On My Bookshelf: Ni No Kuni 2 (PlayStation 4 Video Game)

Image Source: https://gamerant.com/ni-no-kuni-2-best-higgledy-abilities/

So, this week, my blog post is going to be a bit niche’. Video game posts on the blog don’t really do all that well but I’m not doing this for the “algorithm” (actually, there is NO algorithm working on WordPress but there are views and metrics — and it is ALL TOO EASY get caught up in the cycle of “chasing the views” which is the same issue with YouTube’s infamous “algorithm”). Ni No Kuni 2 is a niche’ video game title in that it is a Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG) and that itself is niche’ that used to be super popular in the 90s but has ebbed and flowed in the intervening years, though that genre has been on a resurgence for the past 8-10 years as they modernize and add in new core systems. I never used to play JRPGs in my childhood (although I did play Western RPGs like Knights of Legend, The Bard’s Tale and The Bard’s Tale II, and the AD&D “Gold Box” Games). A quick observation–JRPGs have taken over another of my gaming genres — the Fighting Game. Unfortunately, games like Street Fighter 6 and other fighters are currently trying to parcel out game characters — you get a base number (fairly low usually) — and then you get more coming out during the intervening years. I think I’m done with fighting games until the newest one ships in a series comes out — so that I can get ALL the characters in an “ultimate” edition of the older game or something similar. Street Fighter 5 did this and I regret jumping in at the beginning. JRPGs come in with well over 50-80 hours of content and can climb higher if you do everything (or most everything) in the game.

Ni No Kuni 2

Ni No Kuni 2 (NNK2) is a sequel to the first game, Ni No Kuni. While I have the game, I never played it as the storyline features a storyline that too closely mimicked events that were happening during the 2013s when my grandmother passed away. I knew the storyline would be too painful to play during my own grieving process but hoped that I’d get to it eventually as it featured animation artwork from Studio Ghibli. While I never got back to it (although I still have it), I did try NNK2. I got past the introduction to where the game first opened up into its “open world” design but found another game more compelling at the time (Gravel — a racing game on the PS4?). I put it down, fully meaning to get back to it, but just now was able to do so just before Christmas 2024 while looking for something else to play after finishing Far Cry 6 (more on that in a future blog post hopefully). The storyline is NOT a continuation of the first game and this also helped me to get into game.

Finished the Game

I finished the game on Saturday (the main campaign’s storyline). I enjoyed the storyline and managed to finish the game well under the Level 100 level cap for the game (early to mid-70s). I think that this is a great “beginner’s” RPG (although I think “beginner” in this case is relative). It is a strong JRPG in terms of systems, featuring an “active time battle system” in which the combat is real-time and the player controls the action. There are NO turns to slow the down the combat. The storyline is simplistic — much like a Saturday morning cartoon from the 80s or early 90s before Saturday morning cartoons went away. The storyline is satisfying to children and potentially adults but won’t be to those looking for a more edgy storyline (for instance those interested in The Fast and the Furious or Elden Ring. I enjoyed this one, but not as much as the other JRPGs/Action Games that I’ve finished recently (such as Tales of Arise, Dragon Quest XI, Scarlet Nexus, and Nier Automata).

Platinum Trophy Clean-Up Run

So, I’m currently heading into Spring Break next week. While I’m behind on grading and will be using some of that time to trying to finish/accomplish the developer’s challenges for the game so that I can get a piece of virtual bling: the Platinum Trophy for the game. I’ve covered this in a previous blog post a while back but the short version: as you’re playing the game, if you achieve certain developer set goals, you can get a “trophy” for it. Playstation uses a Bronze, Silver, and Gold system. If you get ALL the trophies (do all of the challenges), then the developers award you ONE extra trophy — the Platinum Trophy. It’s just a bit of virtual “bling” that sits in your profile and lets others know that you did EVERYTHING that the developers asked you to do, not just that you FINISHED the game/made it to the end (this is usually one of the challenges in some way and is usually worth a Gold trophy) . Usually, these challenges are wacky/crazy or are more straightforward. I like JRPGs because most of the time they require you to see the game through (something that I’ve discussed before — MOST people don’t finish games — many don’t even make it halfway through before getting bored and moving on to the next game — based on anecdotal Trophy Percentage data). So far, I’ve put in over 100 hours in the game (110s?) and I’ve completed 67% of the trophies. I feel like I’m quite close to two more trophies (so I should be at over 70% by next weekend). I’m hopeful that I can finish up the final trophies over Spring Break and start a new game for April. As I’ve been playing NNK2 since Dec. 18th 2024 (or even earlier — let’s just say December 2024), I definitely would like to start tackling a new game that is on my (ever growing) backlog of games that I’ve acquired but not really had a chance to play.

Well, that’s all I have for today! Have a great week!

SidneyIn-Progress — CreativeThe Runner (2023 Revision) (Fantasy Story: 4100 words: 17 Submissions)Status:  Out  (In — looking for a market)Dire(2024) (Fantasy Short Story: 4900 words: 3 Submissions)Status: Out (Out to Publisher)Completed. 2nd Draft (“Working” Draft) In-ProgressIn-Progress — Scholarly Chapter 3 — How Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura Inspired the African American Female Character in Science Fiction 
Space, the Feminist Frontier: Essays on Sex and Gender in Star Trek
Status: Published! Out NOW @ Amazon.com (Please consider a purchase to support the authors!)Unnamed Book Chapter
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