Ni No Kuni Review: Cross Worlds: NFT and IAP bring down a great franchise

Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is a new game in the Ni no Kuni series, which belongs to action Role playing game gender. The game, which was developed by Level-5 and published by Netmarmoand now available globally a year after its launch in Japan for Android and iOS devices. The game is a free-to-play title and has actually gone through quite a bit of controversy and the wrath of the players who have been eagerly awaiting this title. In this article we will look at Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds and share our first impressions of the game.

From the start, the game has a premium look and feel and actually feels like a good title, at least until you dig into the gameplay a bit. The environment and graphics look like classic titles from the early years of the series, which would make players who grew up with this series feel right at home (and set them up for some disappointments of the series later on).

Autoplay completely disrupts the gameplay, making it underwhelming

At some point during this Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds revision, eventually we will reach the point where we are beating the dead horse. This game has received some very harsh criticism for very good reasons and it’s hard to find positive reviews for this title. Fans of the series were pretty much ready for it when they heard Netmarble was tied to this project and their worst fears really came true.

The game is simply devoid of elements that are really worth playing. If you thought so automatic mode for most other RPGs that basically take players through fights it was a bit ridiculous and ironic for a game, so this game will leave you surprised and disappointed.

Once the auto mode is activated, the player can go and do something else while the game continues to play on its own without any obstacles. On the other hand, however, gamers can really get through a lot of the grind without having to make any effort or actually a lot of money.

Choose your character and explore the beautifully crafted world

Combat is just a basic hack-n-slash button mashing action that isn’t too challenging either as the auto mode can get you through any fight. When it comes to the story and missions, there’s really nothing worth praising.

Players only need to make their way through poorly designed missions (for example, one of the levels where players have to deliver items in a particular order does not actually penalize players for not following that order)

Now a positive is the visual design of the world. Despite all its flaws, the game looks beautiful and it’s a shame that the gameplay is so lacking. Despite these complaints, though, the game actually hasn’t completely gone dogs when it comes to gameplay. If you really want to explore a little, complete some simpler tasks, and relax in the game, it’s doable. If you are a more serious player then this is obviously not the title for you.

The game offers a lively aesthetic but a poor user interface and controls

As stated earlier, the graphics are impressive. It is presented in such an aesthetically pleasing way that there is really nothing to complain about here. Of course, this comes at a cost, and like most games in this genre they feature such beautiful graphics. The audio is actually quite fair too with no reason for negative comments. The dubbing is also done quite well.

Controls are really all over the place and could take some work. There are issues with touch response and sensitivity while the UI is cluttered as usual and to be expected with these titles. There are a lot of objects placed on the screen that don’t exactly offer the best experience. It is handy but not quite ideal.

NFTs provide more harm to the existing gacha system than good

The game has no commercials, although it is now a known fact that Netmarble has really dropped the ball on this one. There’s a in-depth article about this, but fundamentally gacha and crypto don’t exactly do well when linked to corporate greed. It’s no surprise since this is what Netmarble is sadly known for, but it doesn’t bode well when buying cryptocurrency with real money in the name of Pay to Earn is required to quickly unlock higher level equipment. A prime example of Pay-to-Win gameplay actually.

Final verdict

This game is probably a disappointment for most players who have enjoyed the titles offered by this series so far. Between problematic gameplay and monetization and other controversies such as bribing players to get good ratings on the App Store and Google Play Store, this game had a very rocky version, which doesn’t bode well for a game related to such a large and well-known Role-playing game series. The game is a shell of what Ni no Kuni used to be and is only really fun if you’re happy running mundane errands in an otherwise beautiful world.

What are your views on the Ni No Kuni: Worlds crossed game and your review? Let us know in the Comments under!

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