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[Kuro Madoushi]

3 hours in
shaky VO
battles are ok
pace is so goddamn slow......so....slooooooooooooooooooooooooow
Running is slow, dialogue is slow, battles are slow (compared to some others I've played)

Graphics are incredible
Music is very good

Yeah...just scratching the surface, but the beginning when you need to go to a particular person 3 fucking times?! THREE?! FUCKING?! TIMES?! Seriously?! I need to talk to him, go do something in the same area, go back to him, leave and go back and it's just so stupid.

I also hate how you HAVE to go back to the requestor to get stamps....

So much needless backtracking and needless parts of the story they could've just cut out.

 

[Derrick01]

I'm about 5 more hours into the game and just finished the trials. While the gameplay is entertaining enough to keep me going, I'm still not feeling any kind of interest towards the story or characters.

Same, I'm around the same area and I cringe every time someone opens their mouth during a story sequence. It's so childishly written that it's hard for me to really give it any attention. This is a problem in a RPG that's going to last well over 20 hours.

The combat would give me a little jolt if anything besides bosses gave me a challenge. The pattern for me so far is throw my 1st familiar or the monkey looking one out, roll through all the enemies until the boss, beat the boss in a decently challenging battle, then go on to the next area where everything is really tough until I get to the new town and shops. I need something to break the monotony.

 

[1stStrike]

3 hours in
shaky VO
battles are ok
pace is so goddamn slow......so....slooooooooooooooooooooooooow
Running is slow, dialogue is slow, battles are slow (compared to some others I've played)

Graphics are incredible
Music is very good

Yeah...just scratching the surface, but the beginning when you need to go to a particular person 3 fucking times?! THREE?! FUCKING?! TIMES?! Seriously?! I need to talk to him, go do something in the same area, go back to him, leave and go back and it's just so stupid.

I also hate how you HAVE to go back to the requestor to get stamps....

So much needless backtracking and needless parts of the story they could've just cut out.

Same, I'm around the same area and I cringe every time someone opens their mouth during a story sequence. It's so childishly written that it's hard for me to really give it any attention. This is a problem in a RPG that's going to last well over 20 hours.

The combat would give me a little jolt if anything besides bosses gave me a challenge. The pattern for me so far is throw my 1st familiar or the monkey looking one out, roll through all the enemies until the boss, beat the boss in a decently challenging battle, then go on to the next area where everything is really tough until I get to the new town and shops. I need something to break the monotony.

Yep, it's pretty painful. And if you guys aren't already, you will soon be tired of the word "Neat". Possibly "Jeepers Creepers" too.

 

[Gintoki313]

Wow, either I'm getting pretty good at this game or I'm over-leveled.

I think I'm pretty far in this game and is about to reach the 3/4 of this game, and I'm just soaring through the dungeons and bosses. My partners are surviving during boss battles now, and I'm actually seeing results in my leveling of my familiars.

So if I had to put this game's difficulty by parts of it then I'd say.
1st Half - Medium
2nd Half - Hard
3rd Half - Easy
Final Half - Not sure since I'm not their yet

This is just how I'd put the difficulty settings at on the normal difficulty.

 

[Sorian]

Wow, either I'm getting pretty good at this game or I'm over-leveled.

I think I'm pretty far in this game and is about to reach the 3/4 of this game, and I'm just soaring through the dungeons and bosses. My partners are surviving during boss battles now, and I'm actually seeing results in my leveling of my familiars.

So if I had to put this game's difficulty by parts of it then I'd say.
1st Half - Medium
2nd Half - Hard
3rd Half - Easy
Final Half - Not sure since I'm not their yet

This is just how I'd put the difficulty settings at on the normal difficulty.

4 halves?!? I KNEW THIS WAS ENOUGH TO BE 2 GAMES!!!!!!

 

[zychi]

I have DLC for Ni No Kuni I want to sell. I figured I'd see if GAF wants it before I throw it on ebay. These prices are based on what I see is selling on ebay. I also put this in the Buy and Sell thread.

I have one Gold Hurly Familiar($15) and one Griffy Familiar($40) code.

