Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom – Official Review

Good even without Ghibli

What happens when a JRPG development studio works with a legendary animation studio? A game like Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is born. What happens when a game like Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is received extremely well? Obviously the gaming community demands a sequel. Enter Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom. Although developed by Level 5 and published by Namco-Bandai, the same team behind the first entry, the absence of Studio Ghibli is a major point of concern for fans. Released on PS4 and PC on March 23rd, 2018, the action RPG, Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom, is up against the terrifying crowd of passionate gamers waiting to see how well the game fairs without everyones favorite anime studio.

Graphics 1/2

Arguably one of 2018’s most charmingly beautiful games to date, Ni No Kuni 2 never sets out to be a grand graphically powered adventure. Understandably the art style, lacking the touch of Studio Ghibli, isn’t as beautiful but it remains adorable in its own way. Colorful kingdoms serve as home to animal human hybrid species. The grimalkin are cat like while the citizens under the rule of pugnacious are more canine looking. Its a very interesting and fun design choice especially as the plot continues to introduce the player to new kingdoms and concepts. The best part of the world is it never feels bland. Even when taking on the cute chibi form when traveling the world map everything is so vibrant and colorful exploration feels great. Again not a graphical powerhouse or an animation style that raises the bar, but Ni No Kuni 2 is definitely a beautiful game.

Story 2/2

Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom opens up right out the gate with tremendous action. The player begins watching a cutscene in what appears to be a modern or futuristic city being exploded by a nuclear weapon. The first protagonist of the story, Roland (voiced extremely well by Jared Zeus), is on a train into this city as the explosion happens. Then bam just like that the whole game is transported elsewhere. The action doesn’t stop there though, it literally only gets more intense as a Roland lands in the middle of a plot to over throw a kingdom. This part of this dual story introduces Evan, the young king who just lost his kingdom. From there it becomes a story of redemption and growth. Something only an anime inspired game can pull off and yet the plot is completely original. Everything the characters learn along the way just further intensifies the heartwarming tale. The plot is to intense there are two of them happening simultaneously and yet it always feels like more.

Audio 1/2

Most JRPG’s suffer from poor audio when translated to the land of english speaking consumers. Not just in dialogue but also in sound effects that are culturally interesting. Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom however does not struggle with this at all. The voice cast does a great job of bringing the dialogue to life. Owain Arthur steals the show with his incredible portrayal of Lofty, the severely unimpressive Kingmaker. It was one thing to expect something like a, at first glance, a mediocre demigod to join the battle against enormous god looking demigods. Sorry, Kingmakers are essentially demigods. Anyway, the booming attitude Owain provided was perfect. On top of that the soundtrack is very comforting and not entirely annoying after a few hours of play like a lot of other games. The whole voice cast did an amazing job, composition was stellar, and the menu sounds weren’t atrocious. The major issue that takes away from the audio; there are way to many areas of dialogue that would be more impactful with fun voice acting.

Gameplay 2/2

At it’s core Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom is a JRPG. However, the extended gameplay mechanics found throughout its mini games, side quests, and kingdom building missions say otherwise. This constantly rotating control over gameplay just adds to the fluidity of the story and its overwhelming hold on the player. To appreciate the full extent of this, there has to be an understanding one the various systems. Outside of the obvious open world free roaming and the world map, First up is the Battle system. Pretty standard active battle system with control of one party member at a time. From there the game opens up the skirmish system which plays a lot like the Overlord series, There are minion soldiers with varying archetypes in clusters and they battle against clusters of soldiers from the opposing army.  Then enters the kingdom building sim type system. This one involves meeting people throughout the world and convincing them to leave where they are to join the new kingdom. And then, well the rest of them fall into spoiler territory but know that it gets even more in depth. Most amazing? The different systems all work towards the same goal in game. The systems never trip each other up or steal time from each other. Amazing.

Fun 2/2

Part anime, part adventure story, part motivational speech everything about this game is fun and exciting. The world is vast enough to get lost in for hours on end without any question. Every fight feels rewarding, although gamers who are used to grinding may find that this game is easy to play through beginning to end. Of course there are various challenges that swing all the way to the other end of the spectrum but this game is mostly easy and fun. With a healthy balance of unique mini-games, gameplay styles, and side missions very rarely do activities feel repetitive. The opening ten hours of the game are amongst the most enjoyable moments of any game I’ve played. Unfortunately there would be to much that is spoiler filled so very little can be said.

It may lack the abstract one of a kind charm that only Studio Ghibli can bring to the table but Ni No Kuni 2 still delivers. With the sequel the team at Level5 has proven once again that they know what they are doing. Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom was put in a position where it could not just benefit from the results of its predecessor and still shines. Incredible gameplay, a compelling story paired with great voice acting, and a vibrant world make for a great time. Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom is not the sequel that was expected but it still manages to fill those great shoes.

