I haven't really dabbled with a JRPG before but I've played plenty of RPG's. I'm just not sure, I tried the demo and died 10 times before i knew I could move around, the demo was worthless in telling a new person to JRPG's what to do. I still really want to like this game for some reason. I guess my question is how hard and complex does the combat system get......lets say compared to Final Fantasy 7 because that's the only other JRPG I've played and I only got about half way through it.

It's apparently meant to be very easy.

From the looks of an extensive Gamespot preview of an early part of the game, it looks like it'll ease players into things slowly. I'm still not entirely sure why Level-5 keeps toying with this half turn-based, half action-RPG formula they've been developing since White Knight Chronicles, but at least it doesn't look as messy as that game's combat mechanics were. I guess we'll have to wait until next week to really find out, but it doesn't look too terribly difficult.

If you're interested in it then give it a try. There is an easy mode if you want to make things easier on yourself, but the best way to learn something new is to just jump in and immerse yourself in it.

there's a demo

Yeah, the demo does not explain a whole lot. I only really got a basic hang of the combat in the second portion. It'll probably be tutorialised in the beginning.

I don't think any of us would know any better than you since we've only played the demo as well. I will say that not too many JRPG combat systems are as simple as FF7's these days. At least not in my experience.

I'm in it for the story and art style. I'm really not a fan of micromanaging 4 different peoples inventory systems, but if its simple enough I'm willing to try it. Maybe this game is designed to be a starter JRPG.

All the explanations that I've read have said that it's basically Pokemon. Your character (Oliver?) can fight in battles, but the idea is to have the creatures you capture do most of it for you. The only other insight I can offer is based off of reading occassional tweets from Jim Sterling and Philip Kollar:

1) Grinding is very prominent in spots.

2) Some of the boss battles carry crazy spikes in difficulty.

For what it's worth, they both still seem to feel positively towards the game overall.

If you're really not sure, then wait for a price drop. The game seriously easies you in on how to do many things (there are many playthroughs on Youtube, for the Japanese version, but the combat is the same), so you should be fine.

Tried the Demo and hate the combat. Will not be buying this game

Been wondering this myself too. The game is getting great reviews, but the demo did not sell me on it at all. Guess the demo was just bad ?

Been wondering this myself too. The game is getting great reviews, but the demo did not sell me on it at all. Guess the demo was just bad ?

@Sparky_Buzzsaw said:

From the looks of an extensive Gamespot preview of an early part of the game, it looks like it'll ease players into things slowly. I'm still not entirely sure why Level-5 keeps toying with this half turn-based, half action-RPG formula they've been developing since White Knight Chronicles, but at least it doesn't look as messy as that game's combat mechanics were. I guess we'll have to wait until next week to really find out, but it doesn't look too terribly difficult.

Do you happen to know the link to said preview?

Hopefully Brad can shed some light on this subject and give us the answers we need!! TEAM BRAD!!!!

I just don't feel like this game should have had a demo. Its really difficult to 'demo' a JRPG.

I mean before the demo I was super pumped, but the demo really turned me off. And I don't know if it was because the game sucked, or JRPG's just always have the worst demos.

I read Jim Sterling's review and he claims it to be a classic style JRPG that requires grinding at spots. He compared it to Dragon Quest 8. Which I thought was a fantastic game.

I just placed my preorder today. I missed out on Rogue Galaxy when the PS2 era ended - I won't miss out again. Almost bought a Collector's Edition in addition to the standard edition. Surefire investment that'll double in value within a year or two, if it's in mint condition. Sadly, t'was already sold out today (it wasn't yesterday night, when I first pondered the purchase).

It's pretty clear cut for me. It's about commitment. When I buy a game, I commit to playing it. I am certain, if I commit to playing Ni No Kuni, I'll find a great time. Very rarely does a game disappoint, if I apply myself. And if it truely does disappoint, I'll only know what and why, if I've seen it through.

I finish 9 in 10 games I buy, and play most of them thoroughly. I feel there's just too many players out there, who don't commit, and then miss the point. It's good to go outside of one's comfort zone every now and then, and Ni No Kuni is definitely the game to do it for. Grow a pair, commit 50-100 hours of your life, and get down with Ni No Kuni!

@Seppli said:

I just placed my preorder today. I missed out on Rogue Galaxy when the PS2 era ended - I won't miss out again. Almost bought a Collector's Edition in addition to the standard edition. Surefire investment that'll double in value within a year or two, if it's in mint condition. Sadly, t'was already sold out today (it wasn't yesterday night, when I first pondered the purchase).

It's pretty clear cut for me. It's about commitment. When I buy a game, I commit to playing it. I am certain, if I commit to playing Ni No Kuni, I'll find a great time. Very rarely does a game disappoint, if I apply myself. And if it truely does disappoint, I'll only know what and why, if I've seen it through.

I finish 9 in 10 games I buy, and play most of them thoroughly. I feel there's just too many players out there, who don't commit, and then miss the point. It's good to go outside of one's comfort zone every now and then, and Ni No Kuni is definitely the game to do it for. Grow a pair, commit 50-100 hours of your life, and get down with Ni No Kuni!

You didn't miss much, that game was the text book definition of average. Try Dark Cloud 2 or Jeanne d'Arc if you want Level 5 at their best.

Doing a quick scan of the reviews here, it's looking like the game is great but pretty old school in its gameplay design, with all that entails.

I'm definitely intrigued although I am not sure I have the spare time available to devote to completing it in anything approaching a reasonable time frame.

Oooooooooooooh man. I had to switch the voices to Japanese. I just couldn't deal with the English voices. Kid's voices fuckin' bug the hell out of me- like, Persona 3 is just about my favorite game, but I HATE listening to Ken talk. I'm glad they included the option for Japanese, I'm glad I can read somewhat quickly.

Check the quick look if you want to know more. Still it is meant to be really easy to get into, so if you can not play the demo without being hopelessly confused I fear this game might not be for you.

So with this game being out now in US and coming out in the UK this coming friday, is there a consensus as to wether this might be a good 'first JRPG' to try. I'm really on the fence as to wether or not to buy it, I love the art style of the game and can see it as something I could jump into between the next 2 months worth of big releases but I've not really had any interest in JRPG's before.