Ni No Kuni on the Wii U

Ah, some people who agree with me. I can rest in peace

I'm currently playing through the Japanese version right now (but it's tough going, since I am not that hot with the language), and I can attest to how beautiful it looks and sounds... the Book reference, Rune system is just so brilliant... so immersive. I realise that the PS3 version will look and sound beautiful as well (even more so) but I will miss the interaction.

Hmmmm, this thread has made me realise that Ni no Kuni might be the best way to go when it comes to my first Japanese game experience.

Did you get a Japanese DS for it @Deku\-Nutz or is it not region-locked?

As someone who learned English better through games, I'd say getting more accustomed to Japanese with games would be a logical step.

I've completed my 1st year of Japanstudies now, so should be a nice challenge

I'm quite sick of the lack of western releases for some of these awesome RPG's, RPG's are my favorite genre of games, when done well they have varied gameplay, huge scale and are certainly value for money (60+hours of game play for a single run through of a game compared to FPS games 2 hours then its challenges, replays and multiplayer to get the same value)

Agreed.

There was a topic in the Retro Board a while back about the lack of JRPG's on consoles this generation. The focus seems to be on the handheld market now, probably due to budget and the popularity of said market in Japan.

Still, if you have a PSP there are more than enough RPG's to keep you going for a lifetime. It really is a beast of a machine when it comes to that genre and with it being region free you can easily import the ones that make it to the US but never see the light of day in Europe.

Hmmmm, this thread has made me realise that Ni no Kuni might be the best way to go when it comes to my first Japanese game experience.

 

Did you get a Japanese DS for it @Deku\-Nutz or is it not region-locked?

 

As someone who learned English better through games, I'd say getting more accustomed to Japanese with games would be a logical step.

I've completed my 1st year of Japanstudies now, so should be a nice challenge

It's not region locked, no

I think it's a great game to get to grips with Japanse. All the dialogue is in Kana and the the few Kanji all have furigana. Also the dialogue itself is very simple so it's not overly complicated.

Agreed.

 

There was a topic in the Retro Board a while back about the lack of JRPG's on consoles this generation. The focus seems to be on the handheld market now, probably due to budget and the popularity of said market in Japan.

 

Still, if you have a PSP there are more than enough RPG's to keep you going for a lifetime. It really is a beast of a machine when it comes to that genre and with it being region free you can easily import the ones that make it to the US but never see the light of day in Europe.

PSP definately had a lot of JRPG's, but if we are talking about Original content, and Quality content... then it wasn't so hot in my opinion. Plenty of cool remakes and ports... not so many masterpieces that were Original to the PSP though.

PSP definately had a lot of JRPG's, but if we are talking about Original content, and Quality content... then it wasn't so hot in my opinion. Plenty of cool remakes and ports... not so many masterpieces that were Original to the PSP though.

True, then I guess it's lucky for me that I hadn't played most of them before. :p

It's still a beast of a list though. I mean off the top off my head...

Final Fantasy I

Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy IV

Trails in the Sky

Tactics Ogre

Final Fantasy Tactics

Jeanne D Arc

Wild Arms

Disgaea

Disgaea 2

Tales of Eternia

Tales of Radiant Mythology

Fate/Extra

Ys series

Lunar

Persona

Persona 2

Persona 3

Star Ocean

Star Ocean 2

Valkyria Chronicles 2

Breath of Fire III

Phantasy Star Portable

Kingdom Hearts

Final Fantasy: Crisis Core

I'm sure there's a heck of a lot more as well. I know i'm in the minority but I love the PSP!

It's not region locked, no

 

I think it's a great game to get to grips with Japanse. All the dialogue is in Kana and the the few Kanji all have furigana. Also the dialogue itself is very simple so it's not overly complicated.

How much Kanji is used, because I'd like to brush up on that as well. . .

I'm sure there's a heck of a lot more as well. I know i'm in the minority but I love the PSP!

PSP is great for RPG's. Not much good for pretty much everything else though.

PSP is great for RPG's. Not much good for pretty much everything else though.

Yup. Oh and Monster Hunter, it's also great for that too!

I own a PS3.

 

I'll buy the PS3 version because I have no other choice. It looks lovely in HD.

 

I wanted it for the DS as well!

 

I suggested the Wii U because it has a touchscreen interface, and would be a perfect combination of the DS gameplay and the PS3 visuals and sound.

 

Why don't people get this?

I know you own a PS3. What I'm saying is that I own neither a PS3 nor a Wii U, and I am happy to buy whichever machine it is on. It's not like Twilight Princess on the Wii, which was darn annoying. Square-Enix has never, ever misled anyone about which consoles it would be on.

If you are simply saying you wanted both the PS3 and DS versions localised, fair play to you. Get it off your chest. It's just that the title suggests you want a Wii U version. Which version would that be? The DS version with the graphics advanced two generations or the PS3 version with touch screen tacked on? Either would require a fair bit of work.

