PAX Australia 2017 — Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom impressions
As gorgeous as the first game, but with even more strategy.
Level-5’s Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was arguably one of the greatest Role-Playing Games on the PlayStation 3 and a masterpiece of last generation, with its Studio Ghibli-inspired art direction and cutscenes making for one of the most beautiful looking games we’d seen until that point. If there was any criticism that could be levelled at the game, it was that its simplistic and rather elementary campaign appeared to be targeted more towards children, although that oversimplicity was offset by a complex combat system that continued to challenge players throughout the 50+ hour story.
With Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, however, Level-5 seems to be creating a plot that is the right balance between light and dark themes to appeal to both adults and children. With the fairytale feel of its much-loved predecessor returning and a plot that revolves around a cat prince named Evan seeking to reclaim his kingdom from a usurper, the sequel’s biggest draw for me was to see just how Level-5 would balance the experience out to appeal to a wider audience. The added maturity is a welcome addition that will definitely get more players interested in the fantastic world that the renowned Japanese developer has created.
Ni No Kuni II’s demo shot to the top of my must-play list as soon as I found out that it would be appearing at PAX Australia this year, and it didn’t disappoint in the slightest. The demo I played was split up into three segments, all of which had been showcased at E3 earlier this year. I only played one of those segments in order to avoid spoiling too much of the overall experience for myself, but that segment — a boss fight that I assume occurs in the earlier stages of the game — was enough to justify my excitement and confirm that this game is absolutely one to watch in 2018.
Although it was to be expected from the series, every little thing about the battle I partook in looked absolutely phenomenal. The colours were vibrant, the environment was rich and detailed, the animations were smooth and eye-catching and every character — from the three central protagonists to the adorable Higgledies — looked as though they were taken straight out of a Studio Ghibli film.
The most impressive thing I saw in the brief time I spent with the game, however, is how far its already-impressive combat system has come. Players can control any of the three central protagonists this time around (instead of using their little familiars for most of the up close combat situations), and can utilise special abilities mapped to any of the face buttons while holding down one of the trigger buttons. Instead of using the somewhat menu-based system from Ni No Kuni, Ni No Kuni II takes the series in a more action-oriented direction compared to the first game, forcing players to think on their feet to find enemies’ weaknesses, increase their attack or defense power temporarily or nullify some enormous elemental attack from an enemy by harnessing the Higgledies’ power in the midst of battle.
With Level-5’s signature attention to detail, beautiful visuals, an improved mixture of lighter and darker themes and a combat system that forces the player to think on their feet, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is shaping up to be an incredibly rich, fun experience from the talented Level-5 team that is sure to rank highly in the Game of the Year polls. January 19 can’t come quickly enough!
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