It seems like an era has passed since I first played Ni No Kuni: The Threat of the Ash Witch, an interesting jrpg initially released on Nintendo DS in 2010, then also made for PlayStation 3 in 2011 which version arrived in the West in January 2013.
The Level-5 title was created with the collaboration of Studio Ghibli who took care of the design of the characters and the interlude films. It is also probably why the title received so much publicity at the time. In the previous days I had the opportunity to play the remastered version for PlayStation 4. I therefore take this opportunity to express my opinion on the title in this new version.
Another world (parallel to ours)
Ni No Kuni (which literally means Another World) follows the adventures of a young boy named Oliver who lives in the quiet town of Motorville with his mother, who disappears from a heart attack. The child is depressed and his tears, falling on a puppet given to him years earlier by his mother, comes to life. The being, with a Roman dialect, reveals that his name is Lucciconio, the lord of all fairies and that there is still hope to save his mother: Oliver will have to go together with Lucciconio in his world and learn the ways of magic to defeat the evil wizard Shadar.
Thus begins a long adventure that from the point of view of the plot does not shine for originality but still manages to keep the interest alive. The characters are charismatic and integrate more than well into the narrative plot. If we add to these the excellent design of the Studio Ghibli and the fantastic interlude sequences made by hand, we can be satisfied. By the way, did you know that a film about the brand is also on the way?
A familiar as a friend (and a slightly optimized combat system)
As for the gameplay, the mechanics are basically those of a classic jrpg with the main quest alternating with secondary challenges. The fighting style is real time, with some tactical mechanics, a bit like it happens in Final Fantasy XII. Our party is made up of multiple characters each with familiars, creatures (more than 400 in all) capable of fighting that we can create, capture and evolve, just like in a famous GameFreak title.
I must admit, however, that I prefer the management of familiars to that of portable monsters: our friends can also be equipped with equipment such as swords, armor and shields. We will also have to take care of them by giving them treats to improve their skills and their affinity with the bearer.
Each familiar shares energy and magic points with the owner and is able to fight for a limited period of time, after which it is necessary to let him rest. Fortunately, we have the ability to switch up to three pets per party member.
This type of combat system is good on paper, but in fact, especially when our party starts to grow, it gets a bit chaotic. Due to the low AI we will almost always be forced to switch characters to avoid losing too many life points. Of little use is the party management screen that manages to provide poorly targeted directives.
Excluding the problems that the combat system could initially give, the game difficulty is not very high. The learning curve is well balanced even if very often (especially in the second part of the game) we are forced to stop to devote ourselves to grinding. This is because some bosses require party members and familiars with a high level. Arm yourself with patience and be prepared for somewhat repetitive gaming sessions.
The eyes of the Heart
Change rpg, change the characters but an element that always comes back are these blessed "hearts", metaphor of the character's soul. In the case of Ni No Kuni, hearts can "lose pieces" and become broken hearts. No fear, we can cure them: just take pieces of heart (which correspond to a quality such as kindness or enthusiasm) from people who are particularly rich in them. Healing broken hearts is one of the most common side-quest activities and I admit it can get repetitive in the long run.
A wonderful game world
The game world is vast and guarantees a good variety of landscapes. I have already talked about the excellent realization of the characters, thanks to the collaboration with Studio Ghibli that also in the field of scenarios he has done an excellent job. Every place, every city we visit is alive and guarantees a good number of activities to do. The hours of gameplay it will take to complete the main quest there are about forty but they become about sixty to complete it 100%.
The excellent soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi and the Roman adaptation
This magical adventure will be accompanied by the excellent soundtrack created by Joe Hisaishi, historic composer who also made the music for many Studio Ghibli films. His melodies are able to adapt to every moment of the game by giving him that fairytale and adventurous connotation. Definitely one of my favorite items.
Then there is the question of the adaptation which in general is well made but also has some defects. The name of some monsters and some locations are taken maybe a little freedom compared to the already excellent English version.
The same Roman dialect of Lucciconio (which wants to refer to the Osaka dialect in the original language) is so nice at the beginning but too accentuated in the continuation of the game. In some phases a bit delicate even out of context. In the end it is a video game, not a meme of Oznerol or Mazza Spiked (I would say mine too but I don't want to be too self-referential).
La remastered
Now let's take the “remastered” issue into consideration. Ni No Kuni lands on PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch at a price that is more reminiscent of a newly released title (especially if we are talking about the Switch version). In the PlayStation 4 versions we can play the title at 60 fps at 1440p or at 30 fps in 4k. On pc we will have no problems running everything at 60 frames in 4k. Don't expect a miraculous graphics upgrade. Removed some effects and anti-aliasing, the title is at the levels of 2011, where there were already some defects in the pop-up of the objects and slight collision bugs of the characters. Nothing serious, however, the technical quality remains more than good.
Having said that in terms of content, there is no news. Too bad, I would have liked to see an i.a. improved and a few more technical devices. The Nintendo Switch version is really excellent, which although it is locked at 30 fps and has a lower resolution, guarantees an experience technically similar to the PlayStation 3 version.
The pleasure of replaying Ni No Kuni
I said it eight years ago, I repeat it now: Ni No Kuni: Level-5's Threat of the Ashen Witch is a game to play, despite its minor flaws. A classic fairy tale, with a simple narrative, excellent characters and a fantastic artistic realization born from the collaboration with Studio Ghibli. The remastered version is a great second chance for anyone who missed this jrpg in the previous generation.
>> Read also: Ni No Kuni 2: Review
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