I'm looking for paypal only. PM me if there's any interest.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Yeah. Now the game is getting hard. Just got

Spoiler

the dragon.

Of course a lot of my familiars are in their 3rd form, even if they are more souped up, you still have to level the stats. And is there ever an item that reduces MP usage? Sure would love to give that to the girl, she goes through hers like nothing. Also, how come items in general are so expensive?

I just wasted around 12k at

Spoiler

the casino, lol, only good at slots, but wasn't getting anything that time.

 

[Lucent]

4 halfs?!? I KNEW THIS WAS ENOUGH TO BE 2 GAMES!!!!!!

lol. In Ni no Kuni, the game can't be separated into quarters.

 

[Balphon]

Same, I'm around the same area and I cringe every time someone opens their mouth during a story sequence. It's so childishly written that it's hard for me to really give it any attention. This is a problem in a RPG that's going to last well over 20 hours.

Well, the protagonist is, ya know, a child.

 

[Derrick01]

Yep, it's pretty painful. And if you guys aren't already, you will soon be tired of the word "Neat". Possibly "Jeepers Creepers" too.

I already am. I think I saw someone say that he's 13 earlier in the thread but he doesn't act like any 13 year old I ever saw. Or look like one either really, he looks and talks like he's 7 and on one of those 1950s family sitcoms.

Well, the protagonist is, ya know, a child.

Not everyone in the game is though yet the writing style pretty much stays the same.

 

[Mecha]

To be frank, if story and characters are that important to you, I'm surprised you've kept buying Level-5 games as it is!

I guess I must be weird for liking the story of Inazuma/Danball then.

 

[zeopower6]

He is 13 and I would suppose they chose "Neat!" over "Cool!" which is fine by me. Wonder if all of those instances were originally 'sugois' or something.

It's essentially the same few people complaining about the same things which makes things seem like a bigger deal than they are. UPS, come faster pls.

Oh, I love the reference in a trophy to LBX, LOL. "Little Battler Experience" or something is one of the trophies for this game.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Yep, it's pretty painful. And if you guys aren't already, you will soon be tired of the word "Neat". Possibly "Jeepers Creepers" too.

"Neat", "neato", "jeepers", "jeepers creepers", "tidy", and "youer" are all really bugging me. Especially the last one since it's used in place of both "you're" and "your".

 

[Dark Schala]

Yep, it's pretty painful. And if you guys aren't already, you will soon be tired of the word "Neat". Possibly "Jeepers Creepers" too.

I'm not that tired of it because other people in the house or whomever is over makes fun of it. I get more enjoyment out of some games with a heavy emphasis on cutscenes and dialogue if I have other people MST3King it with me.

Yeah, the pace at the beginning was awful; I still don't like how some mechanics and menu options are slowly introduced to you. It's kinda weird... I'm not satisfied by the combat and difficulty, though I've brought that up before in this thread, so I'll just leave it at that.

Outside of that, the presentation, as with many Level-5 games, is lovely to look at.

 

[Kwixotik]

I'm about 5 hours in and don't get a lot of the complaints in this thread. I'm having a lot of fun in the game. The voice acting is great for a JRPG. I can't play most JRPGs this days because the protagonists are so whiny and the voices so terrible. It's nice to have a non-silent protagonist that isn't bitching all the time.

 

[Eusis]

I'll forever associate "Jeepers Creepers" with the edited-for-TV Matrix as the reaction Neo had when

Spoiler

the bug was pulled out of his stomach.

 

[mattiewheels]

I already am. I think I saw someone say that he's 13 earlier in the thread but he doesn't act like any 13 year old I ever saw. Or look like one either really, he looks and talks like he's 7 and on one of those 1950s family sitcoms.



Not everyone in the game is though yet the writing style pretty much stays the same.

The plot/characters may be trite, but you can't say that the translation isn't top-notch. One of my favorites in a long time, so much personality, just strong sense of voice all around.

 

[hitmon]

"Neat", "neato", "jeepers", "jeepers creepers", "tidy", and "youer" are all really bugging me. Especially the last one since it's used in place of both "you're" and "your".

