Ni No Kuni 2-- as bad as they say?

[Deleted member 41641]

I hooked up my PS4 Pro last night and started looking through all the PS4 games that have been collecting dust this generation. Infamous SS, Tearaway Unfolded, Horizon (specifically the DLC), Spider Man, DQXI... there's a lot that I've neglected over the years.

But then I came across Ni No Kuni 2. Now, I adored the first game when it dropped for PS3. Although the game had its problems, it remains the high point of that gen for me (due to sentimental reasons).

I thought about giving NNK2 a shot, as it seems colorful and lighthearted-- something ideal for these times. But then I remembered the middling-to-poor "reviews" it got here on Era. Doing a bit of reading online, it seems the DLC didn't really add much, and some players went so far as to say it's the worst DLC they've ever played.

Now, I get this is the internet and people say all kind of hyperbolic shit for attention, but is the game really as bad as it's been made out to be?

And, as a completionist, is getting all trophies in the DLC realistic? I don't mind the grind, as Destiny 1/2 and Diablo 3 are among my most played games ever. But it's been made out to be damn near impossible.

Is it worth the time investment? Or should I stay away?

 

[demosthenes]

Game was awful for me.

I can understand why some would enjoy it but to me it was like watching an episode of something aimed at children. At this point in my life I've moved on from enjoying the type of game that it is.

edit: Based on your list: Spider-Man and Horizon are EXCELLENT. You should play those right away.
edit 2: To give you a little more information OP, I can grind a lot. FFXI, and FFXIV are and have been my go to games for that and Diablo 3 for a time. The gameplay in NNK2 is just not fun, or rather, it wasn't for me. There are MUCH better games that deserve your attention.

 

[hrœrekr]

Believe me. It's worse.

The bad:
- Story is weak, empty, characters don't develop much.
- Battle system is bloated, and so easy that any deep mechanic becomes useless.

The horror:
- Boring skirmish mechanic (strategy battles) that you are forced to play and grind for it.
- Kingdom build system based on grinding mechanics that would suit free-to-play mobile game (do this and wait 30 minutes to enhance a building, wait 1 hour to get more money and continue....)
- Huge amount of fetch side-quests with no meaningful side story, repeated 100x with only a change in the item name.

 

[Freezasaurus]

It isn't great!!!

My issue with it was that they took the game I wanted to play (a straight-up sequel) and shoe-horned simulation and RTS games into it as well, which are two genres that I don't have a particular fondness for.

 

[SolidSnakex]

It's definitely not as good as the original. It doesn't have the same sense of adventure and the characters aren't as memorable. That said, it's not a bad game like some try to portray it as. The "worst" thing about it is probably the RTS-inspired combat scenarios. The good news is that there are only a handful of those throughout the entire game that are actually a requirement to advance the story. But it's still a fun game and if you don't really have anything else to play right now then i'd imagine that you'll enjoy it. Just don't go in expecting it to be as good as the original.

 

[scottbeowulf]

I liked the first one much more. 2 got really boring and formulaic quickly. I dropped it about 1/3 through after I felt like I saw most of what was on offer.

 

[Rapscallion]

It's not as bad as people make it out to be. It's a flawed, most likely rushed and underfunded game, but it still has some enjoyment. The game looks great at times, has a fun kingdom building mechanic, and features a relatively fun battle system.

Edit: but yeah, play Horizon, Spider-Man, or DQ wayyyyy before starting this game.

 

[Rotobit]

My issue with it was the lack of polish. It was really confusing how many lines weren't voiced at all, even ones that were dubbed in the trailers. The first game felt a lot more "complete" by comparison. Difficulty seems like a major complaint too, but one that doesn't really resonate with me since I don't mind a mindless hack'nslash from time to time.

I keep meaning to go back to it, I got the special edition with the music box and everything, but it's not super compelling.

 

[SirKai]

I thought it was dull as hell. I don't mind games with a focus on being comforting/happy/cozy or being "kiddy" but NNK2 is totally lacking nuance and dimension to its story and characters, the side quest design and optional areas (and most of the story areas I went through) are mundane as hell, and the combat system is COMPLETELY fucking mindless and requires no thought or effort whatsoever. I also don't even mind easy/simple games as long as they're stimulating in some other ways, such as writing or really memorable/exciting visuals and environments, but NNK2 is a boring failure in every regard. I dropped it after 10-12 hours.

