Ninokuni: The Another World

Ninokuni, the Nintendo DS RPG game developed by Level-5 seems to have missed the mark for its 10th anniversary. 2009 has come and gone and it still isn't released. Although it isn't confirmed, the game should see a release sometime this year.



Based off the trailer released at TGS last year, Ninokuni is shaping up to be a fine game. All the cinematics are done by Studio Ghibli, and yes, they are actual cutscenes from the game itself. If done right, they should be smooth and pleasing to the eye, as with the clips from Professor Layton.

Although most of the trailer shows off the scenes and the synopsis for Ninokuni, look closely and you can see a few clips of gameplay in action. It looks like an RPG in the classic mould, kinda like Dragon Quest, or Final Fantasy. Little is known about the finer details. The 3D graphics look well done for the DS.

The game's main gimmick isn't just the fact that Studio Ghibli is involved, but also because it comes with a level of interactivity rarely seen in most other games. Guess what the box of the game looks like?

It's big, and looks like a mock treasure chest. Inside is of course the game itself, and a spellbook/instruction manual that shows you all the touch screen commands for casting spells in the game. The spellbook looks like it's required to play the game, although the problem of avoiding obvious story spoilers with the later, more advanced spells....okay, let's see them work around it. It's a very nice touch to a standard RPG. Having to refer to the book to look for spells to cast makes you feel like you're actually doing it. Very clever.

With the partnership of one of the best developers this decade(Level-5, of Professor Layton and Dragon Quest IX fame), and the best animation studio in Japan(Studio Ghibli, the team behind many, many animated classics like Totoro), Ninokuni is gearing up to storm the DS scene later this year.

More updates on it as it comes!

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Ninokuni: The Another World