular that stuck out to me is a librarian you meet fairly early on in Goldpaw a character named Boddly which is very reminiscent of Yubaaba from Spirited Away. (seeing a pattern?)
You gain a real sense of scope when walking around the world map in your chibi form, and since you see all enemies on the map (not random encounters) you can tell where the big baddies are, you see chests in places high up and are constantly pulled into exploring nooks and crannies you otherwise wouldn't. The game has a fantastic fast travel system in place that makes exploring rewarding and returning to places you have visited previously easy, taking away a lot of the wasted time you would be subjected to if you had to run everywhere. I didn't realize how helpful this system would be until I started recruiting citizens to come work and live in Evermore. The sense of progression you get from building Evermore up from a few ramshackle tents in the Heartlands to a fully realized Kingdom is no small feat either. After the initial bunch join you at the start you will need to go help people in the world in the major cities to recruit the rest through various fetch quests, finding specific items, taking care of bosses, ect. It would seem mundane side quest fair if not for the really rewarding feeling of the Kingdom management system in place, which gives you the tools to build up your kingdom building by building, then putting the newly recruited members into their ideal profession. So for example if you want to be able to buy the best armor around, find the best armorers in the world, recruit them then place them in the Armory. I could see a lot of time being spent on this aspect of the game.
Combat is fluid and fun, with a quick attack, a heavy attack, a dodge and a ranged attack along with up to 4 spells and/or abilities that can be changed out as needed. There are also the Higgledees which are Pikmin-esk type creatures that embody certain elements in the world and come with a lot of varied customization and combinations for unique builds. As for difficulty, I found that as long as I stayed within the immediate area pertaining to the story I rarely felt the need to grind to become stronger, I would even say it was a little too easy for my tastes. That being said, if I wondered off the well worn path and explored outside of the area I was supposed to be in, I would find plenty of enemies that far out leveled me, world bosses, and special enemies with purple corruption auras that have unique abilities that would often one shot me if I was caught in an attack. The rewards for beating such creatures was generally worth the effort whether in form of upgraded weaponry or armor and a metric ton of experience which would help me level.
I cannot finish this review without mentioning a thorn in my side regarding the voice acting and the choices made by Level 5. It's not that the voice acting is bad or anything, it's actually pretty good, the issue is that for some reason Level 5 seemed to have decided that about 60% of everything that starts as a fully voiced scene would just randomly stop and switch to text, sometimes in very serious situations and it's a shame because it would take me right out of the moments happening. I can't help but wonder if it was a financial decision or if something happened behind the scenes with the voice actors, maybe bad blood? We may never know but I think it would be remiss if I didn't mention it as it bothered me the entire time I played through the game.
In Conclusion:
After almost 40 hours with Ni no Kuni II I can honestly say this game is a fun, beautiful, action RPG game, it's endearing and overly positive in nature which admittedly could be an issue for some. The setting is wonderful and vibrant and the combat is tight, fun to partake in if not a little too easy (at least in the main game) what sets it apart from the pack is the kingdom building and RTS-lite combat missions. After all is said and done it reminded me of a story that a grand father would tell his grand child, which comes together to make a great game.
- Action RPG Combat
- Kingdom Building
- Light-hearted; Good versus Evil story
Tweet
