120°

Namco talks Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Tomorrow, PlayStation 3 owners will have the chance to pick up Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It's a new RPG from Namco Bandai. Developed by Level 5, the first came out as a Nintendo DS title just over two years ago in Japan. This new version was developed in tandem with the DS original and features the same story, but been made specifically for home console.

Godchild10204113d ago (Edited 4113d ago )

I found the video uplifting and I hope the games does well, so we can see another game in the series. I have a few hours in now and I can safely say that this is one of my favorite Level 5 titles. Some good questions were asking, but the audio from the background made it hard to hear.

For anyone that wants to watch the video, there is a cutscene spoiler but no audio from it, but it's best to know about them now.

GribbleGrunger4113d ago (Edited 4113d ago )

How does it actually feel to play? Has it got that 'homely' touch that DQ8 had for instance. I'll be buying this for certain and squeezing every damned beautiful ounce out of it. I've got a feeling that this game could do for RPGs what FF7 once did.

Godchild10204113d ago (Edited 4113d ago )

I believe the demo was a real representation of how the game feels and plays. But once you get the full game everything really opens up and you get a better understanding of the story and how things come into play. How the worlds come together and play a part. I love how it goes from cutscene to gameplay without a hitch.

Once you get a familiar, you don't just treat it like a partner in battle but a companion, a friend or pet (Family member). You can feed it and battle with it, but the better you treat the familiar the better the relationship you have with it.

I have played a little of FFXIII, you see how the battle system is kinda turn based but action at the same time. Thats how the battle system in Ni No Kuni is, but so much better and refined than the one in FFXIII. The area in battle is not huge, but not small either.

I remember dragon quest vaguely, so I can't give a real comparison to it. But from all the Level 5 games I have played, it is up there with Dark Cloud 2. The game is how I really wanted a 3D home console Pokemon game to be. I can recommend this game to anyone that just loves a good story and likes a great battle system.

I hope I gave you the answer that you were looking for.

EDIT: I got this from the DQ8 wiki and I think this is a great representation of how the gameplay in battle works.

"In Dragon Quest VIII, the player controls the Hero in a fully three-dimensional environment, utilizing the left analog stick or D-pad on the PlayStation controller to move him. Using the right analog stick, players can pan the camera a full 360 degrees around the character or in a first-person perspective"

Expect the D-pad is not used to move the character but switch action types and familiars. And it's an more action than turn based combat than DQ8 and FFXIII.

GribbleGrunger4113d ago

Thanks for taking the time to write that Godchild.

izumo_lee4113d ago

I really hope it does really well but i believe it will be more of a long haul type of game rather than have huge numbers the first week or so. Hopefully word of mouth will spread how beautiful & heartwarming this game can be.

Fans of Studio Ghibli should try this game cause of the pedigree of the studio. Only a few more hours until gamers will be able to witness the magic a JRPG is & can be in the right hands. Level 5 have supported the PS brand for years making some of the best games for the Playstation so i expect this will be no different.

oakshin4113d ago

woooooo thats a massive statement

gamefly shiped this baby to me today ill be all up in it b4 the end of the week just need to polish off MGS peace walker b4 it gets here im predicting having a hard time geting into but i say after i push past 5 hours r so ill be hooked

rezzah4112d ago

I'm jealous, I ordered the wizard edition but I'm not sure when I'll receive it.

I put down all my other games to play Ni no kuni, and I can't wait to play it.

oakshin4112d ago

well gamefly owed me this 1 im still waiting on far cry 3, AC3, and sleeping dogs

ApolloTheBoss4113d ago

Buy it, buy it, people. We need a sequel!! And listen to me, saying that before I even play the game!

specialguest4113d ago

When I first found out Studio Ghibli was involved, it was an automatic buy for me. I've seen most Studio Ghibli movies and I enjoy them all. There's a certain charm and harmony with nature Studio Ghibli with its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki bring to their movies.

XXXL4113d ago

Can't wait till tomorrow.

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130°

Where the Heck is Ni No Kuni 3, Mun?

Matt from We Game Daily writes: "Cross Worlds isn’t going away. It’s making a small fortune, particularly in Asian markets, so there’s no reason for Level-5 to pull the plug. That said, there’s no real reason why a full PC/console sequel can’t be developed alongside efforts to support Cross Worlds."

Read Full Story >>
wegamedaily.com
Relientk77102d ago

While Ni no Kuni 3 would be cool, if it was like the first game, where is Dark Cloud 3 and Rogue Galaxy 2?

phoenixwing101d ago

I thought the dev recently went mobile and Japan only. They shut down their American offices. So don't expect anything for consoles

shinoff2183101d ago (Edited 101d ago )

I swear they just announced a few new games.

https://www.nintendolife.co...

phoenixwing101d ago

I stand corrected then. Never heard about these games and also i just remember ni no kuni online being mobile only.

