# Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch



## Fez909 (Jan 20, 2013)

I think this may be the best looking game I've ever seen.  Studio Ghibli did the artwork for it.

Feast yer eyes:


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## Epona (Jan 20, 2013)

The premise of the game sounds mildly interesting if you're into that sort of thing.

But the best looking game you've ever seen?  What the....? You're either completely mad, or have cryogenically slept through the last 5 years.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 20, 2013)

It depends on what you mean by best looking. it's not the most sophisticated graphics but it does manage to pull off its design aesthetic very well giving it distinct character which might make it stand out for otherwise somewhat samey looking games. personally i do't think it's all that fantastic  but i could se why someone might think that

personally i'm not that interested. mainly due to the exclusivity putting it out of my domain.

sony does get a load of great jrpgs.


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## fen_boy (Jan 20, 2013)

I think it looks great, definitely getting this.


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## Epona (Jan 20, 2013)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> It depends on what you mean by best looking. it's not the most sophisticated graphics but it does manage to pull off its design aesthetic very well giving it distinct character which might make it stand out for otherwise somewhat samey looking games. personally i do't think it's all that fantastic but i could se why someone might think that
> 
> personally i'm not that interested. mainly due to the exclusivity putting it out of my domain.
> 
> sony does get a load of great jrpgs.


 
I agree it has a certain aesthetic which is pleasant, but it's hardly groundbreaking in terms of graphics.  Bear in mind when I say this, that I'm not that wowed by the 'gritty photo-realism' that seems to have become standard in the Western games market over the last few years - if I want to see gritty monochrome I can just look out of my window at any time!  I certainly don't mind, and even welcome, games that are brighter and more fantastical - the juxtaposition of a dark story set in a bright and oversaturated environment is something that developers seem to have forgotten how to do of late, and that's not a good thing.  But whilst I like the aesthetic of a game more based on animation than photo-realism, that doesn't lead me to say that it has mind-blowing graphics, when to my mind at least, that is not the case.

And as Shippy says it's not coming out on PC, then it doesn't even exist as far as I'm concerned, it's not as if I'm going to play it or anything.


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## Geoffrey (Jan 20, 2013)

Looks great and has reviewed well so far, will be up for this for sure.  Another time sucker which I can ill afford just now but hey ho!  The mix of traditional JRPG stats battling and realtime action should be good fun.  Graphics look very pleasing if not the greatest ever, nice traditional Ghibli style.


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## Fez909 (Jan 21, 2013)

When I said best-looking, obviously that means different things to different people.  I'm not fussed about photo-realistic games whatsoever.  I'd much rather play something stylised and distinct.  This looks just like playing a cartoon for me.  If you imagined a Ghibli film (which most people agree look lovely) in 3D, this is how it would look.  It's translated perfectly. All IMVHO of, course.

This has made me want to see Pixar do a game now.


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## fen_boy (Feb 1, 2013)

Anyone got this? I pre-ordered, it's not showing as dispatched so phoned Amazon who said they haven't had any stock at all. In fact they said it hasn't been released yet.


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## mwgdrwg (Feb 1, 2013)

I love Ghibli, I love JRPG's - but I haven't got a PS3 

This is a system seller for me (if only I didn't already have an Xbox 360 and Wii U).

I want this. Someone lend me their PS3 for a month, please?


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## Geoffrey (Feb 3, 2013)

fen_boy - Mines been dispatched by Amazon on Fri 1st.  I did get an email a wee while ago saying that if you preordered after the 20th Jan there would be a delay as stock is in short supply.


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## Remus Harbank (Feb 4, 2013)

managed to get the last copy from GameStop in Streatham on Saturday. Sweet game, extremely polished, perhaps a bit too cute.


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## Geoffrey (Feb 13, 2013)

Played with this game for about 10 hours now.  Liking it so far, feels very linear though and I hope it breaks out a little.  The elemental battle stuff is a bit confusing too.  How's everyone else getting on?


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## Buddy Bradley (Feb 19, 2013)

Saw it in GAME for 45 quid, ordered it from Amazon for 40 but now they keep pushing the 'in stock' date back.


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## Geoffrey (Feb 20, 2013)

The demand has been wild.  Prices on ebay for the wizards edition or even just the book from it have been eye watering!


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## Bruce23 (Feb 20, 2013)

Cell-shading is great for games with anime artwork. Princess Mononoke is my favorite anime movie of all time which was also done by Studio Ghibli. I think I'll check this out.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 20, 2013)

the 3d style doesn't  quite suit  the  ghibli art stlye

3d anime stuff can work  but this  is  a little ....  

it feels forced.  it feels like someonem drerw 2d art  and  then someone 3dised it    not  a 3d artist made something,.


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## Buddy Bradley (Feb 28, 2013)

Buddy Bradley said:


> Saw it in GAME for 45 quid, ordered it from Amazon for 40 but now they keep pushing the 'in stock' date back.


