Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Chris came over on Friday to play a game he’s been looking forward to for some time: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The big draw with this game is that it’s produced by Japanese animaton company Studio Ghibli – a pretty fantastic studio, and one of Chris’ favorites.

He doesn’t have a PS3, and ended up ordering the game… just so he could come over and play it. We’ve had a few sessions so far this weekend, playing for a few hours each day, getting slowly immersed in the game’s world.

No No Kuni #videogame vine.co/v/bnLaFK69IBz

— avoision (@avoision) February 11, 2013

I have to admit – the game started off really, really slowly. The animation from the get go has been astounding and beautiful, but the initial emphasis on story left me more than a little antsy, waiting for something exciting to happen. For my money, it took a really long while before the story progressed enough to where the game began. Were I playing this game on my own, I probably wouldn’t have made it very far, honestly.

But we kept at it, and eventually found ourselves roaming around a new world, doing the kinds of things you’d expect from an RPG: exploring, grinding, running errands for people, leveling-up.

Usually, in games, the cinematics between levels is where the impressive graphics and animations come out. But in playing this game, I found myself liking the look of the regular game play more. The animation segments were still good, of course, but the game itself just looks really great and it feels like you’re moving around in a Studio Ghibli film. Regardless of how you feel about the storyline, the game is absolutely beautiful and beautifully made.

So here’s a silly, juvenile thing. As part of the game, your character meets a lot of small animals/helpers that are called “familiars.” They join your party, and help out with fighting. When they join your party, you get the ability to name them.

We ended up naming the main familiar “Penis.” And so far, we’ve been joined by two other familiars, whom we ‘ve named “Stiffy” and “Dong.” Poor Liz has had to put up with our incessant giggling and jokes (which are numerous, and essentially write themselves).

Good times, good times. My word, I’m a 12 year old.

Related:
A Conversation With My 12 Year Old Self
Young Me / Now Me: Portraits of People Over Time