During the PlayStation Experience weekend last week, Bandai Namco unleashed a brand new trailer for the upcoming Japanese-themed RPG, Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom. The upcoming title is the sequel to the original 2010 release of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, which was made in part by Studio Ghibli and Level-5 Studios.
The new trailer covers a bit of the story but mostly focuses on the characters and gameplay. We get the typical spiel about darkness looming overhead and players having to take on the role of a savior attempting to bring peace back to the land. You can check it out below.
The Studio Ghibli inspiration continues to be present in the visual art direction for Ni No Kuni 2. The characters and animations are light and visually airy, almost popping out of the screen as cartoon images.
The bright visuals don’t undermine the overall gravity of the story about a young boy having to fill the role of a needed king. On the outset it reminds me a little bit of Final Fantasy XV, only maybe this game will have a happy ending, eh?
Anyway, we get a brief look at the actual in-game combat and cinematics. For those of you who enjoy in-engine cinematics, you’ll be pleased to know that the game’s gorgeous visuals are shared between gameplay and the cutscenes, so it’s all the same thing. The combat itself takes place in real-time with action-oriented, context sensitive mechanics.
Companions can be controlled and utilized in battle, along with exacting some mean magic attacks on enemies. The Pokemon-style call-in system seems to be replaced with a more straightforward hack-and-slash setup, which should quell some of the complaints that surfaced about the original game.
The last trailer for Ni No Kuni 2 was from a year ago, so it’s nice to see that the game hasn’t faded completely from Bandai Namco’s view. You’ll still have to wait a while for Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom because the release is only tentatively set for 2017. So it could be early next year or late next year. It is coming for the PS4, so we know that much.
