Ninokuni: The Another World (Ghibli + Level 5 RPG) coming to PS3

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

The Ghibli stuff is all done by Disney in the states. They know their voice acting. You can safely listen to the English tracks.

I totally agree with this. They did the best possible job you can do on the ones I have heard. You are definitely okay to watch the English dubs if that's what you prefer.

And example of the care that goes into the English translations and voice acting: Neil Gaiman on translating Princess Mononoke. A fascinating read.

Am I the only one who thought that How's Moving Castle was a really weak effort? The ending came out of nowhere.

gravity wrote:

Am I the only one who thought that How's Moving Castle was a really weak effort? The ending came out of nowhere.

It's definitely different than other Miyazaki films. I think that is why it's possibly my favorite. Also, it's an actual romance film which he hadn't done before. I'm actually watching it now. I don't remember the ending to be strange at all.

The soundtrack to Howl's Moving Castle is just incredible. I bought an import of the CD after I watched it way back when. It's great.

Edit: Also, it seems to me that the story is wonderfully feminist. It starts with a girl who isn't comfortable with how she fits in. She's not pretty or oversexed. Her experience turning into an old woman is a very complex self acceptance and a coming of age story. That's not something you see in too many movies these days.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

It's definitely different than other Miyazaki films. I think that is why it's possibly my favorite. Also, it's an actual romance film which he hadn't done before. I'm actually watching it now. I don't remember the ending to be strange at all.

It's been a while since I watched it (dubbed version in the theater, I think), but wasn't there a small scene that encompassed the ending that ran as follows?

Spoiler:

Hi! I'm the prince everyone's been looking for, but I was cursed into this scarecrow form the whole movie! I've been in love with you this whole time, but clearly you love someone else! Sucks to be me, guess i'll hop away on a stick! And they lived happily ever after.

I thought Howl's was pretty, but lacked a certain Miyazaki touch to it. I blame it on being based on a book. Ponyo showed me he's still got the touch I truly love in their work, even though I thought the premise was stupid before I actually watched it.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Edit: Also, it seems to me that the story is wonderfully feminist. It starts with a girl who isn't comfortable with how she fits in. She's not pretty or oversexed. Her experience turning into an old woman is a very complex self acceptance and a coming of age story. That's not something you see in too many movies these days. :(

I liked how they left it somewhat ambiguous as to whether she actually turns back into a young woman again, and why exactly that is (because of Howl's love, or because she accepts herself, or both?)

Tyrian wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

It's definitely different than other Miyazaki films. I think that is why it's possibly my favorite. Also, it's an actual romance film which he hadn't done before. I'm actually watching it now. I don't remember the ending to be strange at all.

It's been a while since I watched it (dubbed version in the theater, I think), but wasn't there a small scene that encompassed the ending that ran as follows?

Spoiler:

Hi! I'm the prince everyone's been looking for, but I was cursed into this scarecrow form the whole movie! I've been in love with you this whole time, but clearly you love someone else! Sucks to be me, guess i'll hop away on a stick! And they lived happily ever after.

There may have been a line like that. I wasn't paying close enough attention to the dialogue last night. I always assumed that:

Spoiler:

Turnip (the prince) was just following her around in an attempt to find a way to break the spell. When he turns back into the prince, that seemed more than enough to make him happy and content.

Okay, I looked up the dialogue just to be certain. The word "love" looks to be used in the context of friends and family.

I had been turned into "Turnip head".

Only way to dispel your curse was to be kissed by someone whom you love.

That's right.I would have been dead, if Sophie hadn't saved me.

What a handsome boy you are!..

That may be plausible. I just recall thinking the english dub ending felt a bit stilted and sudden.

Tyrian wrote:

That may be plausible. I just recall thinking the english dub ending felt a bit stilted and sudden.

I don't think I ever finished watching it with the dub. I'll have to watch the ending and see. Maybe something didn't translate quite right.

The problem with Howl's Moving Castle is it's a giant Babelfish. It's an English book, translated into Japanese by one guy, another guy wrote the script, then another guy directed it and quit 4 months in, so Miyazaki had to take it over and finish it (and he didn't just do what the other guy wrote either so yet another aliasing pass). Then if you watch the dub, you run it through the fish again.

The movie has good things in that are not in the book, the book has good things in it that are not in the movie. They're barely related in spots.

I rather like Howl's Moving Castle. But I'm an odd duck: my favorite Miyazaki movie is Castle in the Sky and my least favorite is Princess Mononoke.

I love Castle in the Sky. Dola is my hero.

