Ni no Kuni

Not to mention the DS one is, I believe, the only one to use the fully-animated cutscenes. The PS 3 version just uses in-engine ones. It was also in development first, IIRC.

So the Wizard Edition might be getting even more epic - behold, the KickNinostarter!
Basically, more pre-ordered copies = more stuff.

I'll contribute if one of the goodies on offer is the DS edition.

Apparently they were a touch optimistic about their goals because the progress-bar isn't going anywhere fast.

I think it's just a lot of people thinking the Wizard's edition is too expensive, coupled with the fact that its not an actual kickstarter. In an actual kickstarter, they usually have levels lower than a hundred dollars.

PSN Demo out this week! Tomorrow for Americans and the 5th for everone else.

Thread Bump! IGN did their thing. It's good.

Oh my god, a 9.4 from Ign? For a Jrpg?! Huh, looks like they finally hired some non biased journalists that aren't pro first person shooters all the time.

Never mind North America, guys. Looks like it is coming out over here! All PEGI rated and everything.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ni-No-Kuni-Wizards-Edition/dp/B008MLSNOY

The standard edition is also coming out but there is no separate link for that.

It's going to be delayed by about a week, though.

Apparently the Wizard thingy includes a soundtrack "selection"◊. Or is that just some versions of it?

You know, with this game and Xenoblade getting such great reviews, I'm beginning to wonder if the JRPG is making a comeback.

Unlike some other genres that I'd say have made legitimate resurgences (like adventure games), I'm not exactly sure JRPG's ever really went away. I just think they went through more of a period where they were less publicized and/or became more "cool to hate." I can name a pretty decent chunk of JRP Gs that came out in the last two generations, several of which I'd even call excellent. I think it's just been popular to talk about them being on the decline, which I think has lead to that decline being grossly exaggerated.

It's that dumb "Japanese games are dying" thing. JRP Gs are the most prominent example of purely Japanese games, and so they're what are pointed to. There are a lot of jRPGs that are attacked for not being what they aren't trying to be. I think there are several series that got mediocre entries (Star Ocean, Ar Tonelico, etc) and a bunch of series just died, but the genre is evolving, and it seems to finally be moving in a good direction.

edited 18th Jan '13 9:42:27 PM by Zendervai

Journalists are just complete Bioware/Bethesda fanboys nowadays.

wRPGs are great, but they fall into their own cliches or problems, like Bethesda's apparent total lack of quality control and Bioware's sudden decline in quality. Sure, the writing might be good, but the worldbuilding usually isn't that great.

Do the journalists care?

Anything that isn't rife with what they deem "anime cliches" is considered to be masterful storytelling in their opinions.

I know people who'll ignore something because it's "Anime". Even though that's like saying something is "Film Like". It doesn't really tell you anything about it.

Star Ocean Til the End of Time rocked, as far as I was concerned. I bought the bugger twice so that shows how good I thought it is and was. I am not so sure about the last installment though, so there is that, I suppose.

The Last Hope is one of the biggest Cliche Storms I have ever experienced

Aw man... I'm so not gonna be able to finish Jet Black Mage in time for launch...

On the other hand, whenever I do finish, that HD version will be glorious.

Totally stoked for this.

Great! Now all I need to do is buy the DAMN thing!

Why isn't it Tuesday yet?

When I went and pre-ordered it it turned out I was the only one to do so at that particular store. Granted, they didn't advertise it at all, so when I went in and asked, the cashier had to find it in their system. It wasn't EB Games though (Canadian Gamestop).

Some guy on Kotaku bluntly summarized this as "Dragon Quest with all the insufferable bullshit yanked out of it". Having absolutely zero perspective of Dragon Quest and the general opinion of it I have no idea what that entails.

edited 19th Jan '13 11:48:21 AM by LE0Night