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Studio Ghibli fans rejoice.
I only just found out this was released yesterday and, after watching this trailer, I'm convinced I must seek out and purchase this game.
I'm getting it from Gamefly (to test out) soon (hopefully) but I know that this is a buyer for me.
Dot.
EDIT: now I wish I had a PS3.
()
Waiting for my super-special Wizard's Edition to show up.
Starting to pine for a ps3 in earnest.
Why you had me see this game? Now i must buy it.
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I found out about it too late to order the Wizard Edition, but I picked the game up today and, so far, it's brilliant.
For those of you who buy it, do yourself a favor and let the title screen fade out instead of going immediately into the game. You'll get to see a nice little trailer to jazz you up for the adventure ahead.
Also, the Nazcaan alphabet used in the game is written on the back of the game manual. There's a spellbook you acquire early on with two pages of Nazcaan symbols at the beginning. For anyone who doesn't want to spend an hour or more translating the symbols, I'm posting a spoiler below with the translated words.
A lot of the pages in the book are missing when you first get it, and every one of them has the symbols for "Missing" written on them. There's also a cute bit of humor on a page with an illustration of a wizard with some symbols written in as if a young apprentice marked the page. The words coming out of the wizard's mouth are
I'll definitely be posting more about this as I play through.
Thank you, friend.
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So I've got about 10 hours logged into Ni no Kuni, and I've obtained my first three familiars.
I think the way the familiar system in this game works would make it a great Summoner archetype.
Familiar's and their masters basically tag each other out (similar to Pokemon) and the little creatures use your HP and MP for their health and special attacks. A stamina bar tells you how long your current familiar can fight before you have to switch to a new familiar or tag in and do your own fighting. It takes some getting used to, but there's actually a lot of strategy involved and having more familiars to pick from gives you more combat options. In some ways, it's like playing a Vestige Binder from 3.5's Tome of Magic.
The tiny, orange horned warrior in the trailer is the first familiar you get. He's a creature called a Mite so I named mine Mite Tyson. Most of the monsters I've encountered have names that either make use of puns or wordplay so I'm playing along. I've also got a creature called a seed sprite I named SeedVishus (I couldn't fit "Vicious" into the provided space.)
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This game just keeps getting better. It's a lot like the Dragon Quest games, and I could see any one of the kingdoms as the focus of it's own Studio Ghibli film. I don't want to spoil the surprises, but The Fairyground and Hamelin are inspiring.
Something else the game has in common with most Dragon Quest games is a casino and a monster-fighting colosseum. I haven't visited the colosseum yet, but the casino allows you to gamble for rare items or unique items that can only be won by playing in the casino. Anyone who gets to the casino should avoid the Blackjack table or the slots and focus on a game called Platoon.
Platoon is a card game kind of like War except you only get 10 cards that you then distribute into "units." After putting together five units, you battle the other player's five units with the winner usually being the unit that has the higher amount of points. The rules sound complicated at first, but it's easy to learn once you get going. Just remember to always pair the Wizard with the Bishop.
Platoon is the best game to play because you minimize chance. The dealer gives you 10 random cards but, after that, it's all up to your own strategy. I played for about an hour and turned 200 chips into 437,000 after about 30 hands. It helps that there's a save point right outside the casino so you can reload if you lose all your chips but, with Platoon, you probably won't need to reload nearly as often as with the other games.
Let me guess, a PS3 exculsive? Hope it comes out for 360.
Yep.
If the 360 port did not drop with the PS3 release, it usually never happens. And from what I can tell, there are no plans for another platform release in NA. Even the DS port isn't being released here because of translation issues with the in-game wizard's companion.
I like that there are nods to Studio Ghibli's films within the game, though those could just be the common thread of Japanese folklore.
The fact that the entire affair looks and sounds (Tokyo Symphony Orchestra for the entire soundtrack) like it came right out of their animation house just makes it really easy to loose a few hours in it. I'm not even minding grinding out levels for my familiars.
Oh man I may have to just pick this up after rent is paid. Thanks for the great updates on it.
Aaaaaa. Me want.
Checks wallet.
Me broke.
I guess I'm going to have to get that job, now.
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Just found something really useful tonight...
At some point in the game, you get a trained dragon named Tegri to fly you around the map. Flying pretty much opens up the entire world to you and can get you into trouble if you land on the wrong island at too low a level. For instance, north of the first city you visit is a plateau where some creatures called Ulk live. I foolishly decided to attack one because the monsters just below the plateau are the sort you fight at Level 1.
I was around level 40, and I barely survived one Ulk. It used up nearly every MP-restoring item and Phoenix Feather (raise dead thing) I had to win that fight, but I got out with somewhere around 2000xp and a ton of gold. Then I ran far away from the next Ulk I saw and called my dragon for a medevac to get my wounded companions the hell off that plateau.
Not that I learned my lesson about landing in places I hadn't been directed to go.
