Ni No Kuni(PS3)

[Lerxt]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

Simply blown away by this game. Hard to explain any other way. The first thing that jumprd out at me was that every facet of the game is of the highest quality and so well done.

The last game that wowed me so much during the first three hours was Final Fantasy VII on the PS1 back in the 90's. It's that good.

The presentation and graphics are awesome. The story seems to be rich, subtle (which is saying something for JRPGs), and gripping. So far, the battle system is fantastic as well. It's a little bit like a very fast version of the White Knight Chronicles system, where you can move around while engaged with an enemy. However, in this system, you get to use familiars as well as cast your own magic.

My impressions may change after more time with the game, but the first three hours are fantasic to say the least.

[Spongedaddy]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

Here are my thoughts: When I played the demo I was a little bit frustrated by the battle system. I was especially put off by the fast paced boss super attacks and what seemed like a slower response to defend.

However, my son with autism LOVES Ghibli, so I thought this may be a game that we can both enjoy. The first important thing for me was that the demo did not explain the concept of familiar stamina. Understanding stamina has made things better. IMO the battle system is about solid management and a sense of timing. When I fought Treezilla (as we like to call the 1st boss) I discovered a pattern that I was able to use to time my defense command. It made it much easier. However, later on I wasn't paying attention and died fighting a random enemy on the world map.

The game is gorgeous and the characters would fit in any Studio Ghibli movie. The lst JRPG I loved was Tales of Vesperia. In that game the hero went from lethargic to the Punisher in a matter of a few short hours. So far the hero of this game remains a little boy, with a lot of kindness, who is dealing with a difficult situation. My son especially likes Mr Drippy.

I wish they had released the Wizard edition here in the states (in retail stores). He would have loved that Mr Drippy toy. I am sure Ebay will eventually solve that problem. The games is beautiful and a joy to play. Well worth the price of admission.

[bcruise]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

I can see the animal puns are gonna be a thing all throughout this game.

[ubernoob]

I can see the animal puns are gonna be a thing all throughout this game.

I find them endearing. Just one of their whimsical touches. Did interactions with Tom happen to trigger this post?

[bcruise]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

I find them endearing. Just one of their whimsical touches. Did interactions with Tom happen to trigger this post?

That, and the shopkeepers. I don't mind them either - the Random Funny stuff thread was taken over by them a few months back, and they do make me laugh sometimes.

[Jasong7777]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

Only one word could describe this game. "Proper"

I'm in love.

[bcruise]

Boss fight spoilers [kinda]. More so about battle tactics though.

It's about the... 4th boss I believe (4th or 5th).

Spoiler

So not really a spoiler... but man I got eaten alive the first time I tried this fight with my normal tactics. What I ended up having to do against the Nightmare was using Oliver the whole time. Run in a circle continuously, while casting Frostbite (or Frostbolt, not quite sure what the spell name is off hand) and defending when he used Hard Heart. Took a little bit, but I chipped him down. I also had to do the same thing against one of the Bounty monsters (Adamantiger) when he wiped out Esther so easily (and was gunning for my familiars as well). For monsters/bosses that are much more powerful, I feel that "kiting" with Oliver is the way to go.

Same here (I read the spoiler after I got to that boss). I'll go into more detail when I get back from work.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[Cod]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

I'm excited to start playing this tonight or tomorrow. I've been staring at the steel book case all day just waiting...

[bcruise]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

So, about that boss (4th one)...

Spoiler

Yeah, I kind of learned on the fly that kiting was the only way I'd beat him. It's pretty easy to do with Oliver's magic, but I had one big problem - I went into that fight with ZERO MP recovery items. Bad idea. I got him down to about half with my Mite familiar before I started running out of HP recovery items, and then was forced to kite because I couldn't heal myself. One thing saved me in that fight - Drippy tossing MP orbs into the battle. Just enough to let me keep casting fireballs and wear him down, plus I never got hit again except for blocking his powerful attacks. I don't really like to kite and don't plan to rely on it throughout the game, but it was a lifesaver here. Probably won't be nearly as useful against enemies that use magic - in fact I hope that's the case so I can't fall back on it later.

I really like how the stats really mean something in this game, especially evasion. My first familiar is a well-rounded attacker with good attack and defense, but the second has a higher attack speed and no defense. Its evasion stat is also nearly twice as much as the first one's and it uses that to great effect as I see a lot of enemy attacks miss.

So much to like about this game and I haven't even gotten to Level 5's traditional item creation yet (I believe it's Alchemy from looking at the in-game Wizard's Companion).

[ubernoob]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

My game kept freezing up after a fight on the world map so I may have to start over from the beginning.

