First review of Ni No Kuni - OPM 9.1 Score

[Azu]

No, Namco Bandai is just incompetent & plain-out lazy when it comes to localizing JRPGs.

Also, Winter 2012 can mean anything between, like, November 2012-March 2013, so I wouldn't be too happy yet.

[king87]

The terrible fate of rpg fans...
Seriously this just ruined my day.

[Inzane2050]

Incompetence is not really the word for it. It doesn't take a year to translate dialogue and have voice actors say their lines. The problem being tho that these same voice actors are probably doing other work for Namco on other games, and thus they don't get around to it until then. Or possibly the voice actors that Namco prefers are working for someone else right now and will not be available to work for Namco for some time. A thing I've noticed is that they like to reuse voice actors for absolutely everything.

Another reason to add is that they may not want Japan having access to the cheap American version overseas up for sale.

[Nitey]

It's gonna sell like shit, not surprised they're not upping the speed of localizing it

[AaronSOLDIER]

I was expecting Tales of Xillia for this winter. Oh well maybe winter 2014...

[Fon]

What the hell?..

[Azu]

Incompetence is not really the word for it. It doesn't take a year to translate dialogue and have voice actors say their lines. The problem being tho that these same voice actors are probably doing other work for Namco on other games, and thus they don't get around to it until then. Or possibly the voice actors that Namco prefers are working for someone else right now and will not be available to work for Namco for some time. A thing I've noticed is that they like to reuse voice actors for absolutely everything.

Another reason to add is that they may not want Japan having access to the cheap American version overseas up for sale.

Meh, recording the voice overs doesn't take that long. It's incompetence that they can't plan their localizations in a way that it doesn't take forever. I mean, fuck, even the much hated Square Enix has mostly gotten their act together and it's now rather an exception than a rule for a game's localization to take more than 3-6 months.

[Inzane2050]

The graphics for this game are amazing. This is how cartoon graphics should be done, not like Blue Dragon and Tales.

[Soldier 95B]

The graphics for this game are amazing. This is how cartoon graphics should be done, not like Blue Dragon and Tales.

Blue Dragon graphics are awesome.

TapaTit

[Tibiquera]

Meh, recording the voice overs doesn't take that long. It's incompetence that they can't plan their localizations in a way that it doesn't take forever. I mean, fuck, even the much hated Square Enix has mostly gotten their act together and it's now rather an exception than a rule for a game's localization to take more than 3-6 months.

In order for the game to be localized in 3 months you need the localization to work simultaneously with development.

Localization is not just about recording voices, but you have to translate the whole thing, including huds, inventory, basically any text on screen, and still keep the original feeling and intentions the author had. You may have to change the lip-synching. In some cases you may have to adapt some aspects of the game to the region it's played, like the framerate (although I don't think that's an issue anymore). Also remember that different languages have different sizes, so you may have to adjust the user interface in order to accommodate the text. In some games they also change things like the music and appearance of characters to appeal to other markets (for example, I think in Nier, the main character looks different than the original). And when all of that is done, you have to test the whole thing to make sure no bugs or errors were introduced. So localizing is not a trivial matter. Chances are Namco only sends the game to be localized once it's all done, which is why it takes so long.

[Inzane2050]

Going over and doing the voice acting takes a short amount of time to do. But that is not what slows down these localized releases. So incompetence really wouldn't be the word for it.

[AsuraOkami]

I really wish i can play to game right now but i will wait. The animations are great(studio ghibli ftw).

[Sufi]

Blue Dragon graphics are awesome.

TapaTit

But this is art.

[Inzane2050]

But this is art.

That's how I see it. Blue Dragon may be technically impressive, but the colors are bland as are the environments. And Tales's animated cutscenes have better visual special effects and backdrops by far than that of the real-time 3D rendering.

[Sufi]

what's funny is that i was having a netgasm about a year ago when it was first announced and everyone was like, "wtf is wrong with this guy?"

now I laugh at all of you.

mu hah

[AaronSOLDIER]

Personally I think they delayed it so it wouldn't compete with Tales of Graces f. They rarely bring JRPGs over and ToGf is probably closer to release.

[xShirox]

oh cool i might get this game when it does get localized

[Nuvian]

A new review is out.

Gamefanatics 5/5 stars.

The voice acting situation may be disappointing but that is my only real complaint about Ni no Kuni; everything—and I mean everything— else is fantastic.

Ni no Kuni very frequently puts a smile on your face in the greatest way possible. It takes the best from Pokemon and Studio Ghibli and puts it into a RPG wrapping to create something you cannot ignore. It is worth the time to just see the animation by Studio Ghibli alone. The fact that the game is great is super sweet icing on a cake that is already unbelievably sweet.

[Joe Zombie]

I have got to get this masterpiece. The gameplay video just blew my mind.

[Forcedme]

Guys, Miyuzaki isn't behind every film put out by Studio Ghibli. He's one of their main directors, but in some of the earlier posts I saw him credited with work that wasn't his. For example, Isao Takahata is the director and writer of "Grave of the Firelies," not Miyuzaki. Ghibli's just the studio that animated it. Anyways:

This game is going to be awesome. I have nothing other to say than that.