Northwest-ish of the city of Hamelin is a valley you can only access if you have Tegri. There, I found a monster called a Tokotoko that looks like a little green moss man with a staff. They're rare and they run from you on sight, but it turns out they're easy to beat and worth 8000xp. They're basically the Metal Slime of the Ni No Kuni world.
The tokotoko seem to have really good perception because they can spot you coming from a good distance. If one sees you and you don't think you can catch it, run away from it. Once you put some distance between you and the tokotoko, it'll calm down and stop running. If you chase it for too long, it vanishes so it's better to let it think you're gone. Sneaking up on them when they're in the corners of the valley seems to work best because they run directly away from you and that often leaves them nowhere to run.
Once you manage to run the tokotoko down, they'll fight you for a couple turns before trying to flee again so I recommend quickly hitting them with your best attacks. Like Dragon Quest's Metal Slimes, they seem to have really high evasion skills but any attack that uses up MP seems to have a fair chance of hitting them. Attacks that hit multiple enemies should be used if you're lucky enough to encounter two at once. Beat them both and you net 16000xp, which should be enough to give you two or three levels if you're already high level. Obviously, hunting the tokotoko is an awesome way to grind your low-level familiars.
Man, just want this even more now...
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More about Platoon...
I've amassed a fortune of more than a million chips at the casino and noticed something while playing Platoon that might help other people win at the game. The dealer has a system. There are three cards with special rules in Platoon: Kings, Bishops (Ace) and Wizards (Joker.) Any unit with a King in it always wins unless they're facing a unit with a Bishop. Bishops always lose unless they're facing a King. Wizards swap their unit with the one they're fighting (which is why you always want to pair a Bishop and a Wizard.) If the dealer has any of those cards, she puts them on the left side of the table while numbered cards are on the right. Knowing this gives you a slight edge because you might want to avoid playing certain units against units you suspect might have a Joker or a King or even play a single 2 against a suspected Bishop.
In other news, hunting the Tokotoko has raised my character levels to the point where nearly every monster is terrified of my party. I can complete dungeons without fighting any monsters except for the bosses because the goons keep running from me. Ulks still chase me, but I can beat several in a row now without even using MP.
I'll be picking this up this afternoon! Just found out about it last night from a friend who RAVED about how excellent it was. I started watching the trailer as he recommended and thought, "Man, this looks like a Miyazaki film turned into a game!" and then a minute later saw the Stuio Ghibli logo at the end of the trailer =P
Very excited to get it.
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I just beat the game last night. Fighting tokotokos got me to level 99 (max level) so quickly, I decided to fast-track to the ending. I won't spoil it, but I will say you shouldn't worry about not finding everything or getting every trophy/achievement your first time through the game.
Also, something to look forward to is the ability to unlock a feature that lets you watch all the cutscenes in order so you can basically watch the story unfold like a movie. The only downside is it doesn't include footage of your boss battles so it's a movie with all the fight scenes removed.
Let me know if you get stuck anywhere along the way.
Just made it to the fairy village, loving the game so far. It's very reminiscent of Dragon Quest, which isn't a bad thing. Several of the boss fights andbounty missions have been real doozies too, so I'm appreciating and enjoying the challenge too.
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@ Dal Selpher, WampaX
Which of the familiars did you pick at the Temple of Trials? I went with the Shonky-Honker (the one that looks like a duck with a trumpet for a bill.) Turns out it was a good choice. At higher levels, its spells regularly out-damage Oliver's.
Also, if you're like me and sometimes regret the names you give your familiars, you're in luck. I found an item late in the game that lets you rename any of your familiars as often as you like.
I took the ghosty-cat thing and haven't ever used it =P
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I think I caught one of those on Old Smoky, gave it a stupid name and sent it directly to the familiar reservation. Ain't seen the little guy since so I can't say if he's any good.
I do like the Tin Man though. They're all over the area outside Hamelin so it's easy to catch one. Their Defense gets to be so high, most creatures only deal 1 point of damage to them with physical attacks. Their Accuracy tends to suck though, so they're most useful as damage sponges while you're waiting for glims to appear. Give them an item or armor that deflects damage back to your opponents and you can just have them stand there while the bad guys kill themselves. The Yoo Hoo power is pretty good for Tin Man too since it lets them taunt the enemies into attacking your nigh-indestructible robot.
Just got airborn last night. Went where I should not have gone and got sacked IMMEDIATELY. My new strategy has been to fly around the pretty pretty world listening to pretty pretty music and then land when I see sparkles, harvest whatever alchemy ingredient it might be, then get airborn again before any monsters have a chance to spawn and slaughter me =)
I have yet to find a familiar that's a planet alignment. I have two that are twin suns, seven that are suns, four that are moons, four twin stars, and twenty-flipping-seven regular stars. What's the ONE evolutionary drop I've only gotten four of so far? The flipping star! I have NINETEEN moon drops! Blarg!
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The heroic music that plays while you're flying is part of the feature's charm, and you can get a Merit Award that lets Tengri do Barrel Rolls for increased speed. I almost got wiped myself with the Ulk incident. Luckily, I'd been stocking up on Phoenix Feathers and Coffee items to restore my MP.