Michiel1989100d ago

they said a loooooong time ago that Level 5 was working on a new installment but there has been no news since afaik. I just hope that they take more inspiration from 1 than 2, especially when it comes to the story.

thorstein100d ago

Ni No Kuni Cross Worlds is the mobile game you're thinking of.

It looks amazing but I don't like to play mobile games.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 100d ago
-Foxtrot101d ago

Yeah the sequel was okay but had nothing on the first game, especially the battle system.

The story just didn't have that charm and even the twist at the end of the game wasn't really anything cool like Wrath of the White Witch.

Also the fact there was like ZERO mention of Oliver or his adventures in the game, no references, nothing was such weird. It's set a hundred or so years after but still, I'd have expected to seen some throw backs. I think we just got like a temple with his statue in it or something.

goldwyncq100d ago

If you want more Oliver, just watch the movie.

shinoff2183101d ago

Fking word. I've been hoping for this for quite some time.

melons101d ago

The premium games didn't sell amazingly, right?

shinoff2183101d ago

Not to sure. They should of though. They were pretty good. I like both.

Michiel1989100d ago

yeah, especially outside of japan. They should have released on pc at the same time as the ps3 version or a short time after.

Inverno100d ago

They should've worked with Ghibli to put out a proper movie. Should've also made a Pokemon-esque spin-off rather than make Yokai Watch. If they do make a third game they gotta work with Ghibli!

200°

Remembering the Best JRPGs on the PS3

Get ready to embark on a journey filled with monsters, magic, and overpowered haircuts, because this list features the best JRPGs on the PS3.

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altarofgaming.com
shinoff2183264d ago (Edited 264d ago )

There wasn't that many. Thanks to the west's criticism. It was definitely lacking compared to every other ps system. Dont get me wrong there were a few good ones i know that.

jznrpg264d ago

Nier, Valkyrie Chronciles, Tales games , Ni No Kuni, Resonance of Fate, FF13’s, Ys8 just a few off the top of my head and there were a lot more.

CrimsonWing69264d ago (Edited 264d ago )

Not nearly to the degree of PS1 and PS2.

@shinoff2183 makes a good point that around the PS3/Xbox 360 gen is when the genre wasn’t as prevalent and began to shy away from turn-based. There’s some standouts for sure, but look at the PS1 and PS2 JRPG library and then compare that to the PS3 and PS4’s.

Theres definitely a decline in a selection of titles. Even worse was the quality seemed to take a massive hit as well. I think Lost Odyssey was a huge standout for that gen when you look at production values, then you look at something like Fairy Fencer on the PS3 and it’s kind of depressing.

But by that generation there was a shift from western developed games overtaking Japanese developed games. Back from the NES to PS2 Japanese games were the cream of the crop… I don’t know what happened but like midway into the PS3/360 life-time they became less so.

shinoff2183263d ago (Edited 263d ago )

Compared to the ps1 ps2 and he'll even ps4 ps3 doesn't hold a candle to either imo. It's also when turn based damn near disappeared. Again thanks to the west's criticism

Crimson I'd put money on the west being at fault, guys like Phil phish, and numerous others at that time were attacking jrpg and Japanese games in general pretty hard.

Ni no kuni was probably my fav jrpg back then , and the blue dragon

GameBoyColor263d ago

Tales got kinda lucky here. When they took a chance and finally brought tales of graces f over west it sold like 250k lmao a lot of jrpgs did 500k or below. Disgaea was worse i think. Bamco decided to keep bringing more games over though.

Tapani263d ago (Edited 263d ago )

Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls II were the best RPGs on PS3 made by Japanese developers. Everything else just fell short always. Ni No Kuni was a full package, an okayish game as well. Nier and Drakengard III had superb writing, setting and voice acting, however, the performance was a real drag on the gameplay. Traditional RPG-wise I'd actually say 360 had better JRPGs, and think that Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon were the best traditional JRPGs of the era. PS3 Valkyria Chronicles was okay, but it is closer to an SRPG.

Ryu Ga Gotoku games were also solid, they were still finding their footing and breaking new ground with new cities and formats.

PS3 was the era that almost made me quit gaming and I started playing on PC because I could not find good performance nor games on the system. PS4 got me back into it, and now PS5 is a mix in and between, I just play my PS4 library on the PS5 and rest on PC, just like during the PS3 era. The only new exclusive Sony JRPG is pretty much FFXVI and it is so streamlined and simplified from the normal RPG experience that I can't fit it into the genre anymore. Dragon Quest XII hopefully remedies all of this, but it is just one game.

