So Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was remastered and the best news to date for me at least is I finally get a chance to play and review it. As both a Studio Ghibli fan and a fan of JRPGs (Japanese Role-Playing Games) I’ve been eagerly awaiting a chance to give this game a try. Keeping it really short, I absolutely love it. In the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, the story focused on a ten-year-old girl by the name of Chihiro Ogino who rescued her family and taught people the values of kindness and love. 
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch follows the story of Oliver a ten-year-old child traveling the world on his quest while aiding people along the way. Continuing the tradition set up by Studio Ghibli the narrative focuses heavily on Oliver’s character as he travels around helping others and healing their afflictions of the heart to make what has gone wrong, right again.
As the story progresses you watch as Oliver a simple ten-year-old boy interacts with the world around him and thinks as if a child would and not as an adult would create a unique narrative that focuses on Oliver’s character.
Studio Ghibli is wildly known for its light-hearted stories which have helped inspire a generation of filmmakers and game developers who are the core of the story-telling for Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The narrative that’s written around Oliver as he travels around the world with his friends and family is at its core the most sublime story-telling Studio Ghibli has produced.
Now as I progressed through the game. I did have to make a note that sometimes very rarely some story characters did feel out of place as if they tried drawing inspiration from other sources and it didn’t blend well with the overall narrative. But the interaction with these characters it didn’t ruin the immersion of being a part of the story.
The same goes for when the game forces interactions with some non-player characters, given it’s a JRPG so it’s to be expected that learning new skills, or gaining new items will create issues with the narrative. Because there is no subtle way to insert game mechanics into a narrative unless done a certain way most notably I’m staring at you genie of the pot.
Regarding the musical composition for Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch it does for me, feel like a Studio Ghibli film. With its subtle usage of gently orchestrated compositions rather than what most JRPGs would use, avoiding the usage of heavier compositions. It’s this element that helps create much-needed world-building for the story of Oliver and his friends in this unique game that helps set the tone of his adventure to something more light-hearted and warm.
In comparison to other JRPGs Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch can outshine others because it does what others cannot. The light-hearted adventures were made by tying Studio Ghibli into game development. That brings the unique story-telling ques and art style that it’s known for. So players can now interact with their stories on a whole new level and it helps create the feeling that you’re deeply involved with it.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch isn’t a game that you’ll remember as a challenging game, but instead, one that helps create fond memories. Memories we have come to know and love from watching a Studio Ghibli film. That warm and gentle fondness you can enjoy even when life gets you down and the life lessons it’s taught us. But through the new medium of a controller and keyboard, and I must say if you haven’t played it yet and you’re waiting for the PC port like so many others then I recommend picking it up on sale now.
An autistic gamer with opinions on games who also enjoys making dumb videos on the internet!