➤ The review of Ni no Kuni II: The Destiny of a Kingdom 🎮

Much water has passed under the bridge since the announcement of Ni No Kuni II. After a long development, the exit of Studio Ghibli (but not of its main artists) and about a year behind the schedule, the new Level 5 JRPG finally arrives on the market. We have played it thoroughly and we know that as always you will have already gone to have a look at the vote. Never like this time we ask you to give us the opportunity to really explain what we think about it. That the score is lower than the original does not necessarily mean that the title is less deserving. There are moments in which it is appropriate to collect thoughts and decide whether to move along the line of consistency with what has already been proposed in past years, or to make a judgment based on the needs of the current market. What is certain is that, after spending more than sixty hours on the game in the last week, you can sleep peacefully: Ni No Kuni II, just like the first chapter, is a JRPG with all the trimmings. Of those that make you return the joy of getting lost in this genre, but which lives off the same slips as the first, filing on some elements and losing something on others. Overall it remains a wonderful job, which now is the time to dissect.

I reign who reigns you

For anyone who has lived on Mars in the past few months, have a good time on the red planet; for all the others it will now be clear how Ni No Kuni, as it happens for other JRPG series, uses the high-sounding name that it has conquered over the years to baste a completely new story for each chapter, set in a totally new universe. So forget the witch of the first, the peaceful initial village, our child protagonist and the hateful little families. The whole is replaced by a world in which there is a very fragile peace between the five main kingdoms that govern it. The title of the game itself: "The destiny of a kingdom", is a more than unequivocal signal to understand how everything revolves around the geopolitical structure of the world in which we find ourselves. After an extremely cryptic opening scene that seems to closely remind us of the threats looming over our real world, we find ourselves catapulted into the kingdom of Gatmandù, where Evan (son of the recently murdered King Leopold) is forced to flee in order not to be the victim of the blow of state issued by the faithful advisor of his beloved father. With this rather unexpected premise for a JRPG that would seem to focus on extremely lighter topics, a long and substantial campaign opens up. We cannot hide that, in some situations, we have perceived the desire of Level 5 to stretch the stock a little too much, probably to avoid ending up with a main quest considered too short; but it still has to be said that when the plot works, it does it beautifully. The search for the memory of his father and the determination to unite the whole world under a single aegis is masterfully carried out, with the help of the genius of the artists who made each of the elements on the screen alive. If we combine this with the great freedom that the "multi-kingdom" approach has allowed in terms of themes, which range from love to friendship, from fidelity to betrayal, it is obvious how the plot of Ni No Kuni II can still be praised as a whole, net of some hardly understandable choices and a final twist (before the one after the credits), which in reality definitely leaves the time it finds. Certainly forget the plot of a Kingdom Hearts but, apart from some inconsistencies, we are sure that you will enjoy the journey that Ni No Kuni II will have to offer you, at least as much as we did.

The review of Ni no Kuni II: The Destiny of a Kingdom

Shifts are not for me

There was a time when JRPG was synonymous with turn-based combat, tactics, elaborate thoughts and lots (lots ... lots) of pauses. Over time the market has evolved and with it the software houses have tried to keep up with the times. Level 5 has always been one of the studios that most tried to vary their game systems and with the first Ni No Kuni I had fielded a hybrid that, to be honest, did not even work much: the combat system was dull and soon it boiled down to a few simple options. The new chapter of the series abandons any strategic ambition to move to pure action. The dual nature of the title, devoted to the present but with flashes of an exploration system reminiscent of Final Fantasy VIII, means that the nostalgia for the past blends perfectly with the freshness of an immediate but rather fun combat system. Therefore, if the dungeons and cities are reproduced with the unmistakable trait of the Ghibli studio, the open map is transformed into a super deformed world made of landscapes reproduced on an extremely reduced scale compared to the characters and monsters that populate it. While in the first case the clashes are immediate and are activated in the vicinity of the enemies themselves, which are all already visible on the map, when you are in the open field it will be enough to touch a single opponent to break the action and find yourself on a battle scenario. full of the most varied types of monsters. Thanks to a truly immediate and well thought out fast travel system, and to near-nonexistent loading, Level 5's work on eliminating downtime is absolutely commendable.

Each fight is based on a few simple actions, which however can give more than one satisfaction. As happens in a classic action, there are two keys assigned to standard and heavy attacks, with which it becomes easier to stun your opponent. The continuous or alternating pressure of these two keys allows the concatenation of combos and a constant increase in damage inflicted on your enemies. With the hoop it is possible to jump (and also attack while jumping), while with the lats you can roll, parry and launch magical attacks. The latter are of two different types: the standard ones are nothing more than the replacement of ranged attacks, while by pressing R2 and one of the four frontal ones, it is possible to cast a spell among those equipped (there are many, with their own variants and all individually potential in the appropriate emporium). To conclude the roundup of options remains the X, entrusted to the interaction with the Cioffi, small sprites who largely replace the familiars of the first title but which, fortunately, require much less attention and mainly act as support in battle, through actions and special abilities, as well as the activation of some elemental parameters to attacks. We are talking about a hundred different creatures, all of which can be enlisted and upgraded for several times. As for the equipment, each of the six heroes (the battle party is always made up of the three chosen by you) can count on pieces of armor, accessories and four active weapons: of these, three will be melee ones and one for attacks at a distance. Each time you land a hit, a percentage increases the power of your weapon which, once reached 100%, allows you to cast stronger spells, and then be automatically changed with one of the other equipped ones. However, we cannot exempt ourselves from reporting what is the main problem of the title, which partly afflicted even the first: the difficulty. Ni No Kuni II is a simple game, sometimes almost frustrating as it is problematic to be able to lose consciousness. Suffice it to say that throughout our run, we weren't able to see a single game over screen despite the final boss being 17 levels higher than ours. The positive choice of inserting a limit to consumable items for each single fight is not enough, and no matter how fun it is, you will hardly be able to find an adequately high degree of challenge in Ni No Kuni II. All this is a great shame, especially in relation to a series of advanced contents that are still too easy to entice you to complete any task.

