LogFAQs > #948998486

#100 Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Playstation 3, 2013)

Many of you know that I am not the biggest anime fan. But I usually make an exception for Studio Ghibli stuff, and many of the animated scenes in this game were produced there. The studio also served as an inspiration for the character and world design. Ni no Kuni is a stunningly beautiful game with a precise level of careful attention to detail. The story is heartwarming and fun, if a little disjointed at times. The game as released on PS3 is based on an original Japan-only DS game and an expansion, which results in an "Ending?" about 3/4 of the way through it, although to its credit, the game tries its best to integrate everything.

It plays kind of like Pokmon in the sense that monster collection is a major aspect of the game, but the battle system runs in real time with multiple party members. You control up to three party members, who each can fight or cast spells, or summon up to three "familiars" that are much stronger to battle in your stead. As an action RPG, you only control one character at a time, while relying on AI to help you out, with varying levels of success.

Outside of battles, you travel through the pretty overworld and well-realized towns and dungeons, and there are a decent number of things to do along the way. It ends up being a nice length, although I think the second quest is pretty forgettable. It makes my list mostly on its artistic merits, but the core gameplay is also fun, for the most part. Like many modern JRPGs, there is a grind-heavy post-game that relies on crafting things that you need to make other things that you need, but it did not take me overly long to do any of it.

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At least your mother tipped well