Ni No Kuni

[empika]

pretty much loving this game. soo charming and beautiful and definitely pulling on those old ps1/2 nostalgia heartstrings!

Only annoying things are that the AI in battle sucks... either that or i'm doing something wrong. most boss battles i've ended up finishing up with my main guy as my other two party members just die (even though they are both on 'keep us healthy'.

Also, the economy seems nuts, stuff is just super expensive, so I never have enough money to buy ether/phoenix down and upgrade weapons/armour without massive amount of grinding!

Also... too many mans to equip and level up!!!

Still, finding myself running home from work to play more every day, so it must be doing something right

[juv3nal]

pretty much loving this game. soo charming and beautiful and definitely pulling on those old ps1/2 nostalgia heartstrings!

Only annoying things are that the AI in battle sucks... either that or i'm doing something wrong. most boss battles i've ended up finishing up with my main guy as my other two party members just die (even though they are both on 'keep us healthy'.

Also, the economy seems nuts, stuff is just super expensive, so I never have enough money to buy ether/phoenix down and upgrade weapons/armour without massive amount of grinding!

Also... too many mans to equip and level up!!!

Still, finding myself running home from work to play more every day, so it must be doing something right

The AI doesn't really improve although you do get the option to tell everyone to attack or defend later on. Stuff is not that expensive if you just focus on keeping your people plus 1 familiar per person kitted out. Just give the rest hand-me-downs. It's only when you start trying to kit everyone out that it's really bad.

[antikewl]

I'm really enjoying this game so far. I'm only a few hours in though.

There is just one thing though… and I don't know whether this is because of the delightful music, the glacial pace of the story, newfound narcolepsy, or something else… I can only seem to play for about 45 minutes before I star nodding off! I'm forever finding myself sitting there, controller in hand, almost asleep!

I don't think this has happened to me with a video game before. Anyone else? :/

[juv3nal]

I don't think this has happened to me with a video game before. Anyone else? :/

It'll happen to me if I had too many carbs for dinner and I'm just grinding for levels, but I haven't had that problem when actually moving through story beats. Most notably, I feel compelled to grind for a bit right after I evolve a familiar (for those who don't have the game: the pokemans evolve into more powerful forms, but their level resets to 1 when this happens).

[Sno]

Am i the only one that thinks the game is actually kind of ugly? I'm actually legitimately curious. I don't think it pulls off the look it wants to have, It's a little too shiny and a little too blocky.

Jumping back and forth between the Ghibli-animated scenes, at the very least, is not doing it any favors.

[Larsen B]

It's not objectively ugly but the Ghibli stuff just illustrates how far graphics still could go in games. To be able to play something with that quality of animation would be unreal.

[juv3nal]

Am i the only one that thinks the game is actually kind of ugly? I'm actually legitimately curious. I don't think it pulls off the look it wants to have, It's a little too shiny and a little too blocky.

Jumping back and forth between the Ghibli-animated scenes, at the very least, is not doing it any favors.

I don't think it's ugly, but the characters & character animation certainly suffer by comparison to the animated sequences. I do think the settings/locations/backgrounds hold up ok though.

[Larsen B]

At this rate I'll probably max out everyone's levels before I tame a Green Buncher for an errand.

EDIT: Huh. I tamed the next one I fought after posting!

[antikewl]

The switch between Ghibli cut scenes (few and far between, sadly), in-game animated conversation with audio, and the traditional "characters stand completely rigid without audio while you read text" JRPG bits are a little jarring at first but it just "feels Japanese" and I'm OK with that.

Also the in-game animated stuff is still pretty nicely done though IMO and, as you say, the backgrounds are gorgeous.

[empika]

After about 15-20 hours, all my previous concerns were nullified. Th AI can actually stay alive in battle and do stuff and the economy aint to bad (thanks for the handmedown tip juv3nal!)

Still loving it

[empika]

Also, good tip is to hit R3 and look about in person when you see lovely stuff

[antikewl]

Hah. Yeah, I've noticed you've been playing it pretty much non-stop since release.

Also, good tip is to hit R3 and look about in person when you see lovely stuff

Oh, wow. I did not know you could do that!

[melmer]

I'm starting this game right now.

Instillation will take ten minutes...

I'm starting this game in about 10 mins. I am excite

[natetwoc]

Copy just came in from Amazon yesterday.  Looking forward to putting in some serious time over the long weekend.  Between playing this and watching the Persona 4 endurance run by GB I'll be getting some serious JRPG exposure after a long hiatus.

[sclpls]

I think this game is the nail in the coffin for my JRPG experiences. I'm enjoying the game overall, but it is also reminding me of a lot of game design stuff that I really dislike that come with the genre.

[melmer]

I played up until you can start doing side quests in that little village, the way they were implemented seemed so laborious and time consuming I found it a total turn off and stopped playing the game. Not just because of that, but it was the final nail for me

The game is stunningly beautiful though!

It's one of those 'if I ever broke both my legs' type of games I just can't justify the time this game takes unless I'm house bound (and probably even then I'd still feel like I could be utilising my time better)

[juv3nal]

I think this game is the nail in the coffin for my JRPG experiences. I'm enjoying the game overall, but it is also reminding me of a lot of game design stuff that I really dislike that come with the genre.

I dunno. That's sort of like saying the genre is incapable of changing while pointing at an example that isn't really trying to be innovative (well aside from presentation-wise) at all.

[Tanukitsune]

Hmm, it's only 30€ on PSN now, but after reading what people are saying in this thread I'm not so sure anymore.

 

Apart from the Persona series, Adventures to GO, Lost Odyssey, Y''s and Trails in the Sky, I haven't been able to get into any other JRPGs. Unless the pacing is Monster Hunter slow and the characters are modern Final Fantasy annoying, I think I will enjoy it?

[sclpls]

I dunno. That's sort of like saying the genre is incapable of changing while pointing at an example that isn't really trying to be innovative (well aside from presentation-wise) at all.

 

I didn't make any comments about the genre's ability to change. I've played (but never finished) other JRPGs like the Persona games and Xenoblade Chronicles that people say are innovative, and Ni No Kuni is the game I've enjoyed the most out of all of them. It doesn't change the fact that these games involve conventions that don't engage me in the same way they used to.

[juv3nal]

It doesn't change the fact that these games involve conventions that don't engage me in the same way they used to.

 

*shrug* Conventions are only convention so long as games adhere to them.