OH MY GOODNESS!!! I thought no one would ever make this thread!!! *jumps for joy*
This game is fantastic! I've beaten the one Level 5 made for the DS. I highly recommend these games to everyone!
I downloaded the demo for it on the PS3. To be honest, the PS3 version is going to be a lot better than the DS version. The game's plot is just phenomenal. The musical score is so beautiful. The combat system is so much fun (referring the to PS3 version). Studio Ghibli and Level 5 did not fail in delivering an imaginative world full of great friends and foes.
However, the most disappointing thing about the North America release is Oliver's, the main character, voice. The voice acting for him isn't as good as what I hoped to be or as good as the rest of the cast. It's sad because he's the main character. I wish they would of pick somebody else. Luckily, you can chose between English and Japanese audio. (Not to sound like one of those people who's always like "RAWR!!! English voice actors suck compared to the Japanese cast! RAWR! RAWR! RAWR!" I did not compare the two when I watch the trailer and played the demo.)
What really drew my attention to this game was the whole concept with the Wizard's Companion (an outside book you must to use to play the game for the DS version; an in-game book for the PS3 version) and the fact that Studio Ghibli had a major role in the game's production. Using the Wizard's Companion book was really cool and fun to use when playing the game. It's like the game comes with its own guide book! The book tells you spells, information about familiars, and stories about the world along with the world's mythology. It proved its self to one of the game’s best features, imo.
When you compare it to Pokémon, Ni no Kuni's where it's at, just saying. Unlike Pokémon, you don't have to catch a ton of creatures. You can catch a few creatures called familiars and still complete the game without any trouble (I think I only used around 12 of them the whole game). Plus, the plot line is better than any Pokémon. The characters feel so real and by the time the end credits rolled, I cried (not that the ending was sad, it was just such a beautiful game that the plot had worked me up to this peak and then I was so happy and moved by the end that the tears just started to fall). That's something that no Pokémon game has ever brought to me. However like Pokémon, it has its all kinds of creatures, called familiars (Imagen in the Japanese games). They learn different moves as they evolve and level up, very much like Pokémon. The familiar can also evolve into two different kinds of familiars (for example: a Mite evolves into a Mighty Mite. Then the Mighty Mite can evolve into either a Dynamite or a Mermite), which you get to pick out witch one you want. The two third stages will have both they're ups and downs to them. It's kind of like Eevee, Wurmple, Gloom, Slowpoke, Clamperl, and so on with more branched Pokémon evolution families. Familiars also have to ability to hold onto items too. Other than that, I think there are no more similarities between the two. If I had to choose which one is better, I’d pick Ni no Kuni over Pokemon because of its story, game play, concepts, and music.
However, I've never played Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu for Play Station, so I can't compare to the two.
I'm waiting on my copy of the Wizard's Edition to come in the mail. Until then, I got to the demo and the DS version to hold me over.
For those of you who don't know what the wizard's Edition, it's the collector's edition.
If you like JRPGs, you should give this game a shoot.
If you have any other questions just ask me
