Initially debuting as a Nintendo DS game, with a follow-up re-release on PS3, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is back yet again with another port on Nintendo Switch, as well as a completely remastered edition on PC and Playstation 4. Featuring cut scenes animated by beloved Studio Ghibli, Ni no Kuni has become a widely regarded cult classic JRPG for it’s animation, humor, world building, and of course gameplay.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a 2013 Japanese role-playing game and remake of the 2008 game Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn. An enhanced version and completely remaster version of the game is currently available on Nintendo Switch as well as PC & Playstation 4 respectively.

Editor’s Note: A review copy of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch on Nintendo Switch was provided by Bandai Namco in support of this review. Medium to near complete spoilers for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch may be present within this review.

Ni no Kuni is testing how far it’s quality reaches with age and that’s just fine.

Though initially launched as a handheld release on the DS, Ni no Kuni is the title that keeps breath in its lunges with every new generation of video game hardware. In addition to a critically acclaimed sequel that’s gone on to sell over a million copies worldwide, the first game is going through it’s third lifetime on new gaming hardware with the Nintendo Switch, PC, and Playstation 4 releases. With an open world and some fun gameplay mechanics, as well as animated cut scenes by Studio Ghibli there’s a lot to love about this classic JRPG.

An animated cut scene by legendary Studio Ghibli.

THE GOOD: In Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch you play as Oliver, a young boy from Motorville; a fairly large city represented by an open-world map display. His mother dies after saving his life from a drowning incident and the doll she gave him as a gift reveals itself as a fairy named Drippy. Drippy tells Oliver about his world in which everyone has a mate connected to Oliver’s world, including his passing mother Allie which may be the mate of a powerful mage known as Alicia who has been captured by the evil Shadar. When Oliver and Drippy go to the magical world Oliver’s magical abilities awaken and he uses his powers to restore the broken-hearts of those affected by Shadar. In order to defeat Shadar Oliver, Drippy, and their new friends must travel to the past to retrieve a special wand to help defeat Shadar. After his defeat, they must face the White Witch responsible for turning Shadar, who was once a good man into the Dark Djinn.

Ni no Kuni’s combat system.

Gameplay wise Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is your standard RPG affair with basic physical attacks and magical attacks, character leveling, upgrading, etc. You play as a human character or a familiar both of which can be upgraded and evolve over time through the combat system. Everyone has unique stats and abilities to help aide Oliver and the other human characters in battle. Eventually you will unlock what’s called a “Miracle Move”, which is the category for the game’s most powerful attack and support based moves. Ni no Kuni features an open-world map that’s fully explorable with more content unlocked as the story progresses. Oliver will unlock new means of travel such as a boat or even a dragon as the player progresses through the game.

A boy and his dragon in Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.

What Ni no Kuni does that a lot of RPGs don’t is have meaningful side quests. These usually expand the surrounding world and characters in a way that often feels lost with many games that feature them. More often than not side quests just feel like uninspired busy work for the players to do as the story reaches eventual down periods, but in Ni no Kuni they’re extremely enjoyable and seem like a lot of hear, time, and effort went into them. Granted there are still some side quests that feels like busy work here and there, but the numbers are pretty low.

Ni no Kuni proves that there will always be a place in future console generations for older titles.

THE BAD: Like many long form RPGs, Ni no Kuni has a bit of a pacing issue for it’s story. There are times when certain segments feel dragged out, while others seem evenly paced. Some characters aren’t as well fleshed out as the others featured in the game.

Ni no Kuni is a timeless classic RPG.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch has given players two more reasons to play it again (or for the first time); portability on Nintendo Switch and the remastered visuals on PC & Playstation 4. As we reach the final run of the current generation it only proves that there will forever be a place for classic titles on modern hardware and the gamers who experienced them during their initial time will gladly boot them up once again to see what the developers have cooked up this time around.