Topic: Ni no Kuni 2

Unpopular opinion here, but I beat the game earlier & I was severely disappointed by it.
I imagine the Studio Ghibli animated cutscenes had to be cut due to the budget, but I expected more voice acting.
It’s nice to look at, charming at times even, but it was such a drag to play through.

It probably has some of the worst side quests in a game I’ve ever played. Fetch quests galore. Sometimes they don’t even tell you everything they want, which means that unless you have the item in question you end up taking at least 3 more trips. Worst of all they are usually tied to recruitment which is also tied to Story progression, which brings me to...

Kingdom Building. What is the actual point of this feature (aside from story purposes)? The entire framework is laid out for you. There’s no creative input. It feels like a mobile game. You wait for your citizens to build up KG, then unlock more areas to make more money. Rinse & repeat. I was half expecting a ‘time savers’ mtx feature.
Such a terrible ‘gameplay’ feature. A severe downgrade from Dark Cloud 2s Settlement building.

I’m baffled by the meta score & the general reception the game has gotten. It’s straight up bad imo.
Seems to me like it got a pass for whatever reason.

I'm (right) near the end but haven't played it in a few days to finish it off, I wouldn't say it's bad at all but in the end it doesn't do anything spectacular. I do quite like the side quests in the sense that they result in more citizens, so they don't really feel pointless to me. I like the worldmap, airship, tainted beasts etc. are all quite cool. It's a 7/8 out of 10 in the end for me I think.

@kyleforrester87 Guess the game just didn’t click for me. I did like the tainted beasts and the Maze Door runs.

@Fight_Teza_Fight I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone, like I say I am not exactly enthralled by it right now else I'd be pushing on to the end (like I was with XBC2!) but it's good for what it is. It's like a better version of I am Setsuna or something lol

I finished Chapter 7 yesterday. Not a long chapter but interesting from a story perspective.

The game has many great aspects - a fun battle system, nice script, world that is fun to explore and good gameplay variety - alongside it's pleasing aesthetics, of course. But, yeah the side quests do drag it down in that there are just so many of them. They're starting to burn me out a bit. I've been doing them because I want to build up Evermore for the gameplay benefits doing so provides - so I agree that they aren't pointless in that respect. If I can have people at a fish market or bazaar collect crap so I don't have to then that's great. I do sort of just want to get on with it though. I also think the game would have benefited from being able to collect kingsguilders and materials from a menu instead of having to go directly to Evermore.

So far, this game has been way too easy, to the point of it being unenjoyable. Why didn't they at least include a difficulty slider? Did they even test out the gameplay portion?

Lofty looks like a small lisa simpson...

But much more annoying... Lofty is my new most hated video game character. Was it supposed to be funny? Its awful voice does not succeed in that. It only made me cringe so far. Having the option to choose another King's maker would be appreciated.

So if anyone was put off by the game's difficulty, today they released a patch which adds a difficulty slider. Now you have normal, hard and expert difficulties.

@Kidfried overall probably not. It's just okay, really. All a bit uninspired despite its good looks. Dragon Quest 11 is the better bet. Or if you want a great JRPG and have a Switch XBC2 😂 Honestly it's hard to consider other similar games anything other than "okay" after playing that.

However one of the problems i had with Ni no Kuni is it was just way too easy, but they have since released a difficulty patch to give a hard mode. So I am interested trying it again on that setting.

Honestly, I didn't clear it. Near the last boss.

@Kidfried I wasn't sure about this one but I got it as soon as I found a retail copy for € 19.
The patch is a bless since the game was way too easy on normal and now it gives you hard (normal) and expert (hard) difficulty. I've spent +70 hours with it, beating it and doing a lot of secondary stuff to grind but there's still a lot to do to platinum it.
What I love about this game is that it feels so fresh after playing many +18 actionRPG or adventure games, just like watching a Studio Ghibli movie after attending a realistic film festival.

@Kidfried I'd honestly hold out until DQ11 is cheaper. It's a pretty great JRPG, just fun to chill out to. If it weren't for the pretty terrible soundtrack it'd be one of my favourites.

But that's said without having tried the higher difficulty patch. Really, that probably makes the game much more engaging.

@Kidfried As @kyleforrester87 said before, DQ11 is on another level but if like me you just need to take a break with a colourful JRPG without spending too much on it, than Ni No Kuni 2 is perfect for that price. When in a few months we'll need another JRPG, I'm sure we'll find a copy of DQ11 for € 40!

@KratosMD The problem with the Ni No Kuni 2 original difficulty may be related to the game target. I wouldn't be surprised if this was created as a JRPG for everyone and since it's still a long game, they went for easy mode as the default one. A friend of mine has 3 daughters and she loves the game because she can play it a night without going crazy after a day at work while using it as a lullaby for her kids!

@Kidfried If you focus on the main story alone I think you could beat it in 30 hours. You change difficulty anytime, btw. Updating it you'll get also the free Adventure pack with extra dungeons.

Yeah I'm probs gonna wait until Dragon Quest drops in price a wee bit. I haven't totally enjoyed the JRPGs I've played this gen, but I'm determined to find one that clicks with me.

@Kidfried It's a decent game, I enjoyed it. Not a top tier RPG by any stretch, but it's charming and has a fun battle system. I liked that it isn't too taxing, it made it a relaxing, cheerful experience. Just watch out for how many times Evan says "gosh" or "golly". 😂 Good luck with your job interview!

@Kidfried I honestly can’t say I can. Post #43 is basically my mini review lol.
Having said that, I’m pretty much in the minority. Most seem to enjoy it.

I also think my expectations for the game were too high- same as with
SP Fractured But Whole as I loved The Stick of Truth & NNK(1). I just didn’t get what I wanted from it.
Maybe you’ll enjoy it more as a stand-alone experience.

@Kidfried You haven’t played the first one, correct? Has NNK2 served as a reasonable place to jump in without knowledge of the first game?

@Kidfried How are you getting on with the game?

@Kidfried Glad you're enjoying it. It's just a nice, chill game and doesn't require too much of the player.

Hmm not sure how long the game took me, but it must have been around 100 hours. That said, I did do a lot of the extra stuff such as the skirmishes, which to my surprise I really quite enjoyed. The EGX skirmish demo didn't impress me at all, so that was nice.

Am I right in thinking that the first DLC is out next month? I think it'll be good to play before Christmas as a nice palate cleanser. Also have the last Dreamer's Door dungeon to do and one more skirmish for the platinum!