Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was a daring but flawed send off to the PlayStation 3.

With strong characters, gorgeous art direction and unique combat mechanics that didn’t always come together, it’s remained one of the most popular games on Sony’s last-gen console. Ni No Kuni II greatly expands almost every aspect from the previous game and then adds more and more on top. Nevertheless, it remains an accessible, deep RPG that moves the genre forward, and provides some lessons on how JRPGs can improve in the future.

Ni No Kuni II ditches the cast of the first game, and goes with King Evan, a young King who in the early stages of the game is deposed in a bloody coup. With the help of the President of the United States (seriously) who has been mysteriously transported into his world, Evan must build a new kingdom and confront the mice who stole his throne (see, Evan is a cat so the mice are bad – yes this definitely is a JRPG).

Evan and his supporting cast aren’t as well developed or memorable as in the first game. King Evan is a goody two shoes who never really develops in the same way the Oliver did in the original game, despite the life changing events that take place to them both. Like in so many video games of all stripes I felt like I was responding to events rather than shaping them myself, but that’s so common its a cliche now, and I can’t really mark Ni No Kuni II down in that regard.

Ni No Kuni II retains the same anime, Studio Ghibli-inspired aesthetic that was such a trademark of the first game. There are, however no animation scenes like in the original games. Competent in-engine cutscenes instead take their place, and in all fairness they look great. The power of current-gen consoles and modern games really have started to nail a complete anime look, DragonBall FighterZ being another key example. But nothing compares to the work of Studio Ghibli itself, and while it is understandable why animation is missing from Ni No Kuni II, its absence is missed, and will be at least for those who played the first game. Players new to the franchise (likely many of those purchasing the game) won’t even notice that its gone.

Beyond the graphics, there are three main additions or improvements to Ni No Kuni II from the first game. They vastly increase the scope of Ni No Kuni II, to make it a much larger, and longer game than the first, or many other games in this genre.

The first addition is town-building, which personally I’m always a sucker for. Seeing a town, kingdom or city grow and people come to live in it as you meander your way through your journey provides tangible evidence of your progress through your game.

Ni No Kuni II’s kingdom building gives me the same kick, though it was surprisingly deeper (and more complicated) than I was expecting.

You can build new facilities, assign staff with particular specialities to them and undertake research to improve your combat and non-combat abilities. It is well integrated into the narrative, and fits in with the idea of Evan establishing a new kingdom following his coup de etat. It’s always pleasing to see a thriving kingdom filled with minions toiling away, and while it did feel a bit superfluous to the main game, it’s a competent execution of town-building.

The second improvement is one of the biggest changes to the whole game, and that’s the combat.

Ni No Kuni II now features time action combat where you can dodge, make strong and light attacks, cast spells and unleash special abilities.

Your Higgeldies, pokemon type helpers that play a key part in the narrative give you some “super” moves that can change the tide of a tight battle. It feels a bit like Kingdom Hearts, and was actually quite good. However I never really felt like I was taking full advantage of the depth of combat, and that’s because Ni No Kuni II is really a pretty easy game. I was routinely beating higher-level enemies without much thought. It’s only certain bosses and in the Persona-like optional dungeons that I felt challenged. I do wish there were a “difficult” mode, and maybe it can be added in a future update so players can really get the most out of the improved and revamped combat systems.

When I sat down to play Ni No Kuni II at PAX Australia last year, I was surprised to see that I wasn’t playing the game I thought I was. Instead of the usual third-person romp through a fantasy world, I was on a battlefield controlling different mobs of fighters. I was introduced to a weapon triangle, a la Fire Emblem, and it was all a bit bewildering. This is the third and final major change to Ni No Kuni II and all these elements from the demo at PAX Australia are in the final game. Field combat provides a very different experience from the rest of the game, and in the end I felt that this mode was fairly surplus to the game’s core offering, but I guess it’s there if you are interested in it.

I tested the PC version through Steam, and the game ran well on both my mid-end and higher-end PCs. My GTX 970 ran the game at nearly max settings at 1080p and my GTX 1070 had no issues with 1440p at top settings. I did find some strange slowdown in the first few minutes of loading up the game, but that disappeared after a short while, and may the slowdown be addressed in a patch.

As in many JRPGs, it does take a number of hours to really get into the game. But unlike other JRPGs, it doesn’t feel like you’re doing busy work to get to the real meat of the experience. Instead it’s just playing the game, and new modes and layers of complexity are introduced in a logical and well-paced order. This is something many RPGs get wrong, so it was nice to see the ramp up being so thoughtfully considered.

In the end, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a serviceable sequel that offers much more that the original game but in the end delivers less.

It is much larger, with kingdom building, extra dungeons, field battles and a whole lot more to dig in to. But it fundamentally lacks some of the charm and character development of the original game. Don’t get me wrong, the art direction, the soundtrack and the story are all excellent. This is a solid game that stands above and apart from other games in its genre. It corrects many of the flaws of its predecessor but somehow lacks some of its charms. It’s one of the best JRPGs so far this year, and with expanded scope on the PC as well as the PS4, should appeal to audiences far and wide.

