When people get older, life tends to get more ridiculous. As I move on to my adult years after graduating college, there's so much responsibility to accept, problems that are encountered, and drama that is created that makes me wonder why more people don't lose their sanity. But then I popped in Ni No Kuni, an RPG recommended to me by many that I picked up when it hit the $20 mark on Amazon, and it changed everything for me.
Depression is something that I tend to suffer with from time to time, but it's nothing that needs to be medically treated. Everyone goes through the kind of depression I have; when people feel lost in their life or confused about something. Lately I've been wondering why I'm taking the path I chose, why I'm still in a place that I don't feel happy in.
When sports don't grab my attention, and there are moments that even the most exciting games can't reach out for it, video games generally always do. It was one of those moments when I popped in Ni No Kuni after getting it in the mail, expecting an RPG that's geared more toward kids after looking at the animation style on the case and thumbing through the manual while it installed on the PlayStation 3.
I tried it anyway, thanks to one thing really capturing my eye: Studio Ghibli. I'm generally a fan of anything released by that company. Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and so many other movie titles have captured my emotion, something they can do to any kind of person if they open up to it. I figured at worst, I would love the story involved with the game.
Little did I know I'd be blown away with it.
It took me instantly back to all the hours I spent playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64. I literally spent hours upon hours going through the world and exploring every nook and cranny. Not only did I defeat all the castles, but I talked to every character I could, collected all the golden skulltulas, grabbed every piece of heart...I was in love with that game. It took my heart more than any girl could in middle school.
The only other game that came close for me getting that feeling of excitement and adventure was Okami, but I only played that through once and didn't go back to complete 100 percent of it.
Ni No Kuni not only gives me those great memories, but it improves on it. For a long time, I put Zelda: OOT on a pedestal, a game that couldn't be touched by anything I ever played. Not anymore.
It's Zelda, featuring RPG mechanics that are intuitive and easy to learn. Parts of the game seem overwhelming at first with all the different features thrown at me, but it was easy to learn and remember. Anytime I forget a specific aspect, it's as simple as asking a help block on the menu screen.
With a vast variety of side quests available, a department that Zelda: Majora's Mask introduced to me but failed miserably with, Ni No Kuni makes them less of a chore and even fun to do.
From the captivating introduction to the highlighted words in dialogue, there's lots similarities to Zelda yet so many different things that can be done. I haven't fallen in love with a game like this since we were reaching the new millennium. I feel that my video game play has been rejuvenated after slugging through triple-A titles and indie games.
Sure, there's plenty of people that are playing Grand Theft Auto V right now, and I'll definitely be one of those people down the road. But when things are rough, or when I start feeling bad or depressed, I always go to my therapy: Ni No Kuni. It grabs ahold of me and puts me right into another world that I care so much more about than the problems I deal with in my own life.
Then when I return to my normal life, I don't feel as bad anymore. It's something I need more than ever at this point of my life. I know I'll be disappointed to see it end, but like all movies from Studio Ghibli, I'm sure there won't be any disappointment on how it ends.
Thank you to all of those that worked on this beautiful, magnificent game. From the incredible storytelling, great voice acting, lovable characters, big world to explore, vast enemies encounters, intuitive battle system, to easy-to-use gameplay mechanics, this has easily become the best game of this generation. But more importantly, I hope to persuade others to play it.
[Photo credit: Flickr]
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