That feels like a cop out for this game's story and writing. It's definitely a lot more childish and simple than most games. Good/Bad writing alone doesn't really apply in this scenario as that's a different topic. This is more of a personal taste thing and I have a hard time getting into more simple stuff, regardless of if it's good or bad at what it's trying to do.
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Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch |OT|
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That feels like a cop out for this game's story and writing. It's definitely a lot more childish and simple than most games. Good/Bad writing alone doesn't really apply in this scenario as that's a different topic. This is more of a personal taste thing and I have a hard time getting into more simple stuff, regardless of if it's good or bad at what it's trying to do.
There's a merit reward that reduces MP consumption for everything.
cpp_is_king
Member
How long before foraging points respawn? I need 3 spicy seeds from the volcano, and there's only 2 points before the lava river which I can't cross. So I'm sitting around waiting for a respawn for the 3rd 
Where and how do I get this one to unlock? Most of mine just show "?" marks still, but I have a decent chunk saved up to buy this if I could get it.
Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
How long before foraging points respawn? I need 3 spicy seeds from the volcano, and there's only 2 points before the lava river which I can't cross. So I'm sitting around waiting for a respawn for the 3rd
There's a third that you're overlooking.
EDIT: Have you done the three trials yet? You may have to do those first.
It's of the last "tier" of merit rewards you get. You just have to keep on doing sidequests and getting merit rewards to unlock and get more.
i'd take simple but well told story over more complex videogame story, as the more complex a game tries to be the more convoluted it most likely will be.
Like, kingdoms hearts was a simple but somewhat well told story. it just got messier and messier with every sequel trying to be more complex.
cpp_is_king
Member
Yea I can see another but it's on the other side of the lava, and no I haven't done the trials yet. Gonna try to sleep at the inn and go back and see if that respawns them, otherwise i'll go do trials first I guess
So Gol....Do I have to unlock all the previous stuff in the tiers to get more tiers to unlock? Or do they automatically unlock if I just keep doing more and more side quests? I mean the rewards are nice, but I'd rather not spend points to increase finding items on the world map if I didn't have to etc and get less mana spent sooner etc if I could.
zeopower6
Member
You have to unlock everything else to get the last tier.
And about the 'simple story' thing... I'm guessing this is why a lot of games nowadays are complex as fack.
Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
It won't. They're triggered spawns just for that quest.
Sweet Baby Roy
Banned
JEEPERS
Looks like I'll be getting this in a couple of days through Gamefly. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the last JRPG I tried, I could only stand a couple of hours of FF12. Nothing against the genre, but it's been a while since I enjoyed my time with this sort of game, I'm talking like Skies of Arcadia. Does Valkyria Chronicles count? Probably not.
Just how bad is this in the moment to moment interaction with the game? I'm expecting a story for children, with an 8 year old main character. A sort of step down from the first Harry Potter novel. I'm expecting for things to be spelled out, then repeated, then spelled out and repeated again. I'm expecting the things you're tasked with outside of combat to be very basic. Some 40 hours of that sounds bad enough, but is all interaction designed with the expectation that 12 year old kids should be immediately familiar and capable of dealing with every system in the game? Because there's only so far a cute aesthetic will carry a thing. Especially this sort of thing, we're not talking Rayman Origins here.
Just how bad is this in the moment to moment interaction with the game? I'm expecting a story for children, with an 8 year old main character. A sort of step down from the first Harry Potter novel. I'm expecting for things to be spelled out, then repeated, then spelled out and repeated again. I'm expecting the things you're tasked with outside of combat to be very basic. Some 40 hours of that sounds bad enough, but is all interaction designed with the expectation that 12 year old kids should be immediately familiar and capable of dealing with every system in the game? Because there's only so far a cute aesthetic will carry a thing. Especially this sort of thing, we're not talking Rayman Origins here.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
This is no more a game for children than stuff like Zelda. (though some may argue thats a kids game anyway ) I would think kids would get pretty overwhelmed, actually.
) I would think kids would get pretty overwhelmed, actually.How is it "written for children"? Because Oliver says "jeepers" and "neat"? Isn't that just the equivalent of someone older with a different catchphrase (like "ruh roe" or even "tidy"?)?
I think the localization is fantastic. It's Richard Honeywood. If you liked DQ8, it is really in that style. Drippy and the locals are all excellently written and acted. There's almost no JRPG animu:
Name: ...
Name 2: Name...
Name: ...
Name 2: Name...
Some of the lessons/fables are a little heavy handed, but it's not too bad. This feels like Up to me or something similar. The styling/dialect of some of the characters would confuse children.
I think the localization is fantastic. It's Richard Honeywood. If you liked DQ8, it is really in that style. Drippy and the locals are all excellently written and acted. There's almost no JRPG animu:
Name: ...
Name 2: Name...
Name: ...
Name 2: Name...
Some of the lessons/fables are a little heavy handed, but it's not too bad. This feels like Up to me or something similar. The styling/dialect of some of the characters would confuse children.
it does get spelled out a lot, but it's nowhere near as bad as something like zelda: skyward sword.
There's a star on the map that shows you exactly where to go, but it can be turned off in the options menu.
I agree 100% with this.
Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
All the bolded is accurate. The thing I don't quite understand about the "it's for children" argument is I don't see too many kids grasping the combat system. I think like some others have said the game is intended for everyone but I think they got it a little backward.
It absolutely is. Everytime you cross paths with someone who is brokenhearted you have Drippy explain that the person is brokenhearted and explain in minute detail what the exact problem is and how to fix it. The merchant conversation in Castaway Cove was particularly bad too as the four characters involved talked in circles for quite a long time.
zeopower6
Member
I think it was created with a younger audience in mind (Akihiro Hino said "the biggest theme was to create a good game for children" or something about this game) but to me, that just means that children/young teens were an audience that this game can also enjoy. I don't know of too many RPGs that are kid-friendly and are also of the quality of Ni no Kuni.
The entire Dragon Quest series is made with this sort of mindset, as well.
That said, Level-5 has been targeting younger people for a while now, especially with Little Battlers and Inazuma Eleven.
Crash Station
Member
Generally I would agree, where simple plots normally don't appeal to me. It's one reason I've never been a fan of Ghibli in general. However, that doesn't mean I think they're bad and there are plenty of more simple narratives I've enjoyed immensely.
How do you shoot the green chest in Hamelin (past)? I can't seem to find the position.
Dragon Quest is the king of simple plots and that's why they're good. Real adventurers don't need much motivation!
Crash Station
Member
aliencowz7
Member
I think it just comes down to the difference between something being Child like as opposed to Childish.
This game comes off more in the child like department to me which is perfectly fine, its whimsy and lighthearted. While it may be basic enough for a younger audience to enjoy there is plenty of depth and detail underneath to keep older people happy as well.
There is really nothing wrong with something being child like as long as it doesn't treat players like total idiots along the way.
Crash Station
Member
It's funny how Drippy never forces you to figure anything out when dealing with brokenhearted people or a lot of other stuff, yet the final trial of wit had me absolutely stumped. So yeah, the hand-holding does bother me a little bit until something like that happens.
MegaKungFuRadio
Member
Final boss is no joke. Took me three tries because I kept over extending. I'm pretty sure I was overleveled, too, so I imagine a lot of people will have a lot of trouble with it.
In the Japanese audio, you'll just be annonyed by all the localization choices they made. lol
zeopower6
Member
That tends to happen in localizations pretty often. Main guy gets to keep his name but then others are changed. It helps that "Oliver" is a pretty standard name to begin with.
Shizuku? Maru/Marl? Gyro? Maybe not...
Your crazy if you think Drippy's dialect is bad. Best thing about the game.
Pretty sure it's Mari, but I think those names would add to the fantasy element of the other world. I mean they changed Sheri to Myrtle. Makes no sense. It's already a western sounding name. I think Soren sounds way better than Rashaad and Jabu/Jabul too.
SuperFanboy
Banned
Sucks for those who are not enjoying this game. This is one of the best gaming experiences I have had in years. It is so easy to fall in love with the World and the characters in it. I do agree that the story is no more childish than most RPGs. It is better written than most RPGs also. /starttroll If you think this games script is bad, you should try this game that came out for the PlayStation. It was called Final Fantasy 7 or something....Horrible script. Most of the characters where boring/had no depth. /endtroll
Hoo boy, if you hate Drippy, this game is gonna kill you when you get to a certain point then.
The Japanese is widely held as being bad, but you might notice.
I'm more lenient on final fantasy 7's script because most localizations from that era were bad, and exceptions were just that. Exceptions.
zeopower6
Member
The change of Jabo to Shadar was a bit odd imo too...
Though I think of Digimon's localization in the case of 'already being Western'. There was a "Fairymon" that was changed to "Kazemon" in the Western localization and "Chakmon" became "Kumamon"... so odd, lol. They changed English names to Japanese ones in the localization, wtf?
And the Mari thing... I only say Marl/Maru because the katakana for her name is マル.
Jabo sound more like a comedy character name.
Deified Data
Banned
No, it really isn't. I wouldn't mistake simplicity for childishness.
mattiewheels
And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
Jeepers, you guys! The dialogue is purrfectly fine so far, owl even bet you that most people think it's neato. You'd have to be stark-raven mad to think otherwise!
This does sound less like your normal localization treatment and more like... well, Dragon Quest, where it seems many of the names get changed just because they can change them.
Though names like Shizuku need to be changed just to mesh with the flavor more, American kid in Fantasy land doesn't sound like a place to see Japanese names unless you go to a Japanese themed part of the world.
but bad puns are the best kind of puns!
chicagocubsfan
Member
Hey guys just starting out. Is it better dubbed or subbed?
zeopower6
Member
Up to you. The dub though is pretty excellent. I'd try out both to see which you like best though.
I'm probably gonna do one Japanese playthrough and one English playthrough.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
I'll be honest; the majority of the dialogue puns in this game make me giggle.
Crash Station
Member
It's not a bad thing. Just means we're only one of the many demographics the game is targeting. It just so happens that more adults than children play games in NA, so we're going to be the ones buying it.
RPGCrazied
Member
I just wish there was more VA, the later half it almost seems nonexistent. Like they ran out of money or something.