Ni no Kuni!!!!!!

This is a blog post on a game I bought a while ago. It's Ni no Kuni!!!!!



Logo!!!!!


This is a game that is often compared to Pokemon. Why? Because combat works similarly. The main hero, a kid named Oliver, is a wizard (or is he? Beat the game to learn the truth!) that can summon creatures that are literally called Familiars. Unlike Pokemon, Oliver can partake in battle personally. Even though doing so is either really stupid, or really hardcore because regular enemies will wreck you if Oliver doesn't summon a Familiar. At least until Oliver gets the Mega wand of Doom (spoiler alert!), Mornstar, which is COMPLETELY OVERPOWERED BECAUSE YOU HAVE A INSTANT KILL MOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Anyway, overpowered wands of doom aside, this game has a good story. The opening is sad and tragic, and because basically every trailer for this game shows you this scene, I will put on here.

NI NO KUNI RECAP!!!!!!! (but only the opening)
Once upon a time there was a town called Motorville. This town was boring and bland but had two kids who play an important role in the story. The first is Oliver, a well-mannered child who you play as for the entire game. The other is Philip (that's the English name, as this game was made by the legendary Japanese movie studio Ghibli. Hence a few mis-translations here and there), who at first glance looks like a stereotypical loser but is amazing!!!

Oliver and Philip both have been busy building a homemade sports car (out of garbage). By the time the game starts, Phil has finished his little... "Project". Philip tells Oliver that they have to try it out at night (because Philip doesn't want anyone but Oliver to know his lifelong dream is to build the best car ever).

Meanwhile in another dimension a major villain - the White Witch - realizes that Oliver is part of a prophecy that would ruin her, so she has her talking parrot thing sabotage the car Phil and Oliver were building. Hoping that Oliver would die from the "accident".

Oliver's mother goes to bed early so that she can go to a concert. While asleep, Oliver and Philip prepare their car for a test drive (and Oliver meets a ghost-child that shows up frequently throughout the game, often hinting, that the world around Oliver is NOT what it seems to be). Oliver is the first to drive (because Phil let Oliver drive provided he kept the car top-secret). It almost instantly breaks and spirals out control into a nearby river Oliver almost drowns if his mother (who woke up after a nightmare) hadn't saved him.

The effort however gives her a heart attack (she happens to have a weak heart) and dies a slow, painful death at the hospital, right before Oliver's eyes (most sad moment. EVER.).

Three whole days later, Oliver has locked himself up in his room and is STILL crying. A stray tear lands on Oliver's favorite doll, and it transforms into the most hilarious character ever!!! Mister Drippy!!!!!! Who speaks with an accent!!!!!!!! That the official wiki claims to be a Welsh accent but several people (who happen to be Welsh) claim that it is NOT a Welsh accent. Either way, he is hilarious. He calls Oliver a crybaby for mourning his dead mother, but reveals that there MIGHT be a way to restore her, because Mister Drippy is from another dimension and everyone in the real world has a counterpart in the other world. A Wizard named Shadar has imprisoned the counterpart of Oliver's mother (who is a wizard) in a shiny glowing orb of doom (a.k.a. the Soul-Snare). And by freeing her there is a chance that Oliver's mother will come back to life.

That is the opening sequence of Ni no Kuni. If you want the whole story, go to Wikipedia. Because they give spoilers constantly.


That is the story so now it's gameplay.


Another world!!!!!!


Oliver and later two more playable characters travel a massive open world. First by foot, then by boat, and finally your form of transport for the long run is an adorable dragon named Tengri.


 
Tengri!!!!!!!


This is a RPG (Role Playing Game), so expect the IRRESISTIBLE urge to grind enemies until you hit level cap. It's IRRESISTIBLE. Which means unless you are hardcore, you HAVE to grind. Pro tip: You can cut grind time in half by seeking out Tokos. They give over 25,000 experience points if you defeat them. (only problem. They rarely are seen) .



Oliver (once he gets a wand, which is mandatory) actually becomes a decent long range fighter and healer. But like I said, very late in the game he gets a overpowered instant kill attack. Which is very theatrical.


Oh, and Oliver cannot use Familiars as meat shields, because if the Familiar gets hurt, so does Oliver. Also Oliver has a Locket which can store emotions. Several Puzzles actually require collecting emotions from NPC's.


Finally there are dungeons. Yes, dungeons. They are rarely used as dungeons but every dungeon has a boss which are very impressive. Some are insanely tough.


My only complaint about this game is the teammate A.I. which feels incomplete at most. Half the time they get wrecked even by regular enemies because the A.I. told them to spam regular attacks constantly. In the long run that is going to make you die. A LOT.


For more info please go to the Wiki OR get the game yourself.

Five video games that caught my eye (that you MUST know about!)

