Gaming With Heather: Ni no Kuni and Trophies

There are very few games that actually make me want to collect and do everything in-game. At this point, I can’t even seem to finish the main story in most games. Depending on what genre of games you love, completing games could take quite awhile if you are a busy gamer. I am a busy gamer and I always fall hard for games that are like 50 hours long. This time is no different. So after hearing the announcement of Miyazaki’s retirement this week, I knew I had to make time to finally finish Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.

Being a busy gamer and all, you can imagine that I’m not a fan of ridiculously long and meaningless tasks in-game. This especially rings true if the game doesn’t motivate you to complete these things as you progress through the story. There are just some really crazy collection or challenge quests in games now for the sake of more trophies. Some would argue that collecting all the trophies leads to the ultimate game reward, a platinum trophy. Sure, I see this logic, but what about that is rewarding to you in relation to the story and game progression? A lot of games fail miserably at making you want to go for a second play through or to grind out those tasks that lead to random trophies.

Some games do come along that are so completely immersive when it comes to tying the story in with your every action. Those games, those are the ones where you just can’t help spending two hours looking for some random plant for a character that desperately needs it. This is how I feel about Ni no Kuni. Even with putting in close to 15 hours, I have completed very little and I’m okay with that. Yes, I’ll admit the game can feel daunting at times, but it always pushes you along without losing you. This can be quite troublesome when you realize playing for a few hours has turned into a night’s sleep. I did have some trouble getting myself really hooked in to this game when I first started it, but have since learned you can’t play it in one to two-hour bursts.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a wonderful gem of a JRPG if you love Hayao Miyazaki and or JRPGs. It is one of the first games that has actually made me want to go for a platinum trophy. I will surely let you all know how that goes, but you get the idea. I feel this game does what a lot of games fail to do and that is to create a world that doesn’t make you stop and wonder what you’re doing or why.