Gave up and cancelled the Amazon order, as GAME have loads in stock.

Is the 12 rating just for the gameplay difficulty, or is there anything content-wise that is unsuitable for younger children?


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## fen_boy (Feb 28, 2013)

My 8 and 6 year old play it and I've not seen anything I'm concerned about so far.


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## trashpony (Feb 10, 2014)

fen_boy said:


> My 8 and 6 year old play it and I've not seen anything I'm concerned about so far.



Do you still feel it's suitable (assuming they've now finished the game)? And you Buddy Bradley?

The foal wants it for his 7th birthday but I know jackshit about computer games. We don't have a PS either but we've got a wii - assume it's fairly similar to operate? Should I get a PS3 or PS4? And finally, is it something I would enjoy playing? I quite liked playing Zelda


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## Buddy Bradley (Feb 10, 2014)

trashpony said:


> Do you still feel it's suitable (assuming they've now finished the game)? And you Buddy Bradley?


To be honest I stopped playing it ages ago. There was nothing in the parts of the game that I saw that were innapropriate for youngish children, though. I would say that if a child is able to watch a Studio Ghibli movie without finding the mildly scary bits scary, they'll be okay with Ni No Kuni.


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## fen_boy (Feb 10, 2014)

Yes, it's suitable. The only bit that might cause you concern is early on where the main character, a young boy, has to deal with the death of someone close to him. Might be a bit sad if the foal is sensitive to that.
It's PS3 only.
It's fairly complex and long, but if your 7-year-old can play Zelda (s)he should be OK.
The combat is menu based (sort of) and you'll need to issue commands to a group, but it's still fairly straighforward. It's more RPG than Zelda is. So there is levelling up and skill and equipment management.


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## fen_boy (Feb 10, 2014)

They never did finish it by the way. They got right to the end and got stuck, they keep saying they'll go back to it, but they're Minecraft crazy at the moment.


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## spirals (Feb 10, 2014)

We have it, me, mr spirals and boychild (8) loves it, sad bit at the start but it's great, has a fair bit of reading but anything that encourages boychild to read is good!


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## trashpony (Feb 10, 2014)

Buddy Bradley said:


> To be honest I stopped playing it ages ago. There was nothing in the parts of the game that I saw that were innapropriate for youngish children, though. I would say that if a child is able to watch a Studio Ghibli movie without finding the mildly scary bits scary, they'll be okay with Ni No Kuni.





fen_boy said:


> They never did finish it by the way. They got right to the end and got stuck, they keep saying they'll go back to it, but they're Minecraft crazy at the moment.


Thanks both. I suspect he'll do the same - he's got loads of games he's got stuck on! 

He does like Zelda but I wouldn't let him play it. He was much younger then though so I'm a bit more comfortable about it now. He does know the story - he's watching walkthroughs on youtube (which is how he found out about it).

I'm a bit reluctant to fork out for a new console for a single game. Is the PS3 likely to become obsolete any time soon (like the wii)?


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## fen_boy (Feb 10, 2014)

trashpony said:


> Thanks both. I suspect he'll do the same - he's got loads of games he's got stuck on!
> 
> He does like Zelda but I wouldn't let him play it. He was much younger then though so I'm a bit more comfortable about it now. He does know the story - he's watching walkthroughs on youtube (which is how he found out about it).
> 
> I'm a bit reluctant to fork out for a new console for a single game. Is the PS3 likely to become obsolete any time soon (like the wii)?



The ps4 is out so yes it's likely to become obsolete. Another way of looking at that though is that it's relatively cheap and has a huge back catalogue of great and similarly relatively cheap games as long as being up to date isn't that important to you or him.


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## trashpony (Feb 10, 2014)

fen_boy said:


> The ps4 is out so yes it's likely to become obsolete. Another way of looking at that though is that it's relatively cheap and has a huge back catalogue of great and similarly relatively cheap games as long as being up to date isn't that important to you or him.


I see that the new Lego Movie game is coming out on both PS3 and PS4


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## fen_boy (Feb 10, 2014)

The PS4 is new so the PS3 will still get new games for a while yet.


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## trashpony (Feb 10, 2014)

fen_boy said:


> The PS4 is new so the PS3 will still get new games for a while yet.


Cool - I'm struggling a bit with what to get him for his birthday so maybe a PS3 would be good. I'll ask. He might prefer a refurbished PC to play Minecraft on


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## 8ball (Feb 10, 2014)

trashpony said:


> Cool - I'm struggling a bit with what to get him for his birthday so maybe a PS3 would be good. I'll ask. He might prefer a refurbished PC to play Minecraft on


 
A PC with enough grunt for Minecraft is a cheap option.  Minecraft is out for PS3 too now, though.


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