This review contains spoilers
Ghibli videogame <3
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was one of the games I was playing for streaming. Unfortunately I wasn't having enough fun to justify finishing the series and here's why.
For me problems started rearing their head after I completed Old Smokey with how weird the leveling system is because for some reason when you get a new familiar or metaphorize them they start at level one. Not level one but with still high stats, very low stats level one like you were just starting the game. Because of that you'd need to grind to actually get your familiars to levels where they're usable.
This columnated in where I decided to stop playing; the tank boss in Autumnia. Despite doing what I thought was a reasonable amount of fighting I still got my ass kicked on both normal and easy mode. And even on the way there I was getting my ass kicked by normal enemies. So I decided to grind, returned to the boss...and still got my ass kicked.
I think there's a lesson to be learned from this though. In the Xenoblade series enemies levels are shown and in Xenoblade 1 specifically enemies have a banner color to indicate how hard they'll be for you at your current level. This is a nice and transparent way to show if you're under or overleveled and if you need to grind at least you know what you should be aiming for. Ni no Kuni of course doesn't do this and you're just left to guess.
Because this is still a review I want to end things off with some positives, that being the writing and the art, Drippy is still really funny and the cutscenes were done by Studio Ghibli which of course means they're great. Honestly I think the Feywild is the best part of the game but that could be nostalgia speaking. Oh yeah I forgot to mention this is a game I'm actually nostalgic about and really sad I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I was young! This is the game that introduced me to gaming outside of Nintendo as all I had when I was young was a Gamecube and Wii.
So, in conclusion...please just avoid needing grinding for the love of the gods.
For me problems started rearing their head after I completed Old Smokey with how weird the leveling system is because for some reason when you get a new familiar or metaphorize them they start at level one. Not level one but with still high stats, very low stats level one like you were just starting the game. Because of that you'd need to grind to actually get your familiars to levels where they're usable.
This columnated in where I decided to stop playing; the tank boss in Autumnia. Despite doing what I thought was a reasonable amount of fighting I still got my ass kicked on both normal and easy mode. And even on the way there I was getting my ass kicked by normal enemies. So I decided to grind, returned to the boss...and still got my ass kicked.
I think there's a lesson to be learned from this though. In the Xenoblade series enemies levels are shown and in Xenoblade 1 specifically enemies have a banner color to indicate how hard they'll be for you at your current level. This is a nice and transparent way to show if you're under or overleveled and if you need to grind at least you know what you should be aiming for. Ni no Kuni of course doesn't do this and you're just left to guess.
Because this is still a review I want to end things off with some positives, that being the writing and the art, Drippy is still really funny and the cutscenes were done by Studio Ghibli which of course means they're great. Honestly I think the Feywild is the best part of the game but that could be nostalgia speaking. Oh yeah I forgot to mention this is a game I'm actually nostalgic about and really sad I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I was young! This is the game that introduced me to gaming outside of Nintendo as all I had when I was young was a Gamecube and Wii.
So, in conclusion...please just avoid needing grinding for the love of the gods.
Not my thing. Story, art style, and music so far are really promising but god I can't get past this combat system. Had my fun with it but I ain't devoting a whole JRPG to a system I don't enjoy.
20 YEARS OF GAMING PART 7 BUT I JUMPED BACK AND SHIT
A pretty solid time! Ghibli's influence definitely adds a lot to it both in terms of visuals and music, but the game isn't too much of a slouch outside of that. The story is actually pretty strong and the combat is pretty fun! If it was a bit faster it would honestly be the perfect companion piece to Pokemon's combat for me. If there's anything holding this game back for me, it's the game's overall sluggish pacing. It's one of those RPGs. The ones where the main quest feels less like a main quest and more like a bunch of sidequests stuck together leading you from place to place very slowly. I also really don't like any of the voice acting but it's an old game so I'll give it a pass there. There are also just a lot of little features throughout the game that aren't as smooth as they could be and it could lead to some frustrations (looking it up it seems like these were a sticking point even at the time)
But even if it is kind of rough and not everything gameplay-wise lands, I still had a good time with it and definitely recommend it. I heard there's a sequel, but I heard people liked it less so I don't know when (or if) I'll get to that one. If only Level-5 continued to make video games..........................
A pretty solid time! Ghibli's influence definitely adds a lot to it both in terms of visuals and music, but the game isn't too much of a slouch outside of that. The story is actually pretty strong and the combat is pretty fun! If it was a bit faster it would honestly be the perfect companion piece to Pokemon's combat for me. If there's anything holding this game back for me, it's the game's overall sluggish pacing. It's one of those RPGs. The ones where the main quest feels less like a main quest and more like a bunch of sidequests stuck together leading you from place to place very slowly. I also really don't like any of the voice acting but it's an old game so I'll give it a pass there. There are also just a lot of little features throughout the game that aren't as smooth as they could be and it could lead to some frustrations (looking it up it seems like these were a sticking point even at the time)
But even if it is kind of rough and not everything gameplay-wise lands, I still had a good time with it and definitely recommend it. I heard there's a sequel, but I heard people liked it less so I don't know when (or if) I'll get to that one. If only Level-5 continued to make video games..........................