Score: 8/10

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South Park: The Fractured But Whole – Official Review

Oh my god, they killed it!

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an RPG set in the South Park Universe, it was developed by Ubisoft San Francisco with the help of South Park Digital Studios and published by Ubisoft. It was released on October 17th 2017 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, being the sequel to the Stick of Truth. The game has received a lot of help from the creators of the hit TV show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, using source material to keep the game true to the show’s controversial and comical universe.

[Reviewed on PC]

GRAPHICS: 1/2

Graphics-wise, it’s actually staying true to the cartoon style of the show, everything looking almost exactly like it does on the show. This makes it seem like it is actually an interactive episode of South Park, which is a good thing in my book. One thing to notice is that the game runs on the Snowdrop engine, the same engine that powered The Division, showing how flexible the engine is, but makes the optimization deceitful. This means that TFBW it is a bit more demanding of lower end systems and most mid-tier laptops with a dedicated GPU. This is surprising given the visual fidelity of the game, it really doesn’t look like it should demand a whole lot from your system, but somehow it does.

AUDIO: 1/2

The audio is not deeply memorable, but it does not have a great soundtrack, something that I would call significant in other games. But it is inspired off superhero films, and more acts like a filler to make fights a bit more alive. Voice acting gets a good point out of it due to it being genuine and staying true to the show. Whereas many other video game developers either opt-in to get the best in the business or try to find their best sound-alikes, South Park is blessed with it’s recognizable (and affordable) cast that are pertinent to the impact of the show. Eric Cartman wouldn’t be the same without his trademark Cartman voice.

STORY: 2/2

The plot is set exactly one day after the Stick of Truth ends, where we take control of New Kid once again, this time dropping the fantasy theme for a more modern super-hero plot, where Cartman and his friends decide to search for a missing cat so they can get 100$ to kick-start their own franchise. This takes them through different conflict plotlines and sub-plots in between, such as the Civil War -inspired conflict between Coon and Friends (Cartman, Kyle,Clyde, Jimmy and Craig) and the Freedom Pals (Timmy, Kenny, Stan, Tweek, Token) or against Professor Chaos (Butters). Character-Wise, pretty much all the characters are from the show, the kids taking obvious Marvel insipred super-hero personas and, well, other iconic characters such as Randy, Mr Mackney, the PC Principal, Father Maxi, Jesus and the list goes on. I mean, we even have the obvious Morgan Freeman running a taco shop. The plot is pretty interesting, however I wouldn’t really call it ground-breaking. However it has its funny moments, which are a lot, and well, some are sexual, some are offensive and some are just fart jokes. The dialouge is really good, especially since it is amplified by the original voice actors and the small chit-chat and occasional information from the bystanders is pretty interesting. Overall, the story plot does not take itself too serious and it is a welcome comedic break from all the gritty “important” stories from other games released this year.

GAMEPLAY: 1/2

TFBW takes a 2.5D style in combat, allowing for more freedom in your engagements compared to the previous game. New Kid will progressively have access to all 10 classes as we progress through the game, being able to equip abilities from all these classes, 4 at a time, giving the player more freedom in customizing his skills. The companion system is back, allowing you to pick additional 3 companions to help you during the fight, each having unique abilities according to his archetype. For example, Kyle the Human Kite is a support, being able to heal his allies, while Super Craig is a tank which can taunt enemies. Another element that’s returning is turn-based combat, instead this time it takes place on a grid thanks to the 2.5 D system, the characters being able to move freely around the grid. Attacks also affect different areas of the grid. Because of this, the combat is really well done, being a part that is heavily improved from the first game. One downgrade from the first game is the fact that your gear no longer affects your gear level, instead the system is now based on artifacts, which increases your Might, one part which offers more freedom in how you look, but tones down on the RPG element of the game.

FUN: 2/2

South Park TFBW is a really, really interesting game. t is a welcome comedic break from other games released like Halo, Gears, Assasin’s Creed, adding nuance to Ubisoft’s lineup of games. It is an okay RPG, but what makes this game fun is the South Park aspect, seeing the kids act as superheroes with improvised costumes, made-up lairs, red building bricks as lava and much more. Combined with the crude but a bit toned down humor of south park to make this sequel censor-free, it is a more unique game and a somewhat easy to learn RPG that makes it stand out more than other game released this year

I do recommend it, even though I didn’t have as much fun with it, it should be in your backlog list as one of those games to be played when you are really bored. It is available now for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, but I do not see it as a $60 buy due to some of its flaws and how it is made more for South Park fans rather than the average gamer. I’m not saying you won’t enjoy it if you are not into South Park, but if you love the show, this should be a pick up for you!

SCORE: 7/10

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