Why is no one talking about Ni No Kuni?

[Xpwn3ntial]

I have not played Ni no Kuni, but I feel I know the Escapist pretty well.

If the Escapist isn't talking about a game very much, it's a good game or a console game. Usually both.

 

[Keith K]

Grinding in particular I think is one of the big repulsors.

I'm sorry but grinding is fun. A lot of people love it. Don't make me put on sunglasses and tell you to deal with it.

There's no reason why a game in a genre known for grinding as a staple cannot serve its appreciative audience in a way that may turn others off.

(Also, I don't think 'repulsor' is a word outside of comics.)

OP: The reason why people aren't talking about Ni No Kuni is because it was two months ago and it's a video game. You might as well be talking about the moon landing.

 

[martyrdrebel27]

eh, not to soundclosed minded, but there's very little chance i'll play a jrpg again. i like western rpg style. i would still like to try eternal sonata though, it at least seemed interesting and had some unique gameplay mechanics involving battling in light vs. shadow, if i remember correctly.

but if anyone wants to buy it for me, i'll check it out. haha. always hustlin'.

 

[hazabaza1]

This thread made me go check out the demo since I've been thinking about getting it.
I'm no longer thinking about getting it.

Damn shame too, but the everything from the combat to the menu navigation just seemed really clunky and unenjoyable. The story and environments sort of intrigued me, but I may as well find a decent LP to watch if I hate the gameplay.

 

[Marik2]

I have not played Ni no Kuni, but I feel I know the Escapist pretty well.

If the Escapist isn't talking about a game very much, it's a good game or a console game. Usually both.

lmao thats actually spot on

No one was talking about how great Black Mesa was when it came out. There was just one thread about it and that was it

 

[HellbirdIV]

Maybe it's just that there's not much to say about it?

From what I, as a non-player and non-JRPG-fan, can gather, people's opinions on... Whatever the hell that thing is, is that it's pretty good because it basically just does exactly what other JRPGs have done before and keeps it well refined, not wasting their time trying to innovate needlessly or change things up, just plain ol' tasty vanilla.

It doesn't make any waves, because there's nothing new to it and therefore not much to discuss. It's (apparently) just a game that's not bad at all.

 

[fletch_talon]

Then I sadly must say I am very disappointed by the developers.
I still remember in the news that the developers created on purpouse a physical book so not only give the players a good reason to emerge more in the world of the game, but also prevent the piracy of this game.

It is like the Metal Gear Solid game.
If you remember you needed to look at the back of the box of the game to see the frequency to talk with Meryl.

It was made clear a long time before release that the PS3 version wouldn't come with the physical book which was admittedly disappointing.
Thankfully they did release a collectors edition (wizards edition) with the book and I being a big fan of the concept jumped in to preorder it.

Also I doubt the developers had much say in the matter, more likely the publishers for the western market decided it wouldn't be as big a selling point here. They were also probably scared that people wouldn't pay more than standard price to get the extra book and you can be damn sure they would have laughed at anyone suggesting the book be included for free.

 

[Zantos]

Detective Inspector Tam McGleish has been talking about it. At least I think that was what he was talking about. I literally don't know if posting a gamewank review is going to get me in trouble, but I think I'll play it safe and just tell you that if you're interested in a penis obsessed scottish man reviewing it it's on youtube as 'Tam McGleish fires intae Ni No Kuni (a Gamewank review)'

It does look pretty good, if I can get my PS3 to resurrect or can afford another it's definitely on my to-do list.

I have not played Ni no Kuni, but I feel I know the Escapist pretty well.

If the Escapist isn't talking about a game very much, it's a good game or a console game. Usually both.

lmao thats actually spot on

No one was talking about how great Black Mesa was when it came out. There was just one thread about it and that was it

One thread about Black Mesa, about three on Ni No Kuni. Fucking, fifty on Mass Effect 3. And people say we're a negative bunch on these forums.

 

[TheMightyBill]

[snip]

Then I sadly must say I am very disappointed by the developers.
I still remember in the news that the developers created on purpouse a physical book so not only give the players a good reason to emerge more in the world of the game, but also prevent the piracy of this game.

It is like the Metal Gear Solid game.
If you remember you needed to look at the back of the box of the game to see the frequency to talk with Meryl.

The English version of the book was a bonus in the Wizard edition of the game. Some stores gave out free copies with non-wizard purchases, some gave away the Japanese version with purchases, but that all depends on the country and game distributor you deal with.

The developers stated that the book was a preorder bonus. People who preordered the game before the book sold out got a book. They didn't feel the need to make any more because the entire book is right there in the game, you can turn the pages and zoom in and everything.

The in-game book is still pretty immersive - if anything, stopping the game and looking away from the screen to check your physical copy is slightly less immersive, because you have to remove yourself from the game to flip around. But if you need to know that there's a physical book for a game you haven't played, then rest assured that it can be yours for a measly $200 on eBay.