This is a post about some really cool video games that look really good so here is a list of sorts. This is in NO order by the way because I personally like these games equally.

1. Never Alone

This is a game that is directly inspired by Native Alaskan storytelling (Inupiaq, to be exact. There is supposed to be a symbol above the N but my PC doesn't have a "put symbols above letters" button, so pretend there is a symbol). I know nothing about the story save for the fact that it's about a young girl and her pet fox as they try and stop a magic blizzard. This is a moody/atmospheric game with Puzzles, and puzzle games are actually my favorite type of games. From what I know this game lets you control both the girl and the fox to solve co-op puzzles so there are things that only the fox can do and things only the girl can do.

2. Brothers: A tale of Two Sons

 

This is a game similar to Never Alone somewhat, but this game use NONVERBAL story telling, which means the characters in this game speak a fictional language (there are no subtitles to translate, unlike the amazing Shadow of the Colossus, which also has a fictional language). The premise is two brothers (see above) are on a quest to save their dying father from a illness. I do not know what the illness is but considering the Middle Ages-like setting of the game, I will assume that it is the plague. Plagues are brutal. Also there are friendly troll/ogre/thingies with mushrooms on their backs, EVIL Trolls (of doom!) that kidnap good Trolls, Griffons, evil wolf things of doom, Giant fish things of (you guessed it) doom, and a magic tree that holds the cure for the aforementioned illness.

But enough about story, Here is gameplay. Exactly one half of the controller controls one brother, and the other half controls the other brother. And there are deceptively clever puzzles. I love clever puzzles. This game is already and is download only on Steam, Xbox 360 and PS3. And it is very pretty.

3. Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a brilliant game. This game takes place during World War 1 (1914-1918). It is about five soldiers (only one of which actually speaks English, as the other four speak German, French, and other languages, but for those that cannot understand their speech, cute little pictures represent what each character is saying). However, the Narrator always speaks the language used most in the country you bought it in, and reads the letters that each of the main characters send to their families out loud.

Yet again we have a puzzle game (I REALLY LOVE PUZZLE GAMES!) But unlike the first two games in this list, they actually give you hints..... With a actually Hint Button. But why would you use it? Nobody likes hints for PUZZLES!!!!!!!

4. Ori and the Blind Forest

 

Ori and the Blind Forest is a really cool video game that I actually didn't know about until the day I wrote this post. I have done a ton of research on this game. Basically from what I know: It is about a cat/dragon/fairy thing (oddly enough, it is NOT a thing of doom) named Ori. Ori was (judging by the trailer) apparently raised by a panda yeti. There is also a Giant Owl thing.......Of Doom.

This is the first game on this list that is NOT a puzzle game but is a Platforming game (the creators of the game are hoping this game brings back memories of the tried and true side scrolling games of the 8-bit era). 

5. Pokemon!!!!

 

New info about this(these?) game(games?) intrigued me, and it's pretty good.

First, Salamence (a dragon), Alraria (a bird), and Lopunny (a bunny) now have Mega Modes. I know that the proper term is Mega Evolution but I think Mega Mode sounds cooler. Anyway, They are bringing back the ability to compete in Contests (renamed Contest Spectacular). It's similar to Battling but instead of dueling other Pokemon they use their powers to impress the in-game audience and judges. Pokemon moves can do so interesting things, like make the other five opponents' Pokemon too intimidated to actually do anything (Pro Tip from the Website: Using Disable will instantly unnerve the opponent's Pokemon, crippling their performance. That is why I think Disable should be banned. It's Sabotage). Also using a unexpected combo (well, unexpected to the crowd) Like....Having a Salamence use Focus Energy (Salamence concentrates, and through sheer willpower, it's raw power is tripled. And the whole time it glows a dark red color) and then use Stone Edge (Salamence roars, and a stalactite pops out of nowhere. The size of the stalactite will increase with Focus Energy) immediately afterwards.


Oh and this is a confirmed fact: You get a free Pikachu!!!! You do not need to catch it or trade it. It's a gift from the Hoenn Contest Champion. BUT, this Pikachu is special. It's the only Pikachu with a fashion sense!!!!! You can have this special Pikachu (called the Cosplay Pikachu) wear adorable costumes. These costumes are not cosmetic, as they allow Cosplay Pikachu to use powers that are SUPPOSED TO BE off limits for regular Pikachu (the plural of Pikachu is still Pikachu). That makes Pikachu one of the most versatile Pokemon ever now (Pikachu can now belly flop, like a stereotypical wrestler) so I see this version of Pikachu being a valuable member of your party (six Pokemon of any type equals One Party).


And that is it. That's my "Five video games that caught my eye (that you MUST know about). For detailed info go to the respective wikis.



I am sorry for pictures that are not supposed to be there, my PC is glitching so bad at the time of this post and there is nothing I can do to fix it, so ignore the extra pictures