FIRST IMPRESSION - Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2013)

Every so often there comes along a game that seems to captivate me with its magical setting, adorable characters and heartwarming plot. Games that do this normally are some of the best ever made, and the game I'm talking about today - albeit based on a 14 hour experience of a supposedly 60 or so hour game - hits home very very well, especially for a Japanese Role Playing Game.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a game developed by Namco Bandai with animation done by the world-renowned Studio Ghibli. The basic plot is that a young boy named Oliver has lost his mother due to a heart Condition and he has to go to a magical world with a 'fairy' named Mr. Drippy to save her. Along the way he meets many magical people, visits strange and unique places and an expansive fantasy world to explore. It's safe to say that Ni no Kuni goes along the usual Studio Ghibli plot about young people and loss, but it's not necessarily the plot or characters that interest me - it's the fantastic setting. I don't think I have ever played a game with a world as expansive and as magical as this. Not even Rieze Maxia in Tales of Xillia comes close to the size and charmfullness of this games world. It's a massive open expanse filled with caves and interesting places to go, and the towns are brimming with charm, personality and character. It's probably the best setting to any RPG I have ever played.

Another strong point is how deep the actual gameplay is. Yes there's a tutorial but it's never really intrusive (apart from one point about 6-8 hours in). There's so much to do in this game it's unnatural. There's Alchemy, brewing, bounty hunts, fetch quests, catching familiars, raising familiars and battling monsters. Battling is sort of like a mixture between turn based and real time combat. You can run around the battlefield in real time but you have to pick commands from the menu. It's a very strategic system since you have to chose what familiars are best for each battle and monster.

Finally, the presentation of Ni no Kuni is again fantastic. The animation done by Studio Ghibli is top notch as expected of them and the in game graphics look really nice and unique. The world looks very well done and again, each area is different to the last in terms of personality and looks. On a musical front, Joe Hisashi's compositions are a joy to the ears. The overworld theme and PS3 battle theme (The DS version has a different one for some reason) are quite spectacular.