The world is Mine

No need to go around it, Ni No Kuni II is jam-packed with activities to complete. One of the most important, which will make some people happy and others boredom, is the need to create their own kingdom. Level 5 has included a real game in the game, which will be able to take away a disproportionate amount of hours and which loudly recalls the management systems so popular on mobile in recent years. As Evan is a king exiled from his own kingdom, he soon decides to found a new one along with his companions. Rather than putting us in front of an automatic growth of the smiling Eostaria, the developers have decided to give us the burden and the honor of being ourselves to give splendor to the kingdom. Starting from four huts and a wooden chair, through the recruitment of new talents and the accumulation of resources, it will be possible to increase more and more the level of their structures and expand the borders of the kingdom. Although it may seem like a simple pastime to lengthen a soup that is already quite watered down, it must be said that the system works properly and, being the growth of the kingdom linked to double delivery with the possibilities offered by the gameplay, we soon find ourselves scrapping together. the necessary for the desire to upgrade the forge or the armory (so as to be able to create and upgrade your own paraphernalia), or spend your coins to unlock new Cioffi, or even use the savings to lower the cost of resources from merchants. The possibilities are so many and so profound that you will hardly get bored in this mode, except for the need to wait for the accumulation of real coins for the conclusion of the research, separated from the standard ones and totally dedicated to management. For those who are probably scared just naming mobile experiences of this genre, we reassure you by saying that there is no type of multiplayer or even microtransactions.

The Pitched Battles

Another of the modes present in Ni No Kuni II, which blends well with the rest of the gameplay and adds even more content to the total, is the Pitched Battle. As already mentioned, the whole title is based on the desire to found a kingdom and for this Level 5 has put in place a mode that recalls in broad terms the pitched battle for the conquest of the territory. By enlisting new talents for their city (via one of the game's hundreds of side missions), it is possible that some of them bring their own armies as a dowry and that it is possible to deploy them in battle. These clashes (the only ones on which you can also choose a difficult mode) turn out to be a hybrid between a strategic isometric view (with a lot of skills that you can launch after consuming a certain amount of your action points) and a classic Chinese morra. There are different types of troops, and each of them has an advantage and a disadvantage with the other two respective ones. It will be up to you, through the pressure of the backbones and the rotation of the troops around Evan, to decide how to proceed to lose as few men as possible and get to your destination. Although it often turns out to be quite confusing, the pitched battle remains a decent extra to have fun with between one monster and another. It is especially nice to see how well everything fits into the context, both narratively and in terms of gameplay, making each mechanic important to be known to complete the adventure.

A world full of colors

We come to one of the most loved features by those who were enchanted by the beauty of the first chapter. We immediately reassure the skeptics regarding the general care taken in creating the character and enemy models. The style of the Ghibli studio (which we remember not being involved in the first person but only with some exponents enlisted as individuals) is always very recognizable. It is impossible not to notice those pastel colors at the same time so full but melancholy, which have characterized the whole long history of Miyazaki's studio. We cannot hide from you that in totality, especially with regard to 3D environments and open world maps, perhaps the general quality of the artistic impact has slightly decreased, where the general technical aspect is clearly better. The game world, which can be explored first on foot and then by other means that we do not want to reveal to you, is alive and full of areas to discover and in which you would not arrive if not through your free exploration. The map is large enough to allow for a good variety of environments and biomes, ranging from forest to desert, to reach large snowy expanses.

Each of the five great cities in the world closely resembles one of the cultures that distinguish ours and, not wanting to spoil anything of the plot, we will stop here, to avoid giving you information on creatures and "divinities" that it is right for you to discover for yourself. . From a purely technical point of view, Ni No Kuni II performs very well. In more than sixty hours it will have happened just a couple of times to notice some slight decline, but nothing to be afraid of and that would not be resolved in a fraction of a second. The soundtrack, like the visually stunning appearance, is a flagship of the production. Each area, each city and each different situation can boast of a theme dedicated to it. All extremely spot on and able to get into your head in just a few minutes. What unfortunately leaves a bad taste in the mouth is the very small amount of cutscene: it would almost seem that the budget in this sense was more restricted than the first chapter, but it is probably the lack of the most famous animation studio in Japan that has directed the team towards the reduction of animated scenes. This, together with the small amount of dubbed dialogue, is a real shame and will make more than one fan turn up their noses.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Resources4Gaming.com

9.0

Readers (146)

8.3

Your vote

We would have needed double the space to tell you all the mechanics included in the game (from the equalizer to the evil creatures, passing through the growth of the characters in terms of statistics) but we are sure that these are elements that you will be happy to discover even on your own. . The Level 5 series is only in its second installment, but it has already won the hearts of millions of players. With an unmistakable style and a fighting system that this time really works, albeit in its simplicity, "the Destiny of a Kingdom" will give a lot of satisfaction to those who loved the first and certainly will not stir the spirits of those who have not been able to digest it. . For our part, although tried by full immersion, we are absolutely happy to be able to still live such imaginative experiences, which rest their foundations on almost fairytale grounds, and then tackle social and political issues that are anything but far from ours. Too bad for the very low degree of challenge and the very small amount of cutscenes, which do not do justice to an always amazing artistic work.