Ni no Kuni ("Second Land") is a collaboration between game developer Level 5 and Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation house behind Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Ponyo. It's set for release on the PS3 in 2011, though not a lot has been announced outside of Japan where a version is already available on the DS.
The player takes the role of Oliver, a 13-year-old boy who, along with a male fairy named Shizuku and a magic book, travels to a parallel world in order to bring his, erm, dead mother back to life. Cue a series of magical quests and creature-filled battles that can be seen in the trailer here:
Word has it that Hayao Miyazaki isn’t a fan of gaming, but with an original story, the involvement of Ghibli artists plus regular collaborator Joe Hisaishi's dreamy score, it looks like this one stands apart from most of the market. The concept of stepping into Studio Ghibli’s dreamy worlds to meet tree spirits and throw spells at your enemies seems such a natural progression from its atmospheric films, we're amazed it isn't one of many adventure games from the company.
Given the success that Level 5’s Professor Layton series has had in the US and that Spirited Away remains Japan’s highest grossing film ever (along with its Academy Award win for Best Animated Feature in 2002), we’re hoping it won’t be long until the game hits Western shores.
The DS version also includes an actual book. Magical.
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