Deals
5 CommentsNi no Kuni marked down to $40 at Target and Amazon
By Griffin McElroy on Apr 08, 2013 04.08.13
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Level 5's role-playing game which features art and animation work from Studio Ghibli, has been marked down to $39.99 at Amazon and Target. The title still carries a $59.99 price tag at most retailers, and this 33 percent discount is by far the largest the game has received since launching in North America this past January. It's unclear whether these price cuts are temporary discounts, or whether Target and Amazon have permanently reduced their asking price for the game; you might want to grab one quick, just to be safe. For Polygon's thoughts on Level 5's monster-training JRPG, check out our review of Ni no Kuni.
News
7 CommentsSony republishes Ni no Kuni in the European PlayStation Store to fix download error
By Dave Tach on Feb 01, 2013 02.01.13
Sony republished Ni no Kuni on the European PlayStation Store today to fix an error that prevented those who purchased the digital version from playing the game, according to a post on the official PlayStation Europe twitter account. Players who downloaded Level-5's role-playing game received an error after installation. In response, PlayStation Europe announced via Twitter it would republish the game. The tweet confirms a post in the PlayStation Forum from a user who said that Sony would have a fix "up in a few hours to download." A tweet published at 10:37 a.m. ET said that affected players need to "visit the Store and make a free purchase of the game to receive the second part of the download." The European pre-order bug comes in the wake of a North American pre-order problem that...
News
11 CommentsNamco promises 400-page Ni no Kuni guide as apology to fans denied Wizard's Edition
By Michael McWhertor on Jan 25, 2013 01.25.13
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch publisher Namco Bandai offered an update on the issues surrounding canceled pre-orders of the game's deluxe Wizard's Edition, an attempt by the company to clarify a situation that has many fans of the game upset. In a statement sent to Polygon, Namco Bandai reiterates that a "glitch within our E-commerce provider's ordering system" was responsible for pre-orders of the Wizard's Edition being oversold. Namco says it is actively working with distributor Digital River to "offer remedies to each and every order." "We are also working to ensure that a situation like this never happens again," reads Namco's statement. "We respectfully ask for our fans' patience during this time." In a make-good attempt by the publisher, Namco Bandai says it will give...
News
14 CommentsMerchant selling Ni no Kuni 'Wizard's Edition' for four times the original price as Namco cancels customer pre-orders
By Emily Gera on Jan 25, 2013 01.25.13
eBay shop PlayCanada received more than 200 copies of the "Wizard's Edition" of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch directly from Namco Bandai's online store and is now selling them for four times their original price, at $400 each. PlayCanada initially priced this edition of the game at $199 in early December before increasing the price to $249 in late December and again to $399 on Jan. 24 — the same date that Namco announced it was unable to fulfill player pre-orders of the game due to an over-selling of stock. The publisher stated customers who pre-ordered the game from Club Namco after Jan. 17 when inventory become exhausted will not receive a copy of the edition. So far the eBay shop sold 209 copies of this title. According to the item's eBay page, which promises to ship the...
News
9 CommentsNi no Kuni 'Wizard's Edition' distributor oversold stock, canceling pre-orders for some customers
By Michael McWhertor on Jan 24, 2013 01.24.13
Some PlayStation 3 owners who pre-ordered the deluxe "Wizard's Edition" of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch from Namco Bandai's Club Namco store are receiving word that their orders have been canceled and they won't be getting a copy of the game. That's upsetting many customers who now have little recourse in finding another copy of the sold out deluxe edition of Ni no Kuni. According to publisher Namco Bandai, the distributor of Ni no Kuni's "Wizard's Edition," Digital River, suffered a "glitch in their ordering system" and that the game was unintentionally oversold. On the Namco Bandai forums, reps for Digital River write that customers who purchased a deluxe copy of the game before Jan. 17 should still receive their orders. But for others, the status of their order may be less...
Review
236 CommentsNi no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch review: make believe
By Philip Kollar on Jan 24, 2013 01.24.13
Wrath of the White Witch tells the story of a young boy named Oliver. His mother dies after an accident, and Oliver finds himself consumed by despair — until a doll in his room suddenly springs to life, revealing itself to be a fairy from another world. The strange creature recruits Oliver on an adventure to save his fantastical world from a djinn (i.e. evil spirit) who has driven apart the nations and people inhabiting it. The adventure's arc becomes predictable quickly. Oliver hasn't been in the new world for longer than a few hours before he is proclaimed its savior and taps into a deep reserve of magic powers. Without Studio Ghibli's beautiful art style and weird creature design, there wouldn't be much to motivate players in the by-the-numbers story. Whether it's a...
News
11 CommentsNi no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch demo coming to PSN in North America this Tuesday
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Dec 03, 2012 12.03.12
A demo for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is coming to PlayStation Network this week, according to a post on the PlayStation Blog today. The demo for Namco Bandai's title, a collaboration between developer Level 5 and Studio Ghibli, will be available when the PlayStation Store updates on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The demo will allow players to explore two distinct areas, a dense forest and a volcanic terrain, as well as both both areas' bosses the Guardian of the Woods and Moltaan. The game follows young Oliver on his journey through the parallel world of Ni no Kuni on a quest to revive his mother after her sudden death. With the help of the fairy Drippy and a magic spell book, Oliver must scour the land for his mother's spirit while avoiding the clutches of the sinister White Witch. I...
'Ni no Kuni' developer Level 5 wants to make more Studio Ghibli games, eyeing 'Castle in the Sky' film
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Sep 20, 2012 09.20.12
Level 5, the developer behind Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, is interested in adapting existing Studio Ghibli properties into video games, reports Joystiq. "If there is a potential opportunity to work with them again, yes, we'd like to work on some joint projects with them in the future - if there is, of course, a possibility," CEO Akihiro Hino said in a group interview earlier this week prior to the Tokyo Game Show. The company has been working with Studio Ghibli on Ni no Kuni, and Hino expressed Level 5 would like to continue making games with the animation studio best known for its work alongside manga artist and animator Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke). Hino said the company would love to adapt the 1986 animated film Laputa: Castle in the Sky, a...
'Ni No Kuni' is more than just looks
By Russ Frushtick on Sep 19, 2012 09.19.12
It's incredibly easy to be instantly charmed by Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The game is, after all, gorgeous. But there's a surprising amount of depth hidden beneath some of the best art design the RPG genre has ever seen. That Ni No Kuni looks great should come as no surprise. It was envisioned by the minds over at Studio Ghibli (whose output includes such anime classics as My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away) working with Level-5, the studio behind the Professor Layton franchise. The common thread in all of the above? Incredibly charming art design. Ni No Kuni's art design is equally up to the task, as trailers and screenshots of the game can certainly attest. But what's harder to absorb is the clever combat system at work. It's one that manages to...
Ni no Kuni conjures magical 'Wizard's Edition' for North America and Europe [Update]
By Michael McWhertor on Jun 29, 2012 06.29.12
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is getting special treatment for its release in Europe and North America. The PlayStation 3 role-playing game, a collaboration between developer Level-5 and animation experts Studio Ghibli, will get a bonus-packed "Wizard's Edition" when it's released next year. Namco Bandai announced the collector's edition release today, which includes the Wizard's Companion hardcover book, a recreation of the in-game spellbook used by protagonist Oliver. The full-color, 300-page book contains a "bestiary of all the creatures found in the game along with in-depth item descriptions, spells and history of the other world," Namco says. The "Wizard's Edition" of Ni no Kuni also comes with a plush toy of Drippy, Oliver's sidekick. Those who pre-order the game will...
