Ni no Kuni takes some of the best parts of the JRPGs of old and puts them into a modern context with a gorgeous world, lively characters, and active combat. But for every item that the game does well, I feel obligated to put a caveat on it. The result is a game that's great to dive into for JRPG fans both current and lapsed, with enough shortcomings to keep it from matching up against the pantheon of great games from the past. And it keeps enough tropes of the genre that it's hard to recommend to those who didn't love a Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior Quest at some point in their life.
To start, the game is absolutely stunning from top to bottom. The overworld and individual areas are amazing to take in. The animated sequences, though sadly far and few between, also show Studio Ghibli's great work. But with one crazy exception, most the areas are fairly standard for the genre, and all are relatively small in scope. Between the main story and the sidequests, you'll become very familiar with running down the same streets, with even the major cities only a couple sidewalks in length. Though travelling around the open world with Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack in the background remains a delight throughout.
The great design continues for the characters and enemies, which are all interesting and well-animated. I never got tired of seeing young wizard Oliver, with his cape flapping and magic book in hand, and the bestiary was fun to flip through just to see the enemy variety and amazing puns. Containing that bestiary, the most amazing part of the game is Oliver's wizarding book that he acquires early on and fills in throughout the game. It has details on all the spells, items, and places, and you'll even find little game-relevant secrets, story clues, or easter eggs, including an ancient language to translate. None of it's essential, but the little details and short stories making up the world's mythology bring the world to life, and make me wish I had pre-ordered the special edition.
However, the actual game story fails to live up on the promise found in the Wizard's Companion. Even if slowly paced, the tragic opening with Oliver and the Lord High Lord of the Fairies Mr. Drippy drew me in as we moved from Motorville to the other world. But then they quickly lost me. The story meanders its way through the game and then completely falls apart through the end. Motivations are unclear and the plot twists degrade the story. What starts out as an intensely personal quest for Oliver becomes at times overly simplistic, convoluted, and cliched, in a way you wouldn't expect from Studio Ghibli, but is all too common with bad JRPG stories. Pacing is also an issue, with your main characters not finding out about the White Witch and her Wrath until the final hours, making her almost an afterthought to the game. It's also hurt by not being fully voiced, often punctuating a few spoken lines with tons of expository text. Major scenes with primary, otherwise-voiced characters often lacked for audio. The characters stayed great, I loved learning about the world, and I rooted for plucky Oliver, but I completely lost interest in the overall story.
As with most other JRPGs, the meat of the game is the combat, character customization, and quests. All are in parts great. You'll control one character and give them instructions to carry out in real time, though you can jump to another party member at any point. Each character will also have a set of up to three familiars, essentially collectible Pokemon that can be equipped with their own set of skills and items, be stuffed full of treats to buff their stats, have their own weaknesses and strengths, and gain levels and evolve. The result is a surprising amount of depth, mostly in how you outfit your characters and their familiars. Having all equipped familiars gain experience also encourages you to try out or build up new familiars out without much risk, though you'll probably find some reliable heavy hitters.
But the actual combat itself is hamstrung by bad AI. You can try to work around it by giving your teammates familiars with well-defined roles, but you'll still find a low defense, magic-heavy familiar slapping ineffectually at close range, or Oliver interrupting your attempt to capture a creature by blasting it with lightning. I controlled Oliver almost the entire game and loved swapping in and out his familiars depending on need, but my companions seemed to act almost at random with wasted MP and baffling decisions throughout. The game begs for a more in-depth tactics system. The boss battles in particular can be frantic management of healing, defense, and attacks. Pulling it off feels satisfying when you barely scrape by, but keeping everyone alive and fighting can feel a few steps above of what the system is capable of at times, and I had a few tougher battles that ended up as Oliver against the world as my companions lay dead.
The story itself will take around 40 hours, taking you all over the world and back home to Motorville several times, but the game is also stuffed to the gills with optional content, many of it giving you valuable items, extra spells, alchemy formulas, and merit badges that you can trade for perks. Your primary side action is curing victims of the evil wizard Shadar who've had part of the heart broken. While that might sound interesting, in practice its just talking to two highlighted people on the minimap to transfer heart pieces from one to another, while wondering what Shadar the Executor had against this guy who wants the courage to propose to his girlfriend.
There are some more interesting quests, with one having you scour the Wizard's Companion for answers to riddles, but they're the exceptions. Despite this, I was compelled to fill out my wizarding manual, collect all the hidden treasures, and do most of the sidequests. Partially for the rewards, partially for the well-written context to the world, and partially out of completionist desire. I wasn't afflicted with a "catch-em-all" fever for the familiars, but I did tame and train up a fair amount to see what they had to offer. The content stood up to most other games, and can certainly occupy your time if you want to spend over 100 hours getting everything, but the more interesting ventures often had me wishing there were fewer filler fetch quests.
Despite the complaints, I had a great time playing through the game. The high points of JRPGs of old are there, most with modern twists that make the game more playable. It's a very slow burn to start, but striking out on a ship with the ability to explore anywhere on the map, finding hidden treasures or bonuses, and building up your party through leveling and equipment reminded me why I love this genre. And it's highlighted by amazing visuals, music, and characters. Take out the AI frustration and the lacking story told with the great characters and world, and this could compare with the classics. As is, it's a welcome trip back into the whimsical world of Japanese roleplaying.