ni no kuni
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Behind the Music: Ni no Kuni
Ni no Kuni doesn't just have genuine Studio Ghibli visuals. With an original score by composer Joe Hisaishi, it also has genuine Studio Ghibli music. Here, Hisaishi discusses the "elegance" he tried to bring to its music, and goes into surprising depth about his process.
Behind the scenes of Ni No Kuni's art style
This latest development diary for Ni No Kuni focuses on the game's art style, pioneered by world renowned Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. As you might expect, literally every single thing about Ghibli's creative process is completely adorable, even the old dudes. Especially the old dudes.
Heartbreaking beauty of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
The visual quality of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is so impressive, the upcoming PlayStation 3 role-playing game often resembles an interactive Studio Ghibli movie. No matter your angle, Ni No Kuni is bright, beguiling, and beautiful – even in the face of disparities between its animated cutscenes and in-game action.Given the storytelling pedigree of co-developers Studio Ghibli and Level-5 – and the latter's prowess in the role-playing game genre – my hope was Ni No Kuni can be as enchanting as Spirited Away, yet underlined by the kind of design that makes Dark Cloud 2 so deep.Based on my brief experience with the final build, there's legitimate cause for optimism; however, concerns remain. There are, at the very least, the seeds of curiosity in Ni No Kuni.
Behind the scenes of Ni no Kuni's development
In this video, Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino guides you through the company's Fukuoka headquarters, to show where and how Ni no Kuni acquired its beautiful look. At least part of that look comes from the motion capture studio, with the help of a fake book and wand.
PSN Tuesday: Mass Effect, Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, Ni no Kuni demo
This week marks the debut of the original Mass Effect on the PS3, available as either a standalone purchase of $15 through PSN or as part of the Mass Effect Trilogy package. If free is more your speed, you can grab demos for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Guardians of Middle Earth and LBP Karting.On the PS Vita, treasure hunting transitions to trading cards in Uncharted: Fight for Fortune. PS Plus members can snag a free copy of BioShock 2 and enjoy discounts on Puddle, Rockstar Games Collection 1 and more. For the full list of this week's content, hit up the PlayStation Blog through the source link below.
Ni no Kuni demo on PSN tomorrow
You'll be able to take your first tentative steps into a new, animated world tomorrow. A demo for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will be released on PSN in North America tomorrow, along with the Mass Effect Trilogy, the PS2 classic Chulip and a lot of other assorted stuff. The demo arrives in Europe on Wednesday.Ni no Kuni will be released in full on January 22.
Level-5's Hino wants to adapt Studio Ghibli's Castle in the Sky
Ni No Kuni is the first collaboration between Level-5 and Japan's famous Studio Ghibli, and Level 5 CEO Akihiro Hino hopes it won't be the last. Speaking during a group interview session at a pre-TGS event at Namco's headquarters in Tokyo, Hino noted that he'd like to work with Studio Ghibli again. "If there is a potential opportunity to work with them again," he said, through an interpreter, "yes, we'd like to work on some joint projects with them in the future – if there is, of course, a possibility."Concerning exactly what sort of project he'd like to pursue, we asked if Level 5 has had any discussions about adapting existing Studio Ghibli properties into video games. Hino said that he would love to but, naturally, Ghibli would have to approve any such projects. Corporate approvals aren't a very entertaining topic of conversation though, so we just went ahead and asked which Studio Ghibli film he would like to adapt. Given the opportunity, he said, he would adapt Castle in the Sky.That strange rustling you just heard was the sound of millions of fingers being crossed.
Level-5 International America would like to develop games
Level-5's mysterious "International America" branch is working on the localization for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, CEO Akihiro Hino tells Siliconera. That kind of thing is the office's responsibility for the time being. "Our US office mainly works to efficiently release the Japanese titles that Level-5 has created overseas and they are involved in production and distribution in the overseas territories," Hino said.However, there's more in mind than localization for Level-5 IA. "In the future, we would potentially like to develop title overseas where Level-5 International America is taking the lead on developing for the overseas market," he says. Of course, with games like the Layton series, Level-5 already seems to have a decent handle on the overseas market.
15 minutes of Ni no Kuni footage straight from Gamescom (bonus: British hosts!)
The Gamescom demo of Ni no Kuni was hands-on and, as expected, full of adorable moments. GameSpot UK's editor supreme Guy Cocker narrates the proceedings alongside Namco's Hollie Bennett, which can be seen above.
