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Japanese RPG coming to North America

by: Russell -
More On: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Namco Bandai has announced that the Japanese RPG Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is coming to North America for the PS3 next year.  Developed by LEVEL-5 with animation by Studio Ghibi, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is "an epic tale of a young boy, Oliver, who embarks on a journey to become a master magician and bring back his dead mother from the parallel world of Ni no Kuni."  Sounds interesting, and with animation done by Studio Ghibi, it's sure to look nice as well.

ROLE-PLAYING MASTERWORK ‘NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH™’ FOR PLAYSTATION®3 COMING TO NORTH AMERICA IN 2012

Developed by LEVEL-5 with Animation by Studio Ghibli, the Eagerly Awaited Title Takes Japanese Role-playing Games to New Heights of Beauty and Brilliance


SAN JOSE, Calif., - October 17, 2011 – NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., today announced that the game-changing Japanese role-playing title Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch™ will bring its potent blend of preeminent anime talent and role-playing game (RPG) expertise to North America in 2012 exclusively for PlayStation®3.

The unique fantasy RPG is developed by LEVEL-5, the studio behind the smash hit Dragon Quest VIII and IX, and the Professor Layton series. For the game’s characters and animations, LEVEL-5 collaborated with the legendary Studio Ghibli, the team responsible for countless anime masterpieces including My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away. The in-game music comes from the hand of Joe Hisaishi, the composer of the scores to over 100 films including many of Studio Ghibli’s greatest productions.

“We are very honored to be working with the talented Studio Ghibli and Hisaishi-san on this game,” said Akihiro Hino, president and CEO of LEVEL-5 Inc. “It is very exciting for us to bring the best of Japanese anime and video game cultures together, and also to bring it to players in Europe and America. We hope you will enjoy it.”

“With such a dream team of development talent, beautiful hand-drawn anime and an amazing fantasy universe, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will be one of our premier titles for 2012,” said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing, at NAMCO BANDAI Games America. “At once epic and enchanting, this is a story that will drag you in and hold you transfixed from start to finish.”

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an epic tale of a young boy, Oliver, who embarks on a journey to become a master magician and bring back his dead mother from the parallel world of Ni no Kuni. Along the way he encounters some extraordinary characters, many of whom become helpful allies. They guide Oliver as he explores the vast world and learns the magical skills that will make him strong enough to face his most deadly foes, and ultimately survive an encounter with the White Witch herself.

In the game, the beauty of Studio Ghibli’s hand-drawn animation has been perfectly reproduced, with the cel-shaded graphics engine producing stunning real-time animations of a quality normally only seen in their industry-leading feature films. In addition, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch on PlayStation®3 brings a wealth of new content to the Ni no Kuni universe, with an additional cast of mysterious characters to meet, new areas to explore, and a whole different perspective on the involving story.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is scheduled for North American release in 2012. For more information on NAMCO BANDAI Games’ entire line up please visit www.namcobandaigames.com