Level-5 and Studio Ghibli Produce DS RPG; PS3 Version Due 2011
Something cool happened and nobody told me. Level-5, the developers behind such games as the Professor Layton series as well as co-developers of the upcoming Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright, along with Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli, developed an RPG for the DS, and are currently working on one for the PS3.
The series, titled Ni no Kuni, or “Second Land”, involves a young boy named Oliver who obtains a magic book and is transported into a separate, parallel world, where he meets alternate versions of people he knows back in his own world.
According to IGN, the DS game, which debuted in Japan on December 9th, couldn’t bump Monster Hunter Portable 3 as a top-seller, but judging from retailer orders for the title, is expected to do well near the end of the year and beginning of the next. The PS3 game has yet to be firmly dated, but is expected out sometime in 2011.
No word as to whether both games will be ported outside of Japan, but I can only keep my fingers crossed.
The trailers for the games can be seen here (DS) and here (PS3).
News Tags: DS, JRPG, Level-5, PS3, rpg, studio ghibli
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This game will undoubtedly look beautiful (especially on PS3), I’m just worried that the gameplay will follow the same old jrpg formula.
Actually the sales of Ni no Kuni for the DS were very low considering Ghibli is behind it. Even retailers expected higher sales (see 600.000 copies ordered by retail).
I played both preview builds for DS and PS3 and although the games look fantastic, the gameplay is a very simple RPG.
Also you seem to have slept under a rock, since the game has been announced since 2009.
@Grasslunatic: Agreed. And it probably will. That doesn’t mean I’m not still excited to see it ported outside of Japan.
@ParaParaKing: Having not played the preview builds, I’m glad to hear the opinion of someone who has. I’m sad that the gameplay is a simple RPG; is the storyline at least any good?
And yes, apparently I was sleeping under a rock. Or, at least, if I heard anything about it, I had forgotten.