Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was something special. It was charming, challenging, emotional and just an overall great experience from start to finish. All these qualities and more would go on to make Ni no Kuni one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time. It wasn’t until 6 years later we would get a sequel in Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, but in gaining a sequel we lost the charm, emotion, and even the challenge that made Ni no Kuni II’s predecessor so great.

Ni no Kuni II is a mixed bag, to say the least, its’ gameplay can be quite boring at times, but can also be exhilarating when fighting the toughest of enemies. Ni no Kuni II is filled with some brilliant voice acting, but for some strange reason the voices are utilized so sparingly that developer Level 5 shouldn’t have included it at all. To me, the most baffling thing, is that one of my all-time favourite composers Joe Hisaishi returned to compose the music but the soundtrack is largely forgettable aside from a few tracks.

The story this time around leans on the more mature side of things instead of the emotional. Ni no Kuni II starts off as King Even’s kingdom of Ding Dong Dell is being usurped by the mouse king. After being forced into hiding, Even meets Roland, a stranger from another world. The two team up to create the Kingdom of Evermore and unite the world to create a place of peace wherein Even’s words “Everyone can live happily ever after”.

The world of Ni no Kuni II is just as wonderful and quirky as its predecessor. You will travel to strange cities, each more unique than the last. For example, you will visit a city where all decisions are decided on a roll of the dice, or another where love and affection are outlawed and all its laws are monitored by an all-seeing eye. Each area you visit is filled with bright colors and gorgeous environments that I would love to explore more if Ni no Kuni II wasn’t so linear.

Level 5 studios changed up the gameplay of Ni no Kuni II so it is nearly unrecognizable to those who have played the first game. Ni no Kuni II is an action RPG that takes a lot of inspiration from the Tales series. When you encounter and enemy you will be transported to an arena where you can freely control Even’s closest friends, using upgradeable magic spells, weapons and a new ally called Higgledys. You will take down each enemy in a rather repetitive and easy fashion.

Most battles don’t require strategy to them and the enemies are rather big pushovers, including bosses, that I often had no trouble defeating on my first attempt. Using square and triangle you can just mash your way to victory without a care in the world, which makes combat feel extremely stale in the latter hours of my 40-hour playthrough. The higgledys kept combat feeling a little fresh though, as they imbued your charter with elemental powers or healing abilities with a beautiful sort of cell-shaded blasts and rings of light.

Now, because Ni no Kuni II is more themed around war, two new elements have been introduced here, Kingdom building and Skirmishes. Both new systems were a welcomed change of pace throughout my adventure. In Kingdom building, you are tasked with fleshing out the kingdom of Evermore through side quests. The more side quests you the complete that more citizens you can recruit and each of them have different strengths. For instance, if you send a shopkeeper to your kingdom, you can assign them to your weapons factory but they won’t excel too well and your research will go slower, as opposed if you send them to what they are specialized in, causing your research to go much faster.

The kingdom building was a fun way to make you feel like you are really building your own kingdom. Seeing it grow from a small hut to a massive city is rewarding, and brings an odd sort of pride that I loved so much. Skirmishes, on the other hand, are small battles that put you and your little chibi army against a myriad of opponents. From bandits to other armies trying to take over the borders of your kingdom, you will fight in a sort of strategic game. You will pick out your troops depending on which other weapons the opposing side is using with a rock paper scissors type weapon wheel. Skirmishes (like combat before it) start off fun and exciting but over time it shows a lack of depth and ease of play.

The original Ni no Kuni had the talent of Studio Ghibli on its’ side for the art, which really helped make the game feel special. However in Ni no Kuni II, Studio Ghibli did not return and it really shows. The game might have some gorgeous environments in the main areas of the game, yet in the overworld, you’ll notice everything has an odd sort of clay-like texture instead of a hand-drawn style. Additionally, the character models are turned into chibi versions, which I personally thought was a poor aesthetic choice that took me out of the experience.

My biggest problem with Ni no Kuni II, however, is its lack of characterization. Through the adventure you will befriend sky pirates, political figures and inventors. While each party member may have a unique playstyle, the game fails to make you fall in love or even bother remembering the names of the characters, as they are just sort of pushed aside in the main story and do not have side quests to further their character development.

Ni no Kuni II had a lot of potential, but it failed to live up to its lofty expectations. Though the game may suffer from bland combat, linear character and story progression, and a rather odd choice to use chibis and clay like art style for the overworld; its’ biggest crime is that Ni no Kuni II has none of the charm or heart that made the first game great. However, I would recommend the game if you find it on sale purely for the higgledys, kingdom building and the skirmishes.

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Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

28.89

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Kindom Building
• Skirmish
• Flashy combat

Cons

• Bland Combat
• Dissapinting soundtrack
• Flat characters