14 DAY TRIAL // 
The Ni no Kuni series is probably one of the best JRPGs that's been developed under Bandai Namco's umbrella. Although fans of the original game have been given the chance to revisit the charming Ni no Kuni universe with the launch of Revenant Kingdom last year, the original game remains the cornerstone of Studio Ghibli's repertoire.
The decision to remaster the original Ni no Kuni for PC and PlayStation 4 is excellent news for both newcomers and veterans of the series. Even though many would say that the game has aged quite well on the PlayStation 3, the remastered version looks absolutely gorgeous, though I'm not sure that the full price is justified.
Although Wrath of the White Witch and Revenant Kingdom follow two different protagonists in two different worlds, the story and the vibes you get are similar. There's one major aspect that differentiates these games, the sequel to Ni no Kuni did not benefit from Studio Ghibli's expertise, although former Ghibli character designer Yoshiyuki Momose and music composer Joe Hisaishi reprised their roles.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a game about mending people's hearts using spells that collect courage, enthusiasm or other emotions, from other people who have them in excess. You play as Oliver, a very young lad who loses his mother and gets teleported to another world hoping to find a way to bring her back.
He soon discovers that both worlds are strongly connected emotionally and embarks on an epic journey that will take him across a magical world with dozens of locations to explore, and interesting characters that will help him achieve his goal.
You see, every person from Oliver's world has a “soulmate,” a person that shares a link with someone from the magical world where he's guided by a hilarious fairy named Drippy with a Welsh accent. Unfortunately, Oliver's quest to find his mother's soulmate in the magical world is hampered by an evil mage named Shadar who steals people's hearts turning them into “brokenhearted.”
As the story unfolds, Oliver will meet new NPCs who will join him temporarily or permanently, as well as familiars, pets who are used in battle. There are no changes concerning the combat system, so it might seem archaic for newcomers to the series. Ni no Kuni's combat system mixes elements from the Tales series and Dragon Quest. Battles are in real-time and at the start you get to choose which pet you want to use, depending on your enemy's weaknesses.
You can switch to another pet on the fly and you can even use Oliver to throw in some powerful spell if you know the enemy is weak to certain elements. Although it seems simple on the surface, the combat system is quite deep, as you can time your parries to leave the enemy open to counterattacks, or switch to defense when you see the opponent preparing a powerful attack.
Oliver can become more “familiar” with his pets by feeding them various types of food found throughout the world. Once they reach a certain level they will evolve and gain more powerful abilities and better stats. Also, switching between familiars at the right time or using certain familiars for specific battles is the recipe for success in Ni no Kuni.
One of the problems with the combat system, besides being archaic, is the terrible AI. Suppose you're using one of the NPC and equip her/him with a few familiar to be used in battle. Unfortunately, most of the time they will never use the Defense option when the enemy uses its most powerful attack, and that's absolutely terrible during boss fights.
Each location that Oliver visits throughout his epic journey is masterfully designed to make you feel different on an emotional level, not just visually. Speaking of the art design, No no Kuni's animations have been produced by Studio Ghibli in such a way that it replicates the traditional animation style of the studio's films. Everything from the artwork, animations, characters design, cutscenes, and soundtrack have been carefully created to offer a charming gameplay experience.
The original Ni no Kuni looked extremely well on PlayStation 3, although performance-wise it had some issues. The remaster looks gorgeous in 4K, not to mention that it runs at 60 fps (or higher if you check the uncapped frame rate option).
The Good
- Interesting story
- Gorgeous art style and animations
- Top-notch presentation
- Exceptional soundtrack
- Meaningful visuals improvements
The Bad
- Archaic combat system
- AI issues
- No new features
Conclusion
Fortunately, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered remains faithful to the original while improving on the visual and performance aspects. Actually, these are the only things added in the game, so it's up to each and everyone to decide whether or not it's worth it.
The game looks better than ever but plays the same, so newcomers to the series should not skip one of the best JRPGs of all time, I would be “brokenhearted.” On a serious note, Ni no Kuni remains the same charming game that I've played several years ago and I'm glad that Bandai Namco has decided to bring it to a larger audience.
