Bandai Namco's role-playing game series "Ni No Kuni" is returning in January 2018 with the newest game in the franchise, "Ni No Kuni: Revenant Kingdom." In the sequel to "Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch," players will be taking control of the young king Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum. Usurped from his castle, Evan is out on a quest to regain not only his position as king but his home as well.
"Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch" was known for its touching story. Unfortunately, its battle system wasn't the best. It was a turn-based RPG and some found the battle portions of the game repetitive and clunky. Game developer Level-5 has heard their fans' pleas and updated the battle mechanics for "Ni No Kuni: Revenant Kingdom."
A sample of the new battle mechanics can be found on IGN's YouTube channel.
The gameplay video features five minutes of a boss fight with the Wyvern Warlord. Unlike "Wrath of the White Witch," the "Revenant Kingdom" has adopted a real-time RPG fighting mechanic. Enemies will no longer pause while players decide what to do, and instead of summoning familiars like in the first game, "Revenant Kingdom" will focus on spellcasting instead.
Familiars were done away with completely and players receive help from creatures called Higgledies instead. The Higgledies have more of a passive role; they show up on the battlefield and players need to stand close to them to be able to cast spells. The Higgledies come in different types and the spells players will be able to cast will depend on the type they are standing beside.
Some Higgledies cast fire spells that hurt enemies while others offer a variety of buffs for the player and their party. Despite the added aid, with the familiars gone, players will now have to take battles into their own hands.
"Ni No Kuni: Revenant Kingdom" is set to be released on Jan. 19, 2018. It will be available for the PlayStation 4 and PC.
