Coming like a ghost town: Ni No Kuni 2 delayed into 2018
Another few months
Fairytales teach us that hardships must be endured before we're treated, so it's only fitting that Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom [official site] has been delayed. The pretty-pretty fantasy RPG from Level-5, the sequel to a collaboration with revered animated moviemakers Studio Ghibli, was due on November 10th but now it's pushed back to January 19th, 2018. Fairytales also teach that setbacks come in threes, so cross your fingers that this is the only delay.
Why the holdup? As ever, it's because the devs want to make the game good, yeah?
Level-5 CEO and president Akihiro Hino said in today's announcement:
"We have decided that more development time is required in order to deliver the full Ni no Kuni II experience to our fans. I deeply apologise to those who have been looking forward to the game's release. Please rest assured, however, that we will continue to strive to provide a deep and satisfying single player experience that our fans can look forward to enjoying."
He also cleared up confusion stemming from an interview during E3 when he suggested that Ni No Kuni II would have online multiplayer. No, it won't.
"I misunderstood the interview question, thinking it was asking about online content in general, and my answer referred to online announcements of in-game events."
Yep, that'll happen in all the noise and tiredness of E3, especially when translation is involved.
If words aren't enough and you wish to see the face of the man as he apologises, voila:
(Remember to turn on subtitles if you don't speak Japanese.)
I skipped the first Ni No Kuni, just as it skipped PC, but I did hear good things from chums who enjoyed taking it slowly, popping into its beautiful world every now and then. I quite fancy a go on this. Studio Ghibli aren't involved this time around but the chap who scored many of their films, Joe Hisaishi, and a former Ghibli animator are onboard.