2018’s Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is without a doubt one of the great JRPGs of the last decade, and a sequel worthy of the name. Cubed3’s original review for the PlayStation 4 saw this princely gem praised for its gameplay, tone and overall creative direction, with special mention of its wonderful soundtrack and Ghibli-fied vibe. For Nintendo Switch players, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – Prince’s Edition was released on the original hardware back in 2021 along with all its downloadable content, making for a truly royal package.
What made Ni no Kuni II so wonderful when it first released — and keeps it relevant all these years later — is its undeniable charm, satisfying story and riveting gameplay. This is a classic JRPG set to real-time combat instead of turn-based battles, and while this decision was originally under scrutiny for departing from the first entry’s formula, it has ultimately proved to be a masterstroke. Studio Ghibli’s unmistakable influence is evident throughout, and Ni no Kuni II at times feels like being teleported into an animated feature film.
The Prince’s Edition includes all of Ni no Kuni II’s previously released DLC, making this the most complete version available. The DLC falls into three releases: the Adventure Pack contains a new end-game dungeon, while The Tale of a Timeless Tome offers new story beats, and The Lair of the Lost Lord adds yet another souped-up dungeon to tackle. These vary in quality, with the new content in The Tale of a Timeless Tome being the most universally enjoyable, but all are welcome bonuses to an already jam-packed fantasy JRPG adventure.
The story of Ni no Kuni II follows young prince Evan, who finds himself the victim of a coup on the cusp of his impending reign. Forced to flee Ding Dong Dell, he must start over on his grand ambition to create a new kingdom that unites every nation. It’s a heartfelt and compelling narrative that has some parallels with the excellent Metaphor: ReFantazio, with the young hero travelling across the kingdom as he recruits allies to his noble cause.
In typical JRPG fashion, there is a tonne of things to see and do, all of which are made more engaging thanks to the delightful visual style. While Studio Ghibli didn’t officially have a hand in the creation of this title, their lingering influence from the first instalment is unmistakably present.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 now out in the wild, then, how does this one fare with backwards compatibility? In short: marvellously. While many of the Switch’s biggest titles have received out-and-out Switch 2 upgrades, a fair variety of its other titles have quietly enjoyed a performance boost courtesy of the Switch 2’s superior hardware. Ni no Kuni II falls into the latter category; it’s not received a dedicated Switch 2 version update, but thanks to some specs in the backend, the new console has breathed new life into what was already a fantastic experience.
For context, Ni no Kuni II ran okay on the first Switch, especially given the ambitious nature of the port. The frame rate, however, often struggled to remain consistent, barely reaching 30 frames per second on average, and significantly lower than that in a handful of the more demanding modes, despite technically having an unlocked frame rate. All these years later, this is now to the great benefit of the Nintendo Switch 2. The new hardware takes full advantage of that unlocked frame rate, resulting in a flawless 60fps in every circumstance. Whereas overworld traversal and the real-time strategy mode saw substantial frame rate drops on the original Switch, here they have no issues achieving a stable frame rate throughout.
For Switch players and Switch 2 owners who’ve not yet experienced this wonderful adventure, it is absolutely worthy of attention now. The Switch 2 is perhaps the best place to play Ni no Kuni II, with stable performance and the added handheld element making it a no-brainer for JRPG fans and those who fancy a long adventure, whether from the comfort of home or when on the move. This is a must-play action-RPG great, and thanks to the wonderful performance improvements courtesy of the Switch 2, it’s high time for a revisit to the kingdom of Ding Dong Dell.