 

[zswordsman]

It's not as bad as people say but it's still pretty bad. It starts off strong but then gets bogged down with all these extra mechanics. They tried to add too much and the side content was just a bunch of fetch quests to get people for your kingdom.

They really should have kept the monster system from before and expanded on that instead of just adding a bunch of random mechanics from other genres into one.

 

[Hint]

I can't speak to the DLC because i let go of this before it was released. Ni No Kuni 1 was easily one of my favorite RPGs on the PS3. I put a ton of time in it and played it straight through. I know people had complaints about the battle system, but I had absolutely no issues with it. In other words, I was super pumped for part 2 and getting more of the same. After actually getting the game it ended up being one of my biggest disappointments in gaming. No hyperbole here, I really loved 1 and this was highly anticipated for me.

Ni No Kuni 2 just did not seem to have the same care as part one. The battle system is simpler but has no depth and the story isn't nearly as interesting nor seemed to have the emotion of the first game. Graphics or the art style didn't really pop as much and voice acting was spotty, overall it didn't seem as finished.

I say this as someone who loves Chrono Cross: Maybe there is a good, enjoyable game in there but I am too clouded by my appreciation of the first game and the disappointment this one brought as a follow up.

 

[sredgrin]

It's mostly just dull and boring. Not offensively bad but like just not worth the time and attention when there's so much good shit out there.

 

[lazerface]

I enjoyed it immensely until the endgame where they force these rts mini games onto you. So in order to finish the game they needed to me do dozens of these rts mini battles which I find absolutely no pleasure in. It was a bummer because I truly enjoyed it up until then. The story was nothing to write home about but main real time battle system, music, atmosphere and overall world were excellent imo.

 

[8bit]

It looks nice, but the combat isn't really challenging'll probably get bored before the grind gets too grating.

 

[pezzie]

I played and beat the game. I had fun and thought it was alright. Certainly not worth $60 but enjoyable enough for the $15 I paid.

 

[SolidSnakex]

They really should have kept the monster system from before and expanded on that instead of just adding a bunch of random mechanics from other genres into one.

Click to shrink...

That's another downside. They shouldn't have listened to people who complained about the Familiar system. How can you drop Puss in Boats?

 

[Deleted member 21411]

I wanted to love it so bad, there's elements that really appealed to me.... There's just something about it that makes me lose interest every time I popped it on

 

[Zukuu]

I enjoyed it for what it is. The story hook is really interesting, but it never does anything with it sadly, so it becomes a forgettable experience.
It's very easy tho, but I heard they patched in a hard mode, so I would definitely recommend that.

 

[Mercador]

It's not that bad, I actually completed it. The first one was obviously better but I can still remember some dungeons of NNK2 and mostly the OST. On 4K+HDR, it was really great artistically.

 

[The Unsent]

I really liked it. I wasn't really in it for the story (and limited voice acting) and really enjoyed the world and overall style.

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

I got 90% through it and I'd say the bad parts were overblown. Story isn't great, it isn't brain dead either, it just has slow development and zero sense of stakes. It's like a children's tale in terms of story but the music, art, combat, characters, personalities and all are really good imo. It's one of the most memorable games this gen for me. The casino town is one of my top locales this gen too. The plot could be better and the spike in RTS style side missions near the end could've been mitigated but imo it's not nearly as bad as people say.

ooh and the water world. That place is amazing and the music is super relaxing

 

[Deleted member 36578]

It's a huge let down after the first Ni No Kuni.
I'd rate the the original like a 8/10.
The sequel is like a 5/10. I did enjoy the town building aspect despite it being very linear in it's construction, but that was possibly my favorite part of the whole game.

 

[Stowaway Silfer]

If it seems interesting, try it and have your own opinion of if it's for you or not. It's not complicated. If you're considering that the comments you used to see may have been hyperbolic or may not represent the way you'd possibly feel, I don't see what would be different about what's said here.

 

[Timeaisis]

I don't remember anything about it. If you want a fun RPG with a similar tone play Dragon Quest XI.

 

[Oghuz]

The forced sidequests, which are the worst type of fetch quests in existence in this game, basically killed this game for me.

 

[BeanBoi]

I enjoyed it. The story was pretty bland, but the gameplay was fun, and the battle system with the Higgeldies was alright. I definitely prefer NNK1, but it's not that bad.

 

[Fart Master]

Probably the most boring rpg I've ever played

 

[eXistor]

It's fine, it just lacks the spark of Ni No Kuni 1. It's also ridiculously easy, but as easy and basic as it was, at least I was able to finish it because of the fast-paced battle system (I hated it in NNK1 to the point where I quit the game after about 15 hours).