The post Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The first official day of E3 saw us spend the majority of our time at the main Expo Hall, situated at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, where most of the hands-on sessions, meetings and interviews with video game developers and publishers were being held.

We had the opportunity to get a one on one look as well as some hands-on time with upcoming games such as Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Strange Brigade, Rogue Trooper: Redux, Project Cars 2, Dragonball Z Fighter and Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom.

Our Uncharted: The Lost Legacy session was more of a guided hands-on or more of a private showing of the initial chapter of the game. We met the game’s writer, Josh Scherr, who walked us through the game and provided us with some little insights into the history of the title.

Uncharted – The Lost Legacy

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy follows Chloe Frazer, the secondary character in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Nadine Ross, as they travel through the south-west of India.

With such a setting, the game’s story stems from Hinduism and the old Indian culture, many aspects of which are still prevalent today. In order to ensure content was as accurate as possible and respectable to the culture and religion, Naughty Dog consulted with a religious expert at a University.

The graphics are certainly the standout aspect of the game, with crisp visuals and an entirely realistic character design. From what we were shown, the game appears to handle really well and is smooth, much like many of the other Uncharted games.

One of the best aspects of the game is currently the way in which Chloe is portrayed.  Her character does handle action superbly, is able to hold her own as well as Nathan Drake could, and it’s nice to see a strong, female character take the lead. Uncharted: The Lost  Legacy  is scheduled to release August the 22nd this year.

Strange Brigade – Rebellion Games

Our next hands on experience was with UK studio, Rebellion Games, who are known for the Sniper Elite games. The studio’s presence at E3 was to show off two very fun and addictive, yet very different titles, Strange Brigade, a third person, co-op multiplayer, adventure-shooter, and Rogue Trooper: Redux, a remastered version of the old school Rogue Trooper game, which is based off the 2000 AD comics of the same name.

Strange Brigade was very much like an Indiana Jones game with hordes of zombie enemies, which are made up mostly of Egyptian mummies. The 1940’s style narration is refreshing and adds character as well as unique personality to the game. The gameplay feels similar to the Zombie Mode in the Call of Duty Black Ops series, with waves of enemies attacking at every turn. With four characters to select from, there is variety in gameplay as each character possesses their own unique abilities and base load outs. The game plays well and appears to be one that could provide hours of endless fun, however the controls do take some getting used to if playing for the first time. Regardless, fans of shooters and adventure games will definitely enjoy Strange Brigade, which currently does not have a release date set.

Rogue Trooper: Redux

The second game, Rogue Trooper: Redux, was a rather interesting one. A remaster of the original 2006 single-player, third person shooter, the game follows the genetically engineered super soldier, Rogue, and his sentinel helmet, backpack and rifle. As one of the last of his squadron to remain alive, Rogue battles enemies with the help of his talking equipment. The concept is certainly intriguing and one which fans of the original game will enjoy. Rogue Trooper: Redux will be available across multiple platforms, including the Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and PC, to allow for a broad range of gamers to enjoy the game.

After three very solid games, we were thrilled to have gotten a chance to take a look at the upcoming Bandai Namco titles, Project Cars 2, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom and Dragonball Z Fighter.

Project Cars 2

Project Cars 2, the second iteration of the popular racing title, is set to release on 22 September. Project Cars boasts the largest track roster of any console racing game and was one of the first to include dynamic weather. Project Cars 2 includes cars from every iconic brand, which can be played right from the get go, without the need to grind for cash or to unlock cars. It also now includes seasonal changes as well as improved localised weather.

The overall highlight of Project Cars 2 is its focus on providing absolute realism, with extremely realistic tracks, multi-class racing, which allows both fast and slower cars to race at the same time, having a real driver’s career and providing an experience across the full spectrum of car racing.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is an interesting title. Based on the similar art style of Studio Ghibli animation, the game tells the tale of a young King who doesn’t quite know how to be a leader. With a coup on the horizon, the King must work together with those around him to gain experience to crush the coup and lead his people. The major difference in this game compared to the previous iteration is that it now includes a new kingdom mode and includes real time combat as opposed to the traditional turn based style.

Dragonball Z Fighter was the big surprise of the year from Bandai Namco, and one that’s been extremely well received. The game illustrates the perfect fusion between the Dragoball universe and Arc System Works and proof of this is in the graphical quality of the game, with the extreme animation used. The game looks great and runs like a charm at 1080p and at a constant 60fps. One of the great aspects of this new fighting game, which includes 3 v 3 gameplay, is that each character is unique and has their own move and skills set.

With most of the titles we experienced releasing in 2017 and 2018 we are not only intrigued to see their development up until their respective release dates but also looking forward to playing them on our PlayStation 4’s, Xbox Ones and PC!

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