I've played Ni No Kuni 2 a couple of times now, and I can't shake my growing concerns for it. I loved the first Ni No Kuni and was delighted when - after four years - a sequel was finally announced. More than anything else about the first game, I remember its warmth: the story of Oliver and his mother in our world, the characters in the fantasy world of Ni No Kuni itself, and the cast of Pokémon-style familiars I picked up along the way.
And, of course, I loved Ni No Kuni because of developer Level-5's partnership with the anime masters at Studio Ghibli. The fruits of this collaboration shone through the game - long after its opening sections, when the frequency of its animated cut-scenes had petered out and you were left with extended stretches of open world exploration instead. Right through the credits, and on into Ni No Kuni's generous post-game storyline - its character designs, monsters, flippin' Mr. Drippy - all were lifted by the painterly hand of Ghibli itself.
Ni No Kuni 2 suffers from a lack of this influence, although to be fair this is hardly Level-5's fault. Studio Ghibli has been on extended hiatus pretty much since the release of the first game - around the time Hayao Miyazaki's last film The Wind Rises was released. As of this summer, Miyazaki has, once again, decided to ditch retirement for yet one more movie, but this has come too late for any real involvement from Ghibli in Ni No Kuni 2's development. With the notable exceptions of Ghibli character designer Yoshiyuki Momose and longtime music composer Joe Hisaishi, the animation studio's involvement has been, by necessity, minimal.
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