Level-5 CEO Takes You Behind The Scenes Of Ni No Kuni

For so many JRPG fanatics, January 22, 2013 can't get here fast enough.

That's when Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch finally lands on North American shores and hopefully, Level-5 and Studio Ghibli will deliver a memorable adventure that reminds us of the good ol' days.

If you want to learn more about this project and get a look at some behind-the-scenes footage, check out this new video. Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino walks you through the company's Fukuoka headquarters and shows you how the Ni no Kuni project came to fruition. Just about every aspect of this title's presentation is drop-dead gorgeous, even if it may appear to be catering to a younger audience. Furthermore, there's just no doubt that absolutely everyone involved in this project was totally in love with the concept. That's always a huge plus.

Related Game(s): Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Tags: ni no kuni wrath of the white witch, ni no kuni video, ni no kuni behind the scenes

12/5/2012 9:54:48 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (52 posts)

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Highlander
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 10:20:07 PM
Reply

Meh. Their partner in this - Namco - has a paper thin commitment to supporting customers. At this point, I probably could not care less about this game, which as anyone who remembers a year ago will know, is a complete reversal of how I felt about this game then.

0 up, 0 down

Yukian
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 10:48:40 PM

Why it doesn't interest you anymore? For Namco's involvement or is it another reason?

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 11:28:24 PM

Namco is also involved in the Tales of games. I'm a long time fan, and for the most part, I'm not disappointed. (A few more tales of games need to come to PS3)

It's D3 I dislike.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 11:41:31 PM

Don't be so jaded, go download the demo. It's AAA for guys like us.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 11:53:50 PM

Because Namco owns D3, and D3 shafted customers in the west that bought WKC2 - Level 5's other 'big' game. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

2 up, 1 down

Pandacastro
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 2:00:31 AM

How did D3 shafted WKC2 customers ?

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 2:05:31 AM

Panda, Read the news on this site from Monday about the petition for the missing content...

0 up, 0 down

Pandacastro
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 4:13:36 AM

So you don't want to support D3 right? I don't think D3 will get your money since namco is publishing this. Unless you think namco is equally responsible for the WKC2 fiasco right?

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:53:07 AM

Since you probably don't know this already, I will go slow. Namco OWNS D3.

0 up, 0 down

xenris
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:13:56 AM

Highlander I get your pissed off about WKC2, you probably feel somewhat upset about it like I do about the direction the whole Mass Effect series went after ME1.

However I will say I played the demo for this game and it is pure magic. The music, the sound effects, and by golly the graphics are amazing. Then you have the combat which is such a breath of fresh air its really unique and fun, I can't wait for the full game.

Now that being said I would ask that you possibly reconsider and purchase this game for one big reason. To support a JRPG being released in a generation where they are not doing so well, and to show Square Enix that traditional JRPGs can do well and people actually want them.

I also would think that this is not going to be as DLC heavy as WKC2. The very nature of WKC2 was like that of an MMO and they didn't give you DLC and updates which was wrong. But promising news on this front is that in japan they released a ni no kuni all in one edition a year after it was released and all the DLC prior was made free in a patch even if you hadn't bought it.

So we might get that version which could be why localization is taking so long?

All I'm trying to say is you should support this kind of game, its a dying breed and we need to show square enix that they are completely backwards about how popular jrpgs are.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:31:01 AM

Xenris,

The game has DLC.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2012/05/08/ni-no-kuni-all-in-one-edition-announced-for-japan-contains-dlc/

Japan already has a bundle for it. I hate to say it, but the stage is set. Yes I am pissed off, and no amount of anyone telling me anything further down this thread will change my mind. If anything I'm even more annoyed and less likely to care about this game than I was yesterday because so many people seem to take the opinion that we should just support publishers of a JRPG just because it's a JRPG no matter how they treat their customers.

So, I'm sorry if I sound bitter and angry, the trouble is I am angry, and bitterness seems to be creeping in too. I've spent 1000s of hours in WKC2, $100's on paid DLC items and God knows how many hours and dollars supporting my guild. That investment has not been repaid by the game publisher, and yes, I am very pissed off about it.

