The New Classics #56: Ni no Kuni 2

 

The Backstory: I’ll admit it: I am kinda wary of Level-5. Although they should forever be praised for developing my beloved Dragon Quest IX, they are also responsible for personal un-favourites of mine such as Yo-kai Watch and Fantasy Life. My suspicion only grew when Ni no Kuni 2 presented me with a licensing agreement right of the bat. That screamed corporate; and unfortunately, it was a harbinger of things to come.

 

 

The Game: Look, I’ve seldom encountered a game as trite, flat and soulless as Ni no Kuni 2. It looks and feels like a bad Disney movie — down to the nondescript cartoonish aesthetics, the utterly transparent characters and the plodding, uninspired soundtrack. You even have a bunch of anthropomorphised foes, just because — and even though it makes no sense at all and clashes with the presence of human characters. To add insult to injury, these foes are not lions or eagles; they are rats. Can you make it any more cliché, Level-5? 

 

 

Worse, NNK2 feels childish — and not in a charming, heart-warming way. Not only is the story perilously simplistic, but gameplay objectives are also chopped up and simplified to an absurd point. The game can — and will — literally ask you to run to the next door, before interrupting you with a couple of cutscenes — rinse and repeat. Maybe the gameplay changes later, for all I know; but I just cannot play until it does. A game that doesn’t manage to hook me right away has no business in my collection — or in my Switch’s slot. 

 

 

The Verdict: This is not just baby’s first RPG; it’s literally an RPG for five-years-olds. Such RPGs can perfectly exist — but hey, not in my collection!