The team behind the upcoming mobile MMO Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds released an extended look video as part of Tokyo Game Show 2020. The presentation revealed new features coming to Cross Worlds, as well as the game's focus on high-quality animation.
Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is the latest entry in a franchise created by the Level-5 in 2010, which has seen two single-player role-playing games, a few Japan-only mobile spin-offs, and a poorly-received animated film. The series is known for having Studio Ghibli work on the original game's cutscenes, and though it is not involved in Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, Level-5 is no stranger to releasing mobile installments its properties, including Professor Layton and Yokai Watch. Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is being developed by Netmarble, known for games like Marvel: Future Fight.
The released footage for the Ni no Kuni mobile game announced this August includes a look at character classes, companions known as familiars, a kingdom-building system, and the game's visuals. Towards the end, the hosts of the stream enter a three-on-three PvP event, which tasks teams with rounding up creatures known as Higgledies. The broadcast also introduced the game's plot, which centers around a character who lives in a near-future version of Earth and enters a virtual reality simulation depicting the world of Ni no Kuni.
The game has not been confirmed for a Western release. Since the series' main titles have all released globally, including a well-received remaster of the original in 2019, there may be a chance of a future Western release. Yet the broadcast clarifies at multiple points that promotions for the game are intended for Japanese audiences only. Level-5 did not release its previous MMO Fantasy Life Online globally, which suggests that the company may hesitate to localize this one as well.
The game developers and hosts pointed out the effort put into the game's visuals, and it's not hard to see why. Character models and animations for main characters and the NPCs that populate the world are clearly well made. The trailer also shows multiple environmental shots, suggesting that the game's scenery will look just as good as the characters.
Still, given the game runs on mobile devices, the visuals and performance may suffer on smaller, or older devices. Although the game appears to be story-heavy, it may also be difficult for an MMO to create something as grand as the original Ni no Kuni games. After all, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch even received a BAFTA nomination for its story back in 2014.
Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds will release later this year for iOS and Android devices in Japan.