Ni no Kuni adds more depth to its combat by including commands very similar to simplistic versions of Final Fantasy XII‘s Gambits. Individual characters can have preset commands such as keeping the party healed to help steer the direction of battle, but descriptions are kept general — most any player willing to invest the time into the game could navigate the options quite easily. Players even have the option of choosing more general gambit-style “All Out Attack” (Triangle) or “All Out Defense” (Square) attack strategies to help them out, too.
Ni no Kuni manages to have some of the complexity that some gamers have come to expect from RPGs, but manages to keep things simple enough and familiar enough that anyone who wants to learn the game should be able to, especially if they like RPGs or even have just played games similar to Pokémon. The combat is a mixture of classic RPG gameplay and accessibility that will let newer players enjoy themselves, while satisfying players who are looking for a JRPG with a quality battle system.
Combat certainly isn’t Ni no Kuni‘s only strength, as the game brings out Ghibli’s style wonderfully. The game has plenty of the heart, adventurous spirit, and characters that one would expect to see from their films. Everything from art style to dialogue to cutscenes reflects Ghibli’s form. Furthermore, while the graphics engine has already received plenty of publicity, it’s absolutely worthy of all of it — it’s even better looking in motion than high-resolution trailers could even convey.
Ni no Kuni‘s international release has been long anticipated by its base and given how much it has to offer by way of presentation and gameplay mechanics, that anticipation is most definitely warranted. Just receiving Ni no Kuni on its own would be worth the wait, but Namco Bandai has also confirmed that all post-launch DLC for the game from the All-in-One Edition (minus the GREE offerings) will be on-disc as well, with minor differences for the North American release, plus some additions. The full Ni no Kuni experience appears is coming stateside and gamers who enjoy RPGs and/or the work of Studio Ghibli should be very excited for the game’s release in 2013.