Installing to my HDD from my game disc now, instead of the other backup I was using (I slept through Gamestop's working hours yesterday.) Oh well.

About the kiting.

Spoiler

Yeah, I try not to rely on it. Like I said, I had to use it on a bounty monster hunt - but that's because that Adadmantiger (i think) absolutely wrecked familiars. He would hit for 15-20 an attack (Dual/triple attacks as well, I believe). That's basically my last resort when the familiars aren't working. I also love the Lemur once he catches up to Mitey in terms of level. I haven't had much use for Sid yet, I actually switched him to Esther ASAP.

[bcruise]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

Okay, I did find one thing I have a gripe with in this game, and it's a pretty common one among games where you don't control your entire party's actions. The AI's okay, but it's just not strong enough to handle some situations, especially bosses and their powerful attacks.

See, the idea is that you're supposed to select a defend command to take minimal damage from big attacks. It's kinda hard to do for even the character you're controlling as you've got to have a pretty quick reaction to the attack being started, and to scroll to the defend command and activate it in time. But, unfortunately, party members you aren't controlling won't even try to cover up, and they'll take the full force of the attack. If it doesn't kill them outright it'll certainly hurt a lot, and then I have to go about healing them up before I can even get back into the fight. It's rough with 2 party members, and I can see it getting worse when more join.

Also, I don't feel like the tactics options are varied enough to really tell the AI what I want it to do. That same 2nd party member is an MP vacuum - I have to bring a ton of recovery items with me because she'll go through all of it in no time at all. Of course telling it not to use abilities is an option, but having her physically attack with her Magically - inclined familiar is not only futile, but also subjects her to more HP loss than she'd otherwise deal with. So it's a nasty catch-22. I wouldn't have such a problem with it if MP recovery items weren't so expensive, anyway.

It's really my only gripe with the game. The AI's not always bad like that, it handles itself pretty well in regular fights, and in those you'll usually end them before it uses too much MP. It's really only the boss fights that I'm having an issue with.

[ubernoob]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

Okay, I did find one thing I have a gripe with in this game, and it's a pretty common one among games where you don't control your entire party's actions. The AI's okay, but it's just not strong enough to handle some situations, especially bosses and their powerful attacks.

See, the idea is that you're supposed to select a defend command to take minimal damage from big attacks. It's kinda hard to do for even the character you're controlling as you've got to have a pretty quick reaction to the attack being started, and to scroll to the defend command and activate it in time. But, unfortunately, party members you aren't controlling won't even try to cover up, and they'll take the full force of the attack. If it doesn't kill them outright it'll certainly hurt a lot, and then I have to go about healing them up before I can even get back into the fight. It's rough with 2 party members, and I can see it getting worse when more join.

Also, I don't feel like the tactics options are varied enough to really tell the AI what I want it to do. That same 2nd party member is an MP vacuum - I have to bring a ton of recovery items with me because she'll go through all of it in no time at all. Of course telling it not to use abilities is an option, but having her physically attack with her Magically - inclined familiar is not only futile, but also subjects her to more HP loss than she'd otherwise deal with. So it's a nasty catch-22. I wouldn't have such a problem with it if MP recovery items weren't so expensive, anyway.

It's really my only gripe with the game. The AI's not always bad like that, it handles itself pretty well in regular fights, and in those you'll usually end them before it uses too much MP. It's really only the boss fights that I'm having an issue with.

I think the same thing, but options are still opening up. I just got past getting the third member, and now there there are 2 new options in battle (Triangle for "All-Out Attack" and Square for "All-Out Defend")

I reserving my judgement on that fact until it becomes clear that I'm past the point of all my options being open to me.

[CMH]

Planning to buy this next week. Awesome to read the impressions.


Sent from my mobile device.

[Flawless]

Re: Ni No Kuni(PS3)

All-out Defend would have been nice to have as soon as you got the second party member. I wish you could change Tactics outside of battle (at least I haven't seen how to) and the retracting of Familiars when you switch characters in battle is a small annoyance. It's been a decent challenge in spots so far, not hard, but based off the demo I thought it might be very easy.

[ubernoob]

All-out Defend would have been nice to have as soon as you got the second party member. I wish you could change Tactics outside of battle (at least I haven't seen how to) and the retracting of Familiars when you switch characters in battle is a small annoyance. It's been a decent challenge in spots so far, not hard, but based off the demo I thought it might be very easy.

Yeah, can't change outside of battle. I have to be fairly close to the end of the story and I cannot say enough how much I love this game. It will be the first game I have completed in at least 5 years.