[DS] Ninokuni - The Another World - Level 5 + Studio Ghibli~

Ninokuni center around Oliver, a 13 year old boy, who travels to a strange world with a magical book and companions, in an attempt to bring back his mother who has died suddenly.

The game is set to be the biggest DS game (cart) yet, with Level 5 introducing new 4GBb carts for it :3

Level-5's Ninokuni to introduce 4 Gb DS cart - OMG Nintendo - OMG its Nintendo

Trailer 08

Trailer 09

http://ninokuni.jp/

YouTube Video

Jam it back in, in the dark.

4GB? Hell yes.

Want to see how this will turn out. Color me interested (and mildly excited).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Gigabit. You guys probably just typo'd the abbreviation, but it deserves clarification. The cart is going to be way smaller than 4GB.

That said, I'm looking forward to it. About time Level 5 worked on an RPG for the DS that wasn't a goddamn soccer simulator, and Ghibli is a serious plus for art direction.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Yeah, the news blog does specify the game will be around 512MB



It's the SNES era all over again. Tales of Phantasia massive cart whoooo

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I've been excited since I first heard of this title, but I can't shake this unsettling feeling that there probably isn't a chance in hell that there'll be a English subbed / Japanese audio edition.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Maybe Disney will localize it. I've found their treatment of Ghibli movies to be quite good (except for the inconsistent pronunciation of Japanese names).

Off the top of my head, Liam Neeson as Fujimoto in Ponyo was flat-out better than his Japanese counterpart.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Oh yeah, my wife played this too.

Quote:

Ni no Kuni has been noteworthy and famous since its announcement because it represents Studio Ghibli’s first foray into game making. Level-5 has been promoting this one extensively, and I got a chance to dig into the demo today. If the game follows the trend of the demo, it’ll be a traditional RPG with a really high-gloss veneer of fantasy and wonder.

The demo starts out with a nice hook: the story so far. Oliver is a young boy whose mother has recently died, but he finds that one of his toys is not actually a toy, but a strange lantern-nosed creature named Shizuku, who proceeds to describe a wonderful land called “Ni no Kuni.” Oliver can use the magic that will let the pair enter that land, and Shizuku instructs Oliver on the use of runes, which prompts the player to draw this particular gate rune on the screen.

Not just a gate, but a gigantic, ornate passageway appears. Invisible to most humans, Shizuku says as a woman walks her dog right past it. The two walk through and after emerging, Shizuku suggests that Oliver go to meet his friend Jumbo in the northern woods. Player control is assumed here, and dragging the stylus on the touch screen moves Oliver around. Many games have tried mechanisms to move characters with the touch screen, but this particular method felt easier and more responsive than others. Dragging the stylus from anywhere to anywhere produces an arrowed line that shows the direction and speed of Oliver, and this line can be changed by dragging. Smooth, and no running into walls.

A few screens later, Shizuku’s friend turns out to be a giant tree. After some conversation, a monster falls from his branches, and Oliver must fight. The battle system is turn-based, and options are tapped with the stylus: Attack, Magic/Skill, Item, and so forth. Turns play out according to speed, just like that. There wasn’t really any sort of complexity to the battles, and at least in the demo, very little new to be seen.

Another scene occurs, where Shizuku teaches Oliver another rune, to summon a knight from his heart to fight as an ally. Sure enough, after drawing that rune, a knight-like creature emerges, and helps the three fight off an alligator boss.

Time had run out and everyone was ushered out of the booth at this point, but from what I saw, the RPG elements are rather ordinary. However, the production values of this game really stand out. The graphics are very nice, for DS graphics, but the best parts were the animated cutscenes. Even the demo had a few of these, most over 30 seconds long, and this was a brief demo. The sound quality was superb, for the DS, and the animation was Ghibli-esque: that is to say, fantastic. If Ni no Kuni’s story really delivers, this game could become a real gem, even if the battles do little to innovate.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by GB

Maybe Disney will localize it. I've found their treatment of Ghibli movies to be quite good (except for the inconsistent pronunciation of Japanese names).

Off the top of my head, Liam Neeson as Fujimoto in Ponyo was flat-out better than his Japanese counterpart.

I've yet to see Ponyo.

Well here's to hoping that Disney has their eyes on this one then. I've never seen any of the Ghibli movies in anything other than Japanese, so I don't really know what to expect.

Most amazing jew boots

I reaaally didn't like what they did with Princess Mononoke. I'm sure they're perfectly accomplished actors, but their voices were just off for me.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I played the demo at the level 5 display at the game show. It was an exceptionally pretty game. Holy shit was it talky though. We had a little over ten minutes and I was mashing the button trying to get to a part where something other than talking would happen. Normally I love story in games but they probably should've picked another element for the demo. I guess that is neither here nor there =\

Also if I remember correctly the music wasn't midi, it was an actual large orchestra and it was all voice-acted in the part I played.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Qwarky

I reaaally didn't like what they did with Princess Mononoke. I'm sure they're perfectly accomplished actors, but their voices were just off for me.

I don't think you can blame Disney for that, since it was localized before Disney started the distribution.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Dang the trailer looks epic. But damn so much animated parts. D: I was expecting more of "game play" trailer.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Level 5 gameplay + Studio Ghibli artwork, character design, and story?

GAME OF THE DS. CALLING IT NOW

Level 5 games were always fun, but the storyline in them has typically been laughable.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Wow! It looks magnificent for a handheld game. Plus all that 4 gigabits (500MB) of goodness, equivalent to a single-disc PS1 game...

I can't comment much about Level 5 storylines, since I've only played two of their games (Professor Layton series). I must say that the storyline in general, and the revelation in particular, of the Diabolical Box is certainly full of holes. It seems both games involve people who aren't real, a murder that wasn't, a goofy antagonist with great disguise abilities, and a crowning moment of awesome for the protagonist.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by wvlfpvp

I don't think you can blame Disney for that, since it was localized before Disney started the distribution.

Buena Vista, Disney, it's all the same to me.

FELIPE NO

... wow. I'm a complete and utter retard.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Oh my lordy. It's times like this where I can say I am truly glad to have purchased a DS.

The music alone in that trailer was lovely <3 Though, i can only imagine how "battles" would turn out.

How ya doing, buddy?

I'm gonna need a bigger mircoSD for this. That is if pirates are able to break this game. I like how Level-5 is pouring a stream of awesome games lately.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It took quite some time to get Layton out here. If they bring this game over and they better bring it over I hope there's less of a delay. Cuz good lord I wanna play this game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I wouldn't get your hopes up too much Acer. I mean, there could be a quick translation and getting it over here, but as you've pointed out the Layton stuff hasn't exactly been speedy. I'd aim to expect a year delay and be pleasantly surprised if they get it out before then.

But yeah, so want this too.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I just want this out here. If it's Layton quality stuff then I suppose the wait will be worth it.

I was speaking idiomatically.