It’s rare for dream collaborations to come to fruition in the gaming industry,
but they almost always produce some of the best games.
Several years ago, animation house Studio Ghibli, creators of Princess Mononoke,
Spirited Away, and countless other timeless films,
partnered up with game developer Level-5 to bring us Ni no Kuni,
a phenomenal RPG that dazzles with its gorgeous visuals, music, and story.
So when the sequel, Revenant Kingdom, was announced, expectations were sky high.
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is everything we wanted in a sequel and then some.
From top-to-bottom, it addresses almost every major criticism leveraged against the PS3 release.
It also manages to add in several major new components
and brilliantly weaves them into the fabric of the main scenario.
Its faults are few and easily overlooked
when measured against what Ni no Kuni II brings to the table.
The battle system receives a complete makeover -
combat is more action driven and moves at a much faster pace,
which is a great change from the lethargic nature of its predecessor.
Battles are a bit on the easy side, but they are flashy and fun, which is definitely an improvement.
These changes feel like a direct response to complaints about the steep difficulty in the previous installment.
You will blaze through remedial fights in no time,
and you’ll often feel powerful enough to take on higher level foes.
It’s a great feeling to have, and a huge departure from the traditional JRPG theme
of being underleveled and having to grind out battles in order to proceed.
You will never have any need to grind in Revenant Kingdom,
and this contributes to the excellent pacing, which is such a welcome change from the norm.
Joining you in combat are adorable little creatures called Higgledees
that function similar to Pikmin -
you can have up to four different types join you in battle,
assisting with various attacks and abilities.
They’re around if you really want to take advantage of them,
but they are by no means essential to victory outside of a few major boss encounters,
some of which make really good use of them by triggering unique sequences.
There’s really only one element that ever disrupts Revenant Kingdom’s pacing,
and that’s a new simulation system that allows you to build your very own kingdom.
Unlocked very early in the game, you harness resources over time,
which in turn allow you to build up new facilities and improve existing ones
to better your kingdom’s status.
While this sounds like a quaint diversion,
it can have a significant impact on your progression if you want it to.
Facilities you develop and improve will in turn aid you directly
by providing access to new weapons, gear, and other essentials to purchase -
just like visiting any other major town in the game.
On the flip side, building up your own kingdom is almost entirely optional with the exception of a few key points
where it acts as a barrier to progressing in the main story.
When you encounter these gates, you’re unable to progress further
until your kingdom meets certain requirements.
If you aren’t careful, you can get stuck idly waiting for a bit too long for your resources to replenish
in order to develop or improve the necessary facilities to advance.
Despite only being required a handful of times,
this barrier could be frustrating if not for the incredible amount of side activities at your disposal.
Many of these extracurricular activities include various side quests
as well as optional dungeons and bosses.
These diversions often have compelling storylines and provide meaningful rewards
that can sometimes benefit your kingdom-building ambitions,
like netting you a new citizen who can then staff one of your facilities
and possibly unlock one of its hidden potentials.
The game might feel like it moves along at a brisk pace,
especially without the need to physically backtrack
once you unlock warp spots on the map as you naturally progress.
But the presence of all these side activities encourages you to go out and explore the world
by searching for every odd path, secluded cave, or hidden chest.
Almost all of your major discoveries will come with payoffs down the road,
usually tied to an existing or yet-to-be uncovered side quest,
with lucrative rewards or enticing stories.
These systems feel like they achieve a near perfect synergy -
kingdom building, the main scenario, and all the side activities complement each other so well,
and the best part is that everything is dished out at just the right amount.
Revenant Kingdom never overwhelms you with complex explanations or lengthy tutorials.
Just when you feel you need a bit more info
to fully realize some of these mechanics, the game drops those crucial morsels right on schedule.
The one oddity to this otherwise harmonious balance is the new skirmishes.
These relatively large-scale battles
pit you as the commander of up to four different units
that must march across a battlefield to take on enemy forces and other perils that lay before you.
While Revenant Kingdom tries to provide some depth to these battles
with special maneuvers and the ability to improve or swap out units,
it really boils down to just running up to a mass of soldiers or a stronghold
and standing next to it until one side annihilates the other.
While skirmishes make sense thematically,
they’re ultimately little more than strange distractions
that are only mildly enjoyable due to their simplistic nature.
Ni no Kuni II’s strongest suit is its narrative.
The opening chapter is a bit weak and rushed,
so it doesn’t do the best job of establishing a solid attachment to the cast,
but these pacing issues are short lived.
As the story progresses, it develops into an absolutely stunning tale that keeps you hooked until the very end
and presents a number of emotionally charged character arcs.
Revenant Kingdom’s cast of characters is incredible with solid stories behind each personality.
The writing is on point throughout, though Evan’s lines can get a little hammy.
The main villain appears to be the weakest link at first,
but their ultimate motivation, as well as the resolution to the game, are immensely satisfying.
The only real weak spot is that some of the side characters
don’t really develop much further beyond their initial chapters,
but they also never bog down the rest of the story.
Complementing the excellent writing and narrative is the superb English voice work, which
never gave us any reason to change over to the Japanese audio.
There are just some inconsistencies in which lines are delivered with voice work and which are text-only,
switching over at odd-times mid-conversation.
It’s a little distracting, and given the quality of the voice work, we’d love to hear more of it.
Given the pedigree of the previous game’s soundtrack,
it’s rather peculiar that Revenant Kingdom’s music might be its weakest component.
It simply relies way too heavily on the original theme of its predecessor
and overuses it in many of the tracks.
There are a few new tracks that stand out like
the jazzy tune for Goldpaw and the melancholic vibes of Hydropolis.
While the musical score is a solid effort overall, it’s a definite step down.
Some may argue Revenant Kingdom clocks in a bit on the short side
at around 30 hours to finish the story,
but it’s a nice departure from the trend of top-rated JRPGs that last 60 hours or beyond.
Ni no Kuni II is a brilliant follow-up
that outdoes and improves upon its predecessor in just about every category.
This is one fairy tale that most certainly earns its happily ever after.
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