Old School JRPG Feel – In my playthrough of Ni no Kuni, I noticed something about the game. Even though it’s a brand new game, something about it felt old and nostalgic and enjoyable. Something about the way that I was allowed to roam free to a certain extent around the area, in an overworld map view no less, felt like I’ve played something like this before. That’s when I realized that this was the same feeling I got when I would play JRPGs when I was younger. These games had the same qualities that Ni no Kuni had. They allowed me to explore, they gave me a sense of wonder as I explored. The music from back then set the mood just like Ni no Kuni does now. Ni no Kuni has the soul of an old school JRPG, which I think those who are big fans of the older game will enjoy.

Studio Ghibli Inspired/Lead Art Direction – One man can be attributed into making what Studio Ghibli the beloved anime studio it is today is Hayao Miyazaki. Known for a whimsical style with human like movements, these are his trademarks. Though he is getting up there in age, he’s 72 currently; his influence is felt through in all of Studio Ghibli productions. It is that influence that is found in the art direction of Ni no Kuni. The game world just screams Miyazaki: from Ding Dong Dell to Hamlin you can feel the wonder and imagination of the Studio Ghibli team. I know that I’ve said this in a lot of games that feature an anime art style, but with Ni no Kuni not only does feel like I’m in the anime, I feel like I am really there in the game world. I feel like am in the game running across the green rolling hills, traversing the hot sandy dunes. It really feels as if I am a part of a world that Miyazaki created.

Heartwarming Adventure – So many JRPGs that I’ve played so far follow a similar pattern when it comes to the hero’s motivation to set out on an adventure. It usually sounds something like “This is all my fault, I have to fix it,” “I’m only on this journey because I have no choice,” “I have to go, my honor depends on it” and so on and so forth. Oliver’s motivation for his setting out for adventure is very simple and heartwarming. His call to adventure is to save his mother. In the beginning of the game, Oliver’s mother dies trying to save her son. At first Oliver is a wreck, sad that his mother died because of him. As his tears fall on the stuffed fairy doll that his mother made for him, it magically becomes alive. Mr. Drippy as he is known tells Oliver to stop being a crying baby bunting and tells him there is a way to bring his mother back to life. Oliver vows to bring his mother back and agrees to go with Mr. Drippy. Along the way he meets friends and his quest does chance a bit, but it all started because the love that he had for his mother and wanting to do whatever it takes to bring her back. To be honest I teared up a bit, since I am close to my mom myself and I can understand Oliver wanting to save his mother no matter what.

Oliver Not a Brooding Emo Modern JRPG Hero – Ever since Cloud came onto the scene, a majority of lead male JRPG heroes have spiky hair and are brooding throughout the game thinking that it’s their fault that they have to go on a quest to save whatever it is that needs to be save. Oliver is the polar opposite of the modern atypical JRPG hero. In fact during the first few hours of the game Oliver is a bit of a wuss. He’s clueless, weak, and a mamma’s boy. As the game progresses, Oliver starts to grow not just as a character but as a person. As a character he starts to realize the bigger picture and that it’s not just about saving his mother. As a person he starts to become more confident in himself. He starts to become stronger with the help of his friends and those who support him on his quest to bring peace to the land. He’s still a bit clueless about some things, but that’s a part of growing up.

Wizard’s Companion – Ever since Ni no Kuni was announced, the Wizard’s Companion was one of the things about the game I was excited for. What is there to be excited about some in game spell book, you may be thinking? Sure lore found in scripts discovered in RPGs isn’t something new. However the way that Level-5 and Studio Ghibli handled the Wizard’s Companion is really crafty and fresh. Instead of just writing out lore that is on scripts and scrolls, Level-5 and Studio Ghibli designed the Wizard’s Companion to be an actual book. The spells in the WC are detailed as to what they are, what they do and how difficult they are. It also contains short stories telling of tales from the world’s past, a complete bestiary/familiar guide with evolutionary chain, alchemy items, recipes, weapons, gear and much more. In the special edition version of the game, it even came with a physical copy of the Wizard’s Companion. It’s always great to see developers to go far beyond with the lore and try to get the players to feel as if they are a part of the adventure.

Capturing Familiars – In a growing trend inspired by Pokémon, Ni no Kuni gives you the ability to capture familiars and use them to fight alongside players in their travels. Capturing familiars is fun once you earn the ability later in the game and surprisingly difficult as well when trying to capture some of the rarer familiars. Each familiar has a unique design and a name that matches their looks. They can be fed to raise their base stats, and once they are at a maxed level, they can be fed a special item to evolve to the next stage. Once you beat the game, rare golden versions of the familiars show up for players to catch and add to the collection.

Joe Hisaishi and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra – Before I get into this point, first listen to this track from the game:

BRYING BABY BUNTING

No “Proper” New Game Plus – The purpose of a new game plus in most JRPGs is to have the player go back to the beginning of the game and play it all over again. The only difference is that the player keeps all of their current stats and goes through the game with harder enemies present. This gives the player a bit of a challenge as they make their way through the game again, either taking time to explore more or to do a speed run. Ni no Kuni doesn’t have a proper new game plus, but has continued game instead. As I mentioned earlier, while this is a pretty good idea, there are a few flaws to it.

One of those flaws is that it doesn’t require you to play the game over again. Another flaw is that the enemies do not scale to the player’s level when the game has been beaten for the first time. Players who are used to playing through a JRPG again in a new game plus might be a little disappointed that this isn’t the case with Ni no Kuni.

Grindfest – It’s no secret that most, if not all, RPGs require you to grind for xp, money or materials for synthesizing items. Ni no Kuni however does more than requires players to just grind. Players will have to go on a thing I’d like to call “Grindfest” in the game. Here players will have to go fight countless monsters over and over again just to get certain items for quest purposes, synthesizing, or to equip for use. Sometimes when synthesizing items, it may call for more than one of the same ingredient, but that ingredient only gets drop so often that it requires you have to grind. And grind. And grind some more. After grinding so much, you then realize that you only have half of the amount needed making you go back and grind some more.