Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch GGD Trailer: PS3 Owners Get Their Happy Dance On (Again)

Posted on April 12, 2012 by geelw

I’ve been a console agnostic kind of guy for ages, but I do love it when exclusives that matter get the proper respect. Level-5’s upcoming collaboration with Studio Ghibli has slipped into 2013 according to reports, but all that means for me is one more year for the PS3 to show off the fact that it has some mighty fine games on the way (and life left in it). Go poke around the official website if you’re still not convinced. If you decide to suddenly need a PS3, feel free to drop me a line so I can recommend a few too many other games for you.

Oh, by the way Namco Bandai? Love you (*mwhah!*) but you’re not QUITE off the hook completely here – where the heck is the DS Ni no Kuni game?

The Secret World of Arriyetty: The Borrowers, Miyazaki Style

Posted on February 16, 2012 by geelw

More gorgeous Studio Ghibli goodness? Sure, why not? Thanks to me not paying much attention to Disney’s output for a while (other than keeping a eyebrow raised over John Carter which I really HOPE is good), I completely missed this trailer for the Miyazaki-produced animated film opening tomorrow. It looks mighty impressive from the trailer and I’ll probably catch it once it appears on cable (hey, I’m cheap and don’t go to movies unless I get premiere tickets or it’s something like PROMETHEUS, which demands you see it or else). That said, I’ll always have a bigger attachment to the source material, the great 1952 book by Mary Norton. Go borrow a copy – I think you won’t be disappointed one bit. Just remember to return it at some point or someone will be tearing up floorboards looking for you…

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Coming In WInter 2012 (Video Blowout Proof Below)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by geelw

Namco Bandai really, REALLY wants to show off Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch so much that they released not one, not two, not three, but FOUR excellent gameplay trailers and a ton of screenshots for the upcoming Level-5/Studio Ghibli PS3 exclusive. Even better, we’re getting both English and Japanese voice-overs so there won’t be any Majin & The Forsaken Kingdom style ear-scorching voice work. OK, I actually liked most of the voices in that game, but not having the option to hear the Japanese dub was a bit of a pain to a lot of reviewers and gamers. While I’m doing the happy dance about this great looking game (that’s sure to be an instant classic, by the way), I do wish that the Nintendo DS was still seen (or more precisely, would still be seen by Nintendo) as a viable platform, as there’s also a Ni no Kuni DS game that NEEDS to be published by someone and promoted as one of the last (and best) games on the platform.Any news on that, NamBan?

Two more gameplay clips below the jump…

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TGS 2011: Ni No Kuni Coming To PS3 In North America Next Year

Posted on September 17, 2011 by geelw

Fantastic. Level-5 and Studio Ghibli’s gorgeous single-player RPG Ni no Kuni: Shiroki Seihai no Joō has been one of the most desired for localization imports of the last few years. The game revolves around a young boy who enters an alternate world using a magical book in order to try and resurrect his late mother. The Nintendo DS version, Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madōshi was released last year to rave reviews in Japan and excellent sales, so it’s pretty much guaranteed that the November 2011 Japanese release for the PS3 will be equally successful. As soon as we find out who’s localizing and publishing the US version, that news will become available.

While no word of an English localization of the DS version has been announced, I’d imagine Nintendo (and Nintendo of America) wouldn’t let Sony steal all the glory by getting the onlyversion of this eagerly awaited game to gamers outside of Japan. That and the Japanese version of the DS game came in a really cool over-sized box thanks to the game manual designed to look like the magic book the main character carries and yes, it would indeed be great to see a similar package hit US as well as UK and European retailers.