Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Reviews

Oliver and Mr. Drippy travel from the PlayStation 3 to the Nintendo Switch, and other platforms, to take on the White Witch. The port is a faithful rendition of its original version, right down to the aggravating battle system.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a solid, no-frills, no-additions port of the original PS3 game of the same title. The first video game by Studio Ghibli has not only aged very well, but it also runs smoothly and quickly on the Switch, making it an ideal way to experience the whimsy, charm, and wonder of this fantastical world with Oliver, his friends, and his fearsome foes.

2013 starts off with a bang, or should I say a spell.

Nowadays, large-scale RPGs seem to be everywhere, and with such a rich choice of games available, it’s hard to discern the classics from the rabble. It can also be easy to exaggerate the quality of the very best in the genre, due to long development processes and the length of the adventures on offer. But if there's anything that prevents even the classics from breaking the mould, it's their unimaginative similarity to one another. Thankfully, the moment we got our grubby mitts on Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, we knew that it was going to be remarkable, and, most importantly, different.

Playing Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a bit like looking through an open window to my past and witnessing my earlier years as a young gamer.  A window that I’ve long forgotten about and haven’t stopped to peer through in a very long time.  In returning to the roots of the JRPGs that dominated my video game library back in the 90’s, developer Level-5 has reminded me not only how important traditional role-playing games were in shaping my love affair with games, but also what we’ve lost from the industry during its evolution into the current generation.

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If the dazzling production values don't win you over, the storyline, characters and engaging combat will.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is one of the best RPGs I’ve played in years. Moreover, it joins the elusive ranks of the best PlayStation 3 exclusives, a group very rarely encroached upon by any studio Sony doesn’t own. Ni No Kuni is just that good: a beautiful mixture of the traditional makings of a JRPG combined with gorgeous graphics, a wonderful story, a great cast of characters and thoughtful gameplay. Better yet, I truly believe there’s something here even for those that don’t necessarily enjoy random encounters, level grinding and stat building. The story, characters, aesthetics and gameplay really do mix to make something special well outside of the JRPG niche. It took me just north of 40 hours to beat Ni No Kuni, and there’s still more for me to do. I didn’t complete every last side quest and I didn’t cruise through the entirety of the game’s battle arena. Word out of Japan is that the game’s coveted Platinum Trophy could take 80 hours to get, but know this: 40 hours with Ni No Kuni won’t allow you to see nearly all the game has to offer. I didn’t want the game to end. It proved one of those special experiences – like I’ve had with Final Fantasy VI, Wild Arms or Tales of Destiny in the past – where I didn’t want to see the conclusion. I wanted it to keep going. That’s because Ni No Kuni is just that special, and every RPG fan owes it to him or herself to pick it up and see why.