Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds

Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is a mobile spin-off of the jRPG series called Ni no Kuni. Developers of the series from the Level 5 studio have teamed up with Netmarble, which has a handful of mobile games in its catalogue representing other well-known brands, including Star Wars, Lineage 2 and Magic: The Gathering.

Plot

At the beginning of the game we play as a player who was lucky enough to become a beta tester for Project N, a new VRMMORPG developed by Mirai Corporation. After a short and somewhat strange introduction, the protagonist wakes up in a burning city, attacked by an army of monsters controlled by the mysterious Levant. The protagonist along with the ruling Queen Shia confronts the villain, but she eventually opens a portal to allow the player character and a fairy named Kuu to escape to the kingdom of Evermore. So the goal is simple: rebuild the country and rescue Shia from Levant's hands.

However, the character we direct doesn't realise that this isn't just a virtual reality game. Somehow the protagonist has been transported to a parallel world. How did it happen and what is the connection with Rania, whom we met in the introduction to Project N? This is what the hero will have to find out with our help.

Mechanics

We start our adventure in Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds by choosing one of five character classes. We can choose between Engineer, Destroyer, Swordsman, Witch, and Rogue, which are distinguished by their appearance, style of play and special abilities. In addition, the game faithfully transfers the gameplay known from previous installments of Ni no Kuni to MMO games. We have real-time combat straight from the hack'n'slash games, development of stats and conversations with NPCs, but also meetings and joint adventures with other players' avatars.

Interactions with players are not just about completing missions together. The developers have prepared many activities that allow for group play, but also for inventing your own attractions. The heroes can move various objects, including stones, wood and animals (read: lambs), which is also very important from the point of view of the Kingdom. This mechanic from the second installment of the series returns in Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, allowing players to develop their own domain. To do this, however, we need resources, including lambs, which we can, in a way, steal from other players. As more buildings are constructed, the kingdom offers more and more facilities. Over time, this allows you to take part in battles, the winners of which will be able to turn their city into a capital, which allows you to, among other things, decide on the events taking place there.

Among the highlights of the game are various dungeons and battles with world bosses, as well as many side quests, including orders from the Tsubakuro Company. It is also worth looking around for creatures, which you can take in. In Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds you'll find more than 100 pets, which will support you in exploration and combat with their unique abilities.

Game modes

In addition to the story campaign full of main and side quests, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds offers a cooperative Kingdom mode and a competitive Team Arena mode. In the former, we develop our own kingdom together with a guild of allied players. The second one allows for 3-on-3 PVP clashes, where the team that collects the most creatures called higgledies and avoids enemy heroes for a short period of time wins.

Technical aspects

Graphically, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds stands out from the competition thanks to the style characteristic of the series. This one refers to the Japanese animations of the Ghibli studio and uses cel-shading technology to give the visuals a cartoonish feel. Of course, everything has been adjusted for mobile devices, but the game still looks very good thanks to the use of Unreal Engine 4. We can find a variety of locations, from green meadows, through scorched deserts, to frosty, snowy fields. Joe Hisaishi, a legendary Japanese composer who has scored soundtracks for Ghibli studio films and many other cinematic productions, composed music to the game.