I am of course talking about Ni No Kuni 2 The Alliance Alive. I am not even kidding about this.
The success of The Legend of Legacy (which I loved) pushed Cattle Call Inc. to make another game that would fix its drawbacks while creating a more traditional JRPG feel. And it worked. They clearly pushed themselves to the maximum, even delaying the game during its japanese release to meet their standard of quality.
The result: I feel like I'm having that classic JRPG feel all over again.
What strikes me most is the attention of detail. Did you know that dialogues between NPCs is different if you change your leader to appear on the overworld ? Did you know you would get merchants to sell you stuff based on the race of the leader ? Even footsteps are different between characters. FOOTSTEPS. In a lot of JRPGs you would hear 2 set of footsteps sounds for every character, but Cattle Call is putting so much attention to detail and I'm having so much fun discovering all of it.
The pace is brisk, the characters are all fun, the dialogues are snappy and doesn't drag down, even the dungeons are fun and far more thought-out than say, Bravely Default on the same system. I'm having fun all around and I'm having that feeling of exploring.
The gameplay is also a very good introduction to SaGa mechanics, and compared to another JRPG that has Ghibli aspirations, The Alliance Alive is tightly screwed together: all the mechanics are complementing each other to offer a deep and satisfying set of systems to use.
And it works because it's a JRPG that doesn't just say it wants to offer this feeling of classic JRPGs, it acts on it. It knows what made people like those games and tries to iterate on this feeling. It doesn't just slap an overworld map without understanding *why* people likes it. So that's why you have a focus on exploration, vehicles, optional areas and so forth.
Also, did I mention the GOD TIER soundtrack ? Hamashi Hamauzu went the extra mile to deliver one of his best works and I haven't heard a single bad track from him. I'm putting the extra work to put headphones on my 3DS to listen to his work in full glory, something I hardly do.
With probably not even half of the quarter of the budget of NNK2, Cattle Call delivered on all fronts in a way I never expected. And it is so striking for me to come out of NNK2 so dispirited only to find myself full of joy and not ever finding myself to be bored even once in The Alliance Alive.
I urge you to give it a try if you can. There is also the OT if you don't trust my word. I haven't seen anyone NOT sing the praises of this game.
Also there is a duck swimming in lava so you're contractually obligated to buy it. It's law.
Edit : Cool info you might be interested to hear about: I forgot to mention that Yoshitaka Murayama, the creator of the Suikoden series, wrote the story of this game. Personally I like the writing a lot
The success of The Legend of Legacy (which I loved) pushed Cattle Call Inc. to make another game that would fix its drawbacks while creating a more traditional JRPG feel. And it worked. They clearly pushed themselves to the maximum, even delaying the game during its japanese release to meet their standard of quality.
The result: I feel like I'm having that classic JRPG feel all over again.
What strikes me most is the attention of detail. Did you know that dialogues between NPCs is different if you change your leader to appear on the overworld ? Did you know you would get merchants to sell you stuff based on the race of the leader ? Even footsteps are different between characters. FOOTSTEPS. In a lot of JRPGs you would hear 2 set of footsteps sounds for every character, but Cattle Call is putting so much attention to detail and I'm having so much fun discovering all of it.
The pace is brisk, the characters are all fun, the dialogues are snappy and doesn't drag down, even the dungeons are fun and far more thought-out than say, Bravely Default on the same system. I'm having fun all around and I'm having that feeling of exploring.
The gameplay is also a very good introduction to SaGa mechanics, and compared to another JRPG that has Ghibli aspirations, The Alliance Alive is tightly screwed together: all the mechanics are complementing each other to offer a deep and satisfying set of systems to use.
And it works because it's a JRPG that doesn't just say it wants to offer this feeling of classic JRPGs, it acts on it. It knows what made people like those games and tries to iterate on this feeling. It doesn't just slap an overworld map without understanding *why* people likes it. So that's why you have a focus on exploration, vehicles, optional areas and so forth.
Also, did I mention the GOD TIER soundtrack ? Hamashi Hamauzu went the extra mile to deliver one of his best works and I haven't heard a single bad track from him. I'm putting the extra work to put headphones on my 3DS to listen to his work in full glory, something I hardly do.
With probably not even half of the quarter of the budget of NNK2, Cattle Call delivered on all fronts in a way I never expected. And it is so striking for me to come out of NNK2 so dispirited only to find myself full of joy and not ever finding myself to be bored even once in The Alliance Alive.
I urge you to give it a try if you can. There is also the OT if you don't trust my word. I haven't seen anyone NOT sing the praises of this game.
Also there is a duck swimming in lava so you're contractually obligated to buy it. It's law.
Edit : Cool info you might be interested to hear about: I forgot to mention that Yoshitaka Murayama, the creator of the Suikoden series, wrote the story of this game. Personally I like the writing a lot
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