The planet familiars come late in the game. They're pretty tough and still challenging with max level familiars. There's also a unique Genus Nobilia familiar that needs planet drops you can win at the Solosseum Series when you eventually get access to the tournament.
You're going to wind up with 99 of every drop sooner or later. If you manage to find any crystals, you can turn 3 crystals and one drop into a Jumbo Drop with your cauldron. Otherwise, I'd just sell down to around 30 of each if you need the money. Using Swaine's grapple gun to steal from monsters is a good way to get your numbers back up if you need them. It's also a good way to stock up on rare alchemy reagents.
You're aware of the hidden treasures buried all over the world, right? I found my first ones by complete accident just absent-mindedly tapping the X button while I was wandering the wilds. They're usually located on hills and at the edges of the continents and islands. They're often treats and alchemy supplies, but I found a few weapons and armor as well as guilders. Eventually, you get a special treasure hunting spell that reveals all their locations for a brief time so that makes finding them much easier.
I just got that spell last night but haven't yet tried it out. Looks like I'll be playing adventuring-archeaologist for a bit longer before moving on to Solitary Island! =)
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Just remember Chart Chests only works in enclosed areas like dungeons and forests and Seek Fortune only works on the world map. The other thing about Chart Chests is it won't reveal chests in dungeon locations you haven't explored. The area where the chest is hidden must be on your dungeon map to be revealed. Spring Lock will pop open any Blue chests you find, but you won't be able to open Purple chests until much later.
I made it to Yule last night and just opened up the third row of Merit Card Awards. I'm really tempted to just go straight for that 8 card one over on the right... it looks so promising!
I've been enjoying just running around and getting into fights, leveling up my familiars. The game paces the level gains really, really well, so it always seems like I'm just a fight or two away from *someone* leveling up.
I also discovered that random people bestow alchemy recipes if you talk to them! I've met two so far, one in Skull Mountain and one in Yule. Tonight, I think I'll head back to the other towns and chat with everyone there to see if I can pick up any more I might have missed.
And Seek Fortune is great! I had no idea so many goodies were littered all over the place =)
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The 8-card Award was the first one I went for as soon as it was revealed, mostly to get it out of the way. I didn't want to get stuck looking for Merit Stamps late in the game not knowing what I was missing. It's worth it.
If you've been answering Horace's riddles, he'll eventually show up in Yule but he takes little while to get there. I think completing the quest in Glittering Grotto triggers his appearance.
I've gotten a bunch of those free alchemy recipes, but alchemy is one area of the game I wish they'd taken more time developing. I'm sick of combining carrots with cake and milk and honey with chocolate over and over again to make the second tier treats for my familiars. The "Follow a Formula" thing really ought to include those items because you can't make more than one at a time otherwise, and it takes forever.
I decided to translate another huge chunk of Nazcaan from The Wizrd's Companion last night. So far, I haven't run into puzzles or riddles that require you to know this but, somewhere in the Twelve Tales of Wonder section (around page 340 I think,) there's a two-page mural showing what looks like a timeline drawing of a wizard, a wolf, a snake and a skeleton casting spells and stuff. There are a bunch of Nazcaan symbols written sideways and upside down around the drawing forming a big arch, so I decided to figure out what they say. It's pretty long so I'm posting it to save people some time, but I'll hide the text with a spoiler in case you want to figure it out yourself...
On the first day, a wand will be held aloft
On the second day, lightning will arc
On the third day, a storm will rage
On the fourth day, the earth will be rent asunder
On the fifth day, a great wave will crash
On the sixth day, flames will dance
On the seventh day, a blizzard will howl and
On the eigth day, a new king will bring the light and the world shall kneel before him
I'm getting pretty good at reading this stuff. For anyone who's interested, somebody was nice to enough to make a free downloadable Nazcaan font. You just need to remember to turn on Caps Lock to see the symbols.
Also, when you eventually get there, the reward for completing The Conductor's quest is awesome.
Yeah, Horace was already there when I arrived. It took me FOREVER to solve his nazcaan riddle from earlier, just because no matter how hard I looked the only nazcaan script I could see on the page translated to "I SMELL" - despite him even saying that wasn't the text he was looking for.
I finally found the *very well hidden* letters the next evening.
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The hassle with making the treats is why I want to go back and visit earlier towns to see if I missed some free recipes. I'm hoping someone there will have those second-tier treats for me!
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The really annoying thing is those formulae are right there in the Wizard's Companion. You'd think Oliver could just tell Al-Khemie what he needs and be done with it. I'll have to run around looking to see if I missed any. It seems a few people don't give you their formulae the first time you talk to them.
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I came across some Add-On content for Ni No Kuni in the Playstation Store today. For absolutely free, you can download a Familiar Ticket for a Draggle (a dragon-like familiar) that you can trade in at the Temple of Trials. I've only been able to find Gold Draggles so having an ordinary one will be nice.
I hope this means they might release more quests for the game.