I'm not trying to argue with you, Deku, just trying to understand. Like I say, if something's annoyed you it's good to get it off your chest!

And level 5 best developers in the world? Are you utterly insane? I love them, but that's crazy talk. Professon Layton are great games but not amazing design, same with inazuma

I might be.

Dragon Quest VIII - Best RPG ever made.

Dragon Quest IX - After the frankly terrible decision to put it on the DS, Level-5 worked miracles, creating the best game on the DS and almost making it look like a good decision in the process. Almost.

DQ is a large name and people follow it. Also DQ was new to the general public when VIII came out over here, yet had built up considerable reputation by the time IX came around. IX still sold a fair bit less in Europe by the way than VIII, indicating that console can trump handheld over here.

That's good to hear, as Dragon Quest VIII is so massively superior. Honestly, if people haven't played Dragon Quest VIII, I don't think they can appreciate just how much RPGs have failed to live up to it since. Square-Enix cannot put Level-5 onto Dragon Quest XI soon enough, and on the most powerful console too.

Yup. If you didn't tell people what each title number was, they'd never be able to guess that VIII came first. IX was a massive step back and done solely on greed.

Yup. If you didn't tell people what each title number was, they'd never be able to guess that VIII came first. IX was a massive step back and done solely on greed.

It's safe to say that Enix and then Square-Enix have always been driven by greed with Dragon Quest (Always on the most popular console), and it served them just fine so far

True, then I guess it's lucky for me that I hadn't played most of them before. :p

 

It's still a beast of a list though. I mean off the top off my head...

 

Final Fantasy I

Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy IV

Trails in the Sky

Tactics Ogre

Final Fantasy Tactics

Jeanne D Arc

Wild Arms

Disgaea

Disgaea 2

Tales of Eternia

Tales of Radiant Mythology

Fate/Extra

Ys series

Lunar

Persona

Persona 2

Persona 3

Star Ocean

Star Ocean 2

Valkyria Chronicles 2

Breath of Fire III

Phantasy Star Portable

Kingdom Hearts

Final Fantasy: Crisis Core

 

I'm sure there's a heck of a lot more as well. I know i'm in the minority but I love the PSP!

Plenty of awesome RPG's fo sho!

Problem for me was that being a RPG junky I had already played and still owned nearly every port that came out... that said Crisis Core was fantastic! As were the monster hunters and the Radiant Mythology games as well.

wow it looks really good

It's safe to say that Enix and then Square-Enix have always been driven by greed with Dragon Quest (Always on the most popular console), and it served them just fine so far

Yep, them...

Yep, them...

Without descending into a 'what DQ game is best?' argument, I think millions would agree that the pedigree of the series is very high, and yes, that includes the brilliant 9.

Not saying that, just that following the most popular console is financially sensible but doesn't deliver the best experience.

Not saying that, just that following the most popular console is financially sensible but doesn't deliver the best experience.

Pro's and Con's going handheld.

Technically if it's move compatible then you'll still have the potential for an annoying control method (not sure how this works on the DS, but if it's anything like Okamiden it won't work half the time). Normally you'd have more of a point, but given how breathtaking the HD version looks any pros to the handheld version seem pretty trivial by comparison.

Reading this thread made me realise that I never seen anything about this during E3. I had a quick look and sure enough it was there.

What an awesome trailer, game looks stunning. I can't wait.

Technically if it's move compatible then you'll still have the potential for an annoying control method (not sure how this works on the DS, but if it's anything like Okamiden it won't work half the time). Normally you'd have more of a point, but given how breathtaking the HD version looks any pros to the handheld version seem pretty trivial by comparison.

Well I don't think gameplay is trivial to be honest, and the game is not move compatible but sure, that could hae been an inferior substitute to writing with a stylus.

The rune system works perfectly. Never played Okamiden.

Anyway, as good as many of your points are every so often I have quickly noticed how narrow your field of view is. HD graphics trumps all, according to you. I disagree. Not really much else to add

Had a go of this over the weekend in Sheffield at GamesBritania, the trailers do not do this game justice! it looks amazing, the cel shaded graphics make it look like you a playing a very polished animated movie.

The battle system reminded me of star ocean in that it was the typical jrpg interface with the ability to move around, although the demo section i got on didn't have any battles, the battle/world map exploration demo was set up next to me so i kept an eye on what the dumb kid next to me was doing - he was terrible he changed tactics viewed the menu etc etc before (and just before being killed) realised that the attack command he'd skipped over might actually be how you attack!

The section i got on was a town, and it was so detailed each NPC was unique and seemed to have specific animations relating to their mannerisms (like a guy lazing around on a bench, waving his hand as he spoke to you).

I really cannot wait for this game now it was really beautiful and certainly drew people in to watch and play it.

I actually thought this was on the WiiU until of course... I reached the end of trailer. I swear if this doesn't see a WiiU release, then this game is another reason why I need a PS3. So far out of all the E3 game trailers I've seen this is one of the best.