I remember that MGS thing. I wrote the frequency on my arm because I kept misplacing the box. Good times.

 

[piinyouri]

Grinding in particular I think is one of the big repulsors.

I'm sorry but grinding is fun. A lot of people love it. Don't make me put on sunglasses and tell you to deal with it.

There's no reason why a game in a genre known for grinding as a staple cannot serve its appreciative audience in a way that may turn others off.

(Also, I don't think 'repulsor' is a word outside of comics.)

OP: The reason why people aren't talking about Ni No Kuni is because it was two months ago and it's a video game. You might as well be talking about the moon landing.

I'm aware some people enjoy it.
I used to be one of them.
And I'm not trying to say it's a good or bad aspect of games, just that there are people who don't enjoy it for just as many justifiable reasons as those who do.

 

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

I loved it at first, but the battle UI and the team AI flaws really started to come out as I played.

I still plan on finishing it. It is tons of fun, but I don't have a lot of time to sink into a huge JRPG right now. It definitely satisfies my RPG craving. It checks all of the boxes despite the issues I mentioned.

 

[balladbird]

While I certainly don't agree with your entire post (it's horribly harsh to say that the last "playable" jrpg was one from almost a decade ago. JRPGs no longer have much appeal outside of their niche, but plenty are perfectly playable or good for fans of the genre.) I do agree that Ni no Kuni was spectacular.

Don't know why there would be too many threads or discussions about it though, since it was neither revolutionary nor horrendously bad, which are the two traits most commonly discussed online for any medium. it's a lot like literature. hundreds of perfectly average books marketed toward teens are released every year, but the discussion of all of them combined wouldn't amount to 10% of the discussion generated by "Twilight"

Really, the fact that Ni no Kuni is a JRPG that managed to get mainstream attention prior to its release, and develop a proud fanbase without drawing more than a token amount of anime/jrpg bashing from the genre's haters is all the praise I could have expected for it. XD

 

[Silvianoshei]

It's on my to-do list. Right now, my single-player life is consumed a second playthrough by Fire Emblem: Awakening.

This time, I'm marrying who I want to marry, children be damned.

 

[Strazdas]

Its one of those games that whne it launched everyon started praising it and very quickly everyone forgot about it. its a 5 minutes fame type of game. i dont know hoe good it actually is, i dont play Jrpgs, but it felt like it was very much a one-time-off deal.

 

[CloudAtlas]

I just beat Ni No Kuni and had an experience with it I could best describe as "Nirvana". I know JRPGs have taken a hit over the past few years, seeing as very few "Playable" ones come out anymore. I think the last "playable" JRPG might have been Kingdom Hearts 2. So Ni No Kuni being awesome seems like it should create a few waves? Or am I the only one who thought it was good?

JRPGs, as genre, are just not that popular anymore, for... reasons? That would be the simplest explanation.

 

[SweetShark]

[snip]

Then I sadly must say I am very disappointed by the developers.
I still remember in the news that the developers created on purpouse a physical book so not only give the players a good reason to emerge more in the world of the game, but also prevent the piracy of this game.

It is like the Metal Gear Solid game.
If you remember you needed to look at the back of the box of the game to see the frequency to talk with Meryl.

The English version of the book was a bonus in the Wizard edition of the game. Some stores gave out free copies with non-wizard purchases, some gave away the Japanese version with purchases, but that all depends on the country and game distributor you deal with.

The developers stated that the book was a preorder bonus. People who preordered the game before the book sold out got a book. They didn't feel the need to make any more because the entire book is right there in the game, you can turn the pages and zoom in and everything.

The in-game book is still pretty immersive - if anything, stopping the game and looking away from the screen to check your physical copy is slightly less immersive, because you have to remove yourself from the game to flip around. But if you need to know that there's a physical book for a game you haven't played, then rest assured that it can be yours for a measly $200 on eBay.




I remember that MGS thing. I wrote the frequency on my arm because I kept misplacing the box. Good times.

Oh well, I just hoped to be ablr to have the book if I buy the game game one day.
Also a last question:
It is true that some spells are unique for each player? I remember the developers also said that some player must do other actions to perform a spell than other players.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

I just beat Ni No Kuni and had an experience with it I could best describe as "Nirvana". I know JRPGs have taken a hit over the past few years, seeing as very few "Playable" ones come out anymore. I think the last "playable" JRPG might have been Kingdom Hearts 2. So Ni No Kuni being awesome seems like it should create a few waves? Or am I the only one who thought it was good?

Why is no one talking about Ni No Kuni? I don't know. Why am I not talking Ni No Kuni? Because until thirty seconds ago I'd never heard of it.

Will I continue to talk about it after this post? No, JRPGs aren't really my thing. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh seeing as the only JRPGs I've ever played have been Final Fantasy but the experience was so horrible I don't think I'll be doing it again. I have no idea what I saw in those games when I was younger. I used to love them, tried playing them again recently, couldn't stand it.