The castle-building and skirmishes are also not very fun and take way too much time to do and unfortunately you have to do it. When all is said and done I still liked it well enough. Solid 6-7 game.

 

[Moist_Owlet]

It's very easy and very boring. Superman for N64 is a more worthwhile purchase.

 

[TheDeadlyHound]

I was so disappointed by the gameplay mechanics that I tried to push through just for the story, but believe me, the story is one of the worst I have seen in recent years. I don't know who is the target audience for the story, but I can't imagine why would they greenlit the game in that state.

 

[shaneo632]

The mandatory citizen recruitment missions are such tedious padding bullshit I dropped the game when I reached the second brick wall.

Also the minimal VO and animation made it feel like a straight to video sequel lol.

One of the generation's biggest disappointmentselling IMO

 

[Bjones]

It's ok, I think they put in to many gameplay elements honestly. It could have done without the whole town building army battles .

 

[Illusion]

Ni No Kuni 1: Is a charming A+ game with fun monster collecting element. Clear Ghibli elements, cute story, beautiful world.

Ni No Kuni 2: Trash. Garbage. Not worth the disc the code is coded onto. Absolutely horrible. I demand my money back over how bad this game was.

Honestly they should had just went with the story of the movie's plot and built the gameplay around that. At least then the story would be okay.

 

[Meicyn]

Charm carried the first game. Despite the flaws, it felt like a Ghibli experience.

The sequel has none of the charm, and the gameplay is a downgrade IMO.

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

Yeah. It's pretty, but the gameplay loop is mind numbingly boring.

 

[Moara]

Nah, I thought it was pretty decent. The kingdom building stuff was addicting.

 

[zeitgeist]

I dumped loads of hours into the city building and enjoyed most of the story, BUT the main king kid is terrible. Just a total dud and the story hinges on him being the best-case scenario for a leader which is INSANE.

Looking back I'd say I really liked it though.

 

[Arta]

Game's awesome. Story is on the simplistic side but still charming. Doesn't deserve all this hatred from Nino Kuni 1 fans.

 

[blue_whale]

You can see that opinions here are pretty split. I personally hate the game, and I bought the stupid thing full price like a dummy. There's this really time wasting mobile-game like town building minigame inside of it that just is super annoying. Also, a really trite story that makes you not want to play.

 

[Bunzy]

Spiderman is incredible and if you are a fan of the character then that's icing on the cake. I truly think it's the best representation of Spiderman we've ever seen in video format. Then add in gorgeous graphics and an incredible animation system for Spiderman just moving around objects

Play that game first

 

[jorgejjvr]

it was too easy at launch, i dropped off

first game i ever sold. Theres way better rpgs out there

 

[Naga]

I really don't think it's as bad as people make it seem, but it's not great either. It's a bit comparable to Brutal Legend, it gets worse later on.
Still, beautiful art and music.

 

[Hail Satan]

It's a solid 6, maybe 6.5, depending no how much you enjoy the artstyle.

It's not awful. People around here just talk in hyperbole and extremes.

 

[Maxina]

Paid full price for the digital deluxe edition. Essentially made me swore to never pre order games ever again; especially digitally.

 

[Fisty]

Trust me, just replay the first one. Or pick up Little King's Story, since all the good ideas in NNK2 came from that.

The drop from NNK->NNK2 is ridiculous

EDIT: for reference, I have all the trophies from NNK1 and NNK2, including the shite DLC

 

[TinTuba47]

I didn't finish it, but I had fun for 20 hours.

the hard mode they patches in helped a lot

 

[Charizard]

I liked it. It is a nice charming game.

They did patch in difficulty settings thank fucking god so make sure to jack it up.

 

[Hieroph]

I don't get who's saying this. NNK2 is a really great game.

Just skip the DLC, but that's what you should always do.

 

[AfropunkNyc]

Played it and loved it. I appreciated everything about the game. Looks amazing on the PC in ultrawide.

 

[Socivol]

It's awful I didn't finish it. The battle system is super easy, the story isn't engaging at all, and the lack of voice acting is inexcusable. It's so bad that if you didn't have it I would've offered to give it to you for free if you paid shipping.

I adored the first game. I bought a PS3 just to play Ni No Kuni, bought the collector's edition guide, played for hours and beat it and did endgame content.