These new games will all be on PC (while it does take 2-3 years to wait, and 6-12 months from launch to have them patched + fixed by modders) and they perform better on it. The only point in owning a PS5 is to play games a couple of years earlier, but for a hard-working family man like me, the quality of the experience is more important than playing it as soon as possible. And I can't do modern games at 30fps 720p after playing 120fps at 4K. For older games, that's okay.

PSX and PS2 though, those were the days...Still have a massive collections of classic RPGs in CD and DVD format and a phat PS3 to play them!

FinalFantasyFanatic263d ago

It's kinda like that, the PS3 generation was a bad time for JRPGs, especially with the Japanese feeling the need to westernize their games, shooters dominating that gen, the racism from western game journalists (it was bad, between G4, Phill Fish, and a slew of others), and the higher development costs...

It really made me miss the PS1/PS2 days of JRPGs, even the quality of half of those games during the 7th gen weren't as good. The 360 tried, but Microsoft's consoles weren't popular in Japan and no body in the West bought a Xbox for JRPGs (despite Xbox having Vesperia, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey).

on_line_forever263d ago

" It's kinda like that, the PS3 generation was a bad time for JRPGs, especially with the Japanese feeling the need to westernize their games "

This is when everything fall down and games looks not fun to play anymore except for few games like demon and dark souls for example

-Foxtrot264d ago (Edited 264d ago )

Nah. It's a bad trilogy of games

The only reason XIII-2 stands out is because XIII was so bad

When the bar is so low, anything after feels better.

goldwyncq263d ago

The monster catching mechanic was nice.

Eonjay263d ago

Don't understand the hate for it at all. Seems forced.

shinoff2183263d ago

Watching the credits roll on ff16 now it is good but , I'd really like to re try ff13 least it's turn based and would fill that gap for me.

FinalFantasyFanatic263d ago

They got better after the first one in the trilogy, not outstanding game though.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 263d ago
CS7263d ago

Honestly, I played FFXIII a few years after release and maybe because it was after the hype cycle and I knew the flaws of the game, it actually became my favorite FF after VII.

I took off the mini map and never used auto battle and the stuff that mattered to me in an FF was just so well done.

The art and graphics were insane at the time
The music is still special
The story still lingers in memory more than a decade later
The RPG systems were decent

I never really got the hate for it, still have a soft spot for that game inside me.

goldwyncq263d ago

Still better than XV and XVI.

Yui_Suzumiya264d ago

Drakengard 3 goes for a small fortune nowadays

Knightofelemia264d ago (Edited 264d ago )

Only gripe I have with Ar Tonelico 3 is that Saki is annoying as hell whether English or in Japanese. Then Saki's English voice actor became Ionasal on Ar Nosurge she was a little annoying but not as bad. Johnny Young Bosch voicing Tatsumi I thought he did a great job. And Akiko Shikata with her vocals and the music from the games just went hand and hand.

DarkZane264d ago

I wish Ar No Surge and Ar Tonelico 3 would be remastered on PS4/PS5.

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280°

Top 10 Rarest PS3 Games That Are Worth a Fortune

Twinfinite: "During the PS3’s tenure, plenty of huge games launched, but the interesting thing is, many of the system’s rarer titles are largely not amazing games. Sure, there are one or two exceptions to that rule (I’m looking at you Ni No Kuni!), but many of the more desirable and valuable games in the PS3’s library are usually rare for a reason."

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twinfinite.net
ModsDoBetter286d ago

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Sold my Painkiller for around £3 years ago and my Asuras Wrath for even less. Managed to pick up Lollipop Chainsaw and Splatterhouse again but they cost me a fair bit more than I initially paid on release when I first bought them.

Wish I bought Godzilla, the number of times I saw it in the game store for the price of a coffee and didn't bother.

Knushwood Butt286d ago

Never knew Last Guy had a physical release.

gold_drake286d ago (Edited 286d ago )

i own nba, lolipop and nino kuni. never heard of the rest tbf xD surprised they are worth that much, for what they actually are.

roadkillers286d ago

Getting a valuable game is all luck.. I had three of these. Africa is one that people might have seen coming, but otherslike Ni No Kuni wouldn't have been.

My most valuable game I remember owning was Conkers Bad Fur Day. When the game was being re-released on Xbox (remake/ upgrade if you will), the price dropped dramatically. Once the game released and the changes were seen, the value went back up. Then it was released on Rare Replay and value dropped again. 2020 hit and all collectables shot up along with Conker. Before stopping around $110 which it currently is.

Games change all the time because their digital media that can be reproduced even in weird contract bindings (GoldenEye as an example). One day it can be worth $300 and the next $150. The shrink wrapped items in mint condition cannot be reproduced.. but that takes strength to spend, not open, and hope its worth something.

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