Add another wonderful looking title to the early 2013 release bonanza, as Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch now has a solid launch date of January 22.
The below video, courtesy of our friends over at IGN, introduces a few of the emotional story elements overtop the beautiful artwork that’s garnered seri0us attention in the industry. Just calling it “cel-shaded” would almost be an injustice, as the animation and world both developer Level-5 and Studio Ghibli have pulled off is astounding to say the least. Level-5 has tried a similar visual style back in the days of Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2, but the results are on a different level with this effort. In motion, Ni No Kuni can stand with the likes of any Hayao Miyazaki’s films.
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The story of the young hero, Oliver, has already been told in Japan, but thankfully, Namco Bandai is helping to bring this RPG to both the US and Europe. Players will be tasked with learning magic abilities not only to become the magician Oliver has always dreamed of, but to bring his dead mother back to life. Defeating the White Witch may have something to do with his mastery of magical skills, too.
Expect to see Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch at next week’s E3. Be sure to visit the site for coverage on this and many other games from the show floor, and let us know what you think about Level-5’s latest project in the comments below.