Maybe I should go back and watch it subbed instead of dubbed. For the record, Spirited Away is my favorite Miyazaki. I doubt it'll be topped. Such an amazing movie. Also, props for Nausicaa! That the movie inspired a level of Crystalis (which I played well before I'd heard of the movie) blew my mind years later. The manga was quite good as well.

gravity wrote:

Maybe I should go back and watch it subbed instead of dubbed. For the record, Spirited Away is my favorite Miyazaki. I doubt it'll be topped. Such an amazing movie. Also, props for Nausicaa! That the movie inspired a level of Crystalis (which I played well before I'd heard of the movie) blew my mind years later. The manga was quite good as well.

Nausicaa is awesome. They are all awesome. Maybe just watching Howl's Moving Castle dubbed and approaching it differently will help you enjoy it. Of course, you can always not be a fan which is totally okay.

The worst day of Miyazaki best the best of many other directors out there.

Howl's Moving Castle is definitely my favorite (this might be in part that it was the first Ghibli film I saw in a theatre-this was before they had Ghibli everywhere and it only played in one theatre in my entire state).

However, I really do love them all!!!

Speaking of which, I just got in the mail today a Ghibli t-shirt! Check it out:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/89717235/studio-ghibli-inspired-screenprinted-t

o_O I want!

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

o_O I want!

The only disadvantage is the lack of the best colors for the Medium size (d/t him selling out quickly apparently)...I ended up getting Light Blue and am pleased with it! The black logo really pops on it.

IMAGE(http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ninokuni/ninokunips3/screens/ninokunips326.jpg)

RPGamer gets their hands on it.

My most treasured time spent with Ni No Kuni came from the exploration. I felt like there was tons to explore in a world full of puns and tongue-in-cheek dialogue. During my tour of the Drip Drop Well, I found myself combating against robo-rabbits that I repeatedly chased about in hopes of getting the drop on them. I found myself completely enamoured with how unique and detailed every location was. Every area had deep levels of intricacies that is rare to see in a lot of modern games and is certainly worth commending.

Yay!

Sweet.

The attention to detail where most animators would use short-hand or cut stuff out has always been a Ghibli hallmark. Even in Totoro, you can see little bits of garbage animated in the stream by their house when they peer into it. Nice to see they've continued that into the game, even if Level 5's animators probably grumbled about it.

Ninostarter still hasn't reached goal 1 even after they dropped the bar a bit. I'm sure it'll pass the goal eventually, but I was hoping we'd reach a goal that would get them to include a soundtrack of sorts. Well, I can always dream.

I like how the writer says "My connection to Oliver was instant". While Ghibli movies have brilliant, magical atmospheres, plots, and settings, the movies ultimately stick with you because of the relationships you form with the characters.

I gave them money as well. Makes you wonder if JRPGs are just hitting a rough patch.

Doesn't really make me wonder that at all. A lot of people are opposed to preordering on principle, so cut out those. Then factor in PS3 exclusivity. Then factor in that it's $120, rather than $60. This particular product is a hard sell.

I really, really want to preorder that collector's edition, but that's an awful lot of money for one game.

Farscry wrote:

I really, really want to preorder that collector's edition, but that's an awful lot of money for one game. :(

Me too. And considering my backlog I just can't pull the trigger.

I'm just not much of a fan of the physical goodies that come with most collector's editions. I'm most definitely still buying the standalone game.

farley3k wrote:
Farscry wrote:

I really, really want to preorder that collector's edition, but that's an awful lot of money for one game. :(

Me too. And considering my backlog I just can't pull the trigger.

Same Damn backlog... damn money...

I wasn't trying to call out GWJ. I was reluctant also and just happen to care less about piles of shame and such. I'm referring more to the overall climate for big-name JRPGs. I feel like this generation has had some great ones. But I also feel like it's been kind of scattered. There are a couple of great ones on almost every console. Final Fantasy isn't what it once was. I wonder just abstractly if JRPGs are hitting a rough spot.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Ninostarter still hasn't reached goal 1 even after they dropped the bar a bit.

I'm really looking forward to the game, but if I could digital-download everything, I would. Last thing I need is more crap filling up a shelf.

The goodies are neat, but not so much I want to spend the extra money for it, especially being realistic about how much time I actually have for gaming.

JRPGs have hit a rough spot on home consoles, but they've absolutely flourished on handhelds. Top 10 lists for handhelds, both per year and across the whole generation, are dominated by JRPGs of all stripes.

I'm not sure how much of an effect that's had on Ni No Kuni's collector's edition. Usually the die-hard fans come out for collector's editions, but they're also not usually twice the cost of the base price. JRPG collector's editions are typically $80 or so and sell out. In this particular case, they have a very attractive product that is still priced outside of what most people are willing to pay.