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[DragoonKain]

I've heard really good things about it, so decided to play it after never having gotten around to it. I will say the character animations are gorgeous. Really impressed by them.

I don't know what I expected though, since I never played NnK1 yet either, but this game feels... cheap. Bland, linear dungeons that have a lot of dead ends and doors you can't open. The battle system isn't overly deep, though it isn't bad. I just thought it would be more interesting than essentially a button masher. And the world map I thought would feel like a classic old school JRPG would map, but it really doesn't. There's really nothing interesting in it, and on screen enemies are faster than you, so there's no point in running away from any of them you can't avoid because they'll catch you from behind and you'll get a surprise attack.

So far the music is terrible, and for some reason only like 10% of the dialogue so far is voice acted. I don't know what that's about.

Anyway, I don't think it's bad. But it has like an 85ish on metacritic, so I was expecting an instant classic, but this feels very run of the mill.

Has anyone here played it? Do you think if I keep playing, I'll have a different impression?

I was thinking about shelving it and coming back to it later. I definitely will finish it at some point, but this doesn't feel like the classic JRPG experience I was in the mood for now, unless people can vouch that it does get there at some point.

 

[adamsapple]

Yes, compared to the first one, it's very generic.

Beautiful art though.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

It was “meh” for me as well. I didn’t give it as much time as I gave NK:1.

The VO doesn’t get better…so get ready for more weird and jarring character interactions.

Wish I could give you a better impression but I never returned to the game to finish it.

 

[Strider Highwind]

It’s missing a lot of the charm the first one had, and it doesn’t know how to just end. I still stuck with it, but you’re definitely gonna get to a point where you wished it would just be over, but you’re too far in to give up lol

 

[Cornbread78]

While they removed the "pokemonesqueness" of the game I still enjoyed my time with it. I actually might have spent more time building my kingdom more than anything else, lol

 

[NeoLed]

The only thing keeping me in is the citizen recruitment side of the game. I am a fan of Suikoden, so it fill that void a little

 

[lastmessiah]

Most JRPGs are cheaply made and have basic grindy gameplay these days. Kind of a shame.

 

[Neilg]

I did not like it at all.

Started persona 5 instead and I'm enjoying that a hell of a lot more.

 

[Tschumi]

I'm sorry to say ni no kuni passed me by. It was apparently serious when if first came out i really wanted to play it, soak in the ghibli... But i couldn't get it until i got an old ps3 a couple of years ago.. and i found it to be too PG and grindy. Such a shame, I'm sure I'd have got more out of it if I'd had it back in 2010 or whenever

 

[Aenima]

Thats because it is a disappointment, especially compared to the 1st one. Is worst in every department and felt incomplete with empty zones with nothing to do there.

Get the 1st one. Its much better.

 

[kevm3]

I actually like it a lot better than the 1st one. Guess I'm in the minority.

 

[demonstr8]

You should have played the original. It's full of charm and has some cool original spell mechanics and has some good storytelling moments and it's fun to fight with the banana monsters. NNK2 took away most of the things above and replaced it with bloated fetch quests but it does have a great kingdom building mechanic. The lack of story and boring battles really hold it back from being great I thought it was a middling game.

 

[lh032]

its a generic game.

I think Jim played this before he decide to kill off Japan Studio.

 

[drganon]

I liked it better than the first. Combat alone was much better in my opinion.

 

[Graciaus]

The first game was one of the most over rated piles of shit I've ever sat through. Bad story, extremely predictable story, bad combat, horrible ai, extremely easy and the list goes on. It doesn't surprise me the second is the same.

If you aren't feeling it just quit. Save yourself some time.

 

[Raven117]

Going to be honest…. First one wasn’t all that great either

 

[Nico_D]

Never finished it. Bad story and skirmishes were frustrating.

The first one was a lot better but still not the masterpiece some say it is.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Sony hasnt fuck LEVEL-5 since.

I played a little bit of the first one because of the interesting art style. But thats when I sold my PS3 and got a PS4. I got the second one. I finished it. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Feels like a inferior Dragon Quest 8.

First one was probably better. But im ni no kuni’d out.

 

[MadPanda]

I've played it and finished it but it's nothing spectacular. I'm not a particular fan of JRPGs. It's been a long time since I've played it so I can't remember everything but I know there was a lot of filler which I didn't like. When I think about it, I can't rber anything about it so I guess it wasn't special. I'd say skip it. Because of this experience I couldn't get into DQ XI it just reminded me of that game.

 

[Lanrutcon]

It was...fine? Only thing that kept me going was the little town minigame.

 

[tusharngf]

finished it and loved it. No complaints so far.

 

[demonstr8]

its a generic game.

I think Jim played this before he decide to kill off Japan Studio.

Exactly what do you think this has to do with Japan Studio?

 

[Meicyn]

Game sucked. Ni no Kuni had just enough Ghibli charm to make me overlook the flaws, and the sequel had none of the same charm. Even Joe Hisaishi’s score for the sequel felt phoned in.

Quit the game after about eight hours and never looked back.