4 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 11:34:35 AM

Guys, just let Highlander be. His attitude for as long as I've known him on PSXe has been one governed by a superstructure of intolerable ideals that are easily infringed upon. I have no doubt this behavior runs through every facet of his life. It's got to be a difficult road to travel. Have pity for him and just enjoy the excellent game.

4 up, 1 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 11:39:52 AM

Take your pity and shove it. Whether you meant it or not, that's offensive to me and I really do take offense from it. Good bye.

0 up, 4 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 1:32:01 PM

You're right Temjin, but I'm curious as to whatever gave him the idea that playing the game a lot, running a guild, and paying for so much DLC would mean that any Japanese company would suddenly pay more attention to the West. It's unreasonable to assume when the base sales are so low. I mean hey I bought the game, it's a good game, but not worth getting your panties in a twist and swearing off all further great games.

1 up, 1 down

Temjin001
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 1:54:31 PM

Highlander, put your avatar and name back up and stop acting like that. I think most people here value your time as a participant. I said what I said because it's so glaringly obvious how far removed your values are from other members concerning this matter.

People want you to like this game because they know what you like.

They care about your enjoyment.

But instead you stubbornly cling with both hands to the sword of justice over matters of business politics that totally bars you from enjoying the good qualities of the creative works of humanity. It's your refusal to adopt temperance and compassion for the mistakes of others.

I admire that you want to take a stand against feeling mistreated, but don't burn the farm down as justification for it.

Last edited by Temjin001 on 12/6/2012 1:56:02 PM

8 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:01:26 PM

I know Namco owns D3, Highlander, but I've been into the Tales of series since PS1 days. Also, I hear PacMan was once popular.

All I know is that the first major disappointment I've had with Namco has been directly related to D3. One bad sister company. I've had like 7 or 8 excellent Namco experiences, and only the one bad one that is more related to D3 than anything else. An 85% satisfaction rate with me is good enough for me to not give up on the company.

Heck... I let Square Enix piss me off 5+ times before I actually got pensive about them.

0 up, 0 down

Yukian
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:19:40 PM

After reading all the commets I've gotta say this:

"Well, that escalated quickly!" Lol

I think we need to understand that DLC is additional content for the game! It is NOT mandatory nor crucial, we buy it if we like it, if it doesn't come out for our region we need to think: Is the game incomplete? Is it necessary to complete the game? No? Then on to the next game! And as far as I know WKCII had a ton of content on disk so... yeah, not crucial. :)

2 up, 0 down

Yukian
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 10:55:53 PM
Reply

I played the demo and it seems it wil be a great game... I almost cried when I saw the world map! Well, not really, more like a nostalgic feeling...

The only "flaws" I noticed was that I share the HP with my familiars and that I disappear whe using them... I mean, can't they have a separte HP and control a familiar and me at the same time? :/

3 up, 0 down

daus26
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 3:12:38 AM

This was puzzling to me too. They have different stats and leveling process, but they share the exact same hp hit? I'm imagining like a Level 50 Oliver using a Level 5 familiar and sharing the same hp?

0 up, 0 down

berserk
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:07:40 AM

PLayed the demo and it seemed average to me , really don t like how it feel like the target gamer is children .

I ll get it eventually but not at full price .LOve the graphics tho .

Last edited by berserk on 12/6/2012 9:41:05 AM

0 up, 1 down

berserk
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:07:40 AM

Last edited by berserk on 12/6/2012 9:39:33 AM

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 1:33:28 PM

I'd say the target audience is both kids and nostalgic people who remember being kids and haven't lost their imagination. That's me.

2 up, 0 down

bebestorm
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 10:59:18 PM
Reply

I hope jrpg fans support Ni No Kuni and Xillia when they release since the PS3 is starving for a good jrpg. L5 how about Dark Cloud 3:..

3 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 11:54:27 PM

Why support them when they don't support us?

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 12:42:10 AM

In this environment... it's a miracle we get these games at all.

4 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 12:43:44 AM

Not good enough Worlds, that's like saying beggars can't be choosers.

0 up, 0 down

bebestorm
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 12:51:04 AM

@Highlander
If you don't want to buy any games from Namco that's cool but there's no way I would Ever pass up two high quality jrpgs because of dlc issues.

@World

Amen

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 12:59:36 AM

The only way developers and publishers will learn is if people don't buy their games unless they treat the consumer right.