Same, I'm only an hour in and "youer" is really killing me. Anybody else notice the cutscenes in the beginning of the game kind of skip or hiccup? As it pans across the city its kind of jittery. Wondering if its just my system or not.

 

[Balphon]

Not everyone in the game is though yet the writing style pretty much stays the same.

Yeah, but that's more an issue of characterization, which I agree with you on. I just think it's silly to criticize the game for being childish when the majority of its focal characters are children or fantastical creatures with weird accents.

 

[Beren]

Question about unreachable chests i am going crazy D:

Spoiler

I see a chest on the forest and Swaine told me to use X when the ! <---- thing appear on the screen for to use his hook. Well there is no ! at all how am i supposed to grab it D:

EDIT: NVM got it lol!

 

[Wazzy]

I'm just starting the search for

Spoiler

King Tom

and I have to say, I'm really enjoying the game so far. I especially like the Dragon Quest VIII vibes I'm getting.

The voice acting is excellent, the music and visuals are great and I'm liking the battle system more than I thought I would. The pacing at the beginning is slow but it's not bad enough to damage my interest in the story, which I'm enjoying even though a lot hasn't happened yet.

 

[johnsmith]

Does magic get better later on? Just got my first party member, and it seems like magic using familiars are worthless. MP pools are too small, and they don't do enough damage compared to just physically attacking with physical familiars. Ended up giving the party member the lemur familiar so they'd be actually useful.

 

[Kave_Man]

3 hours in
shaky VO
battles are ok
pace is so goddamn slow......so....slooooooooooooooooooooooooow
Running is slow, dialogue is slow, battles are slow (compared to some others I've played)

Graphics are incredible
Music is very good

Yeah...just scratching the surface, but the beginning when you need to go to a particular person 3 fucking times?! THREE?! FUCKING?! TIMES?! Seriously?! I need to talk to him, go do something in the same area, go back to him, leave and go back and it's just so stupid.

I also hate how you HAVE to go back to the requestor to get stamps....

So much needless backtracking and needless parts of the story they could've just cut out.

You're never pleased with anything.

Anyways got to sit down finally and finish off Ding Dong Dell. I did everything possible so I guess time to move on.

I also looked into the book for the first time, so much info geez!

 

[Aeana]

Does magic get better later on? Just got my first party member, and it seems like magic using familiars are worthless. MP pools are too small, and they don't do enough damage compared to just physically attacking with physical familiars. Ended up giving the party member the lemur familiar so they'd be actually useful.

Absolutely. Esther's familiar is great at magic once you get some good +magic attack equipment on it.

 

[Aeana]

Yep, it's pretty painful. And if you guys aren't already, you will soon be tired of the word "Neat". Possibly "Jeepers Creepers" too.

I feel like this is symptomatic of you not really liking the game that much to begin with. Stuff like that starts to grate when you're not already having fun; it's happened to me with other games. I personally find the little linguistic quirks each character has to be pretty charming.

 

[Godslay]

You're never pleased with anything.

Anyways got to sit down finally and finish off Ding Dong Dell. I did everything possible so I guess time to move on.

I also looked into the book for the first time, so much info geez!

Damn that third kid! I'm sure if Drippy could comment on the fly he would think I was an idiot for not finding him in the shop.

 

[RPGCrazied]

And is there ever an item that reduces MP usage? Sure would love to give that to the girl, she goes through hers like nothing.

Anyone? I'm guessing I'm one of the few this far into the game.

 

[mattiewheels]

So I think I found the most direct way to recruit monsters, let me know if I'm doing it too roundabout:

Set Oliver's tactics to "Don't do anything", switch to Esther and start the battle by softening the target with Esther's familiar, then switch to her harp for the final blows. That way, Oliver doesn't kill before you can capture...can you even capture automatically without controlling Esther, or do you have to manually select her "<3" command?

 

[Deified Data]

Does magic get better later on? Just got my first party member, and it seems like magic using familiars are worthless. MP pools are too small, and they don't do enough damage compared to just physically attacking with physical familiars. Ended up giving the party member the lemur familiar so they'd be actually useful.

You've gotta save your magic for creatures it's effective against - then you'll be 1-2 shotting shit left and right. Though I agree that companions can't be trusted with preserving their MP.

