Disappointingly, Ni No Kuni's fantastical setting and story are remarkably uninspired and derivative, both visually and conceptually, with only a few imaginative locations and curious ideas; it is only thanks to its grandiose, sweeping soundtrack and delightful worldbuilding elements that its world yields some wonder and whimsy. It isn't particularly fun to explore its basic level design either, but the peculiar combat system proves to be quite enjoyable as it blends real-time multitask management and stratified, strategic planning to craft a fairly unique, rewarding challenge.

I wanted to like this game a lot more than I did. Everything that Studio Ghibli touched: the animation, the music, and the overall vibe, I loved. They really don't miss, and it is what pushed me through the entire experience. Unfortunately, I don't think they made the right partner in level 5 to make a great JRPG.

I'll start with the positive. I really like the side quest design, with the stamps giving you the feeling of constant progression. I also thought the wizard's companion and the amount that you can dig into the world was interesting. Unfortunately, I don't have much positive to say for the rest of the actual game part of this game.

It's extremely handhold-y, taking away a lot of the freedom in exploration (the immediate example that comes to mind is that you can't use a spell without talking to the person first and Mr. Drippy telling you to use a spell, even when you know what to do). I'm not against structure, but I felt like I was being tutorialized through the end of the game in the exploration.

And finally, the absolute back breaker here is the combat. For one thing, it's just not very satisfying. It ranges from completely horrible to just passable. At best, you're just going through the motions, occasionally clicking all out defense of offense and using an item or spell. At worst, you're dealing with the worst partner AI I have ever seen in a game (no exaggeration) and then watching your character get interrupted as an item or spell takes 10 seconds to go into effect. I really can't emphasize enough how bad the AI is and how much it hurts the experience. They will use all their MP immediately when they don't need it and then insist on using their least powerful familiar to attack. It really stains the experience in my mind.

Luckily, the art, music, and atmosphere do a lot to uphold the entire experience. I don't think the narrative was as well executed as it could be with such a great setup, but it was still good overall. When the combat is passable, it's a fun time.

A beautiful and fun game that I can even say was the basis for Yo-kai Watch, which is my favorite jrpg. However, despite the beautiful graphics, the monster tame of this game is terrible, in addition to being forced to manage 9 monsters, you still have to recruit them with the prehistoric system of Dragon Quest V, and when you recruit or evolve them, they they return to level 1. yokai watch also uses this method and I hate it in the franchise, but they managed to make recruiting much easier and they also made the grind easier. The AI in this game is horrible. A shame, because the game is really beautiful, it has a super deep worldbuild.

The following was written by me for a GOTY voting thread back in 2013...

Proof that a JRPG with a sizeable budget can make the transition to high-definition without being stripped of the known hallmarks that make it what it is. Towns! An overworld! Non-linearity! Ni no Kuni plays in a dependable, familiar fashion, but comes equipped with dazzling cel-shaded graphics, Joe Hisaishi's quintessential orchestration and the novelty of playing an interactive Studio Ghibli film, all of which rises it above the competition in its respective genre. Magical, heart-warming stuff.

Creo que pocos juegos me producen sentimientos tan contradictorios como este. Primero lo primero. Es un juego que a nivel artístico, musical y de diseño de personajes es una auténtica pasada, Se nota la mano de Ghibli desde el minuto 1, hasta el mismo final, y Joe Hisaishi no decepciona, como siempre. El mundo también está construido muy bien, quedándote claro como va todo, pero dejándote sorpresitas para ir descubriendo. El sistema de combate tiene muchísimo potencial, pero aquí me temo que tengo que empezar a meterme en lo malo.

El combate normalmente se basa en darle a atacar como un loco, esquivar aquellos enemigos que atacan cuerpo a cuerpo, y protegerte a veces de ataques fuertes. Y ya. Se introducen un montón de mecánicas en el combate (que si evoluciones, que si cambiar de personaje y un millón más) que nunca se llegan a aprovechar del todo, siendo bastante repetitivo. La historia es buena aunque no sea nada del otro mundo, pero es que no lo pretende. Quiere ser una historia infantil con algo de trasfondo y lo consigue, hasta ahí 0 pegas. Ahora, cuándo hay bosses que literalmente se cargan plot points solo por el mero hecho de que esto es un RPG y debe haber muchos bosses... Duele.

Tienes a tu disposición muchísimas misiones, pero la mayoría consisten o en cazar un bicho, o en acertarte a una persona con un "objeto" concreto (no diré más por spoilers). Solo algunas tienen un poco de enjundia, como hacerte evolucionar a ciertos bichos, pero esto al final, no es más que farmeo, cosa que por suerte, no te obligan a lo largo del juego, aunque puedas hacerlo si quieres.

Pero creo que si algo me ha pesado son los paseitos. Sobre todo al principio, antes de empezar a desbloquear formas de viaje rápido, vas a andar MUCHO. Después también, pero algo menos. Y no creas que andas rápido o algo, no, vas bastante lento, sobre todo por el mundo fuera de las ciudades (y dentro también, que cojones). Te da la impresión todo el tiempo de que es un relleno totalmente innecesario andar el mismo minuto de A a B y volver varias veces para hacer cualquier misión. El apodo de "recadero" aquí se aplica al 100%.

Y aun con todo, lo puedo recomendar. Si, los paseos constantes son pesaos, el combate podría haberse dado mucho mejor con las mismas ideas, y las evoluciones de tus "pokemon" podrían cambiar algo aparte del color y dos tonterías; pero aun con todo, pocos RPG de corte japonés se hacen hoy día de esta calidad. Sobre todo fuera de los clásicos. Ideal para que un pequeño lo juegue, aunque un adulto que aguante esas cosillas también lo puede disfrutar.