0 up, 0 down

daus26
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 2:57:47 AM

Is 260,000 really supporting them though? Not that I agree with them, but to have the whole world sell less than just Japan itself is pretty bad. We also had an article about Darkness II not getting support because of poor sales. Sure, it's no excuse to leave out the "few" supporters that bought the game, but in today's standard it looks like games of today have to sell for quite a bit for it to be considered "supported" by us. WKC2 sales isn't exactly hot.

I will be getting this game for my love of JRPGS, in which I think is a dying genre and will die if it doesn't get a major support boost. This is one game that can send that message, and after having played the demo, it's golden.

2 up, 0 down

Draguss
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 3:15:12 AM

The only lesson they'd get from that is "JRPGs don't sell well in the west"

4 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:27:50 AM

Yeah.. But beggars can't be choosers. :p

1 up, 0 down

xenris
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:21:18 AM

It is true you have to admit highlander 260 000 sales global, outside of japan is pretty terrible. Not to mention what languages would they localize? What about Germans, spanish or any other language that the game natively supports?

It was probably NOT even close to financially viable for them to try and release the DLC. Should they have done it? Yeah I think they should have but do you know how much grief they would have gotten if say they only released it in english? All the other language speaking players would probably feel even worse than just not getting it period.

Why not just support the GAME and the DEVELOPER and ignore that namco owns D3. I mean I don't support EA anymore period unless the game is stand out. But in my opinion Bioware has fallen so far from its former glory I have no reason to get a Bioware game anymore. Especially with half the team being gone.

But LEVEL5 is still insanely talented, and studio ghiblis charm has infused this game with an incredible amount of charm.

It would be foolish not to buy this game if not only to support the JRPG genre and show that we still want them. Because lets face it, Namco is the only big publisher willing to even localize them.

I say count your blessings and let go of the past.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:23:42 AM

I don't care, I wouldn't buy this game even if it came with a free 32GB Vita memory card. I'll never buy another game from a combination of Level 5 and Namco or a Namco owned subsidiary. I won't support organizations that discriminate against consumers outside their home market.

Daus, sales of WKC2 in Japan and outside japan are more or less the same, so why should consumers outside Japan get such poor support? Forget the raw numbers, answer the simple question. The genre is dying because publishers don't support it adequately. I've always supported JRPG publishers this generation, but sooner or later you have to start making choices based on behavior. NISA brings across games like Atelier and Neptunia and brings a crap ton of DLC, compare that to the way we are supoported by D3/Namco and Level 5.

Draguss, the only lesson they get from people continuing to buy them is "If we teat them like second class citizens they will keep coming back for more."

Underdog, I'm not begging for anything. I demand, I request, I ask politely, but I don't beg.

Basically, I don't give a damn what anyone says I won't support this group as long as they won't support their customers.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:33:50 AM

Xenris, The quests already exist all that is required is to translate the actual text. none of the quests are text heavy, a language student could translate the lot in under a week, not a huge investment of time or money, there is no programming to be done, just text translation.

But you know, you slate the game for sales, maybe you should go look at the total lifetime sales for JRPGs this generation (and previous generations) other than Final Fantasy games. WKC2 is not particularly poor relative to other JRPGs. It doesn't matter though, people are set in their opinions, and that's not gonna change.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 @ 11:44:35 PM
Reply

I just stepped away from the demo to say it's the sh*t. You guys... there's an actual battle system that's fun.

Makes me remember why I always loved these games, the thoughtful battle systems that weren't about hacking and slashing.

3 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:29:38 AM

Mines downloaded and installed overnight. I'll play it tonight. I saw you playing it last night. You gave it a fair amount of time for a demo!

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 12:16:56 PM

It lets you wander on the world map :) It's like a trip back in time!

1 up, 0 down

xenris
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 3:25:55 PM

The demo actually made me tear up at some moments. It was a combination of the music, the graphics and nostalgia. Once I stepped on to the world map I noticed a little tear run down my face.

This game is going to be something special. I usually hate certain aspects of JRPGs combat like long loading into fights, or clunky menus but every SINGLE aspect of this game shines like an angel.

I am so excited.

1 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:02:19 PM

Just got home... I'm going to play the demo now! :)

0 up, 0 down

daus26
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 3:20:21 AM
Reply

I was hoping there would be a demonstration of capturing those monsters, but the demo was certainly a good tease. The battle system and gameplay was most important anyway and it delivered. I was also pretty nervous what would happen if one of the party member dies and am I glad it's not game over when that happens.

And yeah, it is gorgeous. The high definition cell shading feels like a true next gen of what DragonQuest VIII was.

1 up, 0 down

gumbi
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:31:02 AM
Reply

I'm very excited for this game. After the crushing disappointment that has been The Last Guardian, I needed something to fill that void. Ni No Kuni has done just that. LG is on the back burner now until they get their sh** sorted out.

And I'm sorry Highlander, I've been reading your posts here and I just can't agree with any of your reasoning for boycotting this game. The only message it's going to send is that we don't want games like this. It wont teach them any lessons about customer appreciation, it'll just teach them not to make JRPG's for us. That's exactly the opposite of what we want!

If we want more games like this then we need to send the message to the developers that we WANT more games like this. There's only one way to do that. Sales! All the talk in the world means nothing if we don't back it up with our wallets when someone steps up and tries to give us what we've been asking for.

And all politics aside. Ni No Kuni looks effing stellar! I can think of no reason to deny myself the enjoyment I'm sure to get from this game.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:34:48 AM

Continuing to buy games from publishers that treat you like second class citizens only teaches publishers that they can treat you like a second class citizen and you will meekly continue buying their games.

Since I can tell this is going to turn into an epic and nasty argument with the group, I am going to cut my losses and leave for a while. No sense in me battering my head off this brick wall.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Last edited by Highlander on 12/6/2012 10:38:17 AM

2 up, 0 down

gumbi
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 10:43:21 AM

It's okay Highlander. You've made your point, and you're clearly very passionate about it. It is what it is.

It just makes me sad that someone who has such a love for the genre will be missing out on what looks to be a spectacular game.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 12:18:25 PM
Reply

Did Highlander get banned or something? Anywho, the man's cheese seems to have slid off his cracker. This game is absolutely incredible.

0 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 12:31:14 PM

Idk, people here replying mentioning him and all I see is a bunch of underscores, no name.

Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 12/6/2012 12:33:05 PM

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 1:13:22 PM

He might have gone so far as to remove his name and avatar, a shame because he had all the tech knowledge here.

0 up, 1 down

Underdog15
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 5:41:30 PM

I'm just going to assume someone hacked his password for fun to avoid lost respect for the guy. It's the only answer.

No one, as far as I can tell, got offensive really. Would be strange to pack up and march off. :p

I'm looking forward to trying out the demo.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 1:15:07 PM
Reply

I've had a favorable opinion of exactly 2 demos for this entire generation, they usually suck even if the game is good. This demo has my endorsement, which says a lot about the game.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 1:27:32 PM
Reply

Hey folks, PSXE often lags behind due to being undermanned so I'll keep you all in the know when I can in various areas, today regarding JRPGs and their familiars we have some news:

With the success of Tales of Xillia 2 selling nearly half a million copies in Japan the Tales of Series has breached 15 million sold as a whole. I hope you all pick up the first Xillia when it hits shores in 2013 at a date yet unspecified.

In portable land, Ragnarok Odyssey has been confirmed for a Vita winter release in Europe on the Playstation Store.

0 up, 0 down

xenris
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 3:22:15 PM

I will be picking up both ni no kuni and Xillia when it hits our shores.

I haven't played many tales games but I want to play it co op with my friend like we played symphonia.

Xillia looks really cool though, and I will get it for sure.

0 up, 0 down

Darkari
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 7:59:10 PM
Reply

im going to pass on this because #1 wkc2 wasn't supported
#2 i dont like the character designs
#3 the demo didn't impress me
sidenote what makes japan any different than the rest of the world?

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Thursday, December 06, 2012 @ 9:03:03 PM

I don't know... why is sushi any different from plank salmon on a rice pilaf?

Even when there are similarities, there are clear design and cultural differences.

Last edited by Underdog15 on 12/6/2012 9:03:36 PM

0 up, 0 down

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Level-5 CEO Takes You Behind The Scenes Of Ni No Kuni

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