 

[TheAssist]

Didnt play 1 and tried to get into this one. I guess the art style and voice acting turned me of after 2 or so hours. I think the game is good, just not for me

 

[lh032]

Exactly what do you think this has to do with Japan Studio?

im just jk.

 

[Icymanipulator]

I got bored near the end and just dropped it. Glad I got it on sale at least.

 

[sephiroth7x]

I have had it waiting on my shelf to play but was put off because I simply could not abide the battle system from the original. I loved everything about the original Ni No Kuni but that AI in battle - man that killed me - so when I saw the second was more action-RPG that standard JRPG fare, I felt it would be worth a go. Now however, am not so sure. Will go to the new DragonQuest instead methinks...

 

[Synless]

Great looking game, awful sequel.

 

[Bankai]

Yeah, I was disappointed as well. Didn't like the combat as much as in Ni No Kuni 1. Such a shame that they got rid of the compagnon/Pokemon system, which rocked.

Part 1 got really grindy at the end of the game, at least that wasn't the case with part 2.. but overall, very underwhelming.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Its a bad isekai.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Didn't play the first one, so it was a very nice game to me. Would rate it as high as 8/10 or even 9/10.

 

[Duchess]

Played it, finished it.

It's rather forgettable, sadly.

 

[emivita]

For some reason this is the only game in my entire PS4 library that frequently locks up my 1st model PS4 Pro. Tried it 2 years ago and abandoned it for this reason, then played way more intensive games with 0 issues. Seems like I'm not missing much though.

 

[Haggard]

unfortunately nowhere as memorable as the first one.

 

[GymWolf]

I think i tried a demo but when i saw the design of the protagonist i bailed out faster than a sony fanboy during a cod convention...

 

[TrueLegend]

No studio Ghibli No good sire. That being said they retained art direction but lack some of the charm. The gameplay is not stellar in first one either. Honestly if the gameplay was great these games will be god tier.

 

[The Cockatrice]

It was garbage.

 

[RoadHazard]

You've heard good things about it? I've pretty much only heard disappointment from people who liked the original (as I did), which is why I skipped it.

So yeah, try the original instead. It's still a pretty formulaic JRPG with few new ideas, but it's very charming and I had fun with it.

 

[Xeaker]

Very average RPG, like most in the last 10 years

 

[sircaw]

one of the few games that I really regret buying.

I gave about 7 hours in and that was more than enough for me.

Very pretty though.

I wanted to try dragons quest 11, but this game has stopped me dead in my tracks.

 

[SilentUser]

I played the first title and loved almost every single aspect of it, such a charming game and story.

I just started Ni no Kuni II and I can't take that massive disappoint out of my head. Why they are calling it Ni no Kuni when the gameplay is absolutely different with the removal of all that Pokemon style? Plus, the graphics are bad (though the art is fine) and everything is very bland so far.

 

[PhaseJump]

Level-5 RPGs are like this. Nice looking, boring shit. It is no wonder OG Xbox killed True Fantasy Live Online. It probably sucked.

PS2 games were good. Dark Cloud, Dark Cloud 2. Dragon Quest 8 was managed by better people. Rogue Galaxy looked good, gameplay was good, story was star wars + power rangers, written for easily impressed 10 year olds who have no friends.

I don't trust JRPG recommendations any more, too many weeaboos hyped up this garbage.

 

[Ogbert]

Gave up after two or three hours.

Boring, derivative and bland.

 

[Kokoloko85]

I enjoyed it, the graphics, combat and world but the first has a different level of charm and ghibliness

 

[sigmaZ]

Yep. Ni no Mediocre. I loved the visuals and general design way more than the first, but the music sucked (for an RPG) outside the theme, the story was just ok, and it's been awhile, but I remember there was something really off about the battle system, though I didn't the core system itself. Also, the sidequests just felt uninspired and chore-like. The base thing could also have been done better, but it never interesting enough for me to go all in on it. The ending was decent though cliche.

To be honest, I don't think Level 5 is a very good developer. It's like, they put a high emphasis on style, but their gameplay doesn't ever seem to be on par or something.

 

[FromDuskTillGameOver]

Loved the first one and nearly completed it. I was hyped for the 2nd one and even pre ordered the CE. The first hours hooked me but i lost nearly all interest after like 70% into the main story, which tells a lot on how forgetable it is. Such a shame because it has a lot of charm and great artwork/music in it, but i coulnd get over these boring "warefare" segments. Also the "building your kingdome" felt like a soulless mobile game. Better get the first one.

 

[sigmaZ]

Game sucked. Ni no Kuni had just enough Ghibli charm to make me overlook the flaws, and the sequel had none of the same charm. Even Joe Hisaishi’s score for the sequel felt phoned in.

Quit the game after about eight hours and never looked back.

Yeah. Oddly, the only good tracks were the ones recycled from the first.

 

[NahaNago]

All I remember of the game is the disappointment I had with it being such a weak sequel.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Gameplay is the least important thing in a JRPG for me but NNK2's is better than the first.

Everything else is worse though.

 

[Valonquar]

I enjoyed it. Like others here, I felt it filled the gap left by Suikoden being gone