Current Events > I'm having a pretty good time with Ni no Kuni 2. *spoilers, probably*

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yes, the random battles are pretty darn easy, but I feel like every effort was taken to maximise player engagement with the world and its characters. The random enemies are barely a pothole, which allows you to explore the lush environments at your leisure. This is a game that takes full advantage of the hardware, because the overworld looks gorgeous. I can't remember the last time an RPG's overworld made me stop, pause, and spin the camera around to take in the vistas. The story just started to get going as well, and looks to be a deeper endeavour than I expected. I'm also having a good time recruiting townsfolk for my kingdom. I get a deep satisfaction out of kingdom building in RPGs (Suikoden, Neverwinter Nights 2, etc.), so this ticks a big box for me.

All in all, the game is far more rewarding than I expected (PUNS BECAUSE LOOT SPAM IS REAL). The game kind of reminds me of a _much_ better Rogue Galaxy, which was another Level 5 game.
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So like, in the kingdom building, do you place buildings or anything?
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There are predetermined plots that contain predetermined buildings. You can't really pick and choose what you want to place where, but the real customization comes in prioritizing what research developments you focus on first. However, I haven't upgraded my kingdom beyond the first level, so I don't know if any of this changes or stays the same.
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The actual board is filled with people disappointed by it. I read a topic where a shitload were agreeing about how it was disappointing which is surprising. Usually those topics are hit with a ton of "you're just trolling". Makes me think their complaints are legit

Alucard188 posted...

There are predetermined plots that contain predetermined buildings. You can't really pick and choose what you want to place where, but the real customization comes in prioritizing what research developments you focus on first. However, I haven't upgraded my kingdom beyond the first level, so I don't know if any of this changes or stays the same.

And what kind of development can you research? I remember playing Fable 2 and spending all of my time buying buildings, upgrading them and renting them out.
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I'm glad to hear a lot of praise for this title because I really wanted to like the original but it was fucking shit

still waiting for a sale or discount

It's not bad. The first one was my favourite PS3 game. Period. I didn't expect this to be as good and actually waited a few days after release because of all the negativity but opted to give it a chance.... Meh. The first few hours are okay as things get set up, but it soon feels extremely basic and bland in terms of story and characters. It has about as much depth as an NES Final Fantasy in that regard.

The combat is extremely easy, but as the side quests are 100% "fetch" or "kill the monster" types, I've largely bypassed them and only partook to bring more people into the kingdom so I could upgrade it. My party is, on average, about 12 levels below what the enemies are because of rushing through (and I say "rushing," but my only alternative is to grind via battles or generic side quests, which is boring). Being so under-levelled this much has made some encounters very challenging, but with patience even the bosses aren't that big of a deal.

It feels like half the people and half the money were used compared to the original. It's not bad or anything, it's just nothing special. Literally everything is worse this time around, except maybe the graphics, which are about the same. I really wanted to love it, but I'm in chapter 8 (of 9) and after 20~ hours, it's not going to turn things around. At this point, I just want to get it over with so I can take it back within my "satisfaction guarantee" period.
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is it way better than Ni No Kuni 1?

that game fell off after the 4th part of the game (can't remember if the game had chapters)

Milkman5 posted...

is it way better than Ni No Kuni 1?

that game fell off after the 4th part of the game (can't remember if the game had chapters)

No, it's far worse. In terms of story, if Ni no Kuni 1's story is Spirited Away or Lord of the Rings, Ni no Kuni 2's is Destiny's pre-Taken King. There's literally no plot beyond "build your kingdom, unite the land, fight the main bad guy." You could fit the whole explanation on a post-it note. As I said above, it's about as involved as an NES Final Fantasy. I'm not exaggerating.
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y i k e s