Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch Remastered

A standard setting creature collector rpg
Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch is a creature collection rpg set in a lore filled fantasy world. The game doesn't bring anything new and mindblowing on the table. Instead it focuses on refining the already familiar concepts. For example, the combat system overall is in my opinion the single most polished aspect of the game. It's mostly in real time, which in my opinion surpasses the usual turn based combat system in the genre. Once you get the hang of it, it's very intuitive and fair. One of the coolest things in the game is that they made a whole book with over 300 pages, which explains to the player how the world works without breaking the fourth wall. It really feels that the book is from the world.
The foundation of the story reminds me a little of The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende. You play as a young boy named Oliver, who tragically loses his mother. This drives Oliver to isolate himself from the world. He is lost and afraid in life and can't get a hold, as you'd expect from anyone going through such an event. While grieving his plush toy becomes alive and gives him hope and guidance. His name is Drippy. A fairy from a different reality with a very strong personality. Drippy is a well respected figure in his world, at least in his own words. He leads Oliver to the world of Ni no Kuni, a typical fantasy world with all kinds of creatures and a classic fight between good and evil.
I have a slight issue with the story. Many others have praised it. I don't find it to be the best quality of the game by a long stretch. It's not terrible, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing special either. Some characters have actually great backstories and there are many great lore drops. The world and lore itself isn't the problem. Its even great! What's not great in my opinion is how convenient everything is for our protagonist. Oliver befriends many different characters on his journey. Most of the time it seems that the relationship between Oliver and other characters just instantly become deep and trusting. One time you heal a broken family literally with a wave of the wand and suddenly they all love and care for each other and are your best friends. I get that the game was designed for kids (and has magic), but it still doesn't have to be dumb with the logic. Take for example any older Pixar movie. Lets say Toy Story. It's definitely meant for kids, but even adults enjoy the film because the interactions of the characters are humane. Many characters don't seem to have but only one layer Shrek!? . Some do, but most of the time their character is made clear with the first interaction and that's how they are going to be. It doesn't make me invested in the plot if most of the characters are this one sided and shallow. But don't take this the wrong way, there are moments of greatness in there. In the post game content you meet a mysterious character who shares a short yet profound statement about our existence as humans, which left me frozen for a solid minute.
Before I wrap this up I want to make a notion, how Japanese entertainment media often has this unique ability to shove itself full of goofiness. If you have played the Yakuza games, you will be pleased to see how Ni no Kuni is full of similar bizarreness, though not to the same extent.
Here's a small list of all the things I liked in the game:
- Studio Ghibli cutscenes (sadly there aren't too many of those)
- Combat
- Goofy errands and interactions
- The fairies and how they talked x)
Thanks for taking the time, means much <3

A game from my childhood, I watched Stampy's Let's play, now experiencing it, It's one fun ride!

Amazing game, great story, great characters, I got into this game just cause I saw stampylonghead play it a long time ago.

I learned about this game by watching Stampylongnose play it, a decade later i find it on steam and ive had so much reliving my childhood by playing the game myself.

I am a simple gal who appreciates Studio Ghibli, so that was my initial attraction to this game. Visually, it reflects the typical standards of Ghibli animation.
But this is first and foremost a game: a JRPG with a really awkward battle system. By awkward, I mean that it felt physically awkward on my hands and wrists with the way to navigate through various battle menus. Minor things just disrupt the flow and momentum of the action in battles, but they are also basic things: buff/debuff moves and attack animations. Camera zooms in for the attack animation, does the animation thing where you can do nothing (unless you Guarded right in time) and can't move, and then zooms out to normal camera angle; it just feels a little disorienting because of the length of the animation (short enough, but also too long for action-based combat). Some of the buffing spells also bring your character to a complete halt even if you're moving to a spot where you won't get hit.
Battle menus are clunky. They are annoying to sift through, especially Oliver's list of spells as you obtain more spells going through the game. I also hate the AI settings for the party NPCs. They're just not good at all. No customization beyond three basic settings that mostly fail to do anything, one of which makes the party more likely to cast buffs on you which halts you while you're trying to move out of the way of an attack, two of which can totally exhaust MP in under a minute, and the fourth setting of literally doing nothing; more times than not, I had them set to do nothing unless I was controlling them.
Honestly, I feel like this was supposed to be a turn-based battle system originally with the whole Pokémon-esque Familiars. But at the last minute, someone was like, "Yo, what if we make it more actiony?" Then, they made it into an action RPG battle system without completely removing all the turn-based aspects like the lengthy animations during battles and the lengthy menus.
I think the major storyline boss battles would have been better if, after the first two or three bosses, MR. DRIPPY WOULD STOP INTERUPTING THE BATTLE TO SAY SOMETHING.
Ironically, despite my gripes with the battle system, my favorite side quests all required fighting a monster. Many of the side quests are repetitive and no more than slightly different iterations of the same side quest. They're fun, though, and I believe you are meant to do as many as possible when they become available because I feel like I would have been under-leveled at a few points in the story if I hadn't fought these optional battles. At any rate, anything involving pieces of the soul was grating and an utter chore (especially when it starts to require backtracking to other towns).
I don't know if I can truly recommend this, honestly. I am inclined to because I did actually enjoy the story and characters, so I shall give this a thumbs-up, However, you'd need to either really love RPG's in general to stomach the battles, be a completionist, and/or be someone like me who needs to feel she has played enough to get her money's worth. There is certainly enough to do, even post game, although it often requires grinding rare enemies with very low chances of appearing. If you're going for achievements, you can probably earn many without a guide just by being curious and exploring/using spells on everything (ya know, typical RPG stuff). There is definitely an irresistible charm to the visuals and Ghibli art style. Music is a definitely composed for a grand adventure, and the story and characters are up to Ghibli par. Tone and atmosphere are phenomenal.
It's just I don't blame anyone for putting this down simply because of the battles.
Now that I've started the second game, this brought up a memory I had repressed during my healing process from this game: I do not enjoy how you start casting a spell, consume MP, get interrupted by the enemy's attack animations, not cast your spell after, and you're still out MP and waiting on a cooldown.
Honestly, this whole game would have been better as a visual novel instead of an RPG. The more I think about this since my initial review, the more I say I'd recommend this game only if it's on sale for more than 50%; that way, you didn't lose too much if you give up on this game.

I'm a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, so back in 2013 when I first heard about their contribution to this game, I bought the physical wizards companion (a guide with artwork) and borrowed a friends play station. But, after my first albeit wonderful playthrough, I realized the ultimate playthrough of this game "had" to be to sharing it with my own child; and.. well.. I didn't have one. ..ok.. no problem... "Time breach," now it's 2025, my daughter is 10 and enjoying the post game. Hahaha.. yeah.. GREAT GAME!

I might just be lathered in nostalgia playing this game. But the story of this game has always stuck in me, this is one of those games I come back to when ♥♥♥♥ gets tough, and as many times as I beat it, ♥♥♥♥ around in the casino, play with the cauldron genie it never gets old for me. Is the fighting a little clunky... I do have to agree, but I kind of enjoy the constant multitasking it takes. It gives the game, the fights a sense of urgency. The pacing is slow, you have to take your time. You have to be strategic with your familiars, your items, your armor, your levels, your timing. Its a game you take your time with. you might find this boring or frustrating and that's chill. However for me this is a game that transports you a lot of grinding is involved but its in some of the prettiest settings ever! with a cool ass story waiting for you.