 

[1stStrike]

Does magic get better later on? Just got my first party member, and it seems like magic using familiars are worthless. MP pools are too small, and they don't do enough damage compared to just physically attacking with physical familiars. Ended up giving the party member the lemur familiar so they'd be actually useful.

My biggest disappointment with magic so far is that I have literally 3 combat-related spells plus 1 heal spell at this point in the game and like a bajillion spells for random shit like... making bridges.

Where the hell are the combat spells?

 

[zeopower6]

So I think I found the most direct way to recruit monsters, let me know if I'm doing it too roundabout:

Set Oliver's tactics to "Don't do anything", switch to Esther and start the battle by softening the target with Esther's familiar, then switch to her harp for the final blows. That way, Oliver doesn't kill before you can capture...can you even capture automatically without controlling Esther, or do you have to manually select her "<3" command?

I think you have to manually select the <3 every time.

Looking at the book's runes, it seems there are about 9-ish offensive spells and the rest are sort of either defensive or "whee look I can fly"-types.

 

[madhtr]

So I think I found the most direct way to recruit monsters, let me know if I'm doing it too roundabout:

Set Oliver's tactics to "Don't do anything", switch to Esther and start the battle by softening the target with Esther's familiar, then switch to her harp for the final blows. That way, Oliver doesn't kill before you can capture...can you even capture automatically without controlling Esther, or do you have to manually select her "<3" command?

All you need to do is cancel attacks once you see the hearts. It's not all that difficult, considering enemies fly across the screen when you defeat them but not before you can tame them. That's just how I do it, at least, and for the most part don't kill the enemies first, other than times I haven't paid close attention.

 

[Jive Turkey]

So I think I found the most direct way to recruit monsters, let me know if I'm doing it too roundabout:

Set Oliver's tactics to "Don't do anything", switch to Esther and start the battle by softening the target with Esther's familiar, then switch to her harp for the final blows. That way, Oliver doesn't kill before you can capture...can you even capture automatically without controlling Esther, or do you have to manually select her "<3" command?

You're making it far too complicated. Familiars (yours or the AI's) won't attack any monster with hearts over its head unless you command them to. As soon as the hearts appear switch to Esther (if you aren't already playing as her that is) and tap X three times.

 

[madhtr]

My biggest disappointment with magic so far is that I have literally 3 combat-related spells plus 1 heal spell at this point in the game and like a bajillion spells for random shit like... making bridges.

Where the hell are the combat spells?

I rarely use Oliver in battle due to his awful defense, and really, the main point of the game is to use familiars, since they are much stronger.

 

[Emilbus]

Anyone? I'm guessing I'm one of the few this far into the game.

The last line of merit award has one that reduces the mp cost but I haven't picked it up yet so cant tell you by how much. Haven't really seen anything else thus far.

 

[Beren]

All you need to do is cancel attacks once you see the hearts. It's not all that difficult, considering enemies fly across the screen when you defeat them but not before you can tame them. That's just how I do it, at least, and for the most part don't kill the enemies first, other than times I haven't paid close attention.

Ya what i do and always works is just press L1 and select Esther when i see hearts then spam X

 

[TEJ]

Hating on a kid who seems to be from the 1950's for using common vernacular from the 1950's?

He isn't going to be using modern terminology. He's also well mannered, he's not going to be saying phrases that would be considered rude in the 1950's.

I don't get the childish complaints. I don't expect a kid to be sophisticated, and it's not like the game is insulting your intellect like star ocean 4 did every cutscene.

 

[mattiewheels]

You're making it far too complicated. Familiars (yours or the AI's) won't attack any monster with hearts over its head unless you command them to. As soon as the hearts appear switch to Esther (if you aren't already playing as her that is) and tap X three times.

Oh, well I thought that manually using the harp would increase the chance something gets the hearts over their head, if it happens with equal chance when I'm just fighting regularly then I guess I'll stop worrying about it.

 

[Sorian]

Oh, well I thought that manually using the harp would increase the chance something gets the hearts over their head, if it happens with equal chance when I'm just fighting regularly then I guess I'll stop worrying about it.

The game already decided when the fight starts whether any monster will be tameable.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Oh, well I thought that manually using the harp would increase the chance something gets the hearts over their head, if it happens with equal chance when I'm just fighting regularly then I guess I'll stop worrying about it.

As near as I can tell each monster has a fixed % for a capture attempt and outside of a merit badge nothing increases your chances.

 

[Crash Station]

Same, I'm around the same area and I cringe every time someone opens their mouth during a story sequence. It's so childishly written that it's hard for me to really give it any attention. This is a problem in a RPG that's going to last well over 20 hours.

This is a game for children.

 

[zeopower6]

As near as I can tell each monster has a fixed % for a capture attempt and outside of a merit badge nothing increases your chances.

Rates range from 2% to 25%. The 2% ones... not gonna have fun with those.

I would say this game is more 'for everyone' and it really is for everyone rather than 'for children'. How many kids are going to get the Spice Girls references in the game? lol It has that same kind of feeling that Adventure Time gives off imo.

 

[Y2Kev]

It's rare you get a JRPG with one cool character so I'm pretty enthusiastic about Drippy.

 

[Sorian]

It's rare you get a JRPG with one cool character so I'm pretty enthusiastic about Drippy.

Drippy is character of the year only because he literally downplays every single emotional scene (basically he is something for you to laugh at if you worry about cringe moments).

 

[Phenomic]

So maybe someone can help with me with the AI in this game and how to handle it better.

I've got all my party members and I notice my enjoyment went down when I got more than just Oliver in my party and it's bothering me.

The AI seems very limited with the tactics I can choose. Esther has two spells and ones a heal while the other is a huge mana dump. Shes got Maybe 50 MP total? Sure I can choose her to heal my party and such, but it seems like no matter what the fight circumstances shes out of mana within 2 minutes. I cannot turn off the other spell and she just seems to use it too often even if I wouldn't want her to.

What are you guys doing to combat the limited AI assigning because I don't feel like I should be struggling this much as I am. Perhaps I need to go buy my familiars better gear, but none of them are under leveled really. A few of them are evolved but I haven't found plentiful orbs yet to make that happen much either.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Rates range from 2% to 25%. The 2% ones... not gonna have fun with those.

I would say this game is more 'for everyone' and it really is for everyone rather than 'for children'. How many kids are going to get the Spice Girls references in the game? lol It has that same kind of feeling that Adventure Time gives off imo.

I was positive the Green Bunchers had like a 0.5%. The stupid quest where you have to catch one took me forever and I was pretty sure Bunchers would be extinct by the time I was done.

 

[Ollie Pooch]

So maybe someone can help with me with the AI in this game and how to handle it better.

I've got all my party members and I notice my enjoyment went down when I got more than just Oliver in my party and it's bothering me.

The AI seems very limited with the tactics I can choose. Esther has two spells and ones a heal while the other is a huge mana dump. Shes got Maybe 50 MP total? Sure I can choose her to heal my party and such, but it seems like no matter what the fight circumstances shes out of mana within 2 minutes. I cannot turn off the other spell and she just seems to use it constantly.

What are you guys doing to combat the limited AI assigning because I don't feel like I should be struggling this much as I am. Perhaps I need to go buy my familiars better gear, but none of them are under leveled really. A few of them are evolved but I haven't found plentiful orbs yet to make that happen much either.

I'm kinda having this issue too - Esther smashes the penguin heal spell a few times, runs out of MP then gets knocked out. Stupid woman. Then again I haven't experimented fully with other tactics in boss battles.

I found a stack of orbs up on Old Smoky.
Getting a kickoff of some of the suggested names for familiars when you catch them - there have been some stupidly funny ones like 'Turbangela' and 'Sunbum'.

 

[TEJ]

This is a game for children.

This game feels no more childish than most games out there. if you're expecting sophistication out of a videogame story you're looking in the wrong place.

 

[Y2Kev]

 

[Dark Schala]

It's rare you get a JRPG with one cool character so I'm pretty enthusiastic about Drippy.

Best character since Science the Bear in 2012.

D'awwwwww that idle animation is sooooo cuuuuuuuute.