If you haven't been following Ni no Kuni, the quick catch-up here is that this JRPG is being developed by Level-5 in conjunction with the folks at Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli are responsible for Japanese animated films like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. Anyone with even an inkling of interest in the Japanese animation world will likely recognize the work of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. However, Miyazaki himself is not involved with Ni no Kuni.
In this behind the scenes video, the game's creators discuss what it is about Ni no Kuni and Studio Ghibli's involvement that make the animation and game world so special. At one point in the clip, Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino puts Studio Ghibli's unique ability into clear and succinct focus. Here's what he says:
"Ghibli always has a heartwarming touch to their work. They're very conscious of that, and I wanted to incorporate a similar feeling in my projects."
While I'd like to believe gamers and critics who take a crack at Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will really enjoy it, I'm having an increasingly difficult time believing that this title will be a success at retail. Something about Nacmco Bandai's marketing effort isn't rubbing me the right way, and I really think they could do a lot more in the way of trailers and assets in order to increase awareness and generate hype.
I love these behind the scenes looks, but I don't think they're going to convince Joe Gamer in GameStop to pick this one up.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will launch exclusively for the PlayStation 3 on January 22nd, 2013 in North America. It's been out in Japan for more than a year now, and it received strong critical praise when it launched there. It scored a 38 out of 40 in Famitsu.
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