Spman2099

Let's get to the good stuff quickly... The controls are tight and responsive, the combo system is intuitive and enjoyable. The graphic style is on point, and the animations are genuinely excellent. The soundtrack is strong, and there is a fair amount of variety in the game (a large roster of interesting, fun playable characters, is the highlight of this). There are many interesting places to go, and unique characters to fight. Lastly, the script works well, even if it is very simple; more specifically, the humor generally hits. This is a game that does an excellent job of following-up on the original. I wanted to give this game a perfect 10. I really did. On the whole, this is an excellent beat 'em up, maybe one of the best ever made, but it is, unfortunately, an unfinished excellent beat 'em up. If I am being honest, the experience is rough enough at times that it maybe should have gotten a score a little lower than the 9 I gave it. It sorta represents all the fiddling and troubleshooting that keeps me away from PC games. However, the developers are quickly addressing the issues and feel confident that it will be worth a higher score than that 9 in a month or so (so I am splitting the difference). A few more quibbles... the tutorial text is awfully implemented, you will likely accidentally skip it every time. Also, the explanation of some of the moves you purchase are unnecessarily vague. I don't want to leave this review on a down note, so I wanted to mention, once again, that the meat of the experience is pretty close to perfect. A great purchase if you love the genre.

Despite a rough first day the game is working perfectly now. Don't get too caught up in the negativity dog pile, the game is silky smooth and the online is the best ever seen in a fighting game.

So, this is a game that does everything it is supposed to do. That is absolutely a compliment, by the way. The inclusion of the board game mode (also known as "Smash Tour") is a welcome addition. The cast of characters is robust and colourful. Generally, this is just a great entry into a very enjoyable series of games. However, the online is a huge disappointment. There is no option to play with stocks (or stocks with a time limit). By not providing this option it essentially ruins the online experience for people who greatly prefer using stock mode. Indeed, this is the tournament standard (with a time limit allocated, of course). Unfortunately, this incredibly ridiculous oversight, means that the online mode may as well not exist for many Smash players. Unfortunately, this seems to be Nintendo's way. They produce great content, but their inability to listen to their fans always leads to some awkward weakness that would have been incredibly easy to avoid. Still, this is a great game. Nintendo has crafted a wonderful game for people to play with their friends, just not online.

I will keep this short and sweet. This is an amazing game. The RPG genre has been desperately starved for the entirety of this generation; however, we finally have a game in the genre worth our time. Not only is Ni No Kuni visually amazing, but it also plays quite nicely. The combat start very basic, but becomes more nuanced the more you play. The story is strong; evocative but with a good sense of levity. If you were an RPG lover at some point, but lost interest in the genre during this generation, you need to go out and purchase this game, it will blow you away. However, this isn't only a purchase for those wanting a nostalgia high, this is an easy recommendation for damn near everyone. The only thing that could keep you from loving this game is significant prejudice; if you refuse to play colorful games that have a great deal of charm, then maybe you should skip this one. For everyone else, come join the journey, you won't regret it.