New Ni no Kuni screens, and a Ninostarter update
A set of new Gamescom screens for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch provides the perfect reason to check in on the "Ninostarter" pre-order campaign.With 12 days left, enough fans have pre-ordered the special "Wizard's Edition" to unlock one bonus item, a set of five prints. The second item is a gold "Wizard's Coin," which has 24% of its allotted pre-order numbers. You have until August 31 to throw your pre-order in and get the game, the book, the prints, and possibly that coin.%Gallery-162721%
Pre-order Ni no Kuni to meet the Griffy
If you're not buying the lavish Wizard's Edition of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, you still have the option to get some extra stuff with your purchase. Namco Bandai revealed two pre-order incentives today for different stores, one physical and one digital.If you reserve Ni no Kuni at GameStop or (in Canada) EB Games, you can get a SteelBook case for the Level-5/Studio Ghibli RPG. If you opt for Amazon, you'll get a "griffy" familiar, exclusive to the Western release. We're just going to leave this sentence here: "With its fearsome Phantom Fangs and its potent Petrifying Puff, this creature is not to be trifled with, especially when it evolves into its most lethal forms, the griffurnace or the griffrigerator."You can see the steelbook - and the griffy – in our gallery.%Gallery-161752%
Ni no Kuni pre-order program plays on Kickstarter concept to hand out more stuff
The "Wizard's Edition" of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is already pretty tempting for those already interested in the game, with its inclusion of a translated, physical "Wizard's Companion" spellbook, but Namco is hoping to tempt fans further with additional incentives that increase in number with additional Wizard's Edition preorders.It's an adorable take on (part of) the Kickstarter concept called "Ninostarter," in which Namco will add more items to the Wizard's Edition as more people pre-order it from Club Namco. You can track the progress of each "goal" at the Ninostarter website. The promotion (and Wizard's Edition pre-orders) will end August 31.
Namco Bandai conjures a Ni no Kuni 'Wizard's Edition' [update: America too]
If your European copy of Ni no Kuni is bigger and more expensive than normal ... a wizard did it. Namco Bandai has announced a "Wizard's Edition" of the Level-5 RPG that includes a copy of The Wizard's Companion, the in-game spellbook. It also comes with a plus doll of "Drippy," the lamp-nosed sidekick, and some DLC familiars for use in the game.The Wizard's Edition will be out in EMEA and Australian regions concurrent with the game, on January 25. Now, with the book translated, there's nothing holding back a localization of Ni no Kuni for DS ... right?Update: The Wizard's Edition is available in North America, exclusively from Namco's online shop for $99.99. [Thanks, Sepehr!]
Ni no Kuni goes from another world to ours on January 22
The latest trailer for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, posted by IGN, ends on the news that it'll be released in North America on January 22, 2012. Namco told Eurogamer that the UK date for the Level-5/Studio Ghibli PS3 game is January 25.The trailer also provides additional exposure to the English voice acting, which we declare "not bad." Should you disagree, however, take comfort in the knowledge that the Japanese track will also be on the disc.
Good morning! Here's a bunch of gorgeous Ni no Kuni screens
It's still pretty early, and perhaps you've yet to drink that first cup of life-bringing java – believe us, we understand. Why not treat your eyes to these beautiful, vibrant screens of Level 5's Studio Ghibli RPG, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.
Ni no Kuni trailer bums us out, but not because of the English voices
Not even a really goofy accent can diminish the spectacular beauty of Ni no Kuni. That's good news! The bad news is that this first English-language trailer for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is all about a little boy being sad because his mother dies.There's other stuff, like a magical companion and a potentially imaginary fantasy world opening up before his eyes, but you are going to see a little anime boy crying, and it's going to be kind of devastating. Be prepared.
Ni no Kuni delayed until Q1 2013
Good news: Namco Bandai is still planning to localize Level-5 and Studio Ghibli's beautiful PS3 RPG, Ni no Kuni. The bad news: the release date is already slipping. Originally announced for winter of 2012, Namco announced a new "Q1 2013" release date for both North America and Europe at a press event today.Namco also reportedly showed off its localization progress, in the form of a trailer with English dialogue. Protagonist Oliver speaks with an American accent, while everyone else is British for some reason.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch launches Winter 2012
You know how back in September Level-5 said Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch would launch in early 2012? Yeah, throw that out the window -- the developer must have meant to say it'll launch in the other winter of 2012.Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, a collaboration between Level-5 and legendary animation outfit Studio Ghibli, will launch later this year in the unspecified Winter 2012 time frame. It'll be released exclusively on the PS3 with both English and Japanese voiceovers.
Ni no Kuni commercials offer a more realistic look at another world
Ever thought "Ni no Kuni looks nice, but I wonder what it would look like without all that Studio Ghibli art?" Neither have we, but you should watch these Japanese live-action ads for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch anyway. In the brief clip above, and one more after the break, voice actress Mana Ashida explores realistic CG interpretations of locations from the game. She's almost certainly looking at green screens, but she looks suitably impressed! We're also impressed, but we have the benefit of actually seeing the impressive vistas.
Have brunch with a bunch of Ni No Kuni cutscenes
Red capes, regal cats and illuminating rhinoplasty. Good luck with that Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch localization, Namco Bandai. (Seriously, don't screw this up!)
