Ni no Kuni II Developers Talk About The Small Details That Went Into Its Animation Work

Level-5 shared a batch of new screenshots as well as a video interview featuring key developers of Ni no Kuni II who talk about the game’s animation and the efforts that went into the small details.

The following video is the first in a series of special video interviews, and its focus topic is animation:

Hino starts out the interview by talking about the developer’s early focus on the concept of having two protagonists with one in Evan who sees the story in the perspective of a child and the other in Roland who sees it in that of an adult. Players can then see the game being told from both perspectives, meaning we’ll not only will it be a drama for kids, but one for adults, so families can watch and enjoy together.

He then explains that Ni no Kuni II is made to look like an animated world using shaders and such, so that players can step in and get a good feel of the warmth the world has to offer.

Director Yoshiaki Kusuda then says that the part that comes first is definitely the world. Art Director Nobuyuki Yanai explains that there’s a town called Gold Pound and it is based on Taiwan, and the developers put in a lot of time into putting in details to make make its culture feel more real. Yanai says Level-5 had a lot of brainstorming sessions while building the world, including discussions on what the characters should be wearing, and such.

Gold Pound is a city for gambling, so some of the details went into giving it a bit of a shady vibe while also making it look lively as a bright and neon city. This is another example of some of the brainstorming that was done in the making.

The first Ni no Kuni was Level-5’s 10th anniversary title and it was planned out accordingly. Hino explains that Ni no Kuni’s strong reception in the West is what gave them the drive to start on the sequel, but it’s something he’s personally excited about.

He concludes by saying that he feels Ni no Kuni II is being made into something that can live up to expectations, and he feels that its content is much greater than the previous Ni no Kuni and hopes everyone is looking forward to it.

Here’s a look at the game’s latest screenshots that show the city of Broadleaf:

Ni No Kuni II releases on March 28, 2018 for PlayStation 4 and PC.