It’s not easy being Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum. As a young king, he lost more than he should. As if being a king at such a young age isn’t hard enough, he gets cast away from his own kingdom while losing the people he loves. Evan isn’t going to give up that easily, however. A king needs to be strong, a king needs to lead his pack, a king needs to create opportunities where others would only see dead ends. This ambition marks the start of your beautiful adventure in Ni No Kuni II, an adventure filled with incredible environments and unforgettable characters.
Young Evan against the world
The story of Evan is a story about love, dedication, and loss. Right from the start, you’ll feel connected to the young royal as he’s portrayed as a helpless and yet brave little man. Everything seems to go peacefully in the kingdom of Ding Dong Bell, until the mouse tribe performed a coup d’état, forcing themselves as new rulers of the kingdom. It’s at this moment that things go South for young Evan. In just a couple of hours, he lost his kingdom, lost his loved ones and lost the place he called home. Brutal events for our young ruler but he can still count on some unexpected help.
Enter Roland, president of an American-esque world who ended up in the parallel Ding Dong Bell kingdom after a crash. After seeing young Evan and the troubles he’s facing, Roland didn’t hesitate for a moment and stepped right in, swearing to protect this young king. Roland is a very interesting main character since he’s a lot older than Evan. It’s an interesting party and both young players and older gamers will feel warmth for both characters.
It’s extremely clever from a developer’s point of view to add these two characters as their difference in age allows players from different ages to connect with one of them in mere seconds. Later on, you’ll meet with plenty of other colorful and interesting characters like Tami, daughter of the Sky Pirate’s captain. The world of Ni No Kuni II is filled with interesting characters that all have that one thing in common: the will to fight for a new kingdom, the will to fight for a happily ever after.
What I discussed until now are just your first couple of hours in the game and Ni No Kuni II has a lot more to offer. The ‘war’ between the mouse tribe and the cat tribe serves as the common thread during your adventure. It’s amazing to see the character development in a game that’s aimed at a slightly younger audience. Thanks to this, I got sucked into the game immediately and continued playing just to see what amazing events were waiting for me behind the corner.
New and improved combat
The story is incredible but what about the combat? Well, let’s first address the elephant in the room: Ni No Kuni II isn’t a traditional RPG like Ni No Kuni I was. Instead, the role-playing element got replaced with a more action-oriented approach. Instead of fighting your enemies by commanding your troops with the help of traditional menus, you’ll get full control over your character in this one. That’s right, Ni No Kuni II has become an action RPG like the ‘Tales’ series or the recent ‘Final Fantasy XV’. Personally, I liked this approach more but I’m sure not everybody will agree with me. For those who are thinking the combat system lost its depth due to this change, let me reassure you this is not the case.
Combat in Ni No Kuni II goes a lot deeper than you might think, at first sight, explaining all details would be a completely separate review, but allow me to explain the basics. First of all, you’ll attack the enemies directly using a normal or heavy attack. All characters both have melee and ranged weapons, it’s important to trade these for stronger ones along your way. The world is filled with treasures and better weapons, or you can just buy them in one of the in-game shops. Upgrading your weapons is crucial since every weapon has its own attributes. Also, take note that your weapons will build up momentum, leading to one of your four special attacks. Since only one weapon can build up momentum at a time, you’ll need to switch between your weapons constantly (you can set the game to do this for you too). Still not deep enough? It doesn’t end there just yet.
Since this is still an RPG, you’ll have access to a skill tree, in the typical Ni No Kuni style. In here, you can tweak your preferences and make your characters stronger. Of course, this is something every RPG game does so it won’t come as a surprise. More innovating are The “Higgledies”. These cute little fellows represent the force of nature. Just imagine the wind and sun growing legs to wander the Earth. You’ll find these little ones everywhere and if you give them the right type of food, they’ll help you during combat. Every type has its own abilities, some will launch devastating attacks while others will heal you during combat if you command them to do so. By adding these cute Pikmin-like characters to the game, Ni No Kuni II managed to reinvent the action RPG combat into a highly sophisticated and deep gameplay mechanic. Don’t be mistaken by its cute colorful looks, mastering the combat completely will ask a lot of your time, and a lot of game over screens.
But wait, there’s more
Building a new kingdom takes far more than just a good story and a deep combat system, that’s why Ni No Kuni II has a lot more to offer. Besides the regular story and combat, you’ll find a kingdom creator like Age of Empires and a fun top-view Skirmish mode. Let’s discuss the kingdom creator first. In here, you’ll need to place your building in the right spot and make sure your inhabitants remain happy. The best part about it is the fact that you’ll meet the people of your kingdom during your main game, meaning everything is connected. The kingdom creator itself never goes as deep as Age of Empires but it’s impressive to have this type of game in a traditional action RPG.
More impressive is the Skirmish mode where you’ll fight enormous armies in the cutest way possible. Skirmish mode makes use of little Chibi versions of your characters in a top-view (this view is also used on the world map to traverse huge distances). In Skirmish, you take control over small groups of warriors. During your first Skirmish battle, you’ll have control over a group of swordsmen and a group of archers. By giving them the right commands at the right time, you’ll need to destroy your enemies. The best part about it is the innovating way you move on the battlefield. Your troops will always form a circle around their leader and with a push on one of the shoulder buttons, you’ll make those warriors circle around you. Sounds easy but this system brings a new way of thinking to the table. Will you force your archers to go head to head with other archers? Maybe it’s a smarter idea to let those strong swordsmen attack first. As if this wasn’t enough already, each faction has its own special attacks like air strikes to spice things up. Every action will cost you some battle points but if you play it wisely, you’ll attack, defend and regroup your way to victory. I really enjoyed Skirmish battles as they offer a new and innovative way to conquer a lot of land at once.
These two modes form the two main separate modes but Ni No Kuni II is filled with different games inside the main story. It’s fun to see how the developers made sure there’s a lot to do in a lengthy game like this. Thanks to this variation in gameplay, I enjoyed every minute of my time in this gorgeous new world.
A true masterpiece
Based solely on the gameplay, this game would have been a masterpiece no matter what it looked like. That being said, the game does look and sound incredible. Unlike the first one, this isn’t a direct collaboration with Studio Ghibli but former Ghibli character designer Yoshiyuki Momose and longtime music composer Joe Hisaishi, both of whom worked on Wrath of the White Witch, reprised their roles. This resulted in one of the most beautiful games I’ve seen in a long time. The design of the characters and monsters is flawless, bringing you some of the most interesting and yet colorful creatures you’ve ever seen. Having those uniquely designed monsters in a game like this really works to elevate the overall experience to new heights. As if the monster weren’t impressive enough, the kingdoms you’ll discover are all unique in their own way, some of them even criticising our way of living in the most elegant way possible.
All of this goes accompanied by a solid score, you’re not simply playing a game, you’re watching an interactive anime of high quality. It’s a bit of a shame not all narratives are voiced but those that are voiced are from another level. Cutscenes transfer to gameplay in mere seconds without you ever noticing it. It’s clear that the developers never lost their inner-child since they created a world filled with wonders.
Conclusion:
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a work of art, it’s a game filled with magic that will touch your heart the moment you start playing it. The gameplay is solid and dares to innovate the action RPG genre where others play it safe. During your adventures, you’ll fight a lot of thrilling combats, meet with a lot of interesting characters and eventually, create the kingdom of your dreams. It’s amazing how complete this game is thanks to the different games all combined into one. Even if you’re not a fan of RPG games, this is one of those games you simply can’t ignore. Don’t hesitate but help young Evan regain control over his kingdom, help him become the person he deserves to be.