Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered is a mouthful, isn’t it? Despite that fact, we would gladly say it a thousand times over just to get the word out. This may be a six or eight-year-old game, depending on one’s region, but it still feels incredibly fresh and worthwhile today.
This is true even compared to recent juggernauts like Dragon Quest XI and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It is a treasure to play even though we have a few nitpicks about how the PS4 and Switch versions were handled. Let it be known though that despite these gripes we wholeheartedly recommend it.
10 Best: Art
For those who love RPGs and Studio Ghibli films, this is a dream come true. The in-game art perfectly captures what one of those films would look like in 3D. Plus the addition of produced anime cutscenes from the studio is a big plus.
This is just a gorgeous world to explore from the actual environments to the creature designs. Everything still feels great even after all of these years. The remastered effects also help keep it looking pristine like it was made in 2019.
9 Worst: No New Additions
The smoothed over graphics are great along with the new standard of 60 frames per second but other than those two additions, this remaster is lacking. It could have definitely used a fast-forward button like all of the recent Final Fantasy HD ports have implemented.
Battles go relatively fast, but we would have liked this feature for traversal. It takes a long time to get any sort of fast travel option and even with quest upgrades, the team travels at a snail’s pace.
8 Best: Music
On top of the stellar art design, the music accompanying it makes this game feel like an epic RPG. Plus the voice acting is really good as well, especially Mr. Drippy.
The overall sound design and attention to detail are why Ni no Kuni holds up, be it on PS4 with the new graphics or just the straight-up port to Switch. Whatever version one buys, they are sure to be in for a good time.
7 Worst: Lip-Sync
However, there is one aspect of the voice acting that is off-putting. The lip-sync was bad back in 2013 and it is definitely more noticeable now in 2019. It doesn’t throw scenes completely off-kilter, but the badly timed flaps are jarring, to say the least.
It’s a shame too since, again, the actual voice work is stupendous. For us, it didn’t really deter from the overall enjoyment, but for others, we understand it can be a huge turn-off.
6 Best: Mr. Drippy
Mr. Drippy’s voice acting is so good that he deserves his own entry. It’s not just the acting either. It’s his overall happy-go-lucky presence that is the glue that holds this adventure together.
The best parts are seeing him in the background trying on hats to eating a boatload of bananas as something dramatic is going down. Mr. Drippy is too priceless for words.
5 Worst: Switch Port Limited
As we said earlier, the game is going to be a blast no matter if players choose to take on this massive quest on PS4 or Nintendo Switch. That said, we are still bummed that the Switch received just a port and not any of the high fidelity upgrades.
It makes sense though as the Switch undocked is only capable of 720p. That’s why we thought it should at least have something new to differentiate the two, but it really is just a remapped version of the PS3 release. Throw a Pokémon in there or something. Come on!
4 Best: Battle System
Yes, to be blunt, one could argue that Ni no Kuni is just a copycat of Pokémon, but it is so much more than that. This is the battle system we want in a Pokémon game.
Being able to toggle between different party members and Familiars all on the fly while running around is such a cool hybrid of traditional turn-based systems and more action-oriented ones. It can be a heck of a grind to be sure, but because it’s so fun, the hours quickly fly by.
3 Worst: Monster Levels
Said grinding would be less of a problem if Familiars didn’t regularly start at level one when captured. This isn’t always true, but for the majority of the game, it certainly is. On top of that, evolving Familiars also sets them back to level one.
It makes the grind feel somewhat artificial. There is no need to have the Familiar system set up like this as there is already plenty of game to go around. Why the unnecessary padding then?
2 Best: Open World Adventure
The PS1 and PS2 have huge Japanese RPG libraries, but for whatever reason, there weren’t many that could live up to those standards on the PS3. That’s why Ni no Kuni feels like such a miracle, as it delivered the goods on a console that was slightly more inconsistent.
The score, combined with the voice acting and art, makes this all feel like one big epic quest the likes of which had never been achieved until the PS3’s final year. The year of the PS4 that is. In that way it’s kind of touching, right? At least the system closed out strong with an AAA RPG from Japan.
1 Worst: Slow Start
As great as everything discussed on here is, admittedly, Ni no Kuni takes a long time to get going. The first battle appears about forty minutes in and the second party member, Esther, along with the ability to finally start catching Familiars, doesn’t happen until the six to ten-hour mark.
The game isn’t bad before that. We just wish the pacing was better in the beginning. The backtracking also made some of the slowness feel more tedious.