I’m probably about an hour into Ni no Kuni, which I bought on sale years back on steam, but so far I feel a bit underwhelmed compared to the hype.
I will say that my biggest complaint is really around the writing and the snails paced intro. Even if you accept the beginning as being a “Ghibli Movie” preface to a JRPG, I actually feel the direction and story telling is much worse than your average Ghibli production.
I’m just past talking to the old tree, and completed what is likely the first dungeon. So far, the battle system is ok but a little bit drab. I feel like the mechanics would have to pick up to make me enjoy the game more.
Should I give it more time? Are there eventually more choices in the battle system or minion growth? Will there be any stand out characters that might alter how I feel about the writing?
I’m really not sure who the game was meant for. I played it to see if it would be a good game to play with my daughter. It’s really very childish in a lot of ways and it seemed like something she’d love but I quickly realized that the mechanics of the game, the grinding required, and overall the difficulty without a guide meant that this game was not meant for children. So in the end it seems to be a game for adults or at least veterans of turn based open world jrpg games that want to feel like a child. And overall it’s not for me or my daughter.
The soundtrack is great however.