Retro Review: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are responsible for some of the most famous and beloved anime films in the industry, and their distinctive artstyle, evoking a classic fairy-tale aesthetic, is world-renowned. So it was almost inevitable that they would eventually be asked to collaborate on a video game. Of course, if you’re gonna do that, you’re gonna work with a company that’s going to match your distinctive style, right? Which is why Level-5, the company that created Dragon Quest VIII and IX, as well as the Layton games, may have been the best choice for Studio Ghibli to work with. Initially made for Level-5’s tenth anniversary, the first Ni No Kuni game had two different versions: Dominion of the Dark Djinn for the Nintendo DS and for the PS3. Wrath of the White Witch is the version that I played, and it is one of the most imaginative video games I’ve ever experienced.
Oliver is a young boy living in Motorville, a city set in ’50s or ’60s America. After an accident that ends up in his mother’s death, he meets a fairy named Drippy, who tells him that he is the Pure-Hearted One. As the Pure-Hearted One, he is destined to travel to another world and defeat the dark Shadar. With the hopes of reviving his mother bolstering him, Oliver decides to travel to the other world and become a mighty wizard.
From a gameplay perspective, Ni no Kuni is very ambitious, and it leverages its setting in order to develop its mechanics. Combat-wise, Ni no Kuni has a Pokemon-like real-time battle system focused around having the main party members summon their familiars to have them fight and use skills in battle. Each party member can have three familiars, which can be recruited by defeating enemies in battle. Familiars level up just like the regular party members, and they can be further developed by feeding them treats, allowing players to customize their stats and abilities. Familiars are a big part of Ni no Kuni, and recruiting and growing them is a lot of fun.
Outside of battle, Ni no Kuni provides Oliver with a lot of field spells that he can use to solve puzzles, such as using Bridge to build a bridge or Nature’s Tongue to speak to animals. There are also frequent puzzles involved “brokenhearted” characters, who Oliver can only cure by obtaining the correct heart piece to restore their hearts. These puzzles have potential to be fun and interesting, but the game itself provides a little too much hand-holding when it comes to these puzzles, removing a lot of the mental aspect of these puzzles.
The world of Ni no Kuni combines the charm of Studio Ghibli movies and Dragon Quest games harmoniously. Fairy tale fantasy designs, whimsical humor, and the way the story unfolds like a children’s story show how Studio Ghibli and Level-5 are a match made in heaven. Some might say that the game’s story is immature, but I prefer to say that it has an innocent passion instead. Childishness is also an aesthetic, and I think it’s a little presumptuous to dismiss that out of hand.
There are some problems with Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The AI is not great, and combat is a little janky. While I do appreciate the children’s fable-like aspect of the story, there are a few parts here and there that aren’t exactly well-written. But I think Ni no Kuni accomplishes a lot of what it set out to do, and that’s not something most ambitious games can say. While I do think Ni no Kuni II is a lot better in terms of gameplay, it achieves this by getting rid of a lot of the individuality that Wrath of the White Witch had. JRPG fans and Studio Ghibli fans alike owe it to themselves to get this game.
Originally published at http://talesfromsquareone.wordpress.com on January 14, 2022.