Games
Looking to pick up Ni No Kuni 2? Why not check out these easy-to-follow tips and get a head start?
When it comes to Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) there are some incredibly well established titles, but there’s a relatively new face in town in Ni No Kuni 2. As the successor to the PS3 cult hit, Ni No Kuni 2 has some big shoes to fill. Thankfully, it does this with aplomb.
There are many new areas to explore, monsters to slay, and some interesting mechanics at work that might seem impenetrable to a newcomer to both the series and JRPGs. And that’s where we come in. With the help of this guide you’ll be the king of your own castle in no time.
CREDIT: Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe
Waiting your turn is for losers
Ni No Kuni fans returning for the sequel will have noticed that the game has moved towards a more active and involving style of combat. During battles you’re required to pay attention to your enemy’s animations as well as control the space. An easy way to navigate the space is to heed the advice of Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit's lead singer, and keep rolling. A well-timed roll will allow you to leap through an opponent’s attack, placing you in a situation where you’re able to hit their back without taking a chunk of damage, and you can even hold the button during the roll to end in a blocking state.
And if blocking or dodging isn’t for you, you can always go on the offence. With the new weapon-charging system, you can automatically set your three selected weapons to use their fully charged states to unleash devastating skills that can stun opponents and leave them open to a quick set of attacks. It all comes down to mana management and keeping a keen eye on your weapon’s charge. There are even tiny clues in each skill portrait that indicate if the skill attacks in a circular fashion or is linear, so be sure to equip the right attacks for crowd control and single targets.
Turn that page
With so much to learn in the combat, you’ll easily get caught up in Ni No Kuni 2’s grind from the word go, but this time will be largely wasted until you progress in the campaign. For the first three to four chapters in Ni No Kuni 2 you’ll only have access to some of the systems available, many of which are time dependant. So, although it might seem like you’re missing out, trust us when we say you can safely progress to Chapter 4 without missing anything. When you do reach Chapter 4, the world will be your oyster: filling with side quests, kingdom management, and Tainted Monster battles. From there onwards, you’ll be able to invest in everything tenfold with every second counting towards valuable research within the kingdom of Evermore, and netting much-needed Guilders to contribute towards the reserves. On top of simple access to the full range of mechanics on offer, you’ll also gain a series of extra spells and equipment in the later stages that will enable you to mop up a few unobtainable items you found along the way.
A sword by any other name
Throughout your time in Ni No Kuni 2 you’ll stumble across enough weapons to fill a multitude of armouries. As the equipment rolls in, you’ll notice that a great number of items have the same or similar names. At first you might think that these are not worth your time, but upon closer inspection these weapons might be slightly rarer or have different values that can make a world of difference in your time with Ni No Kuni 2. From a faster special attack charge time to a tiny bit more damage, you should always make sure that you have the best equipment on your team to ensure you’re packing that much-needed punch.
Super social media
As a young man, Evan is obligated to be glued to his phone, and even in a world that exists without the pesky implications of being a millennial, smart devices hold the key to a wealth of information. Characters like Heiden Goseeker will drop small clues on where to find hidden treasure while other participants in Leafbook – Ni No Kuni 2’s equivalent of Facebook – will alert you to new Tainted Monsters and other curios.
Tweak, tweak, and tweak again
The scouts have always been a beacon for preparedness, and no matter what situation may arise they always have some sort of solution. Now imagine the abilities of the scouts if they were condensed into a simple app and you’ve got the Tactic Tweaker. Through the Tactic Tweaker the odds can be forever tipped in your favour. Every section of the app allows you to balance your strengths and weaknesses. If you need a bit of extra mana, you can simply adjust the slider for each level up you’ve unlocked and hey presto, you’re generating extra mana. Are you running into a whole load of specific enemy types? Then you can simply slide that little bar and get the upper hand. These sliders become vital when you come face to face with Tainted Monsters as they’re singular foes and easily identifiable before you enter a battle – it’s as simple as recognising their enemy type and adjusting your Tactic Tweaker.
One person’s trash is another’s treasure
There’s no denying you’ll collect a lot of clutter through your travels – in fact you’ll collect more than you can realistically keep track of. At one point you’re going to get the itch that you need to sell it all, take it to the skip, or at least hide it in a cupboard and forget about it. Here’s the thing, you probably shouldn’t do that. As the old idiom goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. For example, Mr Higglesworth is keen on pebbles. He loves them. For every 10 pebbles you collect, Mr Higglesworth will trade you a rare piece of candy that will provide permanent buffs to whatever character you choose to feed it to. Similarly, the Taskmaster will also request that you find certain items or complete certain tasks throughout your journey and offer Tokens of Gratitude for your efforts. These tokens can then be traded for rarer items or even new residents for the kingdom of Evermore. In fact, you can even feed a whole load of these items to your Higgledies to level them up or use the rare items in upgrading your spells. Basically, every item you find is worth more than the cash your average trader will offer.
Rome wasn’t built in a day
When it comes to building a city, it takes time, and there’s a whole lot of effort that goes into it. Two of the most important factors to being the most sought-after kingdom are wealth and research, both of which work on a real-time basis in Ni No Kuni 2 — which means that timing is everything. Thankfully, Ni No Kuni 2 does display how much King Guilders you earn per hour and just how long that research on better food stores will take. No matter what you research, it always ends in a more profitable kingdom as well as a few nice extras for you and your party. So don’t be shy when it comes to setting a few alarms on your phone that remind you to return home once in a while, as timing is everything. When it comes to building a city, it takes time and effort – as you can see in the video below (click subtitles for an English translation).
CREDIT: Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe
Dream a little dream for me
Dreams should be safe – a time where you’re free to explore a far-off land while you rest your weary head. In Ni No Kuni 2’s case, however, Dream Doors are gateways to a Dreamer’s Maze in which you’ll fight enemy after enemy in the hopes of attaining rare items. The longer you spend in these dream worlds, the higher the difficulty gets. The only way to reduce this danger level is to spend orbs you find in the world. These orbs are typically rewarded for killing enemies, but you can also find them in stray pots. From there, it’s how you manage these orbs. The best use is to wait until your bar is as full as you can push it, in the high 90s if you can, and then spend these orbs to reduce it by a full level and back to 0. This way you squeeze every possible second out of your time in the dungeon and minimise the number of orbs spent, allowing you to use them on the rare blue chests you might stumble upon.
No kingdom left behind
It’s easy to forget about a kingdom after you bring it into the fold, but there’s a world that still needs to be unified and sitting about in Goldpaw isn’t going to help that. It’s important to remember those lands you once sought after. Throughout the course of Ni No Kuni 2 these kingdoms will populate with extra missions that will net you bonus subjects, and you might even notice that Heiden Goseeker has paid them a visit, possibly leaving a rare item hidden in a back street.
