Set hundreds of years after the events of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, this third-person JRPG begins with Roland witnessing a missile explode over the city he’s heading to. The effects of the explosion resulted in him being transmigrated to a young king’s private quarters in another world where the story begins.

The storyline and gameplay

The storyline is simple: young Prince Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum is about to become the official king of Ding Dong Dell when his throne is usurped by Mausinger, the advisor to Evan’s late father and previous king. With the help of his soon-to-be trusted confidant Roland and his governess Aranella (whose self-sacrifice helped them to escape), he manages to escape to safety and set off on an adventure. The goal: to create a new kingdom where everyone is free and happy.

As far as storylines go – and combined with the gameplay – this came off as pretty childish the moment I started playing. In our reality, the concept of a place where everyone is free and happy is just that, a concept. That isn’t to say I think it’s bad. As the simple-minded human that I am, I quite like the childish simplicity of it all. When you’re not completing quests to progress through the game, you’re free to roam the open world, where you can explore towns, caves, dungeons and much more. I really appreciate the use and design of the overworld (an area within a video game that connects all its locations or levels and is common in RPGs) because it meant I could get from one location to another fairly quickly. Also, I found the chibi-like design of the playable characters oddly charming and cute when in the overworld.

One thing that stood out the moment I took control as Roland was the way the characters run downstairs. It’s so normal! Usually, when characters run up or down stairs, it’s the same smooth movement akin to running on a level surface. In this case, Roland didn’t make the standard running strides when going downstairs, his movements we realistic. I didn’t realise this was something I wanted to see until I saw it and was so caught off-guard that I had to pause. It’s important to note that this is only during quests. When you’re running around in chibi form, that feature disappears.

What I liked about the Kingmaker quest

For anyone who doesn’t know, this isn’t just a ‘go on an adventure and fight monsters’ kind of game. The quests offer a variety of challenges, all of which reflects the qualities a good fantasy world king and his confidant should have; fighting prowess, a kind heart and intellect. You see the fighting prowess quality in all the standard fighting situations – battling armoured rat soldiers, defeating Thogg in the Kingmaker final trial and killing those generic monsters in the open world. Needless to say that this isn’t all just senseless violence because your characters’ skill level increases as a result of those fights. Also, as aforementioned, some quests were reflection of other qualities. This is concerning the quest where Evan and Roland had to rescue Tani (the sky pirate chief’s daughter) from the wyvern’s den. I saw that as a reflection of Evan’s courage and kind heart.

The main part of the kingmaker trial was very interesting as it required you to actually think about what you were doing – remember what I said about intellect earlier. I really enjoy puzzles so I was happy when this quest appeared. Admittedly, figuring out which way to rotate the statues took a few attempts, but I’m blaming that on the fact that I was playing at ungodly hours in the night.

Another reflection of intellect-based quests (which we’ll see more of throughout the game) is army tactics. This isn’t particularly difficult though, especially if you’ve ever played a Pokémon game because you essentially have to choose ‘troops’ that are compatible with your opponent. The first time players will come across this feature is when Evan and co. visit the new location of his kingdom and engage in their first battle, the ‘Battle for the Heartlands’. If you follow the tutorial, you’re guaranteed an easy win. This is something that makes me hope it becomes more challenging later on.

Final thoughts on Ni no Kuni 2 (so far)

If you were to ask me if it’s worth buying the game, I would say yes. It’s simple, fun and the world is visually appealing. Of course, the world design doesn’t compare to games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which has beautiful visuals, but it still does the job. Also, don’t let the age rating put you off. I think this game will appeal to any age group as long as they have an interest in adventure fantasy games.