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For all you know, some of the spells in that book could be magical phone numbers or something!

So...does that make it a spellphonebook? Or a Phonespellbook?

...I confused now.

... Good luck trying to figure out what to do. Having to interact with a book in a completely foreign language and a walkthrough in another completely foreign language seems like it will be a MASSIVE headache.

So you're reading a machine-translated-to English guide that was originally written in Thai, for a game originally made in Japanese?

This smells like hijinks. I am, as they say, all over this.

I just got back from Japan and am abou to start playing the game too. I may try using this walkthrough (& Google translate) that you have found. Cheers.

For anyone wanting the guide: The link posted has gone down. http://web.archive.org/web/20110411075859/http://www.thaigameclub.com/viewthread.php?tid=6156 is an archived version courtesy of the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

Not that bad. Thanks for the link. :)

So...this game is about an epic quest for sandwiches?

...I think I know a certain someone who would like this game. ;)

Bravo, good sir (ma'am?). This is already shaping up to be a wonderful series of shenanigans. I eagerly await more!

Also, there was a cell phone-based prequel wherein that hunk'a'junk was built. I always kinda wanted to try it, if only because its overworld sprites were Mother homages.

This game is beginning to sound more and more like a magical mons game.

...I'm okay with this.

Question: How interactive has this past sequence of stuff happening been, regardless of being unable to save? It sounds like it's pretty talky, but how much have you been able to actually, like, do stuff?

So far, my interaction beyond the two battles and picking up a couple event items has primarily consisted of walking around, casting spells, and answering the occasional question. So not very, I presume. The main reason why it's taking 5 hours as opposed to the < 60 minutes it takes to figure out the interface and blitz through the tutorials in most JRP Gs that are fortunate enough to get an English translation is because of a combination of a language barrier, deliberately poking around with the interface, and the fact that I'm kinda recording stuff as I go along.

So you have been controlling the walking? Because that at least makes it more interactive than, say, Persona 4's opening.

Yeah, you're in control of walking. Hence my abysmal failure at finding a wand for Oliver promptly. (There's games that DON'T let you control your PC's movement in the beginning? Eep.) The game just yells at you if you veer too far off course.

I have to admit, at least there's a wide variety in the enemies, and they sound unique. I always appreciate unique enemy designs in RP Gs.

"Kaza" is probably "Kaa-san," which does indeed mean "mother."

Your quip about the hungry cat may have been correct!

Mages tend to be sponges. It is the way of the RPG.

Coffee restoring MP would explain why the Wizard in Harvest Moon: Animal Parade likes coffee so much!

I Imagine that egg will hatch. (See what I did there?)

Also, the game took an awfully long time to grant you the ability to equip stuff.

Drippy, Namdai? Drippy? Really?

It may not have the charm of "Shizuku" to it, but it IS apparently an apt translation, seeing as Shizuku in moonspeak means "drip". But at least they made Hotroit sound marginally less embarrassing to live in.

It doesn't matter what game you're playing; shopkeepers are ALWAYS clones. It's like a law of the universe or something. Probably some kind of labor-saving rule put in place by the cheapskate kings that seem to overpopulate the place.

Judging from the stat spread, both Maru (I thought it was listed as Mari in some places? ...Maru Mari?) and her Imagine are a bit more offensively-oriented? It looks like Maru/Mari can do decent damage with either spells or physical stuff if her stats are any indication. And her Imagine is indeed a tank. Might she be the Black Magician Girl of the group?

Will we be getting stat updates on Team Maru soon?

I've gone ahead and added a more comprehensive snapshot of the team ATM. Also, went and edited an embarrassing mistake. ^_^; (I WISH Drippy had Rucci's stats...)

COLLECT ALL THE IMAGINES!

I wish I could find images of all of them. I tried GI Sing, but I imagine (ha) that I'd have more luck searching in Japanese.

I am now picturing an "Imagine Rap," sort of like the Pokemon Rap. Lord preserve me.

Does HP/stat effects seem to affect the catch rate at all?

I honestly couldn't tell, though a few battles gave me the impression that HP and/or status might be a factor. *cough* Cortez *cough* Unfortunately, I have not found a spell equivalent of "False Swipe," which would make testing the theory out a lot easier.

And how old is Maru again? Jibbly jibbly jibbly.

I remember seeing the genie in the previews for this game, though!

I remember that scene of Oliver feeding the giant lady the cheese from the original trailers. Ghibli seems to enjoy the Gross Up Close Up when food is involved, don't they?

Gyro's got a grappling tool too, just the bass player/thief. Juuust sayin'.

The second game sounds sort of baccarat-esque.

Huh, looking at the rules of baccarat, it kinda does, except it doesn't converge on a shared score... Or maybe it did. I kinda sucked at that game, so it wouldn't shock me if I walked away from the table with the wrong lesson.

HOPEFULLY it'll be a little harder to get taken for a ride in the PS 3 version, understanding the rules explained to you if a big plus.

I remember the moving streets cutscene from the trailers!

And wow... the similarities really don't hide themselves, do they? There's even a tank battle!

The orbs you get from casting Heart Piece are crystalized feelings; I looked it up in that English guide you linked to a while ago. Apparently, you use Heart Piece to remove an unwanted feeling, and when you use Heart Cure, you're taking one of those crystal feelings and giving them back to someone.

Hmm... Interesting. The imagery of being able to tangibly hold a feeling is a strange one. (Though considering that Ni no Kuni comes from a country / cultural sphere where the most popular game series features spear-toting cucumbers, that should honestly not shock me.)

Hmm... Sounds like I need to carve out some time to take a close look at that guide (been avoiding it because spoilers, and over the past 20 updates, I've found that Ni no Kuni is generally a rather straightforward game in